TILLAGE AXD ROTATIOX EXPERIMENTS AT NEPHI,, UTAH. 7 



MOISTURE CONTENT OF FALLOW. 



Much of the argument in favor of fall plowing has been based 

 upon the belief that the rough surface of fall-plowed land is in 

 better condition than unplowed stubble land for absorbing the 

 whiter precipitation. For the purpose of determining the accuracy 

 of this theory, soil-moisture studies were made in connection with 

 the experiment discussed here. Soil samples were taken to a depth 

 of 6 feet from each fallow plat at the beginning, in the middle, and 

 at the end of the season, and the moisture content of each foot 

 section was determined, as previously described in this bulletin. 

 The data thus collected during the four years from 1909 to 1912, 

 inclusive, are presented in Table II, which shows the annual and 

 average percentages of moisture in each foot of soil and the average 

 percentages in the first 6 feet of soil on each of the fallow plats in 

 April, June, and September. 



Table II. — Annual and average percentages of moisture for each of the first 6 feet of soil 

 in fallow plats in a test of spring plowing compared vAih fall plowing at the Nephi 

 substation, samples taken in April, June, and September, for the years 1909 to 1912, 



inclusive. 



Season and depth of 

 sampling. 



Date of determination. 



1909 



1910 



19L2 



Four-vear 



Spring plowing 

 lfoot 



2 feet 



3 feet 



4 feet 



5 feet 



6 feet 



Average 



. . 20. 60 15. 90 17. 05 21. 27:12. 35 11. 88 

 . . 20. 37 19. 45 19. 00 21. 25 IS. 93 IS. 33 

 . . 20. 1018. 80 20. 45 20. 50 18. 70 17. 65 

 . . 20. 10l9. 10 20. 15 21. 07J18. 48 15. 78 

 . . 18. 70 19. 1719. 10 21. 40 20. 10 16. 88 

 . . 19. 3019. 05'18. 40 19. 0518. 8017. 80 



19. 8618. 58 19. 02:20. 76Jl7. 8916. 40 



20. 4S 15. 86 13. 09 14. 98 14. 1812. 59 

 19. 57 19. 36 18. 10 22. 6519. 8019. 47 



21. 02 j 19. 09 

 19.3417.78 

 17.0416.69 

 17.20J17.7S 



19. 11 17. 76 



16. 93 

 17.12 

 15.34 



17.73 



21.8819.7019.55 

 22.55 20.5019.63 

 22. 07 20. 34 17. 80 

 18. 60 18. 2015. 05 



16.38 20.4618.79 17.35 



19.3314.5713.65 

 20.96;l9.3S'l8.74 

 20. 87J19.07 18. 64 

 20.7618.9618.17 

 19.8019.0817.28 

 18.5418.4617.24 



20.0418.25:17.29 



Fall plowing 

 lfoot... 



2 feet... 



3 feet... 



4 feet... 



5 feet... 



6 feet... 



Average. 



21.10 14.6017.65 

 ! 20. 92 19. 6017. 60 

 20.0019.60'l9.05 

 19.8018.8o|l8.95 

 ]17. 97,17. 90:17. 75 

 .18.65120.32 19.30 



20.93 14.45 12.83 21.29 

 20. 8819. 48 IS. 05 21. 59 

 20. 13)18.20 17. 83 20. 03 

 19. 80119. 25 17.7515.24 



17. 98 

 19.60 

 17.55 

 14.76 



19.1018.55 17.0516.1314.79 



12. 26'21. 55115. 82|13. 29J21. 22 15. 7l|l4. 01 

 17. 76 21. 45 19. 6318. 6721. 21 19. 5S1S. 02 



17.43 

 15.76 

 14. 95 



19. 57 19. 80 16. 98 18. 7S 18. 75 15. 25 



- . . 119. 74l8. 48J18. 38 20. 07J18. 2916. 7s'l8. 8516. 9o]l5. 57 16. 9716. 77,15. 4118. 9017. 6lil6. 53 



19. 62|18. 25,18. 1319. 9418. 4018. 11 

 12. 8215. 2115. 4516. 9117. 02l6. 98 

 11.3913. 30 12. 40 16. 15 16. 1315. 54 

 14. 99 18. 40 14. 49lS. 00 18. 82 16. 50 



I I 



Table II shows (1) that in every case except the second and third 

 sampling of 1910 the average percentage of moisture in the 6 feet 

 of soil was higher in the spring-plowed plat; (2) that the first foot 

 of soil in the fall-plowed plat contained, as a rule, a higher percentage 

 of moisture than the first foot of the spring-plowed plat; (3) that 

 the slight difference in the moisture content of the second foot of 

 the plats favored the fall-plowed plat during the spring and summer, 

 while it favored the spring-plowed plat at seeding time in the fall; 



