22 BULLETIN" 268, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



parts of the Great Plains on account of its low cost, and it might be 

 justified under certain circumstances. If this method were practiced 

 it would undoubtedly be necessary to grow intertilled crops at fre- 

 quent intervals in rotation with small grain to avoid damage from 

 weeds, insects, and diseases, which would soon reduce crop yields. 



WHEN DISKING MAY BE SUBSTITUTED FOR PLOWING. 



These investigations have shown that when the corn crop has been 

 grown on properly prepared land and kept free from weeds, the land 

 does not require plowing in preparation for a following crop of small 

 grain. Wheat, oats, and barley have usually given better yields on 

 disked corn land than upon land that has been plowed. This, to- 

 gether with the fact that disking is cheaper than plowing, makes 

 disking corn land generally the most profitable method of preparation 

 for small grain. Disking potato land is probably as good a prepara- 

 tion for small grain as disking corn land and there are undoubtedly 

 other intertilled crops, such as peas, beans, and peanuts, that will 

 serve the same purpose. The sorghums, however, do not leave the 

 ground in as favorable a condition for the crop that is to follow as the 

 other crops mentioned. 



USE OF THE LISTER IN THE FALL. 



The practice of ridging with a lister as a substitute for fall plowing 

 and cultivating down level without the use of a plow in the spring 

 has been tested at most of the stations as a preparation for all of the 

 small-grain crops considered in this bulletin except winter wheat. 

 It has usually produced as good or better yields than fall plowing. 

 Its lower cost has made it in many instances nearly or quite as profit- 

 able a method as disking corn stubble. In addition to its low cost 

 it has the advantages of catching and holding the snow and checking 

 soil blowing during the winter and of arresting run-off. 



When the lister is used in preparing land for winter wheat, the 

 listing is done immediately after the harvest of the preceding 

 crop. The soil is worked down level, usually with a disk, in late 

 summer or early fall, and then seeded with an ordinary grain drill. 

 Very little differences in average yields between listing and plowing 

 have been noted except at Hays, where the advantage is in favor of 

 listing. 



PLANTING WITH THE LISTER. 



When the lister is used for planting corn, kafir, and milo, the land 

 is left undisturbed from the time of harvesting the preceding crop 

 until planting time the following spring, when the crop is planted 

 with a lister. The ridges are then cultivated down level during the 

 growth of the crop. At Judith Basin, Huntley, Belle Fourche, and 



