CROP PRODUCTION IN" THE GREAT PLAINS AREA. 25 



method of destroying the weeds and thus saving the moisture that 

 would be used by them if allowed to grow. The same object may be 

 accomplished by disking soon after the weeds have started. This 

 method has the advantage of being more rapid than plowing, thus 

 making it possible to cover more ground with the same number of 

 teams and men. But as the land will have to be plowed before 

 another crop is sown, the labor of disking is mostly lost, although the 

 labor of plowing the disked land may be somewhat less than if it 

 were not disked and a better job of plowing may sometimes be done 

 on the disked land. The cost of early fall plowing or disking, when 

 the weather is hot and the men and teams are needed for stacking, 

 thrashing, and hauling grain, is greater than later in the fall, when 

 the weather is cooler and there is less other work for men and teams. 

 All of these facts should be taken into consideration before going 

 to the extra expense of tillage to kill weeds immediately after harvest. 



Spring plowing or disking, as soon as the weed seeds have ger- 

 minated, is usually a profitable practice. Where small grain is to be 

 sown, the sowing should be done soon after plowing; but where corn, 

 potatoes, or the sorghums are to be grown there is often a period of 

 several weeks between the time of the germination of the weed seeds 

 and the time when the season is sufficiently advanced to plant the 

 crop. This period should be utilized as far as possible for the destruc- 

 tion of weeds before the crop is planted. Much labor in keeping the 

 crop free from weeds during its growing period can thus be saved. 



Harrowing small grain for the destruction of weeds after the grain 

 is sown and until it has reached a height of 3 or 4 inches may some- 

 times be practiced to advantage. Experimental evidence does not 

 show it to be generally profitable. Harrowing corn and potatoes 

 after planting and until the young plants have attained a height of 

 2 or 3 inches is quite generally practiced to advantage. 



It is absolutely essential for the most profitable growth of corn, 

 potatoes, the sorghums, and, in fact, all the intertilled crops, that 

 sufficient tillage be given to keep the growing crop free from weeds 

 until the plants have attained such growth that they will be seriously 

 injured by the cultivators or the horses. 



IMPROVING THE PHYSICAL CONDITION OF THE SOIL. 



As lias been already shown, accessory tillage for the destruction 

 of weeds usually will accomplish all that can bo accomplished by 

 tillage in keeping the soil in proper physical condition during the 

 intervals between plowings. There is, however, one exception, 

 namely, the accessory tillage immediately preceding the seeding of 

 the crop for the purpose of preparing a suitable seed bed. The 

 -mall-grain crops require a mellow surface and a firm condition of the 

 -oil below. In order to bring ahout this condition it is generally 



