CHAPTER IX. 



TILLAGE, PLANTING, AND CULTIVATION. 



Two or three additional ploughings will supply the place of dung ... if 

 they be performed at proper season. — Jethro Tull. 



There ain't but one principle to follow in raisin' corn ; keep it clean. — An 

 Iowa Farmer. 



chap. 339. Time of Ploughing. — In the Maize-belt of South Africa 



new lands, and lands which have been fallowed with a rotation 

 crop, may be ploughed as early as is possible in the autumn 

 (preferably in January, February, and March), in order to pre- 

 pare a proper seed bed and to conserve the moisture for early 

 planting. Old lands may with advantage be ploughed as soon 

 as they can be eaten off by the cattle. In the Transvaal the 

 lands should not be left unploughed any longer than can be 

 avoided, and should be ready for planting as soon as good 

 rains fall in September or early October, but in parts of Natal, 

 on light, grey sandy loams subject to much washing, it is found 

 desirable to leave the ploughing as late as possible before 

 planting. 



340. Depth of Ploughing. — -Shallow ploughing causes the 

 maize plant to suffer from drought in a dry season, and from 

 waterlogging (on some soils) in a wet season. It has been 

 demonstrated clearly during many years that, in the Transvaal 

 and Orange Free State, deep ploughing conserves soil moisture. 

 In very wet seasons it has also been demonstrated in Natal 

 that deep ploughing enabled the surplus moisture to drain 

 away better ; on one farm it was shown that the only maize 

 crop produced was on land which had been deeply steam- 

 ploughed ; on adjacent land, which had been ploughed to the 

 ordinary depth of ox-ploughing, the maize crop had been 

 either washed away or " drowned out ". 



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