128 DRY-FARMING 
plowed land — a saving of nearly one half of a year’s 
precipitation. The ground should be plowed in the 
early fall as soon as possible after the crop is har- 
vested. It should then be left.in the rough through- 
out the winter, so that it may be mellowed and broken 
down by the elements. The rough land furtherhas 
a tendency to catch and hold the snow that may 
be blown by the wind, thus insuring a more even 
distribution of the water from the melting snow. 
A common objection to fall plowing is that the 
ground is so dry in the fall that it does not plow up 
well, and that the great dry clods of earth do much 
to injure the physical condition of the soil. It is 
very doubtful if such an objection is generally valid, 
especially if the soil is so cropped as to leave a fair 
margin of moisture in the soil at harvest time. The 
atmospheric agencies will usually break down the 
clods, and the physical result of the treatment will 
be beneficial. Undoubtedly, the fall plowing of 
dry land is somewhat difficult, but the good results 
more than pay the farmer for his trouble. Late 
fall plowing, after the fall rains have softened the 
land, is preferable to spring plowing. If for any 
reason the farmer feels that he must practice spring 
plowing, he should do it as early as possible in the 
spring. Of course, it is inadvisable to plow the soil 
when it is so wet as to injure its tilth seriously, but 
as soon as that danger period has passed, the plow 
should be placed in the ground. The moisture in 
