22 PRACTICAL CORN CULTURE 
knows that it is impossible to hire extra men and teams on 
short notice. When ‘‘rainy* days off’? are taken into con- 
sideration, we think that a ten-hour day is not too much 
to ask of either man or team. Most of our own farm help 
come from Kentucky, where they are accustomed to plow 
from ‘‘sun to sun,’’ and consider ten hours in the field a 
short day’s work. 
DeptH oF PLOWING 
The depth to which ground should be plowed in order to 
give the best results must, of necessity, vary with conditions. 
There is, perhaps, no subject on which farmers and writers 
differ so widely as on the matter of the depth of plowing. 
One writer says ‘‘deep plowing of sandy land is not advisable, 
particularly in the spring. On clay land deeper plowing 
should be the rule.’’ On the other hand, a corn lecturer of 
national fame says: ‘‘What is known as deep plowing is 
generally not advisable in the corn belt, although the loose 
soils and bottom-lands may be plowed much deeper than the 
black prairie soils with less danger of bad results.’’ While 
these two statements are not altogether contradictory, they 
have, at least, a tendency to leave the reader in doubt. 
In order to make ourselves more clearly understood, we 
shall state that we consider six inches and over deep plowing, 
and four inches and under shallow plowing. Plowing from 
four to six inches deep may be considered as medium deep 
plowing. 
DrEEP PLOWING 
The advocates of deep plowing claim that since a loose, 
porous soil has a greater moisture holding capacity than a 
more compact soil, the deeper the plowing the more moisture 
will be retained. Deep plowing allows plant food to get 
