316 



DRY-FARMING 



Subsurfuce packing 



The subsurface packer recommended so highly by 

 Campbell aims to pack the subsoil at a depth of fif- 

 teen inches to two feet, while leaving the topsoil in a 

 loose condition. The subsurface ]Dacker probably has 

 some value in places where the subsoil containing the 



Fig. 83. Riding cultivator. 



plowed stubble is somewhat loose. In soils that 

 pack naturally throughout the season it cannot exert 

 a very beneficial effect. In fact the modern theory 

 of dry-farming urges that water should be admitted 

 to soil depths far below those reached by the subsur- 

 face packer or any other agricultural implement. 

 There can, therefore, be no special advantage in es- 

 tablishing a packed layer of soil some fifteen or 

 twenty inches below the surface. Campbell holds 



