PLOWING THE SOIL. 195 



SO far as I am aware nothing has been done in ex- 

 periment station work along this line. On all hard 

 clays and wherever it is desirable that more water 

 be stored in the subsoil I advise the use of the sub- 

 soil plow. It would certainly be wise to test it in a 

 sraall way at first, then if results seemed good it 

 could be adopted as a part of the regular practice. 



In Europe it is not unknown to trench or dig 

 up a field with spades to a depth of 36", mixing top 

 and bottom soils, and land thus treated, well limed, 

 well manured, yields crops that would astonish an 

 American farmer, even if living on the richest soils. 



Ploiving for Spring Sowing. — ^When alfalfa is to 

 be sown in the spring it is well to get the plowing 

 done early, this so that the land will settle together 

 again and make a better seedbed for the seedling 

 plants. Freshly plowed land is too loose to hold 

 moisture near the surface well. Thus it is best 

 to plow for alfalfa in the fall or during the winter. 

 If lime is to be applied it is best to apply it imme- 

 diately after the plowing, or after one dragging of 

 the land. Then it is disked in and mixed well with 

 the soil. 



If the plowing can not be done early it may be 

 done immediately before seeding, but then more 

 care must be taken to firm the soil again and make 

 a good seedbed. Going over it several times with 

 the disk harrow is one way to firm it, or to roll it 

 with a heavy roller and afterward disking it will 

 bring the top soil into capillary connection with the 

 subsoil. 



