PREPARING THE SEEDBED 87 



As the soil organisms which liberate the plant food 

 do not work during the winter in the cold soil, there is 

 probably little plant food lost by evaporation into the 

 atmosphere or leaching through the soil. It has come 

 to be a common practice among the best corn farmers 

 where large areas are cultivated, to fall plow all of the 

 land possible, so that a large amount of land can be 

 quickly planted in spring. In such cases the soil is 

 mellowed through the action of the weather and with a 

 disking, the top and bottom of the seedbed are put into 

 ideal condition for the reception of the seed. 



Fitting Spring Plowing for Seedbed — In the case 

 of spring plowing very great progress has been made 

 in the last few years in the methods of handling the 

 soil in order to get the best results. Briefly the most 

 important points are as follows: immediately after 

 plowing the soil should be floated. This should be done 

 at the end of every day's work. A convenient and very 

 successful float can be made by splitting an eight or 

 ten-inch pole twelve feet long. Place the halves two 

 feet apart as split and mortise so that they will be held 

 firmly in place. Arrange a box for weight about the 

 middle of the float and weight as heavily as found de- 

 sirable. A longer float for two horses can be made in 

 the same manner and the driver can stand on the float. 

 The ordinary plank drags are also used successfully 

 for this purpose. By running the float over the surface 

 of the ground the clods are easily crushed and the top 

 of the seedbed fined so as to make a perfect mulch. 

 This mulch will prevent the excessive evaporation of 

 water and still allow a free circulation of air. 



Disking — When the fields of either spring or fall 

 plowing are ready to be planted, disking will loosen 

 and stir the soil, allowing the excess of air to escape, 

 and the seedbed to warm up to the point required for 

 best germination. This point is about jo° F. This 



