SOILS 



1853 



milqh cow. Furthermore, plants cannot 

 take up soluble plant food from the soil 

 without it is first dissolved in capillary- 

 moisture. A loose, cloddy, dry seed bed 

 then will not furnish the best conditions 

 for the rapid development of soluble 

 plant food, no matter how full of straw 

 and air it may be. It must be worked 

 down thoroughly to hold the moisture. 



Proper Temperature 



4. Bacterial action and chemical 

 changes progress very slowly with a soil 

 temperature lower than 55 degrees. The 

 temperature varies considerable with the 

 kind of soil, the amount of water pres- 

 ent, the color and amount of organic mat- 

 ter present and the tillage. Sandy soils 

 are well known to be earlier and quicker 

 growers than heavy soils. This is be- 

 cause they are warmer. 



A poorly drained soil will often be 10 

 to 15 degrees colder than a similar soil 

 well drained. This is equivalent to put- 

 ting the crops behind about one month. 

 The yellowish color of plants growing in 

 poorly drained spots in a field are ready 

 evidence of retarded bacterial action in 

 the soil. 



Experiments have shown that the sup- 

 plying of an abundance of organic matter 

 may sometimes make a difference of one 

 or two degrees in field culture. This is a 

 hotbed effect, only much reduced in in- 

 tensity. 



In the development of available plant 

 food in the soil these four factors just 

 enumerated are equally essential: proper 

 circulation of air, plentiful supply of or- 

 ganic matter, good supply of capillary 

 moisture, and a suitable temperature. 

 Translating these needs of the soil into 

 farm operations, what shall the Western 

 Washington farmer do to provide these 

 conditions? 



Take Off Surplus Water 



1. Provide thorough underdrainage 

 wherever water will collect in a hole 

 within four feet of the surface during the 

 growing season. Quite a large percentage 

 of the farming lands of Western Wash- 

 ington need underdrainage badly, and 

 will never give thoroughly good results 



until it is provided. Many soils that are 

 now being tilled with moderate profit 

 would do much better if underdrained. 

 In many cases a more profitable kind of 

 crop could be grown. 



Thorough drainage will ultimately make 

 the soil warmer and earlier and more 

 friable and easy to work, and the period 

 during which it may be tilled will be 

 greatly extended. 



Plow, Harrow and Bisk 



2. Thorough tillage, including deep 

 plowing, thorough cultivation of the en- 

 tire furrow slice, and thorough surface 

 tillage through the growing season, where 

 possible, is essential in order to hold the 

 moisture and destroy weeds. 



A healthy plant develops a very large 

 root system compared to the top of the 

 plant, develops it very rapidly and in all 

 directions. With ordinary crops every 

 cubic inch of soil to' the depth of four feet 

 will be penetrated with fine roots before 

 the plants have made their growth, if the 

 soil is in condition for such development. 

 The magnitude of the portion above the 

 ground, in other words "the drop," will 

 depend upon the freedom with which the 

 roots may develop and the completeness 

 with which they may occupy the soil. 

 The feeding capacity of the plant varies 

 with the extent of its root system. The 

 seed bed should come into the homogene- 

 ous condition of a nice bowl of granulated 

 sugar, where a delicate root would find 

 practically no resistance to development 

 in any direction, yet would come into 

 contact with soil particles on every side. 



Yetch, Clover and Peas 



3. Keeping a supply of humus in the 

 soil may be accomplished in two general 

 ways : 



(1). In general farming, the plowing 

 under of a good clover or grass sod every 

 four or five years will usually keep the 

 soil well supplied with organic matter. 

 Many instances are found in the older 

 states where worn-out soils have been 

 brought into a high state of fertility by 

 thorough tillage and the judicious use of 

 clover in a rotation, without the introduc- 

 tion of any outside source of fertility 



