The progressive farmer and southern farm gazette., November 05, 1910, Page 751, Image 3

About The progressive farmer and southern farm gazette. (Starkville, Miss.) 1910-1920

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$500 More a Year farming: now to Get It
BY FALL PLOWiNG.
Where Fall Plowing is Needed, How it Should He Done, and
the Benefits Derived From It.
By T*it Butler.
T11 tint!. AKci great differences of
opinion among practical men
as to the value of fall plowing.
Many are certain that it has given
them good results, while others equal
ly Intelligent and successful have
found no advantage in fall plowing.
Indeed, not Infrequently has it ap
peared that the fall plowing was an
actual detriment to the crops the fol
lowing year.
Why these differ eat results and
consequent differences of opinion?
It Is easy to Bay, "Oh! the conditions
wero different," but we should he in
terested in finding out what these
differences In conditions actually are
which have produced such greatly
different results. It is safe to state
thnt the natural differences in soils
are not alone responsible. Probably
much more Important factors in de
termining the results of alt plowing
are the manner in which the plow
ing la done and the moisture condi
tion of the soil at the time It was
done. Differences of opinion alBo ex
ist as to the value of subsoiling and,
to a leas extent, as to the advantage
of deep plowing over shallow plow
ing. In the broadest sense, there
are mnn> distinct effects obtained
through plowing, hut In general
terms the object is to put the land
In tho best condition for tho grow
ing of crops. The nearer tho Ideal
crop-grow ing conditions can be reach
ed the better, the cost of the work
in proportion to the Increased yield
being the only consideration limiting
the amount and character of tho
plowing which is desirable, in the
effort to bring about Ideal condi
tions for the growth of the crops.
When IHwp Plowing l'ajrs.
""in tho observation and experience
of the writer, subsoillng. nnd gener
ally speaking, deep plowing, does not
pay in the spring. If done early in
tho spring, tho lower top soil and tho
subsoil are too wot. and If done late
In the spring, when the deep soil is
sufficiently dry to bo worked, the
lnud is left In too loose a condition
for tho crops in dry seasons; nnd in
wet seasons, even if no harm is act
ually done, tho cost of the extra
depth of plowing is ut best lost nnd
gives no returns.
In view of theso facts, we feel pret
ty certain that shallow tpriag plow
ing is more profitable than deep
sprlug plowing.
But we are. nevertheless, con
vinced that much deeper plowing
than is usaaliy practiced is bene
ficial to Southern soils and is protlt
uble if done at the right time. The
right time is, generally speaking,
when the soli is sufficiently dry, and
sufficiently iu advance of the sowing
of a crop to permit the proper set
tling of the soil. Generally theso
conditions are only found in tho late
summer, fall and early winter. If
deop plowing is done, it should gen
erally be fall plowing, and since we
believe iu deep plowing, it neces
sarily follows that we believe in fall
plowing. But what kind of fall plow
ing? It is certain that all kinds of
lands are not benefited by fall plow
ing, and equally certain that all
kinds of fall plowing are not desir
able on any laud.
We believe that shallow plowing,
failure to turn under all the trash
on the land and properly mix It with
the soil, and failure to properly pul
verise the seed bed, are the chief de
fecta in our preparation of the land.
Deep plowing will pay if done in the
fall, or when the deep soil is suffi
ciently dry; it is seldom necessary to
burn the vegetable matter on the
land in order to get it out of the way
of cultivating the crop if the land is
plowed in the fall, and laud plowed
in the fall is more easily pnlverized
for Bpriug plowing. These are im
portant advantages which result
from fall plowing and, to our mind,
the most important, but the pulver
ization of the soil by the freezing
und expansion resulting therefrom is
usually set down as one of the chief
beuents resulting from fall plowing.
This is, no douot, of value, but it is
must not be fall plowed because of
the greater washing which may re
sult, but they need deep plowing,
and this should only be done in the
fall, and fall plowing of the rolling
lands is as necessary or advantageous
as fall plowing of the low lands, if a
winter-growing crop is sowed early
enough to enable it to cover the
ground and prevent the washing
away of the soil by the heavy rains
of winter.
llow Fall Plowing Helps.
When more deep plowing is done
\n the fall there will be less neces
sity for the use of fire in removing
vegetable matter from the land in
the spring, and the crops will be
planted with the soil in much better
condition. Moreover on land plowed
deeply in the fall a disk harrow will
put it in good condition for plant
ing, in the spring, much more rap
idly and cheaply than the land can
be plowed. The results of more fall
plowing may be summed up as fol
lows:
jj
(1) Deep plowing, which is valu
able, may be done at the right time.
TEN THINGS TO DO THIS MONTH.
(1) Gather the cotton as it matures, keep it in the dry after
it Is baled; in boll weevil territory cut down and plow under
the stalks.
(*•) Sow rye on all cotton, corn and other cultivated land
where nothing else is growing.
(d) Iinish wheat sowing; see that the land is well prepared
and the seed good, and sow with a drill, if possible.
(I) l>o some fall plowing; plow deep and thoroughly; use
ut least two horses and a good plow.
(5) Put the stump puller and the mattocks to work and
clean off the fields so improved machinery can be used.
(U) Do some tile draining if you have any wet land. If
you must still use surface ditches, take plow and scraper and
make them broad and shallow so you can cross with teams.
(7) Plant an orchard; set out berries, grapes and small
fruits; plant some shade trees, and make a lawn.
(«) l iv up the barn and sheds so that the live stock will
keep dry and warm. If the whole south side is open, it doesn’t
matter, but the little holes the wind blows through keep stock
uncomfortable.
(D) Study the problems of feeding and find out the grains
tliat it will best pay you to use with the rough feeds you have.
(10) Get some good books and papers for the young folks
to read on long winter evenings; provide some games, and, if
I>ossiblc, music of soiue sort.
probable that on all, except heavy
level soils, the greater injury by
washing ami leaching more than
counterbalances any beiiehts produc
ed by freezing in this climate. Fall
plowed soils should be left rough, if
inclined to be wet, they should be
left in beds or ridges. Level, well
daiued lauds may be broken flat, but
should be left rough.
Now we want to state that we also
believe in plowing rolling lands,
e\eu those inclined to w ash, deep and
early in the fall; but such lands
should have a winter cover crop.
Many seem to think that such lands
(2) Heavy lands are benefited by
the freezing and weathering of win
ter.
m 751
(3) The vegetable matter may be
mixed with the soil so as to not in
terfere with the cultivation of the
crops and burning will be unneces
sary.
(4) A good seed-bed can be pre
pared on fall-plowed lands at less ex
pense and more rapidly than on lands
not broken until spring.
(5) Fall plowing of rolling lands
which they need to prevent washing,
uuiic uccpij , auu ouwiug
of winter cover crops will also be en
couraged because these will be found
necessary to prevent injury to such
fall-plowed lands from washing.
DISK OR MOLDBOARD PLOWS?
A correspondent wants to know If
we would advise the use of a disk
plow when only two 1,100-pound
animals are available to pull it. Un
less the land is light, two horses of
this weight will not be able to pull
a disk plow satisfactorily, and even
in light land, if the plow is run very
deep this amount of team force will
be too light.
The disk plow has certain advan
tages over the moldboard plow, but
for ordinary work a good moldboard
plow will do as satisfactory work.
The disk will plow land when so
hard that it could not be plowed with
the ordinary plow, but it takes more
than two 1,100-pound horses to plow
this kind of land with a disk.
The disk is also superior in Its
ability to turn under large quanti
ties of trash and where the land is
full of small roots the disk will do
work that it would trouble the mold
board plow to do. With sufficient
force the disk plow will probably do
deep plowing better and less of the
raw soil will be turned up on top.
But with, only two horses and for
general farm work we would take a
good two-horse moldboard plow.
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