Excerpt from Farm Animals: Tillage and Cultivation

Harrowing, dragging, rolling, or planking are only continuation processes to pulverize and aerate the soil, to increase the capillarity, preserve the film moisture, and encourage the growth of beneficial soil bacteria by control of soil temperature and ventilation. Harrowing should follow plowing as nearly immediately as possible so that soil moisture may be prevented from escaping, and that the hard parts or clods may be pulverized before they have become hardened by the escape of the soil moisture. Many very successful farmers plow no more soil than can be harrowed the same day. The roller and the planker, because of their weight, press down upon the soil so heavily that the soil parti cles are brought close together, and incidentally crush clods not broken up by the harrow. The harrow or the planker fines the surface. The so-called disc hai row, when set at the proper angle, packs the soil far below the surface and re-establishes capillarity between the plowed and unplowed soil. By packing the subsurface and the surface by the disc har row and the roller or the planker, much can be done to retain soil-moisture and to increase the upward movement of film water. Horses hitched to tillage implements help to compact the soil by walking over it. After the soil has been broken up by plowing, it must be firmed to give root contact and support. Time in preparing a seed-bed is always well spent.

The conditions that favor the growth of the desired crop also favor the growth of weeds, which crowd the cereals and take plant food and soil moisture.

When the seed-bed is well prepared and the seed, wheat, corn, clover, radish, turnip, etc., - is planted, loss of moisture by evaporation and by weed growth must be prevented and air permitted to enter the soil. Cultivation may begin before the plants have appeared above the surface. Harrowing destroys thousands of young weeds and at the same time breaks any crust which a rain and warm sunshine may have caused. When the corn cultivator is first used, it should be set to cultivate deep to allow air to enter the soil and become thoroughly mixed with it; after root development, the cultivation should be shallow, so shallow that the stirring of the soil means nothing more than the making of a mulch or loose soil blanket that will permit air to enter the soil, but will prevent rapid loss of moisture.

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