 Chapter 19 of Crops and Methods for Soil Improvement by Alva A. G. This LibriVox recording is in the public domain. Recording by Kay Hand. Chapter 19, Home Mixing of Fertilizers. The Practice of Home Mixing. The business of compounding fertilizers has been involved in a great deal of unnecessary mystery. Many of our best station scientists have labored to show that the home mixing of fertilizers is a simple and profitable piece of work, and the heaviest users of fertilizers in the east now buy unmixed materials, but a majority of farmers use the factory mixed. Manufacturers are right in their contention that many people do not know what materials are best for their own fields or what proportions are best, but the purchase of mixed materials does not solve their problem, and it does not help them to a solution as quickly as home mixing. The source of the plant food in the factory mixed goods is not known, while it is known in the home mixed. Effectiveness of Home Mixing. Vans like, says, Fertilizers and Crops, page 477. Manufacturers of fertilizers and their agents have persistently sought to discourage the practice of home mixing, but their statements cannot be accepted as the evidence of disinterested parties. It has been represented to farmers that peculiar and mysterious virtues are imparted to the plant food constituents by proper mixing, and that really proper mixing can be accomplished only by means not at the command of farmers. Such statements are misrepresentations based either upon the ignorance of the person who makes them, or upon his determination to sell commercial mixed goods. Criticisms of Home Mixing. The manufacturer's advocate formerly laid much stress upon the danger attending the treatment of bones and rock with sulfuric acid. That is a business of itself, and the home mixer has nothing to do with it. He buys on the market the acidulated bone or rock just as a manufacturer makes his purchase. It is claimed that the manufacturer renders a great public service by using supplies of plant food that the home mixer would not use, and thus conserves the world's total supply. Let us see the measure of the truth in the statement. The manufacturer gets his supply of phosphoric acid from rock, bone, or tankage exactly as does the home mixer. His potash he buys from the syndicate owning the German beds, and the farmer does the same. These sources must contribute all the phosphoric acid and potash used on land if we accept trifling supplies of ashes, moral, etc. And the only difference in the transaction is that in one case the manufacturer buys the materials and mixes them, and in the other case the farmer buys them direct and mixes them. The remaining constituent is the nitrogen. If the manufacturer uses nitrate of soda, sulfate of ammonia, bones, tankage, or manufactured nitrogen, he does what the home mixer may do. Most nitrogen must come from these sources. If all came from these sources, the increased demand would not affect the price. The beds of nitrate of soda will last for hundreds of years, the present waste in ammonia from coal is immense, and the supply of manufactured nitrogen can be without limit. The saving in use of inert and low-grade forms of nitrogen is more profitable to the manufacturer than to the farmer who buys and pays freight on low-grade materials. The rather remarkable argument is advanced that fertilizer manufacturers do not make a large percent on their investment despite the perfection of their equipment, and therefore the farmer cannot find it profitable to mix his materials at home. By the same reasoning, assuming for the moment that the profit in manufacturing does not pay a heavy dividend on all the stock issued, if a great hotel does not find its dining room a source of profit, as many hotels do not, no private home should hope to prepare meals for its own members in competition with hotels. As has been stated, every user of commercial fertilizer should learn what a pound of plant food in unmixed material would cost him, selecting the common materials that are the only chief sources. If he can buy a pound of nitrogen in nitrate of soda or sulfate of ammonia, a pound of phosphoric acid in acid phosphate or esteemed bone, and a pound of potash in myriad or sulfate of potash for less than they would cost in the factory mixed goods offered him, allowing to himself a dollar or so a ton for the labor of mixing, it is only good business to buy the unmixed materials. The savings usually is from five to ten dollars a ton, accepting only interest on money, as he would pay cash for the unmixed material. The cost of bags always is mentioned. That is not to be considered by the farmer as he uses the bags in which the unmixed materials come to him. The filler. There has been much misleading use of the word filler as applies to fertilizers. We have seen that a pure grade of dried blood contains about 13% of nitrogen. The buyer of a ton of dried blood thus gets about 260 pounds of plant food. The remaining 1,740 pounds constitute what may be called nature's filler. The blood is a good fertilizer. We do not buy nitrogen in a pure state. We buy a ton of material to get the needed 260 pounds of nitrogen. Thus it is with nitrate of soda, sulfate of ammonia, acid phosphate, muriate and sulfate of potash, and all other fertilizer materials. As freight must be paid upon the entire ton, it usually pays best to select materials that run high in percentage of plant food. It is possible to get very low grade fertilizers that have not had any foreign material added by the manufacturer. An acid phosphate may be poor in phosphoric acid because low grade rock was used in its manufacture. Canot is a low grade potash because the impurities have not been taken out. Filler may be used, however, for two reasons and one is legitimate. When limestone or similar material is used merely to add weight, reducing the value per ton, the practice is reprehensible. The extent of this practice is less than many suppose, preference being given to the use of low grade materials in making very low priced fertilizers. A legitimate use of filler is to give good physical condition to a fertilizer. Some materials such as nitrate of soda and muriate of potash take up moisture and then become hard. The addition of peat or limestone or other absorbent is necessary to keep the mass in condition for drilling. The use of some steamed animal bone or high grade tankage in the mixture helps to prevent caking. The home mixer can use a dryer without loss as he does not pay freight upon it. Dry road dust will serve his purpose. His need of a dryer may be greater than that of the manufacturer as he probably will use only high grade unmixed materials. If the use of the home mixture is immediate, no dryer to prevent caking is needed, but its presence facilitates drilling. Storage of unmixed materials in a dry place is an aid in maintaining good condition. Ingredients in the mixture The matters of interest to the farmer are the determination of the amounts of nitrogen, phosphoric acid, and potash that he should apply to a particular field, their availability, and their cost. Let us assume that he has found 300 pounds of a fertilizer containing 3% nitrogen, 10% phosphoric acid, and 6% potash to be an excellent application for wheat on a thin soil that is to be seeded to clover and Timothy. This fertilizer contains 3 pounds of nitrogen to each 100 pounds. He applies 300 pounds of the fertilizer per acre or 9 pounds of nitrogen. The fertilizer contains 10 pounds of phosphoric acid to the 100 pounds. He thus applies 30 pounds of phosphoric acid per acre. The fertilizer contains 6 pounds of potash per 100 pounds and he therefore applies 18 pounds per acre. What he has really learned then is that an acre of this land when seeded to wheat needs 9 pounds of nitrogen, 30 pounds of phosphoric acid, and 18 pounds of potash. It is in these terms he should do his thinking and the matter of fertilization becomes simple. In the general farming of the Pennsylvania Experiment Station, it is the practice to depend upon nitrate of soda as the source of a fertilizer for wheat. Manufacturers claim that sulfate of ammonia and tankage would be better. The farmer soon will learn what he prefers for his soil, provided he practices home mixing. Let us assume that he uses nitrate of soda, which never varies much from 15% in its content of nitrogen. If 100 pounds of nitrate contain 15 pounds of nitrogen, the 9 pounds wanted for an acre will be found in 9 15ths of 100 pounds or 60 pounds. 30 pounds of phosphoric acid are wanted for an acre. If the acid phosphate contains 14% of phosphoric acid or 14 pounds to the 100, the required amount will be 30 14ths of 100 or 214 pounds. 18 pounds of potash are wanted for an acre. The myriad of potash on our market never varies much from 50% in its content of potash. If 100 pounds of myriad contain 50 pounds of potash to the 100, the required amount wanted will be 18 50ths of 100 or 36 pounds. Adding these 60, 214 and 36 pounds, we have 310 pounds for the acre of land. If the field contains 20 acres, the order will call for 20 times the 60 pounds of nitrate of soda, 20 times the 214 pounds of acid phosphate, and 20 times the 36 pounds of potash. If the farmer prefers to use sulfate of ammonia, which varies little from 20% of nitrogen or 20 pounds in the 100, he will get his 9 pounds of a nitrogen for an acre by buying 9 20ths of 100 pounds or 45 pounds. And the substitution of the 45 pounds of sulfate of ammonia for the 60 pounds of nitrate of soda will reduce the total application of fertilizer per acre from 310 pounds to 295 pounds. The important fact is that in either case there is the required amount of nitrogen. Let us assume that the field contains enough nitrogen but other needs remain the same. In such case the nitrogen is dropped out and the application becomes 250 pounds per acre. The home mixer may substitute tankage of guaranteed analysis for part of the nitrogen and phosphoric acid. Let us assume that the tankage runs 9% nitrogen and 20% phosphoric acid. If half the required nitrogen per acre or 4.5 pounds is wanted in tankage, 50 pounds of the tankage will supply it. At the same time the 50 pounds of tankage supplies 10 pounds of phosphoric acid, replacing 1 third of the 214 pounds of acid phosphate. We thus have for the acre 30 pounds of nitrate of soda, 50 pounds of tankage, 143 pounds of acid phosphate and 36 pounds of potash or 259 pounds. The content of plant food remains the same but one half of the nitrogen is only slowly available. The farmer who buys unmixed materials will incline to use only a few kinds and at first he will confine himself chiefly to materials whose composition varies little. In this way he quickly sees in a ton of the material not the whole bulk but the definite number of pounds of nitrogen and other constituents of plant food contained in it and the calculations in home mixing become simple. Materials that should not be combined. The advocate of factory mixed goods warns the farmer against the dangers of making combinations of materials that will cause loss by chemical action. The danger is wholly imaginary if no form of lime, wood ashes or basic slag is used in the home mixtures. As has been said, some materials will harden if permitted to absorb moisture and if the mixture must stand a few hundred pounds of muck or dry road dust should be added to each ton as a dryer and a correspondingly larger amount per acre should be applied. Making a good mixture. The process of mixing is simple and careful station tests have shown that it is fully as effective as factory mixing. The unmixed materials should be kept in a dry place until the mixing is done. If there are any coarse lumps, a wooden tamper can crush them on the barn floor and the material should be passed through a sand screen. The material of largest bulk should be spread on the floor and the other materials should be put on in layers. Three careful turnings with a shovel will secure good mixing. Scales should be used to secure accuracy and desired amounts of the materials. Buying unmixed materials. Acid phosphate, animal bone and tankage can be bought of any fertilizer agent but when one pays cash he does well to get quotations from various leading manufacturers. The names of dealers and nitrate of soda can be secured from the New York agency which keeps its address before the public in agricultural papers. This is likewise true in the cases of the syndicate controlling all the potash. When the addresses of leading distributors of all the needed materials have been secured quotations should be obtained on a cash basis. The best terms are obtained by groups of men combining their orders. End of chapter 19. Chapter 20 of crops and methods for soil improvement by Alva Agee. This LibriVox recording is in the public domain. Recording by Kay Hand. Chapter 20 mixtures for crops. Composition of plant not a guide. It has been pointed out that a chemical analysis of a soil is not a dependable guide in the selection of a fertilizer. Years ago the theory was advanced that the analysis of the crops desired should be a guide but it has proved nearly worthless. This theory does not take into account the soil's supply of plant food. Moreover a certain crop may demand a large supply of an element at a time of the year when the soil's supply is inactive. The need of nitrogen for grass in the early spring before nitrification in the soil is active is an illustration. Let the causes be what they may. The fertilizer formulas that call for plant food in a fertilizer in the same proportions that it is found in plants are disappointing in their results. The analysis of the plant is not a dependable index. The multiplication of formulas. Fertilizer manufacturers have made all possible combinations of fertilizer materials using them in various quantities. Each manufacturer has given a mixture a brand of his own There is no formula for a soil or crop that will remain absolutely the best even for one particular field. It represents one's judgment of the present need and is employed subject to change just as is the prescription of a physician. It is usually only an approach toward the most profitable amount and kind of plant food that may be supplied. The one important consideration is that no manufacturer can know the need nearly so well as the intelligent farmer who knows the history of his field and constantly tests its ability. A few combinations are safest. It is the best judgment of scientists today that greater results would be obtained from the use of commercial fertilizers if the number of formulas could be reduced to 10 or even a less number. The satisfactory fertilizers fall into three classes. One, the phosphatic fertilizer carrying phosphoric acid to land that gets its nitrogen from clover or stable manure and that continues to supply its own potash. Such a fertilizer should have a high content of phosphoric acid in order that the freight charge per pound of plant food may be as low as possible. Acid phosphate, basic slag and bone are chief in this group. Two, the combination of phosphoric acid and potash that is needed by soils obtaining all required nitrogen from clover or manure. In most instances, the phosphoric acid should run higher than the potash but the percentage of potash should never run lower than four. A lower percentage of potash is not as profitable as a higher one provided any potash is needed. The potash content should be greater than that of the phosphoric acid in case of some sandy soils and of some crops of heavy leaf growth including various garden crops. Three, the so-called complete fertilizer that supplies some nitrogen with the two other plant constituents. Such fertilizer should furnish with few exceptions three percent of nitrogen if no more. Amount of application. In common practice, fertilizers are not applied freely enough when they are used at all. The exception to this rule may be found in the case of small applications to cold and inert soils to force growth in the first few weeks of a plant's life. It is difficult to see how 80 or 100 pounds of fertilizer can affect an acre of land one way or the other but experience teaches that such an amount can do so in respect to young plants. Phosphoric acid has peculiar power in forcing some development of roots in a small plant and a small application in the drill or row may help the plants to gain ability to forage for themselves. In early spring, a small application of nitrate of soda has marked effect, tidying the plants over a period of need until the soil is ready If a soil is not fertile and fertilizers are needed as an important source of plant food throughout the season the application should be liberal. If it is necessary to plant a field that is deficient in fertility, expending labor and money for tillage and seed, the only rational course is to furnish all needed plant food for a good yield. There may be little net profit from the one crop but there will be more than could be obtained without the liberal fertilization and the soil will be better equipped for another crop. This applies in a notable degree to fertilization of a wheat crop with which Timothy and Clover will be seeded. The difference in cost of 350 pounds of a high-grade fertilizer and 150 pounds of a low-grade one when applied to a poor soil under these circumstances may be recovered in the grain crop and at the same time a good sod will be made possible for the permanent improvement of the land. It is a safe business rule that land should be left uncultivated unless enough plant food can be provided in some way for a good yield. The man who cannot incur a heavy fertilizer bill when necessary should restrict acreage for his own sake. Similarity of requirements. Many of our staple crops are very similar in their fertilizer requirements and this simplifies fertilization. Setting aside the impression gained from the dissimilarity in the so-called corn, potato, wheat and grass fertilizers on the market, the farmer knows that the soil which is in a good state of fertility is best for any of them and if the soil is hard run it should have its plant food supply supplemented. The hard run soil usually is lacking and available supplies of all three plant food constituents. If a fertilizer containing 3% of nitrogen, 10% of phosphoric acid and 6% of potash serves the wheat well, it will serve the Timothy that starts in the wheat. Likewise it will serve the corn although a heavier application will be needed because corn is a heavy feeder. Experience has taught that it will serve the potato similarly and that the potato will repay the cost of free use of fertilizer. If the soil is sandy and deficient in potash, the percentage of phosphoric acid may be cut to 8 and the percentage of potash raised to 10 and all these crops will profit thereby. If the nitrogen content in the soil is high none of these crops may need nitrogen in the fertilizer. This is a general principle and it is safe for guidance though the best profit will demand some modification that readily occurs to the farmer as he studies his crops and their rotation. To illustrate, the corn is given the clover side or the manure partly because it requires more plant food than the wheat. It gets the best of the nitrogen and may need only a rock and potash fertilizer while the wheat that follows may need some available nitrogen to force growth in the fall. There is no fixed formula for any field or crop and the point to be made here only is that the requirements of many standard crops do not have the dissimilarity usually supposed except in respect to quantity. A marked exception is found in the oat crop which does not bear the application of much nitrogen and often fares well on the remains of the manure that fed the corn if some phosphoric acid is added. Maintaining fertility A heavy clover side gives assurance that a good crop of corn or potatoes can be grown if the amount of plant food in the sod is not excessive a heavy crop of wheat can be produced. The condition of the soil favors many crops. The clover has placed it upon a productive basis for the time being. The object that should be kept in view when a scheme of soil fertilization is worked out is the maintenance of such a state of fertility that the land can be depended upon for whatever crop comes around in the rotation. When a 3, 10, 6 fertilizer or a 3, 8, 10 fertilizer is used, the effect upon a thin soil is to restore it temporarily to this good cropping power the size of the application varying with the crop. A richer soil may want the phosphoric acid and potash without the nitrogen. A manure soil may need only the phosphoric acid. The purpose of the fertilizer in any case is maintenance or increase of fertility and when this object has been secured the crop may be whatever the rotation calls for. It is this rational scheme that gives success to the Pennsylvania Station's methods on some of its test plots. A given amount of plant food is put upon the land, which is under a 4 years rotation. One half of it is applied every second year. The corn gets one half because it can use it to advantage. The oat crop that follows finds enough fertility because the soil is good. Next in the rotation is the wheat and the wheat and Timothy and clover plants can use fertilizer with profit. There is no change in its character in the soil that is giving the assistance and not primarily just one crop in a rotation. The land in this experiment that is well fertilized is more productive than it was 30 years ago although no manure has been applied and it is the general productive condition that assures good yields and not chiefly any one application of fertilizer. Fertilizer for grass. A fertile soil will make a good sod. A thinner soil should have a liberal dressing of complete fertilizer at seeding time and the formula that has been suggested is excellent for this purpose. If a succession of Timothy hay crops is desired, the problem of maintaining fertility is wholly changed. The nitrogen supplied by the clover is soon exhausted and the Timothy sod must be kept thick and heavy until broken where the soil will not have its supply of organic matter maintained. Nitrogen must be supplied freely and phosphoric acid and potash must likewise be given the soil. The draft upon the soil is heavy and at the same time the effort should be to have a sod to be broken for corn that will produce a big crop without the use of any fertilizer. The grass is the natural crop to receive the plant food because its roots fill the ground and the corn should get its food from the rotting sod when broken. Station tests have shown that a sod can be caused to increase improductiveness for several years by means of annual applications of the right combinations of plant food in the early spring. 150 pounds of nitrate of soda 150 pounds of acid phosphate and 50 pounds of myriad of potash is excellent. This gives nearly the same quantity each of nitrogen, phosphoric acid and potash and is near a 777 fertilizer. The only material change in relative amounts of plant food constituents when compared with a 310-6 and a 38-10 fertilizer is in the increase of nitrogen due to the heavy drafts made by continuous mowing of Timothy. This fertilizer should be used as soon as any green appears in the grass field in the spring after the year of clover harvest. The large amount of nitrogen makes this an unprofitable fertilizer for clover and its use is not advised until the spring of the year in which Timothy will be harvested. All the nitrogen from clover The Pennsylvania station has shown in a test of 30 years that when good clover is grown in a 4 years rotation of corn, oats, wheat and clover the fertility of the naturally good clay loam soil may be maintained and even slightly increased without the use of any manure or purchased nitrogen. Phosphoric acid and potash have been applied and the clover hay crop has been taken off the land. This result has been possible only by means of good clover sods. If there had been no applications of phosphoric acid and potash the clover would have failed to maintain fertility as is proved by other plots in this experiment. No one should continue to depend upon such a scheme of plant fertile whenever he finds that the clover is not thriving. Method of applying fertilizers If a fertilizer is used in small amount with the purpose of merely giving the plant a start it should be near the seed. If the application is heavy and the roots of the plant spread upon all sides the fertilizer as a rule should be applied to all the ground and should be mixed with the surface soil. This puts the plant food where needed and saves from danger of injury to the seed through contact. Seeming exception may be found in the case of the potato but usually some close tillage confines its roots to the row for a time. Experience indicates that when a potato fertilizer does not exceed 500 pounds per acre it may well be put into the row but a heavier application should be divided one half being broadcasted or drilled into the surface and the other half of the application being made in the row. And excess of nitrogen. Too much nitrogen due to heavy drying or other cause produces an excessive growth of stalk or straw at the expense of grain production in the case of corn, wheat and other cereals. It produces a rank growth of potato vines and partial failure of the crop of tubers. It produces a tender growth of straw or vine that invites injury from fungus diseases. It is the rule that soils have a deficiency in nitrogen but when there is an excess the best cure comes through use of such crops as Timothy, cabbage and silage corn. Heavy applications of rock and potash fertilizers assist in recovery of right conditions but are not wholly effective until exhaustive crops have removed some of the nitrogen. And of Chapter 20 Chapter 21 of Crops and Methods for Soil Improvement by Alva A.G. This LibriVox recording is in the public domain recording by Kay Hand Chapter 21. Tillage. A physical condition of the soil. Successful cropping of land is dependent upon favoring soil conditions. The plants to be grown must have ease in root extension so that their food may be found. There must be moisture to hold the food in solution. There must be air. There must be destruction of plants that would be competitors of the ones desired. A soil rarely is in prime condition for the planting and growth of any crop without some change in its structure by means of tillage and it does not remain in the best condition for any long period of time. If the number of plants required per acre for a crop is relatively small, tillage of the soil is continued after planting. If the necessary number makes tillage impossible, there is some loss in conditions most favorable to the plant. The particles of soil settle together and there is loss of water at the surface. Most plants want a mellow soil and tillage is in large part an effort to make and to keep the condition of the soil friendly to plant life in this respect. The wide variation in methods of tillage are due to the great differences in the texture and structure of soils and to the habits of plants and skill in selection of methods is a measure of the intelligence used in farming. The Breaking Plow Land can be enough clay to give it an excellent soil and clines to become firm. During the growth of a crop when plant roots fill the soil and prevent deep stirring, the particles pack closely together limiting the power of the land to make fertility available. The presence of organic matter counteracts in part this packing tendency, but there are few soils that remain permanently mellow. The Breaking Plow is used to loosen the soil and to undo the firming that has been taking place while plant roots prevented deep tillage. The same time the Plow may be used to bury organic matter below the surface, affording a clean seed bed. In some soils it has value in bringing inert soil to the surface and in mixing the soil constituents. Types of Plows The kind and condition of the soil and the character of the crop determine the type of Plow to be used. A Plow with a short and quite straight mold board does not bury manure and turf in the bottom of the furrow so completely as is the case with a long curved mold board. The organic matter should be distributed throughout all the soil. On the other hand it is essential to some plants that they have a fine seed bed and one whose surface is free from tufts of grass. The long mold board is preferred in breaking a sod for corn. Its use in plowing for all crops is more general than it should be. The gain in pulverization of the furrow slice due to the curve and the neatness and appearance of the plowed land inducing its use. The disc plow has been used chiefly in soils not requiring deep plowing. It pulverizes better than a mold board plow and buries trash more easily. The device for using two discs to turn a single furrow slice rests upon a sound principle. This plow may be set to run deeper than mold board plows go and it mixes well all the soil that it turns. The discs are so hung that the mixing of all the soil to a depth of 12 or 15 inches is admirable. The deep tilling plow does not bury the organic matter in the bottom of the furrow and thereby permits the deepening of the soil without bringing an undue amount of subsoil to the surface. Subsoiling The theory of subsoiling always has been captivating. Most soils are too shallow, inviting injury from drought. Enthusiasm regarding subsoiling comes to large numbers of farmers at some time in their experience and a great number of subsoil plows have been bought. The check to enthusiasm is the fact that few men ever have seen such a plow worn out. Some reasons are as follows A. The subsoil at time of spring plowing rarely is dry enough for good results and there is danger of puddling. B. The subsoil often is too dry and hard in late summer when rain permits easy breaking of the topsoil for fall grain. C. The work doubles the labor and time of plowing and D. The subsoil soon settles together because it contains little organic matter. Subsoiling is generally approved and literal practiced. Land at plow depth becomes packed by the tramping of horses upon it and the pressure of the plow when the plowing is done at the same depth year after year and in some soils subsoiling has been found distinctly valuable. Time of plowing In great measure the time of plowing is determined by the effect upon soil moisture and is discussed in the next chapter. Method of plowing The depth of plowing should be fixed largely by the amount of organic matter in the soil. It is essential that a good percentage of this material should be mixed throughout the soil and when it is in scant supply the depth of plowing usually should not be great. Fertile soil should be plowed deep for their own good and thin soils should be deepened gradually as sides and manures afford a supply of humus making material. Even when manure is used liberally in a single application on a poor soil, a large amount of inert subsoil should not be thrown upon the surface. The manure goes out of reach of the greatest need which is in the surface soil where plant life starts. A gradual process of deepening the soil is to be preferred, but such deepening should not be neglected. The subsoil is a store of inert fertility that should not remain dormant. It may not do to say that the success of the best farmers is due to thoroughness in plowing but it is true that the more successful ones are insistent that the plowing be absolutely thorough. Every inch of the soil should be stirred to a certain depth and that requires a plow so set that it does not turn a furrow slice much wider than the point can cut. Evenness in depth and width of furrow is seen in good plowing. The disc harrow. The purpose of the plow is to break up the soil so that it will be crumbly and mellow. The frequency with which land should be thoroughly stirred to full plow depth depends upon the condition of the soil and the character of the crops. Oftentimes a disc or cutaway harrow may replace the plow. Its action is the same as that of the plow loosening and turning the soil over. When land has had a good plowing within the year and has not become compact, stirring to a depth of four inches may give a better seed bed for some crops than could be made by use of a plow. This is true of land that has produced a cultivated crop and is being prepared for a fall seeding. The gain in time of preparing ground for oats in the spring makes the use of the disc or harrow profitable on mellow corn stubble land. There is temptation to carry the substitution of the disc harrow for the breaking plow too far. Its use alone would have the same effect as poor plowing, reducing the depth of the soil. The surface soil down to plow depth is the chief feeding ground for plants because it is kept in good tilth by organic matter and tillage. The depth of this soil affects the amount of available plant food and water. The duration of time between deep plowings depends upon the soil and the crops. Experience shows that when the land has been broken for corn or potatoes or beans or similar crop, the one plowing may be sufficient for a succeeding crop. If grass is not seeded with a succeeding crop, it is best to give another thorough plowing before seeding to grass in August if the soil is heavy. But in naturally loose soils, a disc harrow makes a better seed bed. Two influences favor such undue dependence upon a disc harrow that a soil may become shallow. The cost of preparing the seed bed is reduced and the saving in moisture may give a better stand of plants when the harrow takes the place of the plow. The immediate productiveness of a crop is not an insurance that the method is right. Consideration for the good of the land must be shown. Depth of soil is a requirement of a good agriculture and deep plowing is a means to that end. The looseness of the soil and the character of the season may make substitution right in one instance and wrong in another. Deep soils well filled with organic matter will bear shallow preparation of a seed bed more frequently than thin soils, and yet it is the latter that may profit most by having its best part kept near the surface at the time a new sod must be made. The disc harrow has some place as a substitute for a plow, but when its use results in making a soil more shallow, the harm is a most serious one. Cultivation of plants A soil would remain mellow throughout the season, there usually would be no reason to disturb the roots of plants by any deep stirring, and all tillage would only be deep enough to make a mulch of earth for the retention of moisture and to destroy all weeds. Soils containing enough clay to make them retentive of moisture become too compact when rain beats upon the ground, as usually happens after the planting of spring crops. A deep and close cultivation of corn and potato plants after they appear in the row helps to restore the condition created by the plow and harrow and often is the best practice. There is some sacrifice of roots but the gain far exceeds the loss. It may be necessary to give a second such cultivation when a clay soil is deficient in organic matter but the root pruning is a handicap. Controlling root growth The exception to the rule that plant roots should not be pruned by deep cultivation is found in the case of a close soil in a wet season. The plants extend their roots only in the soil at the surface because the ground is soaked with water nearly all the time. They cannot form far enough below the surface to withstand drought that may follow the wet weather. Good tillage in such a case demands the pruning of the roots and the airing of the soil when the ground is dry enough to permit such stirring and the plants then extend their roots in the lower soil where they rightly belong. Judgment is required to decide when such tillage is desirable but judgment is needed all the time in farming. When a continued period of wet weather affects the position of a plant roots it rarely is advisable not to risk deeper tillage than is given in a normal season. Underdrainage helps to prevent such ill effect of continued rains in the early part of a plant's lifetime. Elimination of competition Weeds pump the water out of the soil, use up available plant food and compete for the sunlight. Tillage is given for several reasons such as the construction of weeds. A weeder which stirs the soil only an inch or two deep is an excellent destroyer of weeds when they are starting but after the weeds are well rooted the weeder acts only as a cultivator for the plants that should be destroyed. Modern cultivators have fine teeth that let the surface remain nearly level and they do their best work when the weeds are small. The use of sweeps should be more general. The blades are so placed that they slip under the surface and the mulch is formed. Length of cultivation Most tilled crops grow rapidly until they shade and mulch the soil. Tillage should continue if possible until this occurs. The exception is in the case of orchard trees and other plants that should not have their period of growth extended late in the fall. Good tillage tends to increase the lateness of a crop by encouraging growth. The new wood of trees may not become hardy enough to withstand the frost of winter continued. Early maturity is hastened by exhaustion of soil, moisture, and plant food. End of Chapter 21 Chapter 22 of Crops and Methods for Soil Improvement by Alva A.G. This LibriVox recording is in the public domain. Recording by Kay Hand Chapter 22 Control of Soil Moisture Value of water in the soil The amount of water in the soil each day of the growing season is in large measure the possibility of securing a profitable crop from land. Observant farmers have noticed often times that the differences in yield on the farms of a region are less in a wholly favorable season than in one of deficient rainfall. The skill of the farmer in conserving the moisture supply in a wet season is less well-repaid because it is less needed. The poverty of a worn soil is less marked in a favorable season. The land is accounted poor because the supply of plant food is inadequate for a droughty year in which a considerable percentage of the time produces little growth but most agricultural land has enough plant food for a fairly good crop when water is present all the time to carry daily supplies into the roots. It is the amount of moisture in the soil that is the limiting factor in the case of most land that is not in a high state of productiveness. The soil, a reservoir The rains of the summer generally are adequate to the needs of growing plants. Some water runs off the surface some passes down through crevices beyond the effect of capillary attraction and much quickly evaporates. The part that becomes available is only a supplement to the store of water made by the rains of the fall, winter, and early spring. If the soil were viewed as a medium for the holding of water to meet the daily needs of plants and were given rational treatment on this basis a long step toward higher productiveness would have been taken. As has been stated, rotted organic matter gives a soil more capacity for holding water. It is an absorbent in itself and it puts clays and sands into better physical condition for the storage of moisture. An unproductive soil may need organic matter for this one reason alone more than it may need actual plant food. Fall plowing for a spring crop enables land to withstand summer's drought if it gains in physical condition from the exposure to the winter's frost. It is in condition to take up more water from spring rains than would be the case if it lay compact and it does not lose water by the airing in the spring that plowing gives. Early spring plowing leaves land less subject to drought than does later plowing. As the air becomes heated the open spaces left by the plowing serve to hasten the escape of moisture. If a cover crop is plowed down late in the spring the bottom of the furrow makes the land less resistant to drought because the union of the topsoil with the subsoil is less perfect and capillary attraction is retarded. It is usually good practice to sacrifice some of the growth of a cover crop even when organic matter is badly needed and to plow fairly early in the spring in order that the moisture supply may be conserved. The land roller The breaking plow is a robber of soil water when used in warm weather. The air carries the water away rapidly. The air spaces are large. The corrective of this condition is the land roller. It presses the soil together driving out the excess of air. Large crumbs are pressed down into the mass and are kept from drying into hard clods. The roller never should be used on land when fresh plowed in a moist condition and it is not needed after fall plowing or early spring plowing in most instances. But land broken when the season is advanced can be rolled before much water evaporates. The plank drag An excellent implement on a farm is the plank drag. It is usually made of overlapping heavy planks and when floated over the surface it both pulverizes and packs the soil. The effectiveness is controlled by the weight placed upon it and often times the drag is to be preferred to the roller. The mulch In conserving the supply of water in the soil supplies an important work. The dry air is constantly taking up the water from the surface of the land and when the surface is drier than the soil below the moisture moves upward if there is no break in the structure of the surface soil. The mulch is a covering of material that does not readily permit the escape of water. The only available material for a mulch in most instances is the soil itself. Experience is taught that when the top layer of soil to a depth of 2 or 3 inches is made fine and loose the water beneath it cannot escape readily. It is partly for this reason that the smoothing harrow should follow the roller after land has been plowed. The plow is used to break up the soil into crumbs that will permit air to enter. The loosening is excessive when the planting must follow soon permitting rapid escape of water. The roller or plank drag is employed to compress the soil and to crush crumbs of soil that are too large for good soil conditions. The harrow follows to make a mulch of fine loose soil at the surface to assist in prevention of evaporation. A sandy soil will retain its mulch in effective condition for a longer time than a fine clay if no rain falls. When the air is laden with moisture clay particles absorb enough water to pack together and form an avenue for the rise of water to the surface where the dry air has access to it. Mulches of foreign material The truth that moisture is a leading factor in soil effectiveness is evidenced by the value of straw and similar material as a mulch. A covering of straw around trees in an orchard or bush fruits or such plants as the potato may give better results than an application of fertilizer when no effort is made to prevent the escape of water. People so situated that little attention can well be given to the fruit and vegetable garden obtain good results by placing tillage with a substantial mulch that keeps the soil mellow, growth, and retains an abundant supply of water. In grain producing districts where all the straw is not needed as an absorbent in the stables its use as a mulch on thin grass lands or wheat fields seeded to grass is more profitable than conversion into manure by rotting in a barnyard. The straw affords protection from the sun and aids in the conservation of soil water when scattered evenly in no larger amount than 2 tons per acre and a less amount per acre has value. The sod is helped and as the straw rots its plant food goes into the soil. Plowing straw down the practice of plowing straw under as a manure is unsafe when used in any large quantity per acre. It rots slowly and while lying in the bottom of the furrow it cuts off the rise of water from the subsoil which is a reservoir of moisture for use during drought. The summer fallow rare land loses in total plant food but may make a temporary gain in available fertility. The practice of leaving a field uncropped for an entire season has been abandoned in good farming regions. Where moisture is in scant supply and a soil is thin they are continue instances of the summer fallow. In a crop rotation containing corn and wheat the corn stubble land is left unbroken until May or June and then plowed. In August it is plowed again and fitted with seeding to wheat. The practice favors the killing of weeds and the soil at seeding time may contain more water than would have been the case if a crop had been produced because its mellow condition enables the farmer to hold within it nearly all the moisture that a shower may furnish after the second plowing. The modern fallow the modern method of making a grass seeding in August partakes of the nature of the old fashioned summer fallow. The desire is to eradicate weeds, plant and plant food and fit the soil to profit by even a light rainfall. Then soils lend themselves well to this treatment which is described in Chapter 8 and there is no better method for fertile land. The benefit of the fallow is obtained without serious loss of time. End of Chapter 22 Chapter 23 of Crops and Methods for Soil Improvement by Alva A.G. This LibriVox recording is in the public domain. Recording by Kay Hand Chapter 23 Drainage Under Drainage There are great swamps and small ones whose water should be carried off by open ditches. Our present interest is in the wet field of the farm the cold wet soil of an entire field the soil lying between areas of well drained land the side of a field kept wet by seepage from higher land and here the right solution of the troubling problem lies in under drainage an excess of water in the soil robs the land owner of chance of profit it excludes the air sealing up the plant food so that crops cannot be secured. It keeps the ground cold. It destroys the good physical condition of the soil that may have been secured by much tillage causing the soil particles to pack together. It compels plant roots to form at the surface of the ground it delays seeding and cultivation an excess of water is more disheartening than absolute soil poverty. The remedy is only in its removal. The level of dead water in the soil must be below the surface three feet two and one half feet four feet some reasonable distance that will make possible a freeable aerated warm friendly feeding ground for plant roots only under drainage can do this. Counting the cost thorough under drainage is costly but it is less so than the farming of fields whose productiveness is seriously limited by an excess of water. The work means an added investment estimates of cost can be made with fair accuracy and estimates of resulting profit can be made without any assurance of accuracy. The farmer with some wet land does well to gain experimental knowledge and base future work upon such experience he knows that he cannot afford to cultivate wet land and the problem before him is to leave it to produce what grass it can produce or find profit in drainage he has the experience of others that the investment in drainage is more satisfactory than most other investments if land has any natural fertility. He has assurance that debt incurred for drainage is the safest kind of debt an owner of wet land can incur. He has a right to expect profit from the undertaking and he can begin the work in a small way if an outlet is at hand and learn what return may be expected from further investment. Almost without fail will he become an earnest advocate of under drainage where returns are largest. The total area of land needing drainage is immense swamps form only a small part of this area yields of much old farmland are limited by the excess of water during portions of the year as land becomes older the area needing drainage increases. The owner of wet land does well to gain his first experience in a field where a swale or other wet strip not only fails to produce crop but limits the yield of the remainder of the field by delaying planting and cultivation. This double profit often is sufficient to repay cost in a single year. Material for the drains doubtless there are places and times when stone or boards or brush should be used in construction of under drains but they are relatively few in number such under drains lack permanency as a rule though some stone drains are effective for a long time. If drain tile can be obtained at a reasonable price it should be used even in fields that have an abundance of stone. Its use requires less labor than that of stone and when properly laid on a good bottom it continues effective. There is no known limit to the durability of a drain made of good tile. The outlet The value of any drainage system is dependent upon the outlet. Its location is the first thing to be determined. If the land is nearly flat a telescope level should be used to determine elevations of all low points in the land to be drained. The outlet should permit a proper fall throughout the length of the system and it should not require attention after the work is completed. If it is in the bank of a stream or ditch it should be above the normal level of the water in the stream. In times of heavy rainfall water may back up into the main with no injury other than temporary failure to perform its work but continuous submersion will lead to deposits of silt that may close the tile. Locating main and branches There are various systems of drainage where ever a branch or lateral joins the main the means of drainage is duplicated within the area that the main can drain and the system should call for the least possible waste of this sort. It usually is best that the main take the center line of the low land laterals being used to bring the water to the main from both sides but there is less duplication of work when the main can be at one side of the wet land. Branches of the main may be needed to reach remote parts of the area. The laterals Small lines of tile are used to bring the water to the main when the wet land extends beyond the influence of the main. The distance between these laterals depends upon their depth and the nature of the land. A tight clay soil will not let water pass laterally more than a rod or 20 feet compelling the placing of the drains not over 40 feet apart while an open soil may permit a distance of 60 or more feet between laterals. Size of tile The size of the main depends upon the area that eventually may be drained the amount of overflow from higher land the nature of the soil and the grade of the drain. It is a common mistake to make the main too small because the drainage immediately contemplated is less than that which will be desired when its value is known. In the determination of the size the judgment of an expert is needed and if this cannot be had the error should be on the side of safety. If the main will not be required to carry overflow from other land and has a fall of 3 inches to 100 feet one may assume that a 6 inch main will carry the surplus water from 12 to 20 acres of land and an 8 inch main will carry the water of twice that area. Some drainage experts figure larger areas for such mains but there is danger of loss of crop when the rainfall is very heavy. The laterals need not be larger than 3 inches in diameter when laid on a good bottom. Kind of tile When clay tile is used it should be well burned. Some manufacturers offer soft tile for sale as the loss from warping and cracking is less in case of insufficient burning. The claim may be made that the efficiency of soft tile is greater than that of the hard tile whose porosity has been destroyed. This is an error as the water enters the drain at the joints and not through the walls of the tile. Underdrainage should be permanent in its character and it is essential that every piece of tile be sound and well burned. Vitrified clay tile is good for drainage but no better than common clay hard burned. Round or octagonal tile is the most desirable because it can be turned in laying to secure the best joints. Collars are not needed in ordinary drainage. Cement tile is coming into general use in regions having no good clay. Its durability has not been tested but there is no apparent reason that it should not be a good substitute for clay. The grade The outlet may fix the grade. If it does not the main branches and laterals should have a fall of 3 inches or more to the 100 feet. This grade ensures against deposits of silt and gives good capacity to the drains. If the outlet demands less fall in the system the main may be laid on a grade of only half an inch to the 100 feet with satisfactory results. Such a small fall should be accepted only when a lower outlet cannot be secured and grade care should be used in grading a trench and laying the tile. Establishing a grade If the grades are light they should be established by the use of a telescope level. Most of the cheap levels are a delusion. A stake driven flush with the surface of the ground at the outlet becomes the starting point and by its side should be driven a witness stake. Every 100 feet along the line of the proposed drain and laterals similar stakes should be driven. Their level should be then taken and when the fall from the head of the system to the outlet is known the required cut at each 100 feet station is easily determined. It may be necessary to reduce or increase the grade at some point to get proper depth in a depression or to save cutting when passing through a ridge. Cutting the trenches There are ditch digging machines that do efficient work. The best are costly. Most of the work on farms will continue to be done with ditching spades. The ground should be moved when wet so that labor can be saved. A line should be used to secure a straight side to the trench. The grade should be obtained by means of a system of strings. If two light poles be pushed into the ground at each 100 feet station, one on either side of the proposed trench and a string be drawn across at a point 5.5 feet above the bottom of the proposed trench. These strings will be in a line on a grade 5.5 feet above the grade the drain will have. As the cut at the station is known, the height of the string above the top of the stake is easily determined. These strings will reveal any inaccuracy in the survey. The workmen can test every part of the bottom of the trench by use of a rod 5.5 feet high. The top end being exactly in line with the strings when the lower end is placed on the correct grade of the trench. This device is better than running water where grades are slight. A drain scoop should be used in the bottom of the trench to make a resting place for the tile to prevent any displacement by the soil when the trench is filled. Depth of Trenches Under drains may be placed too deep in closed soils for best results. In an early day it was advised that the drains be put down 4 feet deep. We now know that a tight clay soil may give best results from a drain only 28 inches deep or even a little less. A looser soil 3 feet is a better depth and in porous swamp lands the drain may well go 4 feet deep thus permitting increase in distance between drains. Connections The laterals should enter the branches and mains near the top so that the water will be drawn out rapidly. The tile should be laid with close joints at the top so that the water may enter more freely from the sides than the top. No covering other than moist soil is needed unless there is very fine sand when paper over the joints will serve a good purpose. After some moist soil from the sides of the trench upon the tile the trench may be filled by use of a breaking plow or winged scraper. Permanency Desired The expense of under drain inch demands care in every detail of the work. The grade of the trenches should be carefully tested. Every piece of tile should be examined. The outlet should be guarded against displacement or entrance by animals. A good plan is to lay the last few pieces of tile in a close fitting wooden box and to protect the end with iron rods placed two inches apart. If the drain is on a true grade so that no silt will collect there need be no fear concerning its continued efficiency provided water does not run in it all the time. If it carries water from springs continuously plant roots may fill it and tree roots are quite sure to do so when opportunity offers. This is notably true in case of elms and willows but protection is afforded in such an instance by closing the joints with cement. End of Chapter 23 End of Crops and Methods for Soil Improvement by Alva Agee