Show plowing for sugar beets EDITOR I 1 promised in ny last letter eliat I 1 would say a few words concerning the proper method of plowing land for sugar bebis the truth is that there is practically but one proper way of plowing for nearly every crop and that is subsoil sub soil plowing this method is becoming more and more an important factor in cultivating lands among all farmers it consists simply of loosening or breaking up from S to W or even more inches of the boil below the depth of the ordinary plowing in true the lower layers of soil are not thrown ont on the top at all the prairies of the were first plowed it wae sometimes thought desirable to break the sod very shallow then by following in the furrow with the plow so arranged as to throw the comparatively mellow second furrow on top of ha first a layer of loose ground was obtained in which seed could be planted this eo called sub soiling ia in reality but deep plowing and is practicable only upon new ground or in breaking up meadows or pastures which have an exceedingly cee compact turf in ordinary practice the land to be properly sub soiled first be plowed to the usual depth then the subsoil sub soil plow follows in the furrow of the ordinary plow aad is run about 8 inches deeper li it is thought desirable the results can be still better reached by thereafter aub boiling crosswise and running the aub eoll a little deeper than auriti R the first operation in this 12 to 14 inches of the subsoil is thoroughly loosened and ea broken up that roots can easily penetrate end water be easily absorbed by it the main benefits derived from this is I 1 the upper layers of soil are placed in a condition to absorb and bold the greatest possible quantity of water and retain it until needed by the growing crops 2 heat and air are enabled to permeate the eab soil and render avail able the plant food contained therein 3 stirring ip the hard subsoil breaks up the capillary tubes and prevents wasteful evaporation 4 if either by excessive rainfall or careless irrigation an over amount of water is put upon the land the openings made by the plow allows such exceed 0 water to escape to lower 5 inasmuch ae sugar beets attains its best growth from I 1 complete development the denb boiling nivea the plant roots an easier and better opportunity far such development of cauree there may be land upon which sub soiling might be of no very great benefit or even a disadvantage and that ie when the subsoil of the land is already very loos and porous because in such lands the eab soiling would larger passages pase ages through which the rainfall and water would be wasted the whole idea of Buba oiling in fact ie to place the lead in the very best condition possible not only to act as reservoir in retaining a maximum amount of water beat and air but aleo to allow an easy opportunity tor tho straight downward growth of taie root if these conditions exist naturally upon the ground of course skill and labor cannot improve them fields with a compact soil or with a bardean bard pan or those lands which have been plowed to the bame depth for of years thus forming a hard layer at the bottom of the furrow are the ones which most need this mode of culture another thing that should be observed in eab soiling is not to perform such work when be land ie wet as there 1 danger of the soil and thus leave ft in a worse condition than it was beet time to is of ia theall ae hereby ample opportunity la afforded for the locae ground to absorb a great amount of moisture and this is true not only or sub soiling but also of the surface plowing As a matter of proper farming all plowing should be done tu the fall by commencing immediately after harvesting and make a shallow plow furrow of about two or three inches so as to prevent the weada froni going to aeed when thia ia done spread the land with well rotted stable manu reil any manure h used at all and then in the fall plow deep that ia about eight or tea inches then follow with a good subsoil sub soil plow that will stir the subsoil sub soil to a depth ot 6 or 7 binche thua giving an open soil to a depth of from 14 to 17 inches with such a plowing a large tonnage is absolutely insured but when fall plowing has not been done it is advisable to plow as early in the spring as the ground will do to handle without sticking the earlier it can be done the better for several reasons 1 because the sooner the weeds that are in the ground can be in cou raged to grow the sooner more of them can he killed before planting the beets 2 because land plowed while the weather Is cool will retain no n o sture much longer than it will it plowed during warm weather 3 because it is much better to allow the ground to settle ns much as possible after plowing and before the preparation pa ration of the seed bed so that it will become thoroughly packed thus insuring better and quicker germination in the spring never throw up more anan 2 inches of boil that has not been stirred before if your soil has never been plowed over six inches use a subsoil plow to loosen the ground to the proper depth but dont throw the soil up for the reasons I 1 have heretofore stated ot course if you plow tn the fall it makes little difference how much soil is turned up because it would decay in winter through the action of the frost but in spring plowing all the loosening of soil below a depth of 2 inches should be aub soiling and not by ordinary plowing after spring plowing barrow or better drag once and then leave the ground as it is until the time to prepare the aeed bed next week I 1 will cay a few words about ahe necessary preparation of the seed bed E D S K |