The Nonpartisan Leader Newspaper, April 21, 1919, Page 18

—r i e Some Pointers on Plowing - The Purpose of Plowing—Deep PlOwilig_ Helps to Con- ‘ X serve Moisture—Farmers Should periment ; _ BY W. C. PALMER : : (Agricultural Editor of North pakota Agricultural College.) LOWING is the main operation in preparing the land for a crop.. The plow turns over the soil, thus burying whateyer is .on the surface and in the turning - the - soil -is pulverized and loosened up, providing it is not too dry or too wet. The stubble and other trash plowed under decays into humus. The organic matter is important in the soil as it improves the texture, in- creases the water-holding -capacity, and helps make plant food available, ‘The relative importance of the sur- face soil, as compared. to the subsoil, to the plant is well illustrated in any field by. the growth made by the plants in. the dead furrow as compared to the growth made by the plants on the plowed "ground. The plant in-the dead furrow does not have very much ‘of the soil turned with the plow and makes a smaller growth. The soil turned with the plow is.put in an ideal condition for the plant. - The best depth of plowing depends on several things. 'The more soil that can be put in the-ideal condition for the plant the better. The surface soil naturally is the best. If some of the subsoil can be brought up, organic matter put into it and there is enough moisture, then the amount of the soil in an ideal condition for the plant is increased. - However, if’ new soil is brought up that is deficient in organic matter and none is added, the result may not be satisfactory. If there is not enough moisture to penetrate through the plowed soil, then shallow .plowing may be as good. Deep plowing however, puts the soil in a condition to take in and store the rain more readily than does shallow plowing. In a good rotation the land is only plowed once or twice in five or six years, so good plowing should by all means be done. Deep plowing must be accom- panied by clean cultivation-if moisture storing is to result. Most of the moisture in the soil is taken out of the soil by plants.” If weeds are allowed to grow -they will pump out' the moisture that should be left in the soil for the crops. The time of plowing is also impor- tant. In the fall, the sooner the land can be plowed after the crop is re- moved the better, or in summer fallow- ing the plowing should be done early enough- so that weeds do not grow to much size. They pump out moisture and will soon dissipate enough of it so that the soil will be too dry to plow well. The pulverization and mellow- ing action will be lessened when the soil becomes dry. - While there is much difference of opinion on plowing, a good deal of this may come from differences of condi- tions. You can determine what kinds of plowing is the best on your farm by trying it out. For instance, plow, | say, five acres or some small area deeply and give it good tillage and compare the crop on this with the crop . on land prepared in the usual way. IN BEHALF OF PURE SEEDS . ; Blanchard, N. D, Editor Nonpartisan Leader: I desire to call earnest attention _ to the great work that Professor H. L. Bolley as state seed commissioner is * doing in behalf of pure seeds for the state and urge that he be given heart- iest support in that work by the farm- ers themselves, and especially by the state government, in providing ample funds for'the pure seed laboratories at Fargo. I doubt very much if there is-a dol- lar spent by the state of North Da-. kota that accomplishes so much ma- terial good as the dollar spent keep- ing noxious weeds out of the state. The trouble is that there are not enough of such dollars at work. The work has -been -greatly i limited. for. want of funds.. The pure seed labo- ratories ought to have equipment enough to run down every illegal ship- ment of seed into and within the state; that is, seed containing noxious weed seeds, such as mustard, quack, Canada and sow thistle, especially found in grass and clover seed. It can not be done now for lack of funds, yet there are very large quantities of such seed sent into North Dakota every year. 5 C - I know what I am talking about. In a modest way I am selling seed, limited to clover seed raised on my Cloverlea Farm and supplemented by such seed broyght in from nearby ‘states: when our' own ‘supply is ex- hausted. Now in this.business we have found Professor Bolley a very great inconvenience. We have sub- mittgd to him samples of every lot, our own and others, before buying, and have been amazed to see how lim- ited the market is in seeds that will stand his judgment. But I can not refuse to recognize how good a thing this is, even if it is . inconvenient. And if well sup- ported by the state and by the sen- . timent of farmers,.I believe it will in the end prove of great benefit to every one who raises seed and every one who sells seeds in North Dakota Le- cause the mere name “North Dakota” will at once give high character to the product. DATUS C. SMITH. ADVERTISEMENTS Owned and CONSIGN I Controlled y 1 YOUR : Farmers The Equity Co-Operative Exchang_é MINNESOTA TRHANSFER ST. PAUL, MINNESOTA And Get the Highest Market Prices. Liberal Advances. Prompt Settlements, Sacks and Tags Furnished. “An Important Message To Every Farmer Owning Less Than 160 Acres Many tractors have been oversold. Too many are passing through-the experi- mental stage. Your farm work is too préssing to experiment. Perhaps you o not need as expensive a tractor as $2,000—or even $1,000, ‘But what you must have is a tractor that will run day in and day out. Not one you have to wait on for repairs. Norone that requires a mechanic to run. Nor one that costs more to operate than horses. Such a tractor is the Universal Form-A- Tractor. It has been in successful use more than g¢hree seasons. It converts the used Ford automobile into a work team. And the total cost is a fraction the cost of other tractors. Itissoldontrial. Andbya responsible company which guarantees its performance. The cost of the Universal Form-A-Tractor isonly $168.00 F.O.B. Allegan, Michigan (near Grand Rapids). To replace all wearing parts costs less than $20.00. The used Ford motor, which supplies the power to the steel drive pinions, should not cost more than $200.00. Perhapsyou own one which has passed beyond the pleasure car days. Ford engine service is universal. So Universal Form-A-Tractor - service is everywhere available. The Universal Form-A-Tractor consists of two poweiful drive wheels 36 inches in diameter with 10-inch face. Extension lugs are included to give additional - traction on soft ground. ‘These wheels turn on a cold rolled, solid steel axle lizinch in diameter. Grease cups lubricate the bearings. A heavy 4-inch ~pressed steel sub-frame connects with Ford rear axle housing and is bolted to the sides of the Ford frame. Steel driv- ing pinions keyed on the Ford axle mesh Universal Tractor Co. : Allegan, Mich. Box 100 now have—your with the large drive gears (sectional) in the tractor wheels. - Could anything be simpler? -You can convert the Ford yourself—or get your local blacksmith to do it. : A patented auiiliary high-speed fari and centrifugal pump are included and are guaranteed to properly cool the motor. The Universal is sold on trial. After you have had it 10 days make payment to your local banker. We agree to replace defective material or workmanship dur- ing the life of the machine. We make no extravagant claims for the Universal. It will do the work of three to four horses anywhere on the farm or road. It will pull gang plows—the plow you harrow, your disc, mower, hay loader, manure spreader, drill, potato digger, land roller, road grader or drag—and do all this work cheaper, better and’ quicker than horses. A:nd it costs complete only $168 F.O.B. Allegan, Mich. You can get practical tractor experience cheap with the Univer- sal F qnn-A-Tracth and a used Ford. We refer you to the First State Bank or the FirstNational Bank of Allegan, Mich. Your order—on trial only, payment to be made ten days after arrival— g will be shipped promptly. Indicate whether by freight or ex- press. & fony