oil below is left firm, and the rich vines are mixed with
the surface soil, where most needed. It is always a mistake to bury
fertility in the bottom of the furrow when a soil is thin and small
seeds are to be sown. The infertile ground lying next the subsoil is
not what is needed at the surface when preparing for a sod.

It is a good practice to use the early summer in making conditions
better for an August seeding, if the land has fallen below a profitable
state of productiveness. A growth may be plowed down in time for
firming the seed-bed, or it may be cut into the surface soil with a
harrow, or the time may be used in freeing inert plant-food and
destroying weed seed. On better soils, and in warm latitudes, a crop
for hay may be removed, especially in the case of the cowpea in the
south, and the stubble prepared for seeding by use of the cutaway or
disk harrow.

Preparation.--A seed-bed for small seeds planted in mid-summer must be
able to retain moisture. Nothing robs a soil of water more surely than
a breaking-plow. Its use is a necessity in farming, but this effect of
plowing must be borne in mind when a seeding is planned for the driest
period of the year. It goes without saying that sods should not be
formed on land that is too solid for admission of air. A thorough
plowing is needed by most soils prior to making a sod that will prevent
further stirring of the ground for a long period of time. It is best
when this plowing can be given in the preceding spring. This enables
the ground to become firm enough to hold moisture. If there is time for
a tilled crop, the cultivation is helpful. When the land must be broken
in the summer, the plowing should be done several weeks before the
seeding to grass must be made. The roller should follow the plow
closely to destroy the spaces that lie open to the hot air, permitting
the land to dry out. All deep harrowings should be given soon after the
plowing, stirring and mixing the ground, and then leaving it to settle
so that moisture can be held. It is bad practice to continue deep
harrowing until the seeding time of any small grain or grass planted in
a dry part of the year. Firmness is wanted in the soil.

The Weed Seed.--The seeds of tilled crops are planted in ground
containing much weed seed, and no harm may result. The cultivation
needed to keep the soil loose, or to prevent evaporation, destroys the
weeds. Grass, clover, alfalfa, and like seeds are put into the grou