Rich and Early
As I write, I hear the not disagreeable hum of a tractor-drawn three- furrowed plough (or plow) persuading an ungleaned stubble to take on " the good gigantic smile of the brown old earth this autumn morning." The Augustan smile is evidence of the rapid speeding up of harvest, even in tolerably unfavourable weather. Our soil experts—at Rothamsted —say that this habit of making the plough tread on the heels of the reaper has an important secondary influence. In early September or late August those invisible bacteria that reduce even cellulose to humus are more active than at any other season. The stubborn stubble and weeds ploughed under today will have suffered an earlier change, into something rich before more seed is entrysted to the grOund. A quicker harvest today may mean a fuller harvest tomorrow.
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