UC BERKELEY MASTER NEGATIVE STORAGE NUMBER 00-89.13 (National version of master negative storage number: CU SN00089.13) MICROFILMED 2000 UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LIBRARY PHOTOGRAPHIC SERVICE USAIN State and Local Literature Preservation Project Funded in part by the National Endowment for the Humanities REPRODUCTION AVAILABLE THROUGH INTERLIBRARY LOAN OFFICE MAIN LIBRARY UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA BERKELEY, CA 94720-6000 COPYRIGHT The copyright law of the United States (Title 17, United States Code) governs the making of photocopies or other reproductions of copyrighted materials including foreign works under certain conditions. In addition, the United States extends protection to foreign works by means of various international conventions, bilateral agreements, and proclamations. Under certain conditions specified in the law, libraries and archives are authorized to furnish a photocopy or other reproduction. One of these specified conditions is that the photocopy or reproduction is not to be "used for any purpose other than private study, scholarship, or research." If a user makes a request for, or later uses, a photocopy or reproduction for purposes in excess of “fair use," that user may be liable for copyright infringement. University of California at Berkeley reserves the right to refuse to accept a copying order if, in its judgment, fulfillment of the order would involve violation of copyright law. The Killefer tillage system: the modern way to better yields Los Angeles 1928 BIBLIOGRAPHIC RECORD TARGET University of California at Berkeley Library USAIN State and Local Literature Preservation Project Master negative storage number: 00-89.13 (national version of the master negative storage number: CU SN00089.13) Title: The Killefer tillage system : the modern way to better yields / presented by Killefer Manufacturing Corporation. Los Angeles : Killefer Manufacturing Corporation, 1928. Description: 60 p. : ill. ; 23 cm. Subjects: Tillage. Plows. Other entries: Killefer Manufacturing Corporation. Call numbers: CSL State Lib S604 .K54 1928 California Non Circ Microfilmed by University of California Library Photographic Service, Berkeley, CA Filmed from hard copy borrowed from California State Library FILMED AND PROCESSED BY LIBRARY PHOTOGRAPHIC SERVICE, UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, BERKELEY, 94720 DATE: 5/00 REDUCTION RATIO: 9 PM-1 3%"x4" PHOTOGRAPHIC MICROCOPY TARGET NBS 1010a ANSI/ISO #2 EQUIVALENT I 28 25 2 : Es we IZ p22 i 2 fu I = . == l= Ey NR SR Na X hh NL : NN NN NN x SR SS NN 8 NL NN NN Na RN N Nk AN RN BPA Air PH Tatar i CURE AS HESOANY cata bane ra pr PURO CUR This Killefer furrow is approximately four feet deep. Ly gi 0, LDPE, 4 KILLEFER TILLAGE HAVE YOU A GOOD SOIL AUGER? BOR the farmer who has in the back of his head an 1 idea that thorough tillage of his lower soil will help him make more money, the first step in the right direction is generous use of a good soil auger. -1f you do not have one of these instruments to gauge your soil condi- tions thoroughly and often, you will be as uncertain as the navigator who puts to sea without a compass. The soil auger will tell you what to do with your lower soils and the right time to do it. The most satisfactory type we have encountered is illustrated here. It retails for $2.50 postpaid, and is complete with a 3-foot handle which can be lengthened by adding as much pipe as desired to the handle. A good auger may be made from a 2” wood bit with pipe welded aver the shank and a “T” handle attached to the upper many times $0 esent. ome hardware CALIFORNIA - the price and t will be on the STATE LIBRARY 2 7° Make “sound- Eve d. Like many Call No S : and give each onth later you CO ’1 for instance, K EH | ches Jeeper in 7 7 ypped two feet. [7 soil was dried ro | =e” on the 15th 1s were at the y use an auger This Killefer furrow is apps 2207 0) 95/9 2d KILLEFER TILLAGE HAVE YOU A GOOD SOIL AUGER? SOR the farmer who has in the back of his head an i idea that thorough tillage of his lower soil will help him make more money, the first step in the right direction is generous use of a good soil auger. - If you do not have one of these instruments to gauge your soil condi- tions thoroughly and often, you will be as uncertain as the navigator who puts to sea without a compass. The soil auger will tell you what to do with your lower soils and the right time to do it. The most satisfactory type we have encountered is illustrated here. It retails for $2.50 postpaid, and is complete with a 3-foot handle which can be lengthened by adding as much pipe as desired to the handle. A good auger may be made from a 2” wood bit with pipe - welded over the shank and a “T” handle attached to the upper lend, but this type will go through hardpan many times so leasily that you won't know there is hardpan present. If your soil auger is still on the shelf of some hardware store, you will be money ahead to go and pay the price and give it a regular place in the tool house, where it will be on the job whenever needed. Wear it off as much as you can this year. Make “sound- ings” in all the different sections of your land. Like many other growers, you may prefer to make a chart and give each different hole a number. Two weeks or a month later you may then go back to the same spot, hole No. 21 for instance, and see whether the soil has dried down four inches deeper in that time or, perhaps, the moisture will have dropped two feet. Some farmers can even tell you how deep the soil was dried out on “that high corner near the eucalyptus tree” on the 15th of last July, and what the moisture conditions were at the same spot this year on July 15th, because they use an auger 2 KILLEFER TILLAGE The soil auger will tell you when to irrigate and when to stop, where your water is going, when you can use the killefer to best advantage.and a host of other interesting things—IF YOU USE IT. If your experience is like that of many others, you will find a number of differences in the soil structure at different depths. If you keep the dirt in separate piles as the auger brings it up you will find the top eight inches darker in color than the earth below. It will contain more humus and organic matter and will be more mellow. The next four inches may look a great deal different. You may hear the bit crunching as it goes through. It may get quite warm. These four inches may have an entirely different color, more rock dust, less moisture and few pieces of root. ae As you go deeper you may find these conditions increasing, but that is for-you to investigate and we strongly recommend that you get better acquainted with this “basement of your factory” if you afe not familiar with it now. You can put the. auger to work for you as others have done and when you have drawn your conclusions you will know how to tackle your problems in a way that will mean better yields, larger profits. It is being done by others whose interesting experiences are briefly related in the following pages. THE QUESTION OF MOISTURE UPPOSE we build a square concrete box six inches # deep with a tight bottom. We will leave the top BW open and fill the box level full of average loam soil. If we then place it in the open to catch the winter rain we will find that about three and one-half inches of water will flood the box. The absorbent matter and air spaces between the grains of soil will all be filled with water. If more rain falls upon the box the surplus water must run over the top and be lost, for there is only room for those three and one-half inches of water. The hard bottom will prevent natural seepage downward and if more than three and one-half inches of rain fall, it must remain upon the sur- face and be lost by wind, sun and surface drainage. This is exactly what is happening to thousands of acres each year in the state of California alone, for investigation shows that they have hard formations beneath the surface and GALIFORNIA STATE Linhany KILLEFER TILLAGE these “water-tight bottoms” prevent the land # the water it should. One of these is shown bel a THE SOLUTION OF THE PROBLEM R. HOWARD SEELYE of Ontario, San Bernar- | dino County, is a grower of very fine peaches. At one time his orchard was not in the best of condition. One particular section of it was a problem to him. The yield on this particular patch was producing fruit far below the grade he wanted. The rest of the orchard was in . much better condition, for it received irrigation water freely and the trees flourished. But under the unprofitable piece of ground he found a hard layer of soil not far below the surface. The natural solution of the problem seemed to be the de- struction of this crust, or pan, in order that tree roots could go deep and be watered freely at their natural depth. This had never been possible, for Mr. Seelye always found that water ran over his ground without much penetration. He ran the deep point of his killefer through this crust and broke it wide and deep. Then when the water was turned on, it almost dropped out of sight. He found this ground took more water than it ever had before. The water went down and spread out 4 KILLEFER TILLAGE below the crust, or pan, in the manner shown in the photo- graph below. It was not a great while until Mr. Seelye could see damp spots in all directions. The deep supply of moisture was working up to the surface. His “pan” is now a thing of the past. From that backward piece of orchard Mr. Seelye sold $1500 worth of fruit the first year he used his killefer. His trees had a supply of water stored away safely below ground and this reservoir was drawn upon during the growing season and converted into high grade fruit. : THE HANDICAP OF “PANS” HEN western growers first gave serious attention to “hard-pan” they found that implements used in other parts of the United States with success were at a disadvantage in the unusual underground for- mations peculiar to much western soil. They began to realize that shallow-working the land was building up at various depths this underground “shelf.” This was hard, quite dry and even when wet upon the upper side did not seem to lose its rocklike properties. Roots spread out KILLEFER TILLAGE S above it, groping along for better feeding areas, but seldom finding Hn Er : deeper levels. In fact, they often spread out flat, as shown on page 4, and grew into the feed- ing ground of other neighboring trees, the strong trees rob- bing the weak. These growers discovered they could find some form of hard-pan almost anywhere, that many lands which had been plowed for many years had built below the surface a crust known as “plow-pan,” or “plow-sole.” They also learned that a pan of the same kind could even be found many times in land that had never been tilled by any tool. The seepage of rainfall, expansion and contraction of soils from hot and cold weather and other causes seemed to help fine soil particles work down and settle below the sur- face until a compact layer shut off the lower earth from moist- ure and proper air circulation from above. They began to realize the uselessness of putting water or fertilizer over these formations when nothing but the few top inches of soil could be benefited. Irrigation water put on 6 KILLEFER TILLAGE “hard-pan land” was quickly evaporated by the warmth of the sun in the top-soil, by winds which robbed the surface and by weeds which drew on both. With this pan present there could be no deep soil reservoirs to store enough moisture to last through the season and mature heavy yields. OLD CULTIVATION METHODS DISCARDED. HE first killefer was built to test the theory that the lower soils should produce. It carried a long, wedge-shaped point which worked its way under the pan and broke it loose into underground clods. The standard to which the point was attached was strong and heavy. As it passed along the ground shook underneath, for it was getting results on both sides and downward. The man who pioneered Killefer Tillage in the dry, hot fruit-growing section of Southern California, became con- vinced, as Mr. Seelye did, that it was up to him to help his trees recover from gradual decline. His land was largely set to orchard and consisted of silt formation which he farmed according to methods considered best at that time and which are still followed in some sections of the west. He plowed, cultivated, irrigated and fertilized in the manner usual with other growers and thought his yields were as good as could be expected. But somehow the land did not KILLEFER TILLAGE 7 seem to grow in pace with the trees. He found that his land was a bank from which he could not continually draw good interest unless the proper amount of principal was first put to work and maintained. His yields were gradually growing backward. SUCCESS OF A NEW METHOD. MPLEMENTS for soil culture thirty years ago were not well suited to the unusual problems which faced the western grower, owing to peculiar warm, dry climate and the great variety of soils often en- countered within a circle of a single mile. So he was con- vinced of the necessity of building his own implement, one that would go deeper than he had been going. This he did. The first year after this new treatment of his soil the land seemed to take on new life. Results were the talk of neigh- boring growers. This man knew iron and how to handle it. His little ranch shop with not much more than the forge and sd RE IEIRERGIT CSA SIN CL NIA tl sd ahi EL Fob Ns Se : a N 8 KILLEFER TILLAGE anvil on which his implement was built soon became the gath- ering place for his neighbors who came to watch him make them tools which they insisted he build for them like his own. They had the same problem to overcome and wanted to fight it in the same way and with the same success that he had gained. You may have guessed by this time that this farmer was John Killefer, the founder of the present system of Killefer Tillage. Special implement building which ke later under- took was forced on him by neighboring growers, rather than as a venture of his own choosing. | It seemed logical to the builders of Killefer deep-work- ing tools that the benefit of properly tilling the lower soils would also assist the grain, bean, beet and alfalfa growers of the west to improve their crops. But the idea was new. Most of them had never heard of the Killefer method of tilling the subsoil. Furthermore, the tools built to do this work on a large scale. were necessarily heavy and strong. They had to be sold at a price which made the doubter do some serious thinking. hs N order to convince doubting farmers that their crops could be greatly benefited it was necessary to build a number of these expensive machines and give them away—with “a string tied to them.” The “string” was this: The user was to take an average yield as a basis on which to judge the benefit to his crop. He was “given” a killefer to work his land on condition that if the implement produced on trial a crop of 16 sacks of wheat per acre—for instance—and the average for the five years previous had been 10 sacks, then half the increase—or three sacks per acre—were to go to the builder as payment for the implement. On the other hand, if the Killefer did not increase the yield, it was to cost the user nothing whatever. Before harvest came that first year of the experiment the men who had taken these tools “on trial” paid for their implements at the regular price. This was not in the agreement, but when they began to report results and asked for the option of paying for these tools outright, the privilege was allowed. KILLEFER TILLAGE ho But there was one exception. One man did not use his killefer as instructed and as he agreed. His crop did not show an increase. As soon as he had worked his land good and deep with the Killefer, he pulled his string of plows into the field and went to it. He plowed deeper than he had ever done before. His plows had never gone down far, for they had run along on top of the plow-pan year after year. But when the killefer had broken up this formation his plows pulled easier, so he set them down as deep as the tractor could pull them. An excess of barren deep soil was turned up on top. This soil had not seen daylight for ages. It had none of the plant food required in a good seed bed to make germina- tion and maturity successful. And he lost out. One of the others, however, remarked that if he had been obliged to pay for his five-standard Killefer with half the increase in his grain crop, as agreed, the tool would have cost him something over $10,000 instead of the regular price at which it sold. - “KILLEFERRING” IS DIFFERENT! EEP working of the subsoil is not like plowing. You cannot see results at once and it sometimes happens that users at first believe they are not accomplishing much. There is no dark furrow in that part of the field where you have run the killefer, such as you see when part of it is plowed. There is not much above ground, in many cases, to show what is going on below—until the crop comes on. 10 KILLEFER TILLAGE _ One grain farmer in the San Joaquin Valley purchased a big killefer several years ago and made but one round with it in his large field. He then pulled it into the fence corner in disguist. There it lay for a year. He could not see that he was doing much good. The land which he had killeferred looked about the same as the rest, so he hitched up to his string of regulation plows and finished the field with them. They | PMA Mh. TMC Es ' The 5-Standard Killefer in open field work. took less power and he got over the ground much quicker. The dark, soft furrows seemed to show that he was doing something. The winter rains that year were light. In fact, when harvest came he just about got his seed back, or a little better. The grain that stooled out bore small heads and much of it KILLEFER TILLAGE 1 was ‘“‘shoe-peg.” But, what surprised the owner most was the fact that when the field was ripening there was a dark green circle of tall grain around the whole field! Heads were well filled and the straw was heavy. This man was curious enough to dig down in this surprising circle to see what had happened. The surface of this field was quite sandy. A little deeper he found the earth was firmer, some of it hard. He found that where the killefer had worked in the previous fall this hard formation had been shattered into underground clods, and that the fine loam from the surface had sifted down, carrying with it humus and moisture which surrounded these buried chunks and separated them from each other so that they would not run together again when wet. He found that the roots of the strong ring of grain had gone down deep, that all the winter rain had been able to go into the subsoil, where it was stored away for the growing season. None was left on top to run off into low places. It 12 KILLEFER TILLAGE seeped down rapidly before the sun and wind could take the lion’s share. The rest of the field had been much like the con- crete box mentioned before. After the few top inches of soil were thoroughly soaked, the surplus water could not be stored away. HE two photographs on this page show what hap- pened in two grain fields in Yuba County. They had been farmed for many years with shallow-work- ing implements, as customary. In the season of 1920 one was killeferred good and deep. All the rainfall was con- verted into crop, as shown by the excellent stand of wheat in the upper photo. Below this is a photo of the field on the other side of the fence. It was farmed “as usual” the same season and at har- vest was just a little less than one-fourth the crop that was | killeferred. Other cases in which grain growers have used these deep-working tools with greater profit are related in another part of our story. They are finding that Killefes KILLEFER TILLAGE 13 Tillage is assisting them to better yields, the same as it is doing for the growers of all other important crops, and each year is adding to the number of its advantages. The corn field shown below was deep-worked with a killefer before planting. This land contained no natural : rable oll was hardpan, but an undesirable layer of densely packed soi fo beneath the surface, as in much other ground of fine silt nature. This variety of corn was grown for silage. Deep breakage of soil is also a great help to the bean a i 0 i lds er, as illustrated in these photos. The two bean fie nr i side by side, but the one on the right has been deep worked thoroly with a multiple standard killefer, be- 1H KILLEFER TILLAGE fore planting. The field on the left is the i same -. spects except that it has been prepared by the rs A of the killefer. The photos were taken in Yolo Co., Calif., in 1922. The soil is friable silt river-bottom land. ; i Prof. J. W. Nelson, soil expert for the Colle i culture, University of California, reports that of hm acres which were killeferred and the results investigated in 1921, more than 99% showed marked benefits to crops from this work. These tests were made on 400 different farms IRRIGATION BY DEEP FURROWS : N the summer of 1922 twenty-five orchardists had a § get-together” meeting with their farm adviser. This meeting took place in a California county which is the richest, agriculturally, in the United States— according to the last census. These men met to discuss and investigate moisture conditions in a number of adjoining or- chards. In the first one investigated the soil auger hewod d soil at all depths down to six feet, although irrigated to weeks before. It was not killeferred nor deep cultivated. Holes were then bored in an adjoining grove irri weeks before but which had err oe re a ws had been deep cultivated after irrigation. Moisture was found to be plentiful. The owner had used more water than was actually necessary for he had judged his irrigation by the appearance of the surface, the same as he had always done before breaking the subsoil. He had run the water until the topsoil looked like it did when he ran shallow streams over it The nature of the soil in these two orchards was identical. | HE next grove investigated was across the r ¥ the second. It was found to be in the same ro | as the first, dry and powdery, although irrigated three weeks before. Adjoining this was still another in the same condition. In the fifth grove investigated drill- ings were made with the soil auger in the bottoms of the irri- gution furrows which had been filled with water four days KILLEFER TILLAGE 15 ‘The customary shallow-furrow method had been used with small trickling streams about two feet apart. Ten inches below the bottoms of these furrows the soil was found to be absolutely dry. Only one of these five groves had been killef- erred. In the others a hard layer of “pan” was found a short distance below the surface. This had not allowed moisture to seep down and store itself deep in the tree root zone. If irrigation is worth doing at all it is worth doing RIGHT. And if water is worth putting on land, it is worth saving for crop use after it is put on. THE VALUE OF WATER N the Killefer System of soil treatment the most ad- vantageous use of water is obtained by what might be called sub-irrigation, or the use of water below the surface, keeping the topsoil as dry as desired. In this manner the surface can be kept moist enough to help de- composition of whatever vegetable matter is turned under and to assist bacteria which carry on this work of decay. The sur- face can be kept dry enough to be worked with deep cultiva- tion tools soon after irrigation and, with this method, evapora- tion losses are reduced to almost nothing. For this special purpose the killefer is fitted with a spe- cial irrigation attachment known as a “crowder.” It leaves a deep, narrow “V-shaped trench and thoroughly breaks the soil below the trench bottom by means of the chisel point attached below the crowder bottom and which runs ahead of it. The crowder wings do not leave the earth in two banks upon the topsoil, but press it to either side near the surface. ’ The trench is narrow, open to the subsoil cracks at the bottom, water flows deep in it and percolation by means of the subsoil cracks is rapid and thorough. The narrow trench is easily covered for it has no high banks. The spread of water below the surface, instead of near the top, requires little watch- ing and allows the deep cultivator to begin its work of aer- ation soon after the trenches have been covered. KILLEFER TILLAGE WATER ECONOMY. HIS method has proved so practical and economical for handling irrigation water that it is now one of the important steps in Killefer Tillage. Roots re- spond quickly when so irrigated. It is most advan- tageous in light soils from which evaporation is rapid and in which water spreads freely from the trench. ....The narrow channel is casily straddled by the tractor, which assists to cave the sides. Water percolation is greatly improved over the commonly-practiced method of running the stream over the baked surface or in shallow furrows which are underlaid by unbroken soil or some form of pan which interferes with percolation. This method, however, is only advocated in orchard culture in soils which will permit water to rise to the surface for the benefit of the topsoil. Users have found that it is much easier to watch a stream of water when used in these deep trenches. If leaves drift into them, the deep flow of water is not interfered with. The photo below shows three killefer furrows 18” deep in the 24’ rows of a prune orchard of the Santa Clara valley. 25 inches of water had been running in nine of these furrows for 44 hours when the photo was taken. The top is comparatively dry. KILLEFER TILLAGE 17 ATER stored away properly in the soil means a longer growing season, larger yields and raises the quality of the crop produced. All of these mean greater profit for the modern grower. THE CHIEF CAUSE OF SHALLOW ROOTS OMMON methods of soil treatment have produced a great part of feed-root growth so near the sur: age that it is continually exposed to the shocks of rapid top-drying, sudden changes in Surface ik and due to shallow cultivation and the “pans Seuss Y 5 is forced to feed in a small area of soil too near the Suriace. This statement applies to conditions common in Or ; » i f fruit tree root. “R The photo below illustrates a case o t. howe where one root has been cut the previous season ° Gi imp t the prune | implement. See the new feeders a ow prevented from going to Propet ep Serulied ] and cu . 43: from common methods of plowing a tin &! chard in which it was found was supposed to be in a good state of cultivation, although the owner noticed that a goo ibe water stood on the surface after each heavy rain. “ih | KILLEFER TILLAGE BETTER USE OF COVER CROPS T was but few years ago that an orchardist conceived the notion that a disc harrow, if properly designed, could do a class of work more important than simply chopping up a mulch on cloddy ground. He wanted a disc that would do a moderate job of plowing, one that would go deep without a load of weights and that would work into the so.l a good growth of cover crop, for he had experi- enced the usual difficulties of handling it with plows. Mr. N. Hinkley, of Redlands, Cal., took his idea to the Killefer Manufacturing Co., to be worked out along the lines of his suggestion. He had experimented with an ordinary type of disc harrow by removing every other disc. This left the remaining discs 12 inches apart, which proved to be too wide. In addition, the ordinary disc harrow was found to be too light in construction for this class of work and proper clearance was lacking. ; The discs of the harrow built to his specifications were made to special order and were spaced 9 inches apart in order to take a heavy “slice” 8 inches deep. When the time came to try this new idea in a disc harrow, Mr. Hinkley found that his notion was a sound and logical one. ‘He handled his cover crop just as he had always wanted it handled. Then his neighbors began to get the idea. When they ordered discs for their own use they said, “Send me one of those discs like Nat Hinkley’s.” fl HESE special-purpose discs are now used in prac- tically every farming section where cover-crops are popular. Mr. Hinkley knew that the top 8, 10 or 12 inches of the soil was the laboratory in which by far the greater part of plant food is manufactured and goes into the soil solution. He knew that moisture, warmth and air all help in this manufacture of vegetation into soil food by processes of decay carried on by soil bacteria. And he knew that the more thoroughly this organic fertilizer growing upon the surface was chopped up and stirred in between soil par- ticles, the more perfectly the process could be carried on. The processes which produce humus give the land its life, or “yeast,” and much like the dough from which bread is made, it should be thoroughly worked into the whole soil mass KILLEFER TILLAGE 19 if its chemical processes are to be successful and thorough, for a “dead” topsoil cheats the roots beneath. Mr. Hinkley found that his Killefer cover-crop disc could be turned around much easier than a plow in the short headlands at the ends of many rows and that, unlike the plow, it could work down cover crop close to the trees without danger of barking the trunks, that it did not rake up trash, catch on roots or turn up barren deep earth. He also noted that it mixed this well-chopped vegetation so thoroughly into the soil that the cultivator used later in the season could not gather it up. ddition. by giving the earth proper air spaces in this 0 en ; ne his soil to “breathe” oxygen as it warmed by day and cooled by night. It also held more i in these pockets of decaying vegetable matter and this sol water in turn helped dissolve the mild acids produced in this decay and used them to dissolve, or “rust off, new material from the soil grains, much as a piece of iron 1s rusted when exposed to moisture and oxygen in the air. BR. E. MURRAY, whose orchard is in the Corona #8 District, had a growth of three-foot cover crop B which he found impractical to handle with his turn- ing plow. It consisted of horse-beans, volunteer | melilotus and an undergrowth of alfileria. Four times over with his Killefer cover-crop disc buried this growth com- 20 KILLEFER TILLAGE | KILLEFER TILLAGE Nn pletely. Some who have never tried this special disc with a : S-inch spacing have an idea that it cannot be used for ordi. a a br er Tog? wil the Ine: ry owners declare that when it is worked for it solves a difficult problem—that of handling nthe wo tab din a Ootneh spacing the difference ! cover crops in a way that makes them most beneficial mulch left behind the ay 8 ee Te d, except that fhe to the soil. The number of satisfied users of this system is P Sper. rapidly increasing each year. In the same manner that the reaper and binder did away with the old-time scythe, we are convinced that agriculture will be made better and more prof- itable by this unusual system. A few years ago Mr. Grant K. Phillips took the manage- ment of the Venice Cove Ranch in Tulare County. He had an uphill job to “bring back” an orange grove that had “gone to the dogs.” His study of its problems and the proper rem- edies have improved this grove until it produced in 1921 17,735 boxes of fruit, of which 94% were first grade. Com- pared to this, the same trees produced in 1918 but 8,214 boxes, of which only 67% were firsts. Mr. Phillips writes in the «Fruitman” for October, 1922, as follows: «For working under cover crops and doing the spring work I use heavy double discs in preference to plows. In this way the ground can be covered quickly, and where heavy enough tools are used the soil is worked as deep as with a plow. There is also an ad- vantage of working close up under the trees, which can be done much better with the disc. Weeds and grass It Is not Necestad : left around the drip of the trees rob them of much the. grower who Toary i Sain the value of cover crop to needed moisture at this time of the year. This method I wi ies to keep his soil “fed up.” All farmers leaves the soil free from clods and in good shape for hart Mu i d hat t 1s supply of vegetation when properly the first irrigation.” gn Sesys makes the soil easier to work, makes it | The importance of fighting weeds may be illustrated in Ls or and warmer, helps it to hold moisture better | the two small photos shown here. The weed at the left was in its small sponge-like spaces, keeps soil grains from running | together—or puddling—and adds to soil the nitrogen taken from the air, providing the cover-crop is leguminous. Cover crops are becoming so popular that the recommendation. We are le i they do ya frost damage as was generally supposed, and since the horse has gone on a long vacation and is not expected to return, the grower is now concerned with implements that will work this valuable home-grown fertilizer thoroughly into the soil with- out turning it under in the way which has b : 1 ; een nece ordinary plowing. y ecessary in 22 KILLEFER TILLAGE cut off in the evening so that it might “bleed” all nigh photo at the right shows a Ir of damp earth Et root next morning. This moisture was pumped up from the root during the night. The greatest percentage of moisture brought up by roots is given off to the air by the breathing organs in the leaves at the expense of the soil below. THE VALUE OF DEEP CULTIVATION HE subject of cultivation is one which is difficult to discuss without a well defined definition of the term cultivation.” In this discussion we shall use the word to describe the stirring of the top ten or twelve inches of soil, or less, without turning it upside down. We have known, almost as long as man has been tilling the soil, that tilled land produces crops which are more profitable than untilled crops. And we have also learned from human experience that mechanical tillage is essential. It is a demon- strated fact that the tap roots of plants are not sufficient soil breakers. Burrowing animals and earthworms are also ineffec- tive soil workers. We must rely on our own mechanical | devices if we are to stir the soil to a profitable depth. It is probably a fact that a cultivated soil mulch does not save moisture, as formerly believed, altho experiments at dif- ferent stations over the country are not yet fully agreed on this KILLEFER TILLAGE 23 point. Soil types and climates seem to have definite bearing on the matter. It is a demonstrated fact, however, that there are more important reasons for systematic cultivation than the old and more popular one of saving moisture. Perhaps the most im- portant benefit of cultivation is the part it plays in putting soil into such mechanical shape that it is properly aired, for well informed soil scientists know the value of oxygen and humid air in soil chemistry and to beneficial soil micro-organisms. It is also a well known fact that beneficial soil bacteria can live only in well aired soil, and that if soil is not well aired we will find undesirable types of soil bacteria multiplying. These undesirable types cause the loss of nitrates principally as ammonia gas which escapes to the atmosphere instead of remaining in the soil as water-soluble nitrates. A deeply stirred soil also permits vigorous root penetra- tion and as surface soil solution is exhausted they can follow the receding food supply with little effort. Good cultivation encourages deep root growth and discourages root concentra- tion near the dry, hot surface, where it is easily shocked by drouth. A well cultivated soil receives moisture quickly and if stirred deeply enough will prevent run-off and destructive erosion. Most lands can store enough water to produce suc- cessful crops provided they are in satisfactory mechanical con- dition to prevent its escape. Cultivation must be practiced for weed control, for, as already stated, weeds are our greatest robbers of crop-producing soil solution. In the Pacific Rural Press for July 29, 1922, appears the following interesting paragraph: “The California Packing Corporation, on their 4000-acre orchard development at Pla- nada, Merced County, have adopted the deep tillage method and contemplate the elimination of all plowing. The results which they have obtained are so thoroughly satisfactory and they have so obviously conserved the maximum amount of natural soil moisture that, last year, there was hardly an appreciable difference to be noted between apricot trees deep tilled only, and those which had received an irrigation.” A photo of this giant orchard is shown opposite this page. The method mentioned in this article from the Pacific Rural Press consists of the use of the killefer, the cover-crop disc harrow and the deep cultivator. KILLEFER TILLAGE Before these trees were planted the rows were deeply kil- lefered both ways with an extra cut on each side of the row. Nursery stock one year old was planted, and each tree was tanked when set in the row. The first spring in the ground these trees were cut back to 114’ in height. They were irrigated once the first year in the ground and when this photo was taken they were approximately 10 feet high and had been in the ground eighteen months. This orchard is not an experi- ment with the California Packing Corporation. This method of culture is practiced in it because the owners have found it profitable on other of their farming properties in past years. Ask the next ten men you meet why they use a plow and the chances are that nine of them will not be able to give a satisfactory answer. The nine will say it has always been customary, that plowed lands yield better than those un- plowed, that plowing gives soil a better supply of air and turns vegetation under, etc. It is true that plowing accomplishes all these things. And it is also true that the Killefer System of Tillage does the same things, does them in a more effective way and also does many others which plowing cannot do. Many of these have been explained in foregoing pages. But beneficial results are the ‘most convincing arguments in favor of this system over the old methods in which the plow was the most important factor. The photo below shows Killefer deep cultivators and disc harrows at work on California Packing Corp. land which is referred to above. (See photo on page 22.) KILLEFER TILLAGE 25 UR fathers and grandfathers used to tell us that they used the plow to stir the soil, to give feed roots new f@ contact with soil grains, to keep the soil from crust- ing, to give it proper air ventilation and to help it store moisture. But we have learned in the last generation that the deep cultivator, properly designed, does all of these things and that it does not turn up barren deep soil and form large on the surface. ki pc stirs the soil more thoroughly than the plow, gives it proper deep ventilation without leaving beneath furrows the large air channels which are the rule in plowed land an which help moisture to escape. Furthermore, the deep est. vator works against the formation of what is commonly calle “plow-pan.” This cultivator leaves the dry soil on the surface and the moisture beneath. It does not set back the valuable bacteria at work below the surface by turning them up in the killing sunlight, as happens in the case of the turned furrow. AE 8 | is a popular idea outside of laboratories that soil RE mais ‘kind of “bug.” It should be remembered that these organisms have a growth similar to low forms of plant life. They are extremely sensitive to light and are not found on the surface for the reason that they are killed by sun- 26 KILLEFER TILLAGE light, as is the case when the turned-up plow furrow exposes them. Neither can they live far below the surface unless a supply of organic matter, moisture and air are within reach. Have you seen fields plowed 14, 16 or 18 inches deep that would not produce until two or three years had passed? The rich topsoil and its bacteria were planted too deep and the “barren” subsoil turned up required time to “mellow” until these necessary agents again were at work preparing plant food in the topsoil. JILLEFER tillage has the advantage of working the soil deep with the killefer and the deep cultivator without setting back the normal “work” of bacteria, which must go on successfully in soil before it can produce. In this system the deep cultivator gives the soil a thorough stirring, breaks up any plow-pan present, and pre- vents it from returning, if used each season. It does not bring to the surface the chunk into which this shallow pan is broken. Its use saves an enormous amount of moisture, when com- pared to the work of old-time cultivation tools for shallow work, and well saved moisture in the soil means better growth of crops during the months which are naturally dry. It works organic matter from the topsoil into the lower depths and this material helps to separate the “clods” of broken pan and pre- vent them from forming again. The existence of plow-pan in land hinders soil “breathing” and in this way there is not as much oxidation or “rusting” of soil material into soluble forms of plant food. What is supposed to be land “exhaustion” can be traced many times to this physical condition of the soil which pre- vents a sufficient amount of these solubles being formed each year by the action of air, water and acids on soil grains. A valuable gas containing carbon is manufactured from vegetable matter in the soil by aerobic, or oxygen requiring, bacteria. This carbon is taken from the air by the leaf system to form starch and sugar. It has been demonstrated that a well stirred soil produces much more of this desirable carbon than one allowed to crust. In fact, the accumulation of this gas in a crusted soil works against the vigor of beneficial aerobic bacteria and is injurious to root health. KILLEFER TILLAGE 27 Carbon is one of the 10 important plant foods. Carbon in the air is of as much importance to plants as water-soluble nitrogen for, aside from water, carbon makes up the greatest part of all plant-building material. Doctor Fitzgerald, walnut grower of Stockton, Calif. received from the Walnut Growers’ Association a premium of 51% cents per pound for extra size and quality after the use of the Killefer deep cultivator in his grove. He speaks highly of Killefer implements and their sturdy construction. H. E. Finney, almond grower of Proberta, Cal., uses one of these deep-working implements in his orchard, which has never been irrigated. He has cultivated it 10 inches deep, stirred it up thoroughly after each rain and declares that his orchard looked better the dryest of fifty years than any irri- gated orchard in Tehama Co. This book could be filled with similar accounts of other farmers who till deep for profits. the interesting letter on the next page it nd appear that he Killefer deep cultivator helps the almond grower fight Red Spider. Learned men ®who know bugs well enough to call them by their first names tell us that there are three varieties of Isaresiing mites which go by the name of “Red Spider. These attack a number of varieties of trees. One kind, tetranychus telasivs, is known as the common red spider and spends a part : he year upon weeds and other vegetation upon the ‘ground. I» some circumstances, it even goes at times into the soil to make its dwelling. i The deep cultivator will naturally destroy weed grow h which supports this mite while on the ground. In addition, | used while he is taking his annual sleep in the soil, the deep cultivator, according to Mr. McCloud’s experience, Sous to disturb him at a time when he is unable to survive. Bu etn No. 347 on the subject of Red Spider has just been issug y the College of Agriculture, University of California a con tains much interesting information on the life and ha is ° this mite which costs the fruit grower a good percentage of is profits annually. With the limited information at han ae cannot advocate cultivation as a certain method of red spider control. The information is related here as a Syggestion or further research suggested by the experience of the Esparto Nursery. KILLEFER TILLAGE ESPARTO NURSERY McCLOUD BROTHERS, PROPRIETORS Good Seock of Prunes, Plums, Peaches, Apricots, Cherries, Apples, Pears, Olives Grape Vines (Resistant Roots and Rooted Cuttings) Almond Trees a Specialty Esparto,Cal. Oct, 4, 1922. The Killefer Manfg. Co., Los Angeles, Cslif. Gentlemen: In reply to your recent letter, we will be glad to furnish you any data that we are sble concerning our experience with Red Spider, Yellow Mites or other insects of that family. We have three different almond oroh- ards, two of which are entirely surrounded by other orchards’ and we have never had Red Spider or spider of any species in these trees. Most of the foliage on the trees of the neighboring orchards is gone, due to the effects of Red Spider. We have seen many different kinds of sprays and chemicals used to exterminate the * spider and wé will say that it is of little use. The only way to be successfully imm- une from this insect in almond orchards is to cultivate deep and by this we mean to a depth of eight Or nine inches, at least three times in a season. If all almond growers in.Calif- ornia would try out this method they would not be troubled further with red spider. This we know to be a fact owing to the experience we have had for many years. Yours truly, Esparto Nursery. KILLEFER TILLAGE A METHOD FOR GRAIN GROWERS UCH interest has been aroused in grain growing sec- tions of the country by the substitution of the Kille- fer Chisel and heavy disc harrow for the implement previously used for grain land tillage. oh : The most profitable use of Killefer tools in grain a. ing has proved to be as follows: As soon as possible ake harvest the straw is disced into the soil thoroughly snout 0 cover it. In sections where soil blowing is disastrous, or w oe it is necessary to catch and hold blowing soil or SRow, oh straw is not completely covered. Straw from the | eve) | should not be windrowed or dumped in piles. This Gi makes burning necessary on account of the trouble Sapse i tillage operations, no matter what system may be followed. i | | | 1 | The most beneficial method for the land is to use a i Spat terer on the combine to drop the straw evenly over the on Bes so that it can be worked back into the soil to improve its ums content, friability and Capabily to retain mss. apy i i tem opera bin: ocates of the Killefer Tillage Sys : : Gn the day and the Killefer Disc during the wighe Thus and results in ea saves the water content of the straw an : ts complete decomposition by i ER Shs . . . . rou 1 ing up straw and mixing it thoroughly thr es Pe possible to use other implements in the field later without clogging or raking the straw out on the surface. KILLEFER TILLAGE REVIOUS to the winter rains the field is chiseled to a depth of from 10” to 16”. This depth depends on the nature of the soil column and the character of plowpan encountered. A planting program can be worked out to suit the locality best. If winter wheat is to be sown, it will be necessary to use the disc harrow or drag har- row just previous to planting in order to smooth up the seed bed. Some farmers hitch the drills directly behind the discs. If spring planting is desired, the chiselled land is left rough through the winter and prepared for planting in the usual way in spring. | The Killefer chisel can be used when weather is good, when there is no other work to do and when the land cannot be plowed without unusual share expense. It takes much of the gamble out of farming. Heavy spring rains at plowing time need not worry the man who chisels, for his work is already done. He can, however, use the chisel for deep spring breakage in soil types which do not puddle easily and which are hard enough below the surface for effective breakage by the chisel points. KILLEFER TILLAGE $1 Mill deep. chisel stirs and breaks a deeper seed bed fi with the same power, but it does not turn the soil upside down nor bring barren soil to the surface to w% stunt the germinating plant. - Unlike plowing, it does not expose to the sterilizing rays of the sun a layer of soil richest in beneficial micro-organisms, a term by which we refer to the bacteria, algae and fungi which inhabit the soil and carry on a great part of the manufacture of soil material into soluble plant food. Chiselling helps the soil to receive a generous supply of oxygen necessary to these organisms and to soil chemical processes. In addition, it allows air with its yy’ if a er - : : humid water content to penetrate the soil column to greater depths, This air flow is brought about mainly by changes in day and night temperature and barometric pressure. In this manner “dew” is allowed to benefit the living organisms below the surface as well as to deposit itself on the grass above. Air “flow” is also found to promote the growth of those micro- organisms which increase and extend their growth by means of air spores. Seepage of rainfall into the soil column is obviously much improved by chiselling and root penetration is greatly assisted. 92 KILLEFER TILLAGE water standing on the surface with attendant evapo- : ration losses and baking of the topsoil when dried out. In rolling land it is much more profitable to have soluble plant foods seep down into the root zone for later use, rather than have them run away into the nearest creek. . Deep chiselling permits the root system to develop where conditions are advantageous, rather than to force its develop- ment above a plowpan in hot, dry surface soil where physical conditions are changing frequently and rapidly. A deeply JHiablished root system also helps against wind damaging and odging. The chisel should be set to work just under the plowpan -or plow “sole.” Increases in yield have resulted by breaking ‘up the top portion of such “pans” but this is extremely hard on implements, wastes power and does not accomplish the great- est good. When the soil is once broken to proper depth for the destruction of these “pans” it is not usually necessary to work them as deep each following year, unless they are of the ferruginous, or highly iron, types which have the property of cementing themselves together again after a period of time. HIS downward movement of soil water is of great help in reducing soil erosion. It also eliminates KILLEFER TILLAGE 33 eeply broken by the chisel, these hard formations below the surface are helped to separate by the soil from the top which filters down. This naturally contains more humus, or vegetable matter than the soil below, carries with it desirable soil micro-organisms and extends soil chemical processes about these hard pieces which have been broken up. It should be remembered that the Kille- fer chisel leaves a large percentage of these “clods” under ground to be acted upon by these organisms and soil chemistry to increase the supply of soluble soil material. The chiseling operation can be accomplished at a smaller cost than plowing, according to the majority of users. Points can be replaced cheaper than shares, the cost of keeping them sharp is less, and the tractor can pull more feet of the chisel cultivator than of plows at the same or less than the same depth. In addition, the chisel breaks ground on each side of its width. A 6’ chisel will actually work about 8’ of ground and it is not necessary to “plow out the corners.” Summed up, the Killefer chisel is usually a much cheaper method of tilling land than by the ordinary plowing method. It destroys detrimental soil formations and improves water seepage. It puts soil in physical condition to promote root growth. By filling large cracks it saves moisture lost through excessive air flow. It gives the soil column a better supply. of oxygen and thereby stimulates biological activity and chemi- cal reactions in a measure sufficient to produce more plant 34 | KILLEFER TILLAGE food from available elemental sources. The success of this method has been demonstrated by a preponderance of evidence in actual yields obtained. This is of more importance to farmers than volumes of theory. Your farming operations may be carried on in some out- of-the-way corner of the earth, but — wherever your farming is practiced — you will find your root crops feeding on the same nitrates, the same phosphates, the same carbon and other sxential elements that produce crops in any other part of the ‘world. A crop of wheat in Russia uses the same water, the same air and the light and heat of the same sun that is used by the wheat crops of Australia, South Africa or America. You will find, wherever you go, the same soil chemical reactions, the same bacteria at work and a machine which will Harvest wheat in Argentine will thresh the same wheat equally well in Canada or Egypt. Itis not amiss to say that Killefer tools will work soil in one country the same as they will work it in any other, to all practical purposes. The principles of soil treatment practiced in the Killefer System of Tillage are helpful to crop production in widely separated parts of the world and abundant evidence is accumulating to prove this fact. Grain farmers should write for a copy of our grain folder, A-101. KILLEFER TILLAGE FOR DUCK-FOOT CULTIVATION HE Killefer Chisel-Cultivator may be used for duck-foot cultivation in districts where such work is of particular advantage. It may be supplied with a sweep of our own special design which performs a superior type of work. These sweeps are supplied in widths of 8”, 12” and 16”. These are excellent for shallow tillage of summer-fallow land, for weed eradication, quack-grass con- trol, seed-bed preparation and mulching and as a general pur- pose field cultivator. But in addition to these operations, the Killefer Chisel-Cultivator has the advantage of being able to do a proper job of deep chiselling with its regular points attached. This makes it a real two-purpose tocol. The earth is left in rough condition with the trash on top to prevent soil blowing, to catch snow and to prevent packing under hard rains. The assortment of sweeps listed above permits their use on any of our cultivators with 6”, 10” or 12” spacing of points. The unusual clearance of our wide-spacing models makes them advantageous for work in difficult trash conditions. In the Killefer System of Tillage we do not advocate duck-foot cultivation as a substitute for deep chiselling, for the reason that it is a plow-pan builder, but provides the grain farmer with a means of fighting certain types of weeds. KILLEFER TILLAGE “MOLE” DRAINAGE pry N THE foregoing pages we have described briefly the work of Killefer deep-working implements in general farm operations. We wish to call attention here to a special use which can be made of the Killefer for land drainage. A ball, or “mole,” may be fitted to the rear of the landside for a quick, economical means of making drains. The land should contain sufficient clay so that the drains do not crumble and fill easily in dry season. These often remain for several years. The low cost and speed with which these drains may be made often permit the grow- ing of an extra crop. When fitted with a “mole” attachment the Killefer requires approximately 25% more power than when used for ordinary breakage, other conditions remain- ing equal. The ball, or “mole,” is supplied in 314”, 4” and 6” diameters. A special deep-working drainage plow is shown on page 48. It is equipped with an 8” ball. KILLEFER TILLAGE 37 HE Killefer Tillage System, summed up, makes use of three principal tools: the killefer, the chisel culti- vator and the cover-crop disc harrow. We do not use in our literature the term “subsoiler” or “subsoil” plow, for these terms are indefinite, generally misapplied and commonly misunderstood. The term “killefer” is coming into general popularity owing to the fact that it represents the particular type of tool in which the Killefer Manufacturing Corporation has specialized for many years, and for the reason that it has been developed from crude types to a stage of modern practi- cability and usefulness, and its advantages persistently advo- cated and demonstrated to the agricultural world by a man of this name. The manufacture of subsoil plows was abandoned many years ago by the Killefer Manufacturing Corp., at the time of recognition of the advantages of the Killefer Tillage System, in which plowing has no part. Different types of implements have been used for breaking the subsoil in the progress of civilized man, but the term “killefer” is specific of the type common in present day tractor use perfected by Robert Killefer. Crops the world over are nourished by the same water, the same sun and the same soil elements, or plant foods, and while this booklet tells mainly of the results of deep soil breakage in the west, its benefits have been demonstrated conclusively in soils of many other states and foreign countries. ROWERS who are not familiar with this system often have, before investigation, an idea that its ben- efits will exhaust the land, for yields are often in- creased to great proportion compared to those ob- tained under ordinary tillage methods. This is not the case. This method puts more soil to work. It is true that it enables crops to draw heavier upon the soil, but it provides a much larger source of supply. It not only puts more soil to work but enables what has been farmed continuously to increase its chemical and organic activity and replenish itself. Most killefers have been employed to assist the yield of lands “which have been held back by natural disadvantages. How- ever, each year is adding to the number used on land which is in good condition and in which no pans are present. In these cases the benefits obtained are explained by the fact that the physical condition of good soil is improved by means of better drainage, ventilation, bacterial growth and water storage. 3 KILLEFER TILLAGE HOW DEEP SHOULD LAND BE KILLEFERRED? HE killefer should be used to work as deep as possible with the power available. In general, the deeper, the better. Naturally, deep-rooted crops i should be worked deeper than open fields where grain is grown. HOW FAR APART SHOULD THE “FURROWS” BE? F used at a time when the soil is favorable, the kille- fer will shatter hard formations in four directions, Large cracks will be formed ahead of the point and standard, others will reach out to the right and left and some will extend downward. When starting out in un- tried land, the user should investigate to find how far these lateral cracks are extending to the right and left of the furrow. If they reach out two feet on each side he is breaking a strip four feet wide. In that case, he need not run his furrows nearer than six or eight feet. It is desired that these lateral cracks will meet or overlap. | HOW MUCH POWER IS REQUIRED? IN medium type soil underlaid with ordinary plow § sole, the small tractor of 8 or 10 drawbar horse- power will handle a killefer from 14 to 18 inches deep. Conditions depend on tractor footing, fuel used, nature of pan, moisture, etc. For the deeper working tools from 20 to 30 drawbar horsepower are often required in order to go from 22 to 30 inches deep. In some soil formations a killefer furrow 28 inches deep will require a tractor of 45 horsepower. Some soils with seri- ous pan conditions to be overcome have been worked success- fully 18 and 20 inches deep with tractors of 15 drawbar horse- power. As a general rule the three-standard killefer requires in the neighborhood of 60 horsepower for working 24 inches or more, and the five-standard implement will require 75 horse- power or better if deep work is intended. These figures are KILLEFER TILLAGE 39 naturally hard to give with accuracy. These claims are as moderate as possible and exceptional cases are not considered. A word of caution should be given in this connection. Killeferring should not be done at a time, or with a tool designed to make draft as light as possible for the prime object of this work is THOROUGH BREAKAGE OF HARD UNDER GROUND FORMATIONS and to leave them WELL BELOW THE SURFACE. These can best be bro- ken into small pieces when the ground is most dry and brittle. ~- WHEN SHOULD LAND BE KILLEFERRED? HE answer naturally depends somewhat on the cli- mate and crop. The best season under the Killefer Bn 1illage System is admitted to be the dry months of late summer and fall. At that time breakage is bet- ter, good tractor footing is provided and the soil will break wider and deeper than at other times. In tree and vine culture the early training of the root sys- tem naturally has a great deal to do with the time deep work may be done. Some trees have natural root systems which can be worked deep almost any month in the year without damage. Others have root systems near the surface of such a nature that they can be worked deep with greatest profit dur- ing the dormant period or when fruiting is completed. For alfalfa land, fall and winter working has been found best. Land devoted to grain, beans, rice and other field crops can best be worked after crops are off in the summer and fall, although trees and vines have been killeferred with safety in the spring and summer before the fruit appears. The dry season in fruit and grape culture is naturally late in the year owing to summer irrigation, HOW OFTEN IS IT NECESSARY TO KILLEFER LAND? gi NDERGROUND breakage once a year is general l§ practice in orchard, vineyard and open field. In some cases this deep work has been practiced with benefit every other year, but soil conditions in these cases were unusually good. KILLEFER TILLAGE Some ground after deep workin I rigat: ( g and thorough will run together again, for the nature of the To is Pk i the topsoil which filters down and se clods into which the “pan” is broken up is not of a character to keep this “pan” from running together again, If cover crops are used steadily this condition wi ally disappear. _ This filtering of topsoil into ade. Spaces carries with it the rich accumulations of plant food to the deeper roots, and the movement js assisted throughout the season by the deep working Killefer Cultivator, g years g and carefully watching Y types of points, standards ] t of the i you are accomplishing underground. ie implement, the less We aim to build the killefer for most effective work, rather than for light draft. In fact, Killefer tools owe their existence to the use for many years of li our soils. yy light draft tools upon KILLEFER TILLAGE THE COST PER ACRE Depends on depth of work, character of “pan” and how close the cuts are made to each other. Killeferring an alfalfa field in the Sacramento Valley, near Davis, Calif., where single cuts were made 8 feet apart in medium heavy soil at a depth of 18 to 22 inches cost $2 per acre in 1921. General costs for deep work will lie between $4 and $8.50 per acre. In one case where difficult pan was encountered and the owner was obliged to rent a 60 H.P. tractor at $5.50 per hour, he found that it cost $4.50 per acre to pull a single standard killefer 22 inches deep in furrows 10 feet apart. In orchards with rows spaced in the neighborhood of 24 feet this is an ap- proximate cost, as two cuts between rows are customary work- ing one way down rows. The Pacific Rural Press for November 26, 1921, relates that in the San Joaquin Valley on clay loam soil it cost $6 per acre to killefer old alfalfa land 14” deep, making the furrows 2 feet apart. This work was done with horses in 1921. The article states that this land produced between 10 and 12 tons of hay per acre the year it was killeferred, while other parts of the field which were not given this deep treat- ment yielded between three and four tons per acre. The owner found by digging a test hole through his “pan” that the water went under and spread in a circle 12 feet wide, as indicated by vigorous after-growth around this test hole. HOW DOES THE KILLEFER AFFECT DRAINAGE? N orchardist in the Napa Valley, Calif., accidentally allowed his pump to run overtime. One low corner of his apple orchard was badly flooded. However, the deep wide cracks left in his subsoil by the kille- fer took care of the surplus water in reservoirs deep in the ground and in the fall of 1922 the largest apples and trees loaded the heaviest in the orchard were in that same corner and those same trees had never yielded notably before. The incident was related in the Napa Farm Bureau Monthly for November, 1922. The question of sub-surface drainage is too large to be covered with thoroughness in a bulletin of this nature. Users 42 KILLEFER TILLAGE have found that when too great an amount of water exists below the surface soil, the use of the deep-working killefer is of great assistance in taking care of the surplus water, provid- ing the surplus water is not too deep to be reached by the chan- nels, or furrows, left by the killefer. Underdrainage is greatly improved by the system of loosely-filled cracks which lead in many directions from each killefer furrow. HILLSIDE USE OF THE KILLEFER HE killefer furrow parallel to the contour lines of hilly land is a great aid to effective irrigation. Slop- ing land will take a quantity of water in this manner . which would be impractical if furrows were run down hill. Killefer furrows in this manner prevent washing, or “leaching” and help farming by the terrace method. WHEN IS THE “CROWDER” MOST EFFECTIVE This, like any other irrigation tool, should be used when- ever the ground needs the water for greatest crop benefit. The proper amount of “soil solution” —which is the film of moist- ure around each microscopic grain of earth— is necessary for plant growth. More of it is required at some seasons than others. Land should not be overwatered for in that case the necessary amount of soil air may be crowded out and the excess water will often carry away with it the soil water which contains much plant food in solution. The crowder should be used whenever the supply of soil water is becoming exhausted by feed roots. It is a fundamental principle that the longer the proper amount of soil solution is present in land the longer its mild acid can dissolve soil particles and the more food will go into this solution to be used later by root when needed. However, it must not be understood that we advocate continual soaking of orchard soils. Field practice has demonstrated that in most types the most profitable growth is accomplished when the amount of soil water is approximately 65% of the hygroscopic co- efficient for that particular type. This will keep the crop well above the wilting point and the desired amount of air will not be driven out by excessive static water. KILLEFER TILLAGE 4 WHAT IF THE KILLEFER “PRUNES” ROOTS? T should be remembered that the plant draws its moisture from THE TIP OF THE ROOT. Cut off a feed-root underground, irrigate the land and watch the root-growth. You will find that the cut root becomes a “hand” from which numerous “fingers,” or ad- ditional feeders, will start out from the pruned bark, much in the same manner as wood pruned above ground. Instead of a single root tip gathering moisture, that root will then have a number. It has been found that the majority of these will grow downward through the fractures left by the tool which cut off the parent root, instead of taking the general direction of the cut root. This increased downward growth by this training makes it easier to use the killefer each year thereafter. for lateral growth will be steadily replaced by downward growth and result in deeper habits. CONCLUSION HE foregoing pages have described a number of suc- cessful time-tried methods of meeting problems which have confronted the western farmer of all crops for many years, especially the grower of trees and vines. These methods, known as the Killefer Tillage System, may be summed up as follows: i ne ——— bil i! H 3 — = ei KILLEFER TILLAGE The killefer used as a pan-breaker for supplying moist- ure and air to the lower soils, and putting more soil to work by helping physical and chemical forces. The killefer used as a deep irrigator, leaving the top-soil with less danger of baking and enabling prompt cul- tivation after irrigation with little evaporation. The killefer used as a means of deep burial of fertilizers in orchard and vineyard by the trench system, The deep Killefer cultivator as a method of retaining moisture and air in soil by deep mulching, by pre- venting the formation of pans near the surface. The use of specially designed disc harrows for turning into the topsoil all surface vegetation or cover crops and thoroughly scattering this material among soil particles to greatest advantage. This system has been developed through 31 years of study and experiment by the founders of the Killefer Manufacturing Co., who have fostered it in the face of general doubt, preju- dice and disbelief, and who have developed through the years proper implements for its successful and economical practice, until it has reached a point of envied popularity. In these years of pioneering this system we have been greatly assisted by the observations of many farm advisors, pathologists, soil analysts, the State Farm at Davis, and by the whole-hearted co-operation of users of this system who con- sider their farming as a strictly business proposition and are in it to make money. These users have considered their money-making experi- ences worth passing on to you. If this booklet relating their experiences has helped you to judge the merits of this system, and if it has shown you that the value of this better method may be applied to your own farming operations, then its mis- sion has been worth while. ~The following pages contain opinions of men who have used the Killefer system of tillage, or parts of it, for greater profit in their farming operations. They are worth your care- ful study. We will be glad to mail descriptive literature of any implement illustrated in this bulletin. Your request will put you under no obligation whatever, and if you wish, we will be glad to give you the name of the implement dealer nearest you who carries Killefer implements. He will be glad to dis- cuss your soil problems with you and, if possible, help you to find a successful solution for them, KILLEFER TILLAGE @. PD Bosavg, Ownea Jorr P. Bumawx, Tewany THE EUBANK FARMS GRAINS AND LIVESTOCK CULLISON, KANSAS : : Jamiary 13, 1926. ~ The H. W. Cardwell Company, 300 South Wichita, ¥ichita, Kan. Bear Sirs: Mr. Cardwell, I have been planning to answer your requests in regard to results obtained from the Killefer Chisel I pur- es last spring. feing to the many activities, and piles of work I've had this fall, I've neglected doing so. At the present time I will set forth opinions to date: I belteve that ‘the Killefer Chisel is a tool that will be on almost every farm by or in the next five years. I believe it is a wonderful tool to use in the fall on summer fallow. Then let the ground lay all winter to ocatoh moisture, snow, and slowly undergo the process of pulverization and airing. Then just as soon as there is a tendency for a growth in the spring, use the tandem disk, or one way plow; to kill vegetation, and seal back the ground broken. I‘would at least chisel down twelve inches in the fall on summer fallow. This will make a seed bed for fall that has no equal. Use the disc or one-way disc all summer up tilX sowing time, but one the last going over, go very shallow in order not to disturb the seed bed. The one-way is superior to. the diso in this respect. d not use the Chisel on spring crop ground. But as soon 188 aot Bae started, we 4 the lister behind the combine, listing about Seventy acres. Then in the same field adjoining this land we chiseled sixty aores. Adjoining this was a twenty- five aore summer fallow field that made thi three bushels. Now it is seoond year summer fallow, with ear listing. The chiseled ground is in the center. At time of sowing we could take the ground where the drill furrow broke and make mud balls. This ground was chiseled, disced twice, and harrowed once. This wheat came up at once, stooled, and spread out over the ground a8 if it were summer fallow. The two pieces, one 'on each side, can hardly be compared, because the chiseled ground is so far ahead of The others. You could tell just where the line was on each side because the unchiseled ground was so much blacker, not having the big, vigorously stooled wheat plants on it. is only one thi I'm sorry for, and that is that I did'nt ir) Tory font of Ess Neighbors and people from consider- able distance came to see this comparison. There is one thing that must be done in breaking wheat grounds Do it early, and as fast as you can, in order to catch all the moisture of the summer and start sealing it back with a disc or one-way disc as soon as you get a good rain on it. Then keep down vege- tation. ny : Trusting this will answer your requests, KILLEFER TILLAGE KILLEFER TILLAGE The single standard killefer, or pan- : buster, is built in four sizes. The F. L. MEIER oD No. 12 works as deep as 18” and is ORCHARDIST suited to tractors of 12 drawbar LINDEN: CAY., horsepower. Zwierlein Implement Co. Stockton, Cal. The No. 15 works as deep as 20” and ; i Gentlemen: will stand the power of tractors of 15 yall tD express my complete satisfaction with the drawbar horsepower. Killefer Single Standard pambuster, 1Xkilleferedmy 30 acre prune orchard meking 2 cuts 22 inches deep each way be- The No. 20 works as deep as 22” tween the rows. My land is considered quite heavy but the esses consumed but 12 gallons of distillate in 10 hours with and will stand the power of tractors the tmplament at, ite maximum depth. As a result of'killeferingmy trees appeared to be in of 20 drawbar horsepower. healthier condition the following spring and the cover- erop was appreciably heavier. In summer irrigation the The No. 25 ‘vorks as deep as 24” and is for 25 draw- ; ground sbsozped tires Fines Se nue yates 58 is had pre- . vious one an ess time too. orchard yielded a bar horsepo 7€r tractors. Y Ny tonnage and the prunes were individually largér. The orop following killeferinggraded 31 points better It will be noted that we avoid in our literature to the pound than the previous average year and thus netted me a much better price. The crop this year shows the My > 29 6c : 2” the use of the word “‘subsoiler or subsoil plow. same improvement to date. I am thoroly convinced of the The term “‘killefer,” or panbuster, is coming into benefits of killefering and the Killefer System of Deep Tillage in general and recommend the practice to others. general popularity owing, perhaps, to the ob- vious fact that it has come to stand for the partic- "ZF ny: a ular type of tool we have developed and in which : : ‘ we specialize. To many, it is more descriptive in — "—— ; meaning. ? pH Garten Plain, Sanpee We abandoned the manufacture of subsoil plows Re many years ago, at the time of recognition of the Paid as. Cadwell: advantages of the Killefer Tillage System, in pn which plowing hes rio pare. Sige ine Se os wide through my corn field The attachment at the left is for and noticed shat the corn in the chiselled ground deep cultivation in narrow . stayed green : deal longer tham the corn om p : A vis Be ph fh chiselled. may be attached to the No. 12 or the the ground tha April 8, 1921. abe t effect Killefer 1 just wanted to 10% you Know What orl Haein. a due to the fact that after N 0 1s killefers to fit them for spe- mh a ad and get moisture 3 aragus rhubarb, ron vine- the Joke > of the field was dry and hard. as asparagus, rhubarb, narrow vine- ; ; y land oduced 6 to 8 bushels may & y lied tr as | Chip I i inf igiet on the land may be supplied 3 feet wide with 5 | where the chisel was not used. standards, or 4 feet wide with 7 | Yours tpply, standards. Each will work to a AY dice depth of 10 inches. epee BOX DIXON: CAL, Harvie Haw & Imyt Qo : Sacramento, Calif. July 1, 1920. Gentlemen: In reply to your in quiry abo mill stan pi¢Pir chased of your com an 1a Septemd On the 80 actos thet hoD, Pleased with the following. a {isang of 14 sacks of Pies and harrowed twice it . four times ac he Killefer tractor dition for the fal] ening: soil o Bandas" none, ohimering « . . . €t another, . The Killefer built for horse use is shown above. It may Yours truly, be supplied with steel or wood beam. Gauge wheels are REL Jy Hs.., extra equipment. KILLEFER TILLAGE The 5-standard Kil- lefer shown here is built for the grower who desires to work his soil deeper than usual. It has much greater penetration than the chisel shown below and has been found very effective as a booster of crops. It is fitted with auto- matic lift and many other valuable features. We also build an implement similar to this in design, but provided with three standards. The Killefer Chisel is designed particu- larly for the grower of field crops. Itdoes not work as deep as the heavier Killefers, but is very effective in the destruction of plow pan. It is also used with great profit on land which be- comes very difficultto work after years devoted to rice cul ture. i af Ed The Killefer Gopher or Mole Plow is the deepest working of our implements. It. was originally de- signed for land drain- age. A torpedo fol- lows the land side and leaves a drain- age hole similar to that left by a mole. This may be run at any desired depth down to four feet. Drains are run toward the lowest KILLEFER TILLAGE DODGE LAND COMPANY DODGELAND, BUTTE COUNTY CALIFORNIA June 12, 1920. W. J. Shepard, Marysville, Calif. Dear Sir: : Referring to your deep tillage tools I de~ sire to advise you that we have a very high regard for the value and use of same. The year 1918 we used your 10 standard chisel and covered 2000. acres of old rice land which had grown rice for three years. : : The land was sour, water-logged and extreme- ly hard, being of adobe formation. It was impoas- ible to plow this land. Our work was applied to it during June, July and August. : The history of this land under summer fallow treatment in wheat, before much had been planted to rice, was a response of from 3 to 6 sacks per acre. Under the treatment we applied to the land described we out from 8 to 20 sacks per acre from the same land. The entire tract averaged better than 10 sacks of wheat. There are in existance many photos of this orop. This work was observed by all the 0ld frater- nity of farmers who lived in the country and were the supposed experts of the best methods for farming this class of land, many of whom prophesied we would not get our se 4 DacK.osssrans t .are at this time preparing 6000 acres of 0ld rice land for wheat which will be harvested in 1921 We expect to chisel this entire area, believing it to be the very best possible method of soil prep- aration...., 8ince our crop of the year 1919 I notice many chisels at work on other lands farmed by various farmers. I sincerely trust their experience will be equal to ours, in faot, I am satisfied that their re- turns will warrant the expense of chiseling, which is no greater than pY¥ewing the samé) a GhtTo Cal md Inv, Co, Arboga 000 acres of land) HEIRS OF JAMES PHELAN PHELAN RANCH CHICO, CAL Chico, Cal. May 16, 1921 W J Bhepard, Marysville, Calif Pear Sie: In answer to your inquiry as to the use made of the Killefer Chisel purchased last 86480m I wish to state that I consider it the best wo in I have ever had to break up dry adobe land. ¢ . . . . * - 1 tin of rice or grain point of contour. This implement is also used with great success prepare guch land for the planting of Zige or 7 for breakage of deep hardpan. In such cases the torpedo is removed. oO ed eT 8 hs expense. I have It is of great benefit when orchard trees are to be planted, for deep siniyy found wl) she Esllefer tools wel) Wu breakage assists the young roots to form early habits of deep growth. Yours ly Write for descriptive literature of any tool of interest. KILLEFER TILLAGE KILLEFER TILLAGE 51 ' Killefer Automatic-Lift Cul- tivators may be fitted with many attachments which make them valuable tools at all seasons. The irrigation furrower is shown at the left. This is for shallow work only. The photo at the right shows the Killefer cultivator fitted with the Morning-glory At- tachment. These blades are effective against weeds, etc, and as surface mulchers. A 7-foot Killefer Chisel Cultivator is shown above working 12 inches deep in hard pasture land which had not been tilled for several years. Two types of Killefer Chisel Cultiva- | tors are ; | built for | # The Killeter Chisel is gractors. Ee | shownattheleftequipped Thess are | 8 mma roi ww i with duck-foot sweeps. gal ; [fe Ri an Bl These are furnished in His Nos. § RL IB 3” 12” and 10” widths. wh the “S’’ se- | | ries. The No.5 1s 5’ wide and may be extended to 6’ or 7 The No. 6 is 6’ wide but may be extended to 7’ or 8’. Both have 3/"x 3” standards which are adjust- able laterally. The “S” series is built in sizes from 5’ to 10" with 1” x 3” standards spaced 6” or 12” apart. They will work 10” or 12” deep and wherever used they are the standards of com. parison. The furrower shown at the right can be fitted to the Killefer Chisel Cultivator for irrigation in deep furrows. It prepares a deep, narrow, easily-filled trench and is suit- able for irrigation by the “crowder” method The Killefer Monarch Cultiva- tor 1s adapted to either horse or tractor use. It is a deep worker, built to the Killefer standard of strength and dura- bility and is very popular in field work. described in previous pages. The number used will depend on the width of the culti- vator frame at hand. One advantage for its use is the fact that it can be adjusted from side to side to suit width of rows. It may also be used for listing corn and cotton lands to hold snow and prevent blowing. Write for descriptive literature of any tool of interest. KILLEFER TILLAGE The Oro Lows Farms Gompany : oe Cot Gens, October 10, 1923 Budd & Quinn, 1616-1518 H Street Fresno, Calif. Gentlemen: It certa to recommend the Seiuly flys us rea y Pleasure never fails poh ro © and gratifying do not have hardpan soil . us to use it. yan oil, it cert yours Mr. Ww. Je. Shepard, Marysville, Dear BI cannot recommend t00 gurengiy t 3-stand~ deep tillege. I PUTO CLT, 0 1919 and where jce of deep ‘where ard Killefer with > is I used it 1 t my land about Piilefering is Wk it) Tipton, Cal. Sept 26, 1922 Budd & Quinn, Fresno, Calif. Gentlemen: It affords the writer pleasure to tell you the results we have obtained with the Killefer panbugter and Cultivator. There are no dry spots in our vineyard and the permeabil- ity of the soil for the absorption of water has been increased two and one half times what it was before killefering. The vines are in very healthy condition, and my power bill for the pumping plants hes been out in half from last year, due to the fact that the soil now retains the moisture in the subsoil below the plow pan that was broken up while killefering, The cultivator is a wonder. At this time of year I have a twelve inch mulch in the vineyard waiting to absorb the rain when it Come8....... As for Killefer tools, I can say nothing but praise. They are everything Kill- efer claims and more too. I can see no apprec- iedble weat after a year's hard use. Yours for Killefer, Ander tt _Improgement Co., INC B ’ KILLEFER TILLAGE Omeario, Cal. July 2nd, 1922 Killefer Manfg. Co., Los Angeles, Calif. Gentlemen . Have been intending for a long time to tell you the results I have obtained with your small-size Xkillefer. A8 you may remember, you sent it out in August. 1919, after 1 had told you that several acres of peaches were wilting. By running deep furrows through the orchard and irrigating in the furrows all fruit osme up to the required size, saving probably 16 to 20 tons of fruit. : Since that time we have used the killefer extensively, usually running furrows each way each year, and sometimes more than once, as we use the furrows for irrigation. With a very heavy crop of peaches this year I am using the killefer almost altogether for fur- rowing out in the orchard. During the last thre years 1 have killefered sbout 200 acres for neighbors some of it more than once. In one orange grove the owner seid his trees grew more in four months after subsoiling than they had in four years previousiy. Another grower said his walnuts grew nine feet in three months after killefering where pre- viously they were hardly growing at all. I killefer- ed a ei rare four days ago one way and told the owner it would be better to do both waya, but | he JaoughL Sue way enous After ir7igaving in the furrows. came baok | wanted me to’ the cross- furrows also. I consider the Killafer the most valuable tool on the ranch and wouldn't care to attempt to ‘get along without it. Budd & Quinn, 1516-1518 B Street Oct. 6, 1922. Fresno, Calif. Gentlemen Last year I purchased from you for my different ranches two killefers and two 5-foot cultivators, I am now glad to report that the results obtained through the use of these tools have been eminently satisfactory. Where the land was killefered both rain and irrigation water percolated into the soil more rapidly than ever before. No standing water remained in low places to interfere with cultivate ion. The cultivators have done splendid work. They are strong tools and where one hes sufficient power, can be used for deep cultivation. In my opinion this type of cultivator is exceptionally valuable because it stirs the soil under the sur- face without very much disturbing the surface soil, which ~ if stirred up too often Sa our warm summer climate - would lose in humus content. We enjoy using these Killefer tools and can heartily recommend them for “use behind tractors in this San Jouquin Valley. Ycurs truly AJS GM . KILLEFER TILLAGE . The regular Killefer Disc Har- row is noted for its strength, deep-working ability and free- dom from repairs and attention. No part is higher than the disc blades and every pound of ma- terial is in working parts. It has many unusual features of superiority. Killefer disc harrows can be fitted with offset hitches for workin undertrees. Thesediscsaresupplied withheattreated discblades which have greatly increased wearing qualities and cut down the cost of disc maintenance. These discs may be had with chain hitch, backin hitch h above) or with offset hitch for working under rig § hows The Killefer Cover-Crop Disc Harrow is built in sizes from 5 to 11 feet. It is especially de- signed to turn under cover-crop and thoroughly mix it with the soil. Users claim it removes the difficulties usually experi- enced when plows are used for this work. KILLEFER TILLAGE ny" “REDLANDS PRIDE" NB MINCKLEY s8eY AND Bryn Mawr Fruit Growers’ Assoriation MEMBER OF CALIFORNIA FRUIT GROWERS EXCHANGE Bryn Same, Galiforats, Sovember 13. -1922.19 The Killefer Manufscturing Co., Los Angeles, Calif. Gentlemen:~ I am glad to answer your letter of October 20th, 1922 regarding my use of your Cover-Crop Disc Harrow. This disc is the only one I have ever seen which to my notion will handle & cover-crop successfully. The ordinary .gover-crop it hrandles very well by one discing both ways of the orchard. If there is a growth of large and rank weeds it may be necessary to go 8 second time. The disc is also good when there is straw, or material of eny kind on the ground which will clog up the ordinary disc harrow, the discs being spaced 9 inches instead of 6 inches 8part.....s-2.0.1i1 comes nearer to do- ing a plowing job than any other tool that I know of. The first disc I had, had 20 discs, five on each arm. I found this too heavy for any of the orchard tractors and have since bought the smaller pattern with 16 discs, which 1 am using in my groves almost the year round. 7 8 atl GROWERS OF BEANS AND SEEDS LOS ANGELES AND SAN DIEGO COUNTIES los Angeles, 2-20-28. TEER BARNARD BROS. The Killefer Mfg. Co, Loe Angeles, Calif. tlemen: Sen We have used four of your 12 foot engine disco harrows during the past 10 years on our bewun ranch and would not be without them ae we consider them the most useful tool on the pluce ae a weed killer and in prerar- ing the lend for a geed-bad. On light land it ie hardly necesssry to plow as the soil can pe worked 6 to 8 inches deer with the disc. Several years ago we got caught on a 50 acre piece of gumbo. land. It wae 80 wet by the raine that it would mire a pillow, Not until the weede were 5 feet high could we get: the engines on the land and then it could not be plowed and worked down. After exreriment- ing awhile we brought out the disc harrow and by going over the lend several times we not only killed the weeds but worked ur enough of the soil to make a good seed bed, 80 that in- steud of losing the orop for that year it was t yield ever. 120 Yes Yims then we never use anything but the disc on gumbo land in preparing seed bed as we know of no other tool that will work as well. The upkeep is not heavy, only the wear on the discs sand voxings and that depende largely on the nature of the soil. GEO KILLEFER TILLAGE ; KILLEFER TILLAGE 57 Killefor Webiliie ave detail ait LL Ree oe cmon oso en and are sold at 2 price which ne FHL 0 00 0 FO 0 them almost indispensible on the CLARKADOTA FIG ORCHARD well-cultivated place. They are made 4 in sizes from 4 to 12 riod Killefer and NURSERY blades are patented and have a spe- MoTHas cacame piven TULARE co Ce osm ornice vevernone cial throat which is without rival. 110900 0 5 0 0 00 00100 0 0 0 0 OE 5 . o oN The blades of the Killefer Adjust- AC) Iwieriein: oplenont Co. . Aug. 7th, 1922 able Weeder may be set at the de- 110 So. Aurora St.. an Stockton, California. sired depth by means of clamps Lg which hold the blades in place. They a Sent ewen: are heavier and somewhat higher | i. Rl ahps § or o o . Se Fi Ae lib v I wish to draw gour particular attention to two port- in price than the regular Killefer WG ; Ta, fons of the Clarkedota Pig rlantations on which we or Sg vl rh. + illefer and chise n September of last year i Weeder. They prepare an excellent : oa : “ll. ye ag preparing our land for planting to the 7 pit i Ag surface mulch and are of great as- | PE Ks ° or Sob lll The one, 11 acres lying in the sharp angle. formed sistance in the control of weeds. ; cn | ACE | by the Mariposa Highway and the Hogan Road close to the city of Stockton, was blasted 8nd in addition was killefered 26 inches deep down the rows of the trees, as well as all the balance of the 1000 ecres prepared for planting this year. These particular 1} acres were broken up to a depth of 18 inches by the Killefer tools we were then using. The entire surface was broken as well as the blasted and deep worked portion. This land was planted to fig trees this spring and up to the present writing, Aug. 7th., it has been irrigated by tank wagons only. : Directly across the road from these 11 acres are 100 acres planted in the same manner, ground pre: viously blasted snd killefered down the rows of trees but the central portion between the rows was never broken. This latter piece has been irrigated by tank wagons and treated identically &s the originelly named 11 acres. There is at the present time probably a 30% greater stand and growth on the portion whose entire surface was broken than the portion treated otherwise across the road. Breaking the entire surface, breaking up and destroying the old crack systems which have existed for centuries in our heavy adobe land prevents the drying out which invariably followed the cracking in adobe, regardless of the mulch which may be on the surface. Without any reservation whatever I endorse the Killefer and deep chisel on heavy lands for the planting of trees or grains. The results pay tremendous interest on the investment. Respectfu ISNA, J SER ef ALIFORNIA HES oF C SRANE TON EAL TORIES OB AN HY a IEORNIA vom“ TRACTORS oR Ew COMBINED HARVESTERS PLOWS : ONE A100 Stocn TON CALIFORNIA JUNE 5, 1922, 1lefer Mfg. Co., The Ei los Angeles, Calif Gentlemen:- f I am in receipt of your favor © the 3rd. inst. and in reply would state that . . . . . : . d The killefer is shown above working in a vineyard row. This I killeferedny alfalfa ground last fo4l 70° 1 believe the increase is of advantage for deep-root development and more thorough alfa ae ben doubled. A eral observation penetration of irrigation water. This practice has been and guess work. adopted in some of the oldest California vineyards with very Very eal) ype satisfactory benefits. Pic x= Jan A. fpr KILLEFER TILLAGE GUORGE RILEY wanagEn oso © uarrmessen POTRERO RANCH MEAD OFFICE TRIUNFO VENTURA COUNTY CALIFORNIA April 30. 1919. Killefer Manufacturing Co., Los Angeles, Calif. Gentlemen: We are writing you to express our atitude in the purchase of the heavy duty chisel we NS putting in this years crop. This has been a very good yeur to de- termine the necessity of deep tillage. Altho we have had less than 60% of rainfall this year than last yeur our orops are in a great deal better condition and a great deal heavier than they were last year and I know of no other way to work the soil as economically and thoroly as with the heavy duty Killefer eo NEWCOMB CARLTON, rrRESIDENT GEORGE W, £. ATKINS, FIRST VICE-PRESIDENT RECEIVED AT FRESNO, CAL. 10 Juzl 137 SF F 47 NL To BUDD & QUINN. FRESNO CAL REPLYING TO YOUR INQUIRY IN REGARD TO INCREASE IN GRAIN YIELD ON LAND CHISELED WITH KILLEFER GRAIN CHISEL WILL STATE THAT MY YIELD WAS 17 SACKS PER ACRE WHILE THE AVERAGE IN MY NEIGHBORHOOD ON THE Si4ME KIND OF SOIL NOT CHISELED WAS PROM 6 TO 10 SACKS. YOURS VERY TRULY C. B. HANNER. KILLEFER TILLAGE Waterloo,Cal. Zwrerlein Implement Co., June 15, 1922. Stockton, Calif. Gentlemen* Por the sake of others who might be 8s skeptical &s I was of the promised increased yields to be had from deep work , I am writing to tell you of my experience. z last July, at your behest, I borrowed a Killefer which I used on 10 sores of alfalfa which ‘1 staked out for test because this 10 acres con- tained three distinct types of soil. The upper end a sandy loam yielded } ton per sore the cutting previous to killefering; the lower end, & black adobe, yielded # ton from 3 acres. It was in a deplorable gondition. i I pulled the Killefer Single Standard Number 42 sbout 16 inches deep, making & cut about every 3 foet. after this work , I irrigated and the soil took just 5 times as much water as it had ever previously taken. The result was that the next two cuttings each went one ton per acre on the adobe and 13 tons on the sandy loam. With the #41 Killefer which I then pur- chased from you Ikillefered 50 acres of grain last £a11 and 20 acres which I planted to vineyard this spring. I also broke up several hundred acres of orchard for neighbors. My grain looks splendid and the harvest should reveal an astonishing yield. In closing 1 want to pay tribute to the Killefer Disc and Cultivator, both of which in my opinion, have no equal in heavy soils. They will make plowing obsolete. Wishing you success in the introduction of this system, I am RERAL 1516-1518 H Street, Fresno, Calif. Gentlemen: : I know you will be glud SHS. fopor, on ibe 6 rove ‘se ueiugas: that vo n Februa Killefer #42 in 14 year old aay he . On uecount of the frost 1 : ast : Sha mlz Sooure tute on the Yiraised Soniciion growth and health of the vin ie ; es, but Je Step has fuss Deen taken oft in 8 We secured t Sieres per Yize, 28 against one on Vo Axes, of BD rlot that was marked out at that The increase in wei ror vine between the deep Sit ee 20 own jo TONS, aT IER you would deliver to my iio gual le pe. Filles fer nd I will begin to work place - the total 40 oe SP3. 29, 9%er the whole this, I - ing you for your cooperection in Very truly yours 0.3 Batsrun, P.S. I gained 11,250 pounds in the 1.504 a4 zo of 870 per yo 28 Tous: rion ition to the Foenian, 33 czes killetére: 1 oe place not deep worked. It made Hag Tk » a might - estment return on $148 paid for the 3 Sine ay and I i am a firm believer in Killefer Deep Tillage This Killefer furrow is approximately 4 feet deep. (Printed in the U. 8. A.) TRE § ER Boron SERS aa \ \ RN N NR aa Ra. NN RR RN Na Nhnkikie RX NR NN NE S NR RX 3 RE aN 3 xX RN NN N 3 N X X a SRY NR RY X ) NR X RR NN RTT HR A NAN 0 HERNAN NN \ NN Nh X Sha 3 RR NN aR RRR \ SN x SRN RNR N D \ Na it X NRT TTR MN NR NN x 3X RNs al Nah NNN Nines NN NN \ \ NHS \ rRRiRrRna NN N NT naa \ Nh N NN \ RR | END OF TITLE