Science: Down With the Plow

One of the most revolutionary ideas in agricultural history last week had the general approval of U.S. Department of Agriculture officials. The idea: that the plow is a great enemy of man.

Chief exponent of this theory is an Ohio experimental farmer named Edward H. Faulkner. He believes that plowing is responsible for erosion and most other ills of the U.S. soil. He tested his theory by using a cultivation method of his own: instead of plowing he disk-harrowed the soil and planted his crops in the chopped-up surface stubble, weeds and...