205 



Liebig says that "in fallowing, soils are exposed to the action of the 

 weather for the purpose of enriching them in certain soluble ingredients^ 



These are the opinions of the most celebrated agricultural cbemista, 

 and where such high authorities coincide with our views it will be difiB- 

 cult to make us believe that land can bp impoverished by frequent 

 plowings. At the same time it will be well to bear in mind thai wheat 

 requires a strong cohesive soil, and too much working may render land 

 too light; and therefore unsuited to the growth of that crop. 



In some cases once plowing may be sufficient, but the farmer need 

 not fear that by exposing fresh surfaces of the soil totlie atmosphere, its 

 fertilising ingredieiits will vanish. Every days' practice in the field or 

 garden, tends to prove (hat frequent diggings and hoeings and stirring 

 up of the soil, increases the fertility of the earth by exposing new sur- 

 faces to the atmosphere, which dissolves the mineral ingredients which 

 form the inorganic food of plant?. 



In breaking land out of the " green sod," great care should be taken 

 to plow deep and bury the grass perfectly. 



The double paring plow or the '-jointer," is an excellent implement 

 for this purpose, as it possesses what is called in England a "flag" or 

 small coulter, which pares away the grass from the edge of the furrow 

 slice and turns it under; by this means the furrow slices lie compact 

 and close together, form a perfect joint, and keep down all grass and 

 weeds. 



When plowing is carelessly or unskilfully performed, the furrow slices 

 sometimes remain on the edges, instead of being turned quite flat, and 

 the grass springs up between the sods, to the manifest injury of the 

 crop. 



In preparing land for wheat, the first plowing should always bo the 

 deepest, and when grass or clover has been turned down, it should not 

 bo brought up again by subsequent plowings. 



The cultivator is an excellent implement for tilling land, but it does 

 not go deep enough. The grubber or wheel cultivator supplies the 

 place between the plow and the ordinary cultivator, as it can l>e made 

 to penetrate to a sufUcient depth. 



The tests of good plowing should be : 



1st. That it is performed quite straight. 



2d. That the furrow slices be of equal width. 



