1774 



The Cornell Reading-Courses 



Special soil conditions 



There may be many special conditions of soil or subsoil, of season or 

 crop or equipment, which require peculiar treatment, so that always the 

 purpose to be accomplished should determine the use of an implement. 

 If the soil were a little too wet it might be thrown up in high ridges with 

 a large shovel plow in order to hasten the evaporation of water. In an 

 old orchard long in sod, plowing should be shallow in order to avoid injury 

 to the roots of trees. In the late fall a soil may sometimes be safely 







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Fig. ioi. — The planker. A homemade implement that is very efficient in pulverizing 

 the soil and smoothing the surface. Its pulverizing action in connection with a 

 toothed harrow is often more efficient than the roller 



plowed while in a very wet condition, when winter freezing is depended on 

 to counteract any possible puddling. 



In windy regions sandy soil should not be fall-plowed, since it is likely 

 to be blown away. In parts of the Southwest, plowing in large ridges 

 is found to be more successful in saving moisture than the formation of a 

 level surface, because such plowing prevents the wind from carrying away 

 so much soil and thus conserves moisture. 



Circumstances will always alter cases. It is impossible to lay down 

 fixed rules in the handling of the soil, even for a particular farm, because 



