Implements ami Tillage. 121 



time the difficulty is increased l)y the number of "sprinf,^ tooth" 

 and other so-called harrows. One rule is that anything with 

 wheels is a cultivator, but the true distinction is still in the shape 

 of the tines and the work they do. A straight tine implement, 

 a typical harrow, makes a seed bed from above, working the land 

 down into a tilth ; a curved tine, whether rigid or springing, 

 makes a seed bed from below. We speak of harrowing down 

 furrows, and breaking up with the cultivator. The harrow 

 tightens, the cultivator loosens. The typical seed bed produced 

 by harrowing only we get well exemplified in growing mangold. 

 It is generally recognised, I think, that on many medium to 

 heavy soils where mangolds are grown on the flat, the best, and 

 often the only, way to get a plant is to dung and plough in 

 autumn and not touch the furrow again till you are ready to 

 sow, then simplj^ harrow and drill and roll in. In this case 

 using heavy harrows, then lighter ones, the furrows are worked 

 down gradually, each turn of the harrows producing more fine 

 mould, leaving the clods on top to be further reduced, and 

 no fresh unweathered soil is brought up till finally the lightest 

 seed harrows complete the operation ready for the drill. Here 

 you have a perfect seed bed, even depth regulated by the 

 weight of the harrows (no leverage brought into play), and 

 plenty of fine mould consolidated by the continual harrowing, 

 for the delicate mangold seedlings to take root in. Had 

 the cultivator been employed it would have torn up the 

 furrows and brought unweathered soil to the surface which 

 would not harrow down, bat would have to ])e disintegrated 

 by main force, producing a hai'sh unkindly tilth. In fact 

 an East Sussex farmer will tell you that you must only 

 use "horse harrows'" for mangold, and that mangold does 

 not want a deep season. This is simply because of the 

 fear of bringing up clods ; so long as the top soil is kept at 

 the top the deeper the tilth the better, if fairly firm. But in 

 preparing a seed bed for swedes and turnips the conditions are 

 different. We then want an implement to go right to the 

 bottom of the newly-turned furrow and bring up all clods and 

 root weeds to the top, to be dealt with by harrows and rollers, 

 and here, on light lands, the spring tine cultivators and harrows, 

 and on heavier soils the semi-rigid sickle form, are a very great 

 improvement on the old heavy, rigid cultivators, doing the 

 work better and at much less expenditure of horse power. 



In cleaning land very full of couch a turn of the cultivator 

 across the furrows followed at once by a heavy double rolling — 

 the first to press down the clods, the second to smash them — 

 followed again by the cultivator and harrows, will generally 



' Note. — Light harrows are still called " huise harrows" in Sussex to 

 distinguish them from ox harrows ! 



