194 THE WHEAT INDUSTRY 



and such machines are still found in operation. 

 Where large areas are to be sown the wagon 

 broadcaster is the most popular of these machines. 

 With this implement over a hundred acres can be 

 sown per day, whereas by hand one man can sow 

 only about sixteen acres. The machine may also 

 be regulated to sow thick or thin as may be de- 

 sired. A later method of planting which devel- 

 oped is drilling. This has an advantage over 

 broadcasting in that the seed is not scattered by 

 the wind, and is planted at a uniform depth. 



Harrowing. - - Some method of leveling and 

 pulverizing the soil has always been used as far 

 back as we are able to trace the story of agricul- 

 ture. The oldest method known was to drag a 

 branching limb of a tree back and forth over the 

 field. Sometimes several branches were fastened 

 together, thus covering a wider area. This method 

 is common even now in some countries. Later, 

 wooden pegs were fastened into branches, making 

 thus a crude harrow which, drawn over the fields, 

 would comb and rake the soil to an even surface. 

 Such harrows were used by the Romans before 

 the Christian era. They resembled in their essen- 

 tials the modern machines. Improvements have 

 added to the effectiveness of this implement and 

 it is now made in sections so that it will better 

 reach uneven surfaces. Likewise in the modern 

 implement the teeth are so adjusted by means of 



