PLOWING. 91 



nature of the soil. If, instead of sand or soil made up of solid, coarse particles, it is a loam 

 which spring preparation has reduced, not to dust, but to lumps like sand-grains in size, but 

 themselves porous and easily broken to dust or made finer by the passage of the cultivator, 

 then the loosening effect of tillage on the mass may be more or less compensated by its pul 

 verizing effect on the lumps. 



Again, unless there be uninterrupted capillary communication between bottom- water 

 and the surface soil, surface working will not prevent the inevitable drying out of the tilth; 

 nay, it may in the later stages of that drying-out hasten the result. 



A light, loamy land, underlaid at a little depth by coarse sand, and deeper still by a 

 loose gravel, will subject the vegetation on it to severe extremes of water supply, for when 

 heavy rains fall, the fine interstices of the surface will remain gorged, because the coarse 

 material below cannot suck the water down, and when, in drought, the surface-water is 

 exhausted, there is no capillary connection between the loam and bottom-water. Subsoils are 

 not, however, necessarily deficient in capillarity because they contain some gravel. A proper 

 kind and amount of porosity insures the ready distribution of water, whatever be the name 

 of the material. 



The use of the roller after harrowing in seed, and of striking with the flat of the hoe 

 upon the hill after planting, is obviously to facilitate the access of moisture to the seed. The 

 capillary connection between the surface-soil and the moist earth below is largely interrupted 

 by putting in the seed, for that is, in itself, a loosening process. The soil must be compacted 

 in order to restore that connection and insure to the seed and young plant a steady and 

 sufficient supply of water.&quot; 



We therefore see that proper tillage which means tillage adapted to the character and 

 conditions of the soil not only enables the land to retain a greater amount of moisture in 

 time of drouth, but permits the air to penetrate and aerate the soil, thus increasing the vigor 

 and growth of plants, and in various ways greatly augmenting its productive capacities. The 

 soil, having its origin in the solid rock, and thus being abundantly supplied with mineral 

 elements, can never become exhausted of these, as long as any soil remains to be cultivated ; 

 but the necessity of tillage and other aids will probably always remain, in order to put these 

 elements in the best condition to be taken up by the plants and used as plant-food. 



PLOWING. 



IT is a fact worthy of note that the agricultural implements used by a nation or people 

 are a sure index of that nation s civilization and commercial prosperity; and that 

 where the best are in general use, there will be found the best crops, the most wealthy, 

 enterprising, and intelligent people. The principal reliance of the farmer in performing the 

 labor of tillage, is the plow ; it may be followed by a variety of other implements, such as the 

 harrow, roller, etc., to complete the process, but the primary and indispensable utensil is this 

 time-honored implement; hence, plowing, being the most important of the mechanical opera 

 tions of tillage, should always be adapted to the character of the soil and the crops to be 



