CHAPTER V 

 HANDLING THE SOIL 



Plowing, harrowing, rolling, disking, cultivating, and fal- 

 lowing are called tillage operations and are used in the prepa- 

 ration of the soil for crops. Not all of these processes are 

 used for every crop. The kind of soil, the nature of the sea- 

 son, and the crop to be planted — all these have something to 

 do with the amount of preparation given the land. For ex- 

 ample, the raising of wheat does not call for any cultivation. 

 Then, too, it is not a good thing to roll land in a wet season. 

 Again, oats and other spring-season grains are frequently 

 sown without plowing the ground. 



Parts of the Plow. — The beam is the principal part of the 

 plow. To it all the other parts are fastened and to it th© 

 horses are hitched by means of the clevis to pull it through 

 the ground. The beam may be made of wood or iron. The 

 share is the part which slips along on the bottom of the fur- 

 row and cuts the soil loose. It is sometimes called the " point." 

 It is made either of cast iron or wrought iron. The cast-iron 

 point is most in favor for fall plowing, because it is very hard 

 and does not get dull so soon as a wrought-iron point. The 

 mold-board is the curved part just above the share and over 

 which the soil is pushed when the plow goes through the ground. 

 It is curved so that the soil is turned over by the time it has 

 slipped over the mold-board. If the mold-board has a long 



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