340 THE YOUNG FARMER'S MANUAL. 



strip at the upper side of the field, from which all the super-soil 

 had been removed. When it is not impracticable, side-hills 

 should always be plowed up and down the slope. The soil will 

 work down hill sufficiently fast without plowing it downwards. 



PLOWING A FIELD BY BEGINNING IN THE MIDDLE AND TURN 

 ING THE FURROWS INWARDS. 



477. Every plowman knows that when a field is plowed by 

 going around it and turning the furrows outwards, all the soil is 

 thrown at each plowing nearly a foot towards the outsides of the 

 field ; and if a field is plowed in this way many times, a high 

 ridge is formed at the outside, and in the middle of the field the 

 soil is all thrown outwards so far that a large excavation is made 

 where the plowing was finished. And, furthermore, when a 

 field is plowed by going around it and finishing in the middle, 

 there is always a dead-furrow from every corner of the field to 

 the middle, where the plowing is finished ; and, beside these dead- 

 furrows, there is a strip of plowed ground on which the team turns, 

 which often becomes so much trodden as to injure it very much^ 

 especially if the soil be of a clayey nature, and is a little too 

 moist when the plowing is performed. But by commencing to 

 plow in the middle of a field, and by turning the furrows inwards, 

 there will be no dead-furrows, no plowed ground trampled down 

 by the team in turning, and no ridges at the outsides of the field ; 

 and the team will turn on unplowed ground until the field is fin 

 ished. Plowing a field by beginning in the middle is the neatest 

 way in which a field can be plowed. The only difficulty in plow 

 ing a field by beginning in the middle is, to get started correctly ; 

 and if the plowman has a little geometrical skill he will find no 

 difficulty in plowing a field of almost any shape, unless it is some 

 what hilly, and have every side finish up with the greatest accu 

 racy. The main idea to be kept in mind is, after a field has been 

 plowed by commencing on the outside and finishing in the mid 

 dle, to commence in the middle and turn each furrow inwards, 

 with the same precision that they were turned outwards. 



478. The first step, then, will be, to find the middle. This 



