342 THE YOU^TG FARMERS MANUAL. 



laid out, and the plowman has only to keep his furrow-slices of a 

 uniform width on every side, in order to have the field finish 

 alike on every side. If he is careless in setting in his plow, 

 and is not particular at each corner to have the team go straight 

 out, and takes a furrow-slice in one place a little too wide and 

 in another place too narrow, he will have a very undesirable job 

 to finish the plowing up ; because, at one place it may be finished, 

 and at another it may lack many feet of being finished to the 

 margin of the field. The plow should be set in and come out at 

 each corner with the greatest precision. It will not hurt a plow 

 man to exercise his geometrical faculties a little at every corner, 

 by measuring the width of each furrow slice with a mechanical 

 eye ; and, after a field has been plowed in this way, every one 

 will acknowledge that it is enough better to " pay " for any 

 apparent extra trouble or care in laying out the work and in 

 finishing it. By plowing in this manner there will be neither 

 ridges nor dead-furrows, which is very desirable, especially where 

 hoed crops are to be planted ; and also, when a field is to be pre 

 pared for a meadow, the entire field is left as level as can be 

 desired. 



479. Fig. 142 shows the manner of plowing a field of an irreg 

 ular form by commencing in the middle. The same letters in 

 this figure refer to the same points as in Fig. 141. It will be 

 seen that the point E is found by measuring from the outside of 

 the field G H F, at right angles to each side. The centre K is 

 found by measuring at the dotted lines N L M, at a right angle 

 to the centre of the field. It will be seen that the point to set a 

 stake at, K, is in a line with E M, M being equidistant from D 

 and C. Now, turn a back-furrow from each corner of the field 

 to the two centres, E and K, and also from E to K. Now, com 

 mence plowing by going around the centre, jE7, and be very par 

 ticular, in commencing, to have the furrows run parallel with the 

 outsides of the field. After plowing a few hours, measure from 

 the outsides of the field to the furrows on every side, and if the 

 distances from the last furrow, represented by the dotted lines 

 O O 0, are all equal, the field will be finished alike on 



