282 MEADOWS AND PASTURES 



The land must settle together again, so that the capillaries 

 will be established and moisture can come up from be- 

 neath. The land must not only be plowed early, but it 

 must be frequently harrowed afterward, and the first 

 harrowing should be within three hours of the plowing. 

 To accomplish this one may plow till 10 o'clock in the 

 forenoon, harrow the fresh-plowed land till noon and 

 repeat the operation at 4 o'clock on what is plowed after 

 dinner. By this means good pulverization is secured and 

 moisture conserved. To further moisture conservation 

 one should harrow with a steel drag harrow (or any 

 other sort may serve) soon after each rainfall, as the 

 land will work nicely without packing. The land should 

 be carefully dragged till it is level and smooth. 



Top-dress With Manure Before Seeding. If the field 

 can have a top-dressing of fine manure, harrowed in and 

 mixed all through the surface soil, it will assure a fine 

 catch and rapid growth. Manure turned under will not 

 soon benefit the young plants. 



Application of Lime. When liming is needed the 

 work may be done either before or after plowing. Car- 

 bonate of lime may be stirred into the soil with -the har- 

 row and if it comes in contact with the manure no espe- 

 cial loss will occur. Caustic lime should not touch ma- 

 nure, and it should be well mixed through the soil before 

 the manure is applied. 



Time to Seed Grasses. Nature ripens grass seeds in 

 the summer; they fall to earth and lie dormant till rains 

 of fall cause them to spring into growth. Commonly 

 the fall is the best time to sow grass seeds. If one be- 

 gins one's work of preparing a seed bed in late summer, 



