72 HOW TO MAKE THE FARM PAY. 



nailed or pinned to the sides of the beam, with a draught iron 

 at the forward end of the beam. This plow, in a greatly 

 improved form, is still extensively used there. {Fig. 20.) 



In attempting to convey some idea of the wonderful improve- 

 ments which have been effected in the implements of the farm 

 within the last fifty years, it will be convenient to group them 

 under several heads, according to the work they are designed 

 to accomplish; such as the Cleaning and Preparation of the 

 Land, Sowing the Seed, and Harvesting the Crops. 



Implements fos Preparing the Land. — The preparation 

 of land for crops varies with the state and character of the 

 soil, the object being, in all cases, to secure a texture, or 

 mechanical condition, most favorable to plant growth. The 

 soil must be mellow, so that the roots and the air can penetrate 

 it freely. The processes most commonly required are clearing, 

 draining, ploughing, harrowing, and rolling, (for which the 

 contrivance shown at^ij. 21 is very convenient.) 



Clearing is required in a new country, or where new land or 

 woodland is to be cultivated. Cutti^ig down and removing the 

 timber and brushwood is simple enough, but the greatest diffi- 

 culty has always been to free the land from stumps and stones, 

 which often present very serious obstacles to after cultivation, 

 increasing the labor and expense at every step. Various simple 

 powers have been devised to effect this end, by means of which 

 a powerful leverage, or purchase, is gained, so as to raise a 

 stump or a stone of several tons weight with comparative ease. 



One of the simplest and cheapest forms of the stump puller 

 is shown in the annexed cut. [Fij. 22.) For stumps of ordinary 

 size it is very convenient. It is so well illustrated as hardly to 

 need any explanation. For pulling the tangled masses of 

 roots of bushes, etc., a simple and powerful grapple is very 

 n.seful. {Fig. 23.) 



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