10 



CANADIAN FARM YEAR BOOK. 



Objects of Tillage. 



To destroy and prevent growth of 

 weeds. 



To place under surface, manure 

 stubble and other organic matter to be 

 converted into food for plants. 



To develop various degrees of 

 openness of texture and uniformity of 

 soil conditions suitable to planting. 



To modify movement of soil mois- 

 ture and soil air. 



To regulate the temperature of the 

 soil. 



Tips on Tillage. 



If you will open a book, place the 

 fingers upon the fly leaf in front and 

 the thumbs under the fly leaf in the 

 back, and abruptly bend up the cor- 

 ner, It will be seen that every leaf is 

 slipped over its neighbor. What takes 

 place is represented in the accompany- 

 ing illustration. Had pins been put 

 through the book before attempting to 

 bend the leaves, the bending would 

 have tended to cut the pins into as 

 many pieces as there were leaves as 

 in figure. 



The plow has exactly this effect 

 upon the furrow slice; it tends to 

 divide it into thin layers which slide 

 over one another just as the leaves 



Fio, T6.— Showing the prlndiile of the pu 



of the book did, and it is because of 

 this kind of action that a plow pul- 

 verizes a soil as no other tool can. 



How Plows Correct Tilth. 



If a soil is out of tilth, has become 

 cloddy, or partly puddled, there is a 

 shape of mould-board, a stage of soil 

 moisture and a depth of furrow slice 

 which will help to restore tilth the 

 best and quickest. 



Work of Plow. 



■ The deep furrow pulverizes better 

 and puddles worse than the thin slice 



or shallow furrow. A low mould- 

 board plow disturbs tilth the least and 

 leaves the texture the coarsest. The 

 steep mould-board gives the greatest 

 danger of puddling if the soil is too 

 wet, and the greatest opportunity to 

 pulverize the soil and improve the 

 tilth if the moisture is right. 



Forms of Plows, Etc. 



To cut a clean furrow, slice and 

 turn it over so as to completely cover 

 whatever is on the surface, a long, 

 low mould-board plow is used. (See 

 fig. A.) 



Type of Sod Plow Which Pulverizes 

 Little. 



If the primary objects are to thor- 

 oughly pulverize the soil, making it 

 deep and mellow, a plow like Fig. B 

 must be used. Shapes of plow inter- 

 mediate between these two can be 

 used according to the need. 



Type of Plow With Steep Mould-board. 



A heavy and soggy soil calls for a 

 good slope of mould-board. A soil 

 which is rather dry needs a fairly steep 

 mould-board. A soil too open and por- 

 ous like the sandy soils, should be 

 plowed with a steep mould-board. If 

 plowing must be done when soil is a 

 little too wet, use the less steep mould- 

 board and plow as shallow as other 

 conditions will allow. 



If soil has become too dry, use the 

 steeper mould-board and plow deep, as 

 this will split it into thinneF layers, 

 make the soil finer and the tilth better. 



The Line of Draft. 



It is important that the line of draft 

 be Tight and that such a line connect- 

 ing the centre of draft A (see illustra- 

 tion, page 81) in the mouldboard 

 with the place of attachment to the 

 plow bridle shall also be in the plane 

 of the traces as shown by A, B, D. If 

 the line of draft becomes broken, as 

 A, C, D, or 1, 3, 5, instead of 1, 2, 5, 

 the draft of the plow is made heavier. 



Time of Plowing. 



Early fall plowing in a dry season 

 where the soil is light and the amount 

 of levelling small is advisable. Plow 

 as soon as crop is removed from 

 ground, to save soil moisture and to 

 enable the nitrates and other soluble 

 salts to develop for next season. 



