PLOWING 139 



Every farmer knows, or should know, that 

 proper plowing contributes much to successful 

 farm operations, therefore we wish to emphasize 

 these facts : that plowing must be done just at the 

 right time in order to secure the greater success 

 in the growing of crops ; that the plowing or break- 

 ing up of the soil in the spring of the year is the 

 hardest task upon the farm as the time is limited, 

 for its accomplishment, and there are generally 

 but few days when the soil is just right for break- 

 ing ; that generally the soil plows hard, horses are 

 "soft" and unused to work, and that to do the 

 work right the soil needs to be broken deeply 

 which means power to move the plow. 



The average farmer from lack of capital has 

 but few horses and they, as a general rule, are 

 light in weight and totally unsuited for heavy 

 draft purposes, consequently in a majority of 

 cases, plowing is never done at the right time or 

 in the right manner. 



If plenty of capital were available to most farm- 

 ers they would or could provide themselves with 

 a sufficient number of horses of sufficient draft 

 capacity, to move sufficient plows, plowing a suf- 

 ficient depth to insure the breaking of their soil at 

 the right stage and thus secure a satisfactory crop 

 yield. 



When Eoman agriculture was at its height of 

 perfection, Eome was flourishing as the greatest 

 nation then on earth, and her greatest agricultural 

 writer recorded that the first principle of agricul- 

 ture was "to plow well." That the second prin- 

 ciple was to "plow again," and many Eoman till- 

 ers of the soil plowed their lands as many as nine 



