182 THE CULTURE OF FARM CROPS. 



The stiffest clay soil is brought to a fine and mellow con- 

 dition more easily by frost, than by any other means. The 

 expansion of water in the act of freezing separates the par- 

 ticles of soil from each other, and breaks up their cohesion. 

 "When the soil thaws, the particles fall apart and form a loose 

 mass. A rough plowing in the fall, by which the land is 

 broken up and a large surface is exposed to the weather, is 

 thus the very best preparation for the spring crops ; and the 

 land thus plowed, is fitted in the very best manner without 

 any more plowing, by the use of the harrow; especially the 

 Acme harrow and pulverizer; which breaks down the soft- 

 ened clods; turns over the surface; smooths and levels it; 

 and thoroughly mixes the soil. Thus, fall plowing and the 

 subsequent exposure to the winter of as large a surface of 

 the soil as may be, is a very important operation in the cul- 

 ture of farm crops. 



Sloping ground requires a special kind of plow, by which 

 the land is always turned down the hill, and an even mellow 

 surface is procured. It is impossible to turn a furrow up the 

 hill as evenly as it can be turned down the slope, hence the 

 use of a common plow on sloping ground is objectionable. 

 There are several kinds of hill-side plows now made, which 

 do excellent work and should be used on this kind of ground 

 in preference to any other. From many years use of this 

 kind of plow, some farmers prefer them for use on level land. 

 The great advantage in their use on level ground, is, that 

 there are no open furrows or ridges in the field, as the land 

 is all plowed one way; or by beginning in the middle, one 

 half the field is plowed one way first, and the other half is 

 turned the other way afterwards. To prevent ridges in any 

 kind of plowing, either w r ith the hill-side plow or the ordi- 

 nary kind, the simple plan may be followed of first plowing 

 out a wide open furrow and then reversing it, so as to fill 

 the furrow level, and leave a plain smooth surface. This 

 should be done in all kinds of plowing, as it avoids the dis- 

 advantage of leaving a strip of un plowed ground under the 

 back furrows, in the center of each land; and the conse- 

 quent waste of a considerable portion of the soil. 



