136 FARM DEVELOPMENT 



right angles with the furrows made in breaking, the 

 sharp rolling coulter being used to cut the sods cross- 

 wise. The earth cut below the first furrow is thrown 

 on top by the plow and forms a coating of fine material 

 over the tougher sods, and this loose earth is used to 



advantage in smoothing the 

 whole into a fine seed bed. 

 Where the sod is very weak 

 and the breaking was done 

 Figure 54. Breaking piow^with rather deeply, the disk pulver- 



izer, the spring-tooth harrow 



or even the common spike-tooth harrow, may give a better 

 treatment than to backset, for crops like wheat, which 

 prefer a compact furrow-slice. For the cereal grains, 

 which need to be sown very early, it is often better to 

 complete the preparation of the soil in the fall. While 

 it is customary to leave most newly broken prairie land 

 fallow the first year, it ofttime-s 

 pays to sow a crop of flax, 

 millet, fodder corn or turnips ; 



and even beans and potatoes Figure 55 Breaking plow with 

 may sometimes be profitably standing Cl 

 grown on newly broken prairie where the sod is weak. 

 Plows for breaking prairie sod are now so perfected 

 that most of the prominent plow firms make breakers 

 suited to each section of the country. For heavy work, 

 and where stones hinder, single walking breakers are 

 used, or the ordinary gang plow is transformed into a 

 breaker by replacing with " breaker bottoms " the mold- 

 boards and shares used for stubble plowing. 



Plows suited to the work of breaking brush or timber 

 lands are made on a somewhat different plan from those 

 used in prairie breaking. The parts must be stronger, 

 to resist the strains in striking stumps and roots. The 

 moldboard does not need to be so slanting, since there 

 Js rarely a tough sod to turn, and the furrow is usually 



