CHAPTER XIV 



Scouring Troubles 



ANY man who has ever operated a plow knows what 

 failure to scour means. A plow bottom must 

 scour if the best work is to be done. 



The reason why plows fail to scour is very seldom 

 the same in any two fields, yet, underlying all these 

 causes are five fundamental facts. The first and most 

 common cause is the lack of an earth polish; the second, 

 improper plow adjustment; third, soil conditions; fourth, 

 soft spots or inequalities in the mouldboard; and fifth, 

 the shape of the bottom with relation to the soil texture. 



The easiest way to overcome the lack of an earth polish 

 is to take the plow into hard ground and operate it until 

 this polish appears. A new plow coming from the fac- 

 tory is always covered with varnish or lacquer. This 

 should be removed before attempting to make the plow 

 scour. In removing the varnish it is better to use some 

 varnish remover preparation or strong lye solution. 

 Never use a sharp, steel instrument because it is very 

 apt to scratch the mouldboard. Whatever preparation 

 is used none of it should be left on the plow bottom any 

 longer than necessary to clean the bottom because a 

 solution that is strong enough to quickly remove the 

 lacquer will have a tendency to pit the surface if left 

 on for any length of time. The safest rule is not to 

 leave the bottom^from the start to the finish of the 

 cleaning. 



