CORN. 



155 



SPIKED PLANK DRAG. 



The other plan of making we show in the illustration. In this 

 case, instead of bolts we use spikes, and fasten the plank to end 

 pieces, and if the drag is long, it is well to have a middle piece. 

 You can regulate the weight of your drag by the size of the 



pieces to which you attach ^^^r-^><>^>^^-=^^>^. ^ ^ 

 the plank. It is advisable ^^^^ 

 to have a box on the drag 

 into which you can drop 

 stones to carry them from 

 the field. This drag if used 

 at the proper time, either 

 when the land is freshly plowed, or as soon after a rain as it will 

 crumble, will put the land in fine condition for the sled marker. 

 The sled marker is another cheap and valuable implement 

 which the farmer can make himself. I think it a great advan- 

 tage to plant corn near the surface instead of at the bottom of 

 a furrow, as was the universal practice until the introduction 



of machinery for 

 planting. The 

 corn plant de- 

 lights in heat, 

 and if planted in 

 a furrow which 

 is filled with 

 water by every 

 heavy rain, and 

 where the roots 



are not in soil well exposed to the sun, it does not start so 

 quickly into rapid growth as if nearer the surface. The sled 

 marker has runners three inches thick, beveled on both 

 edges so as to make a V shaped mark about three inches deep. 

 This leaves plenty of mellow earth under the corn, and when it 

 is covered, the field is very nearly level. A shows a reversible 

 marker which is changed from side to side. B is a rope by 

 which it is attached to the hame hook on the horse. This 

 makes a mark which is a guide in returning, and saves setting 

 stakes, as by keeping the tongue over this mark you keep the 



SLED MARKER. 



