those with curved tines lift the soil and leave it 

 lighter. Avoid whenever possible the necessity of 

 working the land down to a tilth. To do this it is often 

 necessary to take advantage of slight frosts ; the clods 

 turned while in a frozen condition yield when thawed, 

 and newly-turned clods, which expose a fresh, moist 

 surface, are more effectually caught by frosts which 

 occur on the following night. 



Spring Ploughing. 



Provided the weather is dry a ploughing in spring 

 may be relied upon to do sufficient good to pay for 

 itself. If the surface is dry it is advisable to harrow 

 the ploughed land before re-ploughing, or before break- 

 ing it up with the heavier stirring implements. This 

 operation breaks the surface, and a fine tilth in place 

 of hard clods is turned into the ground. It is a 

 mistake to harrow the soil, if while doing it the horses 

 unduly pound it, as greater trouble will be found in 

 working it during subsequent operations. While it 

 is advisable not to re-plough the land while it is 

 thoroughly wet, it may be well to do so when it is 

 only moist. The treading of moist land previously to 

 the furrow being turned should be avoided by letting 

 the horses walk in the furrow. The horses do not 

 work so freely when single as when abreast, but this 

 is an occasion when the slight loss of power is better 

 lost it will be more than regained in the future 

 operations. 



