CULTIVATION. 97 



much time in preparing the land for cotton. The objects 

 of cultivating are (a) to pulverise and open up the soil, 

 (b) to mix the soil (c) to pull up weeds (if) to cover seeds. 

 In destroying weeds, the cultivator does better work than 

 the plough, as the latter is apt to cut and spread weeds 

 while the former pulls them to the surface to dry and die. 

 Cultivators are useful in covering seeds, more especially if 

 the land is to be watered directly after sowing, when the 

 seeds require to be covered with a finer layer of soil than 

 it is usually possible to obtain with the plough. European 

 harrows perform the function of very light cultivators and 

 have the advantage of covering more land per day. 



Zahaffing is a tillage operation which is characteristically 

 Egyptian. It combines rolling and harrowing without 

 being exactly similar to either operation. As a cultivator or 

 harrow the zahaffa is used to cover seeds, and as a roller it 

 compresses the seed bed. It is also used as a pure roller to 

 break down clods. Cultivating has already been considered, 

 so it is only necessary to consider zahaffing as far as its 

 action results in compressing or rolling the soil. As a roller 

 or compressor, the zahaffa compresses the soil, smoothes 

 and levels the surface, kneads down clods, and disintegrates 

 the roots of weeds from the loose tilled soil. After sowing 

 seed, the zahaffa is used to compress the soil for two distinct 

 reasons. (1) The compression packs the soil against and 

 around the seed, and the seed comes, into closer contact 

 with the soil particles and with their coating of water. In 

 this way the germination of the seed is surer than if the 

 seed lay in loose soil from which it would scarcely be able 

 to draw enough water for germination. (2) The compres- 



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