the land presser and the Cambridge roller* into much greater* 

 prominence than before. 



Disc harrows or disc cultivators are frequently mentioned 

 as valuable aids by those who have succeeded in growing 

 good crops after grass ; with their help the flat furrow left 

 by the tractor plough has been converted into a good seed 

 bed, better indeed, to the surprise of some northern farmers, 

 than that obtained from the orthodox grass furrow of the 

 horse plough. When the furrow slice is imperfectly turned 

 the disc harrow breaks the uneven land down, and when the 

 furrow is turned over on its face, this harrow secures a tilth 

 on the surface without disturbing the buried sod ; an 

 important point, as will appear from what follows. 



In the case of all land ploughed out of grass in autumn, 

 winter and spring, the efforts of the farmer must be con- 

 centrated on getting it sufficiently solid before seeding, and 

 the thicker the turf, and later the ploughing, the more 

 necessary the presser and roller become. The usefulness of 

 the roller in checking wireworm has already been remarked 

 on ; but there is a greater enemy to the young corn crop of 

 the south and east than wireworm, viz. drought. From the 

 middle of April onwards the soil dries rapidly, and if it is 

 at all loose and contains large quantities of half decayed 

 turf, even a week's dry weather and hot sun in May will 

 check the crop. On the other hand, if the turf has been 

 well rotted, and if the soil has been compacted so that there 

 is no break in passing into the subsoil, the young corn 

 plant should stand dry weather quite as well on ploughed 

 grass as on old arable land. Some farmers who broke up 

 land last spring and failed, have seen the reasons for failure 

 so plainly that they are going to break more next winter 

 and put sheep as well as rollers on the land to make it 

 solid. 



In land left hard on the surface from frequent treading, 

 or on land where there is a tough sod, the disc drill covers 

 the seed much more effectively than the ordinary drill, 

 and does not tear up the sod as an ordinary coulter drill is 

 apt to do. 



Manures. Many farmers attribute success to the use of 

 suitable manures. It is seldom that pasture land of fair 

 quality should require manure in order to produce a good 

 corn crop, and as a general rule the existing supplies of 

 manure should be conserved for our old arable land, much 

 of which badly needs manuring. 



There are, however, exceptions to the statement that grain 

 crops on ploughed grass do not want manure. Many clay 



* This old implement, now always called the Cambridge roller, was 

 originally known as Cambridge's Patent Press-wheel Roller, and was 

 designed to combine the work of the land presser and the ordinary roller. 



