68 MUCK CROPS 



perhaps half the acreage under this system, 

 and it has worked well for us so far." 



Plowing. As stated before, all of the 

 vegetation on this kind of land is very 

 shallow rooted, and as a general thing the 

 roots are very tough to protect the plant 

 from heaving in the winter. If the ground 

 has lain wild, the probability is that its upper 

 layer to the depth of 12 inches is a mass of 

 roots of alders, huckleberry, sumac, iron 

 weed, fern brakes, cat-tails, wild grass, etc., 

 and will be so stiff that the ordinary plow 

 will not turn it over. There are a number 

 of plows made for this purpose with long 

 mould boards that turn the furrow over 

 gradually and completely. They are gener- 

 ally all steel with a steel point that cuts the 

 full width of the furrow to be turned, and 

 with either a standing cutter or a rolling 

 coulter, or sometimes with both. All of 

 these should be kept as sharp as a knife and 

 bright, as there is nothing in the soil to scour 

 them. Some of the disc plows can be used 

 in breaking new muck if there are not too 

 many big roots. Lately the Spaulding deep 

 tilling disc plow has given excellent satis- 

 faction. Many new areas are being plowed 



