PREPARATION OF LAND 13 



drag, constructed by nailing together three pieces 

 of square scantling, as shown in Fig. 6. The 

 Meeker harrow, as illustrated by Fig. 7^ is a splen- 

 did tool for imparting a smoothness to the surface 

 of the soil, as it performs practically the same 

 work as a steel rake and is rapid in its operation. 

 Just ahead of the transplanters the land is marked 

 off in rows, either with a flat-soled, three-shoe 



FIG. 7— MEEKER HARROW FOR SMOOTHING SURFACE FOR PLOWING 



marker, or by means of one of the various types of 

 special marking machine, wdiich can be home manu- 

 factured. Some of these marking devices merely 

 indicate the row and compact the soil slightly, 

 leaving the transplanters to gauge the distance 

 between the plants. 



A satisfactory marking device consists of 

 two wheels, or rollers, each having a face 6 to 8 

 inches wide and equipped at regular intervals 

 with round-pointed pegs which form the holes for 

 setting the plants. This form of machine can be 

 constructed to be drawn by a horse or by hand. 

 If a horse is employed to draw the marker, the 

 horse should be provided with boots as illustrated 

 in Fig. 8, to prevent sinking into the soft soil. 



