196 BOAED OF AGRICULTURE. 



nothing short of this should be permitted or can be called good 

 ploughing. 



Any observing person must have noticed the difference in the 

 pulverization of the soil produced by ploughs of the various 

 patterns now in use, some of them, more particularly in plough- 

 ing sod ground, turning over and liardly cracking the inverted 

 furrow, leaving the ground hard and compact ; others, turning 

 the sod just as well, and, in addition, breaking and loosening 

 the whole mass, and leaving it in a light and friable condition. 

 Now the last is much the best condition to leave it in, and will 

 save a great deal of labor in harrowing, hoeing and after-culti- 

 vation of the crops. And therefore we say, that there is noth- 

 ing saved, but much lost, by slighting this the first operation in 

 the cultivation of the land. Bad ploughing cannot, by any 

 after-preparation, such as harrowing or hoeing, be entirely rem- 

 edied ; for if the land is not well ploughed, the entire soil is 

 not brought to that light and friable condition so essential to 

 perfect vegetation. There are left in the soil hard and unloos- 

 ened places, partially, if not wholly, impenetrable to the fine 

 rootlets of plants ; and therefore the area of ground which 

 should be occupied by the roots of the plants to be grown is 

 reduced to nearly the extent of the unstirred soil. And then 

 by using a plough that does not crack, break or crumble into 

 little particles the whole soil, the same result will be obtained 

 to some extent. That is, the hard lumps, covered so deep in 

 the ground as to be out of reach of the harrow, are partially or 

 entirely useless to the future crop ; and the cultivator that al- 

 lows such imperfect work to be done on his land, suffers from 

 it not only in the labor of after-cultivation but in the crops also. 

 And here the old adage, " that whatever is worth doing, is 

 worth doing well," applies as strongly as in any other farm 

 operation. 



As to the time of ploughing, as a rule, no land should be 

 ploughed when very wet. It is injurious to all soils, but more 

 particularly to a clay or a very wet soil, which are left by such a 

 ploughing in a hard and lumpy condition, compacted in some 

 cases almost like mortar, and in an extremely unfavorable con- 

 dition for vegetation. After ploughing, the land should be har- 

 rowed for the purpose of breaking lumps, working the soil to a 

 fine tilth, and levelling any little inequalities of the surface. On 



