714 THE COMPLETE GRAZIER. BOOK vm. 



socks or tussocks of Aira crespitosa develop and render the field both un- 

 sightly and unprofitable. The fields require constant attention, especially 

 when they are grazed, as the animals tread down the sides of the furrows 

 and block them up. Where the soil is tenacious, especially if the field is 

 flat, the gutters should be ploughed out every autumn, as well as on other 

 occasions when found necessary. 



The old wooden turn- wrest plough is still used to a considerable extent 

 in Kent and Sussex. An adaptation of it, in iron, is in the form of a 

 balance plough, as shown in fig. 263. This implement has two breasts, 

 which are respectively put into and out of work by a lever, turning the 

 furrow-slices all in the same direction, and leaving no open furrows. 

 The disc plough, commonly used in the United States, has not yet come 

 into use in this country. 



Potato digging is expensive work, and in many districts it is very 

 hard to find hands to do it, and there is great probability that this 

 difficulty will increase. Efficient machines for digging are therefore 

 likely to be in good demand, and the one illustrated in fig. 264 has 

 proved very successful both in the show-yard and in the field. If 

 potatoes are dug by hand many are injured by the fork, so that, though 

 some may be crushed or cut by this machine, all of the injured ones 

 must not be looked upon as a loss which would not have been occasioned 

 had they been dug by hand. If the machine is properly worked, there 



Fig. 264. Powell Brothers and Whitaker's Potato Raiser. 



is, in fact, very little risk of serious injury. It is a machine which gets 

 through work quickly, and is superior to ordinary ploughs in that the 

 ground is left level, thus greatly facilitating the picking up of the 

 tubers, which is a very expensive item at all times. Many large growers 

 of potatoes, however, still use the double-breasted plough, with prongs 

 attached for raising the crop ; and an adaptation of it is an implement, 

 with an oscillating prong frame, manufactured by Messrs. Shores & Co., 

 of Owston Ferry, by which the soil is sifted away from the potatoes to 

 some extent. 



We now proceed to notice other forms of cultivating implements in 

 use on the farm, though it is impossible, in the limits of this work, to 



