plow has done its work and put on the finishing touches. The 

 result of these touches acts in different ways under as many 

 circumstances; if the land receives a heavy rainfall the disking 

 allows the soil to take up larger quantities of this moisture than 

 could be obtained under the former condition. Then the 

 absorption of this water has not only the benefit of storing up 

 moisture for the future use of the plants, but by allowing the 

 water to soak into the ground it prevents, to a certain extent, 

 surface washing of the land. This last benefit is one that is of 

 great importance to Southern farmers. Then the disking of 

 the surface gives still another advantage in that the breaking 

 up of the surface of the ground establishes what is known as a 

 mulch. This mulch breaks up the effect of capillarity, thus 

 causing rapid evaporation to cease and saving the moisture 

 stored in the soil for the use of the plants. This fact is of vital 

 importance to the farmer of the West and Northwest and 

 should be appreciated by the farmers of other sections. 



It can be readily seen then that no matter whether you are 

 farming in Maine or Mississippi, in Alaska or Alabama, the 

 disk harrow is an essential farm tool ; that the benefits are such 

 that an over-indulgence in its use does no harm while a lack of 

 its application spells failure. 



