HARROWING, CULTIVATING 145 



numerous variations of and gradations between 

 these four types. 



Some soils are benefited most by a type of har- 

 row which may be almost valueless for other soils 

 near-by; hence we have farmers who would not 

 use any other harrow than a cutaway and spike- 

 tooth, because these especially suit the soil on their 

 farms. They even dispute with neighbours who 

 have a different kind of soil and who think nothing 

 is equal to a spading harrow and an Acme. More- 

 over, they may be growing a different kind of a crop, 

 which may mean that a different preparation of the 

 soil is needed. The fact is there is no best harrow 

 any more than there is a best plow or best breed 

 of cows. The best harrow is the one that prepares 

 a particular soil for a particular crop most satis- 

 factorily; and soils and crops differ about as 

 much as the farmers that nandle them. The 

 farmer should experiment with several types of 

 harrows and find the best for his purpose. 



The Spike-tooth Harrow is a most efficient tool 

 under certain well-defined conditions. There 

 are more home-made spike- tooth harrows on Ameri- 

 can farms than any other tillage tool. Some of the 

 older home-made spike-tooth harrows are square, 

 but more commonly they are A-shaped, with teeth 

 set vertically on the side pieces only and a horse- 

 shoe nailed to the nose for a chain ring. These 

 harrows did imperfect work as compared with the 

 spike-tooth harrows of the present time. 



Recent improvements in this time-honoured tool 

 have greatly increased its usefulness. These are the 



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addition of many more teeth; providing that they 

 may be adjusted to run either vertical or slanted 

 backward at various degrees; and making the har- 

 row in several sections, which facilitates cleaning 



