HARROWING, CULTIVATING 151 



essentially the same as the disk harrow, except that 

 it has many very small disks permanently fixed 

 in a rectangular frame, instead of a few large ones. 

 It leaves tne soil about as smooth as an iron rake 

 and is used solely for preparing a very level seed- 

 bed. 



WHEN SOIL IS READY TO HARROW 



In harrowing, as well as in plowing, there is a 



?ood deal in catching the soil at the right time, 

 f the land is inclined to be wet and the upturned 

 furrows have a glazed appearance it is well to let 

 them dry before harrowing. Several hours, or 

 even several days, may be needed to bring them to 

 that stage of dryness when the soil will crumble 

 nicely. No other consideration should influence 

 one to harrow before this. It is better to lose some 

 of the water in this soil by evaporation than to run 

 any risk of injuring its texture. On the other 

 hand, if the soil turns over mellow and ready to be 

 harrowed at once the time to catch it is right then, 

 before it becomes dry on top. A delay of a single 

 day in harrowing a plowed field may mean that half 

 an inch or more of the precious water in it has 

 been lost. After the furrows have dried out con- 

 siderably they may become hard and cloddy and 

 will be pulverised with greater difficulty. 



The soil should be moist, not wet or dry, 

 in order to do the most effective harrowing. 

 Some of the lighter soils dry out very quickly 

 in the furrow, even in an hour or two. If 

 it can be done without too much inconven- 

 ience it is best to harrow these soils within a 

 few hours after they are plowed certainly the 

 same day. \Vhen but one team is plowing on a 



