190 POWER AND THE PLOW 



In old ground plowing, most farmers desire to have the 

 furrows^welljpulyerized, hence the prevailing types of mold- 

 board are the stubBIe and genCTaJ^purppse. For very heavy 

 soils, even in stubDle~pI6wmg, a long moldboard with less pul- 

 verizing effect is. used on account of the draft. There are 

 many waBong plows, even where riding jflows are found on 

 the same farm. The majority of ^lnw.s aie^right hand, al- 

 though in parts of Indiana and Ohio "the left-hand moldboard 

 is insisted upon. There is no difference in the quality of the 

 orlTnor inTEe~ease of manipulation. A possible explanation 

 of this preference is that the jerkline largely used in the South 

 comes handiest on the left or "haw" side. The team is 

 guided by jerks on a single line, and the guide horse necessarily 

 walks in the furrow. A few disk plows and a few plows made 

 especially for ox power are sold in this section. 



In the other North Central States west of the Mississippi 

 River the topography is even less rolling. The soilsjare glacial, 

 wittu wind-deposited or Pluvial loess" over most of the^ j>rea. 

 In many sections there are large deposits of "gumbo" soil of 

 alluvial origin. Soft-center steel is universal as a moldboard 

 material. Frequently, however, wrought-iron rods take the 

 place of the moldboard in sod or very^ tenacious soil. The 

 climate allows work in the fields during a large part of the year, 

 although, owjn^jtgjthe^fact_that ^pjin^^ajns Daust J>e put in 

 early, a considerable amount of the plowing must be done late 

 in the fall. The farms are large, with large fields and few fences. 

 Practically one half of the total cultivated area is plowed each 

 year on all farms and on many the entire acreage is plowed, 

 wild hay for horse feed being cut from the open prairie. Thou- 

 sands of acres of wild land remain to be broken, and the prairie 

 breaker is as common as the stubble plow. The Northwest 

 Provinces of Canada present practically the same conditions, 

 though large areas of brush land call for a heavy type of plow 

 known as the brush breaker. 



Horse raising is not so successful as in the older sections, 



