122 DRY LAND FARMING 



It will be at once apparent that this growth and other 

 forms that mingle with it, as "rabbit brush" and "grease- 

 wood," will prove an obstacle in the way of the plow in 

 proportion as it is abundant and strong. In some in- 

 stances it is grubbed out with the mattock. This meth- 

 od is usually followed by the small farmer whose avail- 

 able horse labor may not be equal to the task of drawing 

 a plow through the brush. Where the brush is not 

 over strong and the power is sufficient, strong plows are 

 used in breaking the land and uprooting the brush in 

 the one operation. The shrubs thus loosened are thrown 

 into heaps and burned. 



Various devices have been tried with more or less 

 success to clean the land from brush before it is plowed. 

 One of these consists of two railroad rails fastened to- 

 gether with strong chains. The rails are drawn by hitch- 

 ing at both ends, so that the whole length of the rail 

 is drawn against the brushes so as to break them off 

 or pull them out. In some instances but one rail is 

 used and preferably bent forward at the ends. If used 

 straight it is necessary to attach a small platform be- 

 hind it and weighted to keep the rail from tipping. It 

 is necessary in some instances to drive the rails over 

 the land several times, and it may be further necessary 

 to do some hand grubbing to complete the work. Other 

 devices have been used for pulling out the shrubs, 

 especially when they are of large size. Success with 

 these thus far has only been partial. Where larger trees, 

 as the mesquite, juniper and cedar grow, grubbing is 

 necessary. 



On other areas, more especially in the Plains coun- 

 try, the soil is more or less covered with grass of differ- 

 ent degrees of density. The power called for in break- 

 ing up this land increases with the density of the sod, 

 other things being equal. But where the sod is dense 

 the rainfall is more copious than where the opposite 



