SUBSEQUENT CARE OP THE PLANT 



171 



the grass, but the fact is that the meadow began to fail, and the 

 daisies quickly seized upon the opportunity to gain a foot- 

 hold. * The weedy lawns are those which have a 

 thiii turf, and the best treatment is to scratch the ground 

 iightly with an iron-toothed rake, apply fertilizer, and sow more 

 seed." "The agricultural conditions in the Dakotas and other 

 parts of our Plains region are just such as to encourage a hardy 

 intruder like the Russian thistle. An average of eight or nine 

 bushels of wheat per acre is itself proof of superficial farming; 



Fig. 04. A gang-plow. 



Pig. 65. A light gang-pli 

 for very shallow work. 



but the chief fault with this western agriculture is the continu- 

 ous cropping with one crop, wheat." Bailey, " Survival of the 

 Unlike," pp. 196, 195. 



270a. Maize may be harrowed until it is four inches high. 

 The plants will straighten up. This harrowing is cheaper than 

 cultivating; and if the land is put in good condition very early 

 in the life of the crop, much less subsequent tillage is required. 

 In general, narrow-toothed harrows should be used (Fig. 24), 

 but the style of tool must be adapted to the particular land in 

 question. 



277a. If the plowing has been thorough for the first few 

 years after the orchard is planted, the ground should be so 

 mellow that very light plowing will answer thereafter. There 

 will be no sod to tear up and to plow under, and the tree roots 

 will be deep in the ground, where they can find moisture. A 

 gang- plow (Fig. 64) should be sufficient for the spring plowing 



