April, 1921. 



SCIENTIFIC AGRICULTUEE 



149 



farming enterprises, it is consequently not a ' ' get-rich- 

 quick" scheme. Nevertheless, there are undoubtedly 

 conditions under which seed production would be a 

 paying proposition in B. C. 



Conclusion. 



It is understood, the writer presumes, that nobody 

 suspects him of being of the opinion that alfalfa seed 

 cannot be produced under conditions other than those 

 just outlined. But it should be understood also, that 

 alfalfa is a plant which is very particular in its require- 

 ments. 



Applying the previous discussion to British Colum- 

 bia we find that the area naturally suited to alfalfa 

 seed production is rather limited. 



As far as temperature is concerned, all such districts 

 are out of the question which suffer constantly from 

 late or early frosts. We have apparently no districts 

 with absolute optimum temperature for flowering, 

 although the Lillooet, Ashcroft, Kamloops, Okanagan. 

 Similkameen. and some of the Kootenav districts 



approach it quite closely. In most of these locations 

 irrigation will be required so that moisture may be 

 supplied at right times and in suitable quantities. There 

 is no denying the fact that early fall frosts may con- 

 stitute a danger, in certain years, to the ripening of 

 the seed. In such years it is safer to cut the seed a 

 Uttle early, rather than wait for complete maturity of 

 all the seed. 



These statements are not intended to be discourag- 

 ing, but are made in order that we may be quite clear 

 in regard to the requirements of the alfalfa plant in 

 these respects. The seed crop, and bv that I under- 

 stand a paying yield, is very exacting, from the sprinc 

 growth, through summer development, and to autumn 

 harvest. As one observer has remarked, ''the crop is 

 never assured until the plants are loaded with clusters 

 of well filled pods." It is well worth while to remem- 

 ber also, that even after the seed is in the bags, the suc- 

 cess of the season cannot be fully realized"^ until the 

 effect of the weather on the seed crop in other local- 

 ities is known. 



Plow s and Plow ing 



By J. MACGREGOR SMITH 



Professor of Agricultural Engineering, University of 



Alberta, Edmonton. 



NOTE: (The author of this article realizes that the 

 information it contains covers the subject in a very 

 brief manner. He has tried to make it essentially 

 practical, ilore questions have come in for solution 

 on the subject of plows, and especially on the draft 

 of plows, than on any other one branch of Agricultural 

 Engineering. Information along similar lines to that 

 which is contained here, should be brought to the 

 attention of every Agricultural College student at some 

 time in his college course.) 



"Why plow: when to plow: how to plow; are three 

 questions of vital interest to the tillers of the soil. 

 During the past two hundred years plows and plowing 

 have been discussed by a thousand brainy farmers, 

 who knew the art from actual experience between the 

 plow handles, and by 10.000 others, whose only exper- 

 ience was watching a sturdy farmer turn the soil while 

 they rested under a shade tree." 



The above quotation hits the nail on the head. 

 "Having been there," the writer realizes that there 

 are many difficulties connected with this — our most 

 important tillage operation. Do you realize that a 

 plow is harder to run right than a binder? Do you 

 realize that plowing takes more power than any other 

 tillage operation? Do you realize that many settlers 

 in Western Canada are plowing under entirely differ- 

 ent conditions from those that they were used to 

 "down East", in the Old Country"', or "■ in our coun- 

 try", as our friends from the South so often say? 



While the subject has been discussed until it is 

 almost thread-bare and shiny, yet by getting together 

 in a systematic manner, and discussing some points, 

 connected with the operation of the implement rather 

 than the work it does, we may be able to help each 

 other. 



Whether you agree with the foregoing remarks or 

 not matters little; one thing you have to admit is that 

 there is far too much very poor plowing being done in 



Western Canada. The splendid annual Provincial 

 Plowing Match, held in Ontario, is also evidence that 

 the importance of good plowing is fully recognized 

 and encouraged there.- Now since the amount of time 

 required for a good or a poor job in this case is practic- 

 ally the same, let us decide to have none but the best. 

 It is only good business. 



The Pulverising Action of a Plow. 



We break with a long sloping moldboard. Why? 

 Because we simply want to turn the furrow slice up- 

 side down so that the sod will rot. We plow stubble 

 land with a quick turn or steep moldboard. WTiy? 

 Because we want to get the land into a good physical 

 condition : in other words we want to pulverize the soil. 

 (See Fig. 1.) Take a book and hold one comer between 

 your finger and thumb, then by allowing the leaves to 

 slide over one another you wiU readily see what hap- 

 pens to the furrow slice as it passes up over the mold- 

 board of a stubble plow. There is a shearing action. 

 Imagine a pin in the position 3-3 and notice how it has 

 been sheared into many parts as it reaches the position 

 1-1. The steeper the moldboard, the greater the pulv- 



-if .-^ 



Principle ol"" ihe 



PbLVERiziMG Action Of fl Plow 



Figure 1. 



