174 SOUTHERN FIELD CROPS 



and the young plant to protect the latter from being covered by 

 the upturned soil. 



It is usually cheaper to kill young grass along the line of the 

 drill by smothering it with earth thrown on it than by the use of 

 the hoe ; yet this working of the soil towards the plants should 

 not be carried to such an extent as to form high ridges along the 

 line of the row. 



As a general rule, tillage implements with small points answer 

 well for the destruction of very young grass and weeds and for 

 forming a surface mulch. But, if crab grass or other tough 

 vegetation attains considerable size, it is usually necessary to 

 destroy it with some form of cutting implement, such as a scrape 

 or sweep. 



162. Two-horse cultivators. — These implements are 

 used to a considerable extent by the most progressive 

 farmers. They are of two general types: first, disk cul- 

 tivators, and second, cultivators armed with shovels, 

 scrapes, or small points. The former are more apt to 

 leave the land in high ridges and to cut rather deep. 

 When two-horse cultivators constitute the main reliance, 

 it is often advisable to give the last working with some 

 form of one-horse cultivator, after the plants are too large 

 to be straddled by the double cultivator. 



163. Use of the turn-plow. — In the early years of 

 Southern agriculture, the turn-plow was an ordinary im- 

 plement of cultivation. As methods of farming have im- 

 proved, farmers have largely discarded the use of the 

 turn-plow as a cultivating implement. There are excep- 

 tional cases when its use is justifiable, for example, (1) 

 where grass is too large to be uprooted by ordinary tillage 

 and where it needs to be thrown away from the plants, and 

 to be killed by smothering with earth ; (2) when the land 

 is cold and when budworms are injuring the young plants. 



