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mi^ 



DISK HARROW 



the spade. This tool is so universally common that 

 it needs no description, but, like everything else, 



there is a knack in 

 its use necessary to 

 be understood and 

 acquired before the 

 best results can be 

 secured. First of all 

 the soil should be 

 worked deeply, from 

 12 to 15 inches, 

 whenever possible. 

 Manures or other 

 organic materials should be turned into the 

 soil, but not at the bottom of the spade 

 slice. With a little experience it is possible 

 to turn the soil in such a way as to thoroughly mix 

 the upper and lower layers together, with the or- 

 ganic materials well distributed throughout the 

 entire mass. It is sometimes advisable to spade the 

 land over two or three times in order to get it into 

 the best possible condition. The remainder of the 

 work must, of course, be done by the hand tools 

 commonly used everywhere. The great danger in 

 the spaded garden is that the surface only will be 

 fined, leaving the under layers of soils cloddy and 

 poorly compacted. 



Beginners in vegetable gardening are frequently 

 undecided as to the proper order of the tillage op- 

 erations to secure the best results. No definite 

 rules can be given because the order will often be 

 modified by weather conditions, soils, etc. Our own 

 practice is to follow the plow with the disk harrow, 

 running with the furrows. The disk is then run 

 across the furrows, after which the smoothing har- 



