142 • CLOVERS 



some soils for autumn sowing after a gfain crop, as 

 in some parts of Nebraska and Kansas, it is only- 

 necessary to use the harrow; in preparing others 

 the disk and harrow ; and in yet others the disk and 

 harrow and roller. In preparing other soils, as the 

 clays of the South, it may be necessary first to plow 

 and subsoil, and subsequently to use sufficiently the 

 harrow and roller. 



Evenness in the soil on the surface is important 

 when it is so retentive that water may collect in the 

 depressions after heavy rain. In such places the 

 plants are much liable to fail, especially in the early 

 winter, or even shortly after they may have begun 

 to grow, if moisture is excessive. In order to smooth 

 and even the land sufficiently, it may be necessary to 

 run over it some form of leveller. This does not 

 mean, however, that it will not be necessary some- 

 times to plow the land in ridges, or "lands," as they 

 are sometimes called, but it does mean that the slope 

 from the center of the lands toward the furrows shall 

 be even and gradual, in order that an excess of sur- 

 face water, as in rainy climates, shall be carried away 

 by the latter. 



Firmness in the seed-bed is necessary chiefly to 

 prevent too much drying out near the surface in 

 dry weather, and the holding of too much water in 

 the spaces between the particles near the surface in 

 wet weather, followed by freezing of the soil. The 

 less deep the stirring of the cultivated portion when 

 preparing it, the longer the interval between such 

 stirring and the sowing of the seed, and the heavier 

 the pressure when rolling, the more firm will the 



