1904.] 



Destruction of Weeds. 



197 



together by means of an iron rod which extends the whole 

 width of the machine. 



By this arrangement, it will be seen, the teeth rest indepen- 

 dently upon the ground, and the implement accommodates itself 

 to an uneven surface. On lumpy or cloddy ground it also works 

 well, since the two rows of rakes are one in advance of the other, 

 thus allowing clods to pass between. When the ground is very 

 rough it is well to run a roller in front of the poppy-killer ; both 

 machines can be worked by one horse if attached one behind the 

 other. Pressure is put upon the teeth by means of a wooden 

 rail laid across the bars. For transit the bars are turned up and 

 the wooden rail placed on top of them (Fig. 2), and fastened by 

 a hook attached to the axle. A reference to the accompanying 

 illustrations will make the above description clearer. 



The second implement is the American weeder. This machine 

 is really a very light drag-rake without wheels, the teeth being 

 fixed, and much closer together than in the poppy-killer. The 

 width of the weeder is 8 ft., and it is made with either two or 

 three rows of teeth. The handles are adjustable up and down, 

 and the depth of work is under the operator's control. 



The advantages of this machine over the poppy- killer lie, 

 firstly, in the fact that the depth of working can be regulated ; 

 and, secondly, in the ease with which any rubbish collected 

 in rows can be left. This has been found very useful where the 

 previous crop has been thousand-headed kale, cabbage, or kohl- 

 rabi, the roots of which are so frequently pulled on to the surface 

 while harrowing the land for barley. 



It might be supposed that the extra horsework described 

 above would necessitate a larger number of horses being kept ; 

 this, however, is not the case. On this farm, at any rate, the 

 number of horses and men kept is below the average. 



The weeding of the corn is really a very slight addition to 

 the work, as will be seen from the fact that one horse will do 

 from 10 to 12 acres per day, and it is unusual for the operation 

 to require to be repeated more than half a dozen times. One 

 horse will therefore be occupied for six weeks for every 60 or 70 

 acres of corn grown. We have known the work to be done at 

 a cost of one shilling per acre for the manual labour. 



The heavy work is arranged to come in, so far as possible, 



