20 
BULLETIN 71 
U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 
The cyclone harrows ranged in width from 8 to 10 feet, and were 
used for a period extending from December to April. In the Oxnard 
area the total beet acreage was covered on the farms using this im- 
plement, while in the Los Angeles area only 32 per cent of the acre- 
age per farm was covered. 
SPEIXG-TOOTH HARKOW. 
This implement was found only in the Los Angeles and Oxnard 
areas, its purpose being served by the chisel in the Salinas area. 
The spring-tooth harrow stirs the soil to a greater depth than does 
the cyclone or spike-tooth, brings clods to the surface and pulverizes 
the soil. Like the cyclone, the spring-tooth, where operated, was used 
on the total beet acreage per farm in the Oxnard district (see Table 
XIII) but on only 80 per cent of the Los Angeles acreage per farm. 
Table XIII. — Harrowing (spring-tooth). 
District. 
Number 
of 
records. 
Per cent 
of total 
records. 
Acres in beets per 
farm. 
Times har- 
rowed. 
Hours of labor per 
acre. 
Labor 
cost per 
Total. 
Harrowed. 
Man. 
Horse. 
acre. 
Los Angeles 
Oxnard 
22 
25 
27 
56 
99.86 
44.36 
79.73 
44.36 
1.6 
1.5, 
1.25 
8.01 
8.48 
■SI. 10 
1.11 
The spring-tooth harrows used consisted of from 2 to 4 sections 
and ranged in width from 6 to 12 feet. Its use extended over a 
period of from December to April. Four-horse outfits were used 
on 32 per cent of the farms in the Los Angeles district. On 72 per 
cent of the Oxnard farms 8 -horse outfits were used. 
FLOATING AND LEVELING. 
The float or plank drag was used on a relatively small number of 
farms, ranging from 11 per cent in the Los Angeles to 46 per cent in 
the Salinas district. (See Table XIV.) This implement is an ex- 
cellent tool to break up small clods and create a smooth, even surface. 
It is generally one of the last implements to be used in preparing 
the seed bed and is usually run over the ground a few days before 
planting. 
Table XIV. — Floating and leveling. 
District. 
Number 
of 
records. 
Per cent 
of total 
records. 
Acres in beets per 
farm. 
Hours of labor per 
m . acre. 
Times ! 
Labor 
cost per 
Total. 
Floated. 
Man. 
1 
Horse. 
acre. 
9 
16 
18 
11 
36 
46 
122. 11 
71.88 
95.00 
122.11 
47.19 
81.39 
1.6 ! 1.58 
1.1 i .90 
1.4 .97 
10.69 
6.09 
5.73 
81.39 
.80 
.77 
