14 BULLETIN 748, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 
weeds which may be present on fall-plowed land and breaks up sur- 
face clods. The seed bed should also be compact and free from hard 
lumps. The disk harrow by means of its sharp blades pulverizes and 
Fic. 6.—Plowing with a sulky. Three-horse teams were used almost exclusively with 
sulky plows, 
fines the lower portion of the seed bed, which allows free circulation 
of air and enables the delicate rootlets of the sugar beet to penetrate 
all portions of the soil in search of plant food. Disking is especially 
Fic. 7.—Disking is an important factor in breaking up clods and firming the soil. 
desirable on spring-plowed land which has not had the advantage of 
the freezing and thawing action of the preceding winter. It is an 
important factor in breaking up clods and firming the soil (fig. 7). 
