TILLAGE AND TILLAGE TOOLS 
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i ; a proper time in vegetable gardening for every tillage 
operation and fortunate is the man who not only knows 
when to till but who usually does the work when most 
advantageous. 
66. The value of tillage implements. — The increased 
price of land, labor and supplies makes it imperative for 
the gardener to use labor-saving implements, with which 
the work can usually be done better and cheaper than by 
any hand method. In the purchase of tools and imple- 
ments for vegetable gardening, the following factors 
should be considered: (1) The efficiency of the tools and 
the adaptation to the work to be done; (2) the rapidity 
with which the work may be done ; (3) the ease of opera- 
tion to team and workmen; (4) durability; and (5) cost. 
67. Plowing. — The walking mold-board plow is most 
commonly used among vegetable gardeners. Sulky gang 
and sulky disk plows are seldom used, but are becoming 
more popular. 
Fall plowing is practiced extensively by vegetable 
growers. It is considered especially desirable on the 
heavier types of soils. The following advantages may be 
enumerated: ( 1 ) If the land is hilly or rolling, rough un- 
broken furrows will collect more water than when plow- 
ing is deferred until spring, and if harrowing is done as 
soon as possible in the spring, there will be a maximum 
supply of soil moisture to meet crop needs; (2) the 
physical composition of many soils is improved; (3) 
vegetable matter plowed down in the fall becomes better 
decayed and more valuable to the spring crop; (4) land 
plowed in the fall dries off more quickly in the spring, 
therefore may be harrowed and planted earlier ; (5) fall 
plowing often relieves the pressure of the spring work 
so that crops may be started earlier ; (6) fall plowing 
exposes many insects to destroying agencies and thus 
reduces ravages from this source. Fall plowing in the 
North, where the land is sealed by frost during the win- 
