18C5.] 
AMERICAN AG-RICUETURIST. 
145 
Fig. 1.— LAPPED FUREOW SLICES. 
Plowing Sward Ground. 
There are three ways of turning under a 
sward in common use, which we propose to con¬ 
sider briefly. They are known as “lapped- 
furrow plowing,” “ flat-furrow plowing,” and 
** plowing with the sod-and-subsoil plow,” which 
ought to be called “ sod-and-(feejp-so4^ plow,” for 
they are not subsoil plows in any sense in 
which that term is properly used. 
HOW TO PLOW WITH LAPPED PUKROW SLICES. 
This operation is illustrated by figure 1, in 
whicli the slice is shown as it would appear if 
tiie plow were withdrawn from the furrow. Tlie 
slices being about 12 inches wide, 7 deep, and 
lapping about 3 inches. 8, 8, 8, are the slices; 
G, G, G, the grass sides; F, the old furrow, F‘, 
the new furrow. To turn lapped furrow slices, 
if the team be horses, adjust the traces so 
that the whiffletrees will just clear their heels 
when the team is turning round. Cliange the 
laud pin, dial clevis, or the index at the hind 
end of the plow beam, whichever may be attach¬ 
ed, until the plow will run level and true di¬ 
rectly after the team. The first furrow will 
necessarily be turiwid flat. In turning the 
second, drive the team close to the last furrow 
slice and lean the plow handles to the left until 
the furrow slice will just lap a little, say not 
more than an inch on the one turned first. If 
the double whifiletree, or “evener” be more 
than thirty two inches from the middle to the 
point where the whjflietrees are attached to 
it, it will be better to shorten it, as it is impos¬ 
sible to make some plows run right by adjust¬ 
ing the clevis, if the double whifiletree is a little 
too long. If it is so, and the plow is adjusted to 
cut a furrow slice eleven or twelve inches wide, 
the plow must move more or less sidewise, 
which makes it hold harder and draw harder. 
After one round has been plowed, the plow 
must be adjusted very gradually to cut a little 
Fig. 3. —FLAT FURROW SLICES. 
wider or narrower, deeper or more shallow, 
as may be required to lap the last turned fur¬ 
row slice about three inches on the other. The 
plow should always be held as erect as practi¬ 
cable. If the furrow slice be left standing too 
much on its lower edge, the plow must be ad¬ 
justed to riui more shallow until it will turn the 
slice just right, or it must be made to cut a 
wider slice and of the same depth, in order to 
turn well. The form of the plow will always 
determine which of these ways may be adopted. 
If the mold-board be of such a form as is not 
calculated for turning deep furrows, the plow 
must be adjusted to run more shallow and to 
cut narrower until it will turn the slices in the 
desired position. It is alwa3'S essential when 
plowing sod ground either with lapped or flat 
furrow slices, to have the plow cut a certain 
depth and width in order to turn well, which 
must be determined by the form of the mold 
board. The most desirable form of a plow for 
turning lapped furrow slices is wide at the base, 
and proportionably narrow at the top of the 
mold board, with a sharp coulter or a broad 
and sharp wing on the point, for cutting the 
furrow slices entirely loose. 
HOW TO TURN FLAT FURROW SLICES. 
The “ flat furrow ” involves a complete inver¬ 
sion of the sod, as shown in fig. 3, which is par¬ 
ticularly desirable on light loamy soils, where 
very rapid decomposition of the sod is not sought. 
For turning flat furrow slices, the plow should 
be adjusted as for any other plowing, except 
the coulter should be set so as to cut under a 
little instead of straight down; and the clevis 
must be set so that the plow will cut not quite 
wide enough when the handles are held straight. 
In plowing, the handles must be inclined more 
or less to the right. A plow having a narrow 
Fig. 3.— DOUBLE FURROW SLICES. 
base and broad at the top of the mold board, 
is desirable. The width of the furrow slices 
must be greater in proportion to the depth, es¬ 
pecially when turned with certain plows. With 
some plows it is quite difficult to turn a flat fur¬ 
row, while with others, either flat or lapped 
slices may be turned as described. W^hen a 
plow runs seven or eight inches deep in order 
to turn the slices flat, it must cut from fourteen 
to sixteen inches wide. A skillful plowman 
will soon learn how to adjust to turn a flat slice. 
But, where it is desirable to plow much land 
with flat furrow slices, a plow should be obtain¬ 
ed that is better adapted to turning flat, than 
lapped furrows. 
PLOWING WITH THE SOD-AND-DEEP-SOIL PLOW. 
These plows are familiarly known as Michi¬ 
gan, or Double plows. They include all those 
plows which have a small plow attached to the 
beam in front of a large one, and are or should 
be used only in deep soil. The engravings (figs. 
3 and 4,) illustrate the working of these plows 
when cutting a slice about as deep as wide. 
The little plow, or “ skimmer,” as it is appropri¬ 
ately termed, cuts a slice of turf about half the 
width of the furrow and turns it over flat, laying 
two grass sides together as in G, fig. 4. Then 
the big plow follows, turning this doubled up 
sod into the bottom of the furrow and burying 
it (D) under the loam (E). Wlien a propor¬ 
tionally wider furrow is plowed, the same effect 
takes place, but with less regularity. If, how¬ 
ever, the slice cut is so narrow that the skim¬ 
mer slice is turned off into the furrow, F, then 
the sod is buried flat in the bottom of the fur¬ 
row. Thus used these plows are very useful in 
a sort of trench-plowing, where it is desirable 
to bury the top soil, or a dressing of manure, 
13 inches or more beneath the surface. The 
top soil may be quite deeply and thoroughly 
worked without stirring the sods or manure. 
Braught of Heavy and Light Plows. 
The momentum of a plow in its passage 
through the soil is not an appreciable force. 
There is no advantage arising from the use 
of a heavy plow, from its relieving the team 
in ovei'coming obstacles. On the contrary, 
there is considerable disadvantage in the 
draught of a heavy ploiv, as every unnecessary 
pound absorbs a certain proportion of the effec¬ 
tive muscular force of the team. If a plow 
weighing one hundred pounds, which is heavier 
than many good plows, be sufficiently strong, 
the addition to its weight of tliirty or more 
pounds will tax the team to haul that unneces¬ 
sary weight from day to dajq to no purpose. 
A dynamometer (or draft-measurer) is not deli¬ 
cate enough to indicate the difference which 
there actually is between the draught of light 
and heavy plows. If a plow cuts a furrow slice 
one foot M'ide, then in plowing one acre, if it 
weigh thirty pounds more than is necessary, it 
will absorb an amount of the effective force of 
a team sufficient to move 1,980 lbs., a distance 
of one eighth of a mile, dragging it along on 
the ground. These facts lead us to discourage 
the use of unnecessarily heavy plows, out of 
regard to the teams, if not to the plowmen. 
. m 1 miM @ Bi ll - - 
The Agricultural Department. 
This concern, which seems to be a nonde¬ 
script hybrid between a newspaper office and a 
seed shop, still manifests its tenacity of life. It 
still performs its functions as they are under¬ 
stood by the individual at the head of the 
establishment, and its monthly reports and 
packages of seeds are persistently issued. The 
“monthly report” for March is before us, and 
taken as a specimen of a Government Agricul¬ 
tural paper, which is printed out of the taxes 
of farmers and others, and sent “ free,gratis, for 
nothing” to the friends of Members of Congress, 
it is as good as could be expected. The spirit 
of “hifalutin” still lives and spi eads itself in an 
article on the grasses, where we have quotations 
from the Bible, Ilnskin, and the Highland Agri. 
cultural Society of Scotland, strung together by 
the finest kind of writing. In proof of which 
see the following specimen : 
“What country is more adorned tlmn that 
which is covered with the grasses; the nlll-sidea 
clothed in their green vestment, and the more 
