82 
THE CULTIVATOR. 
March* 
growth. An implement is wanted that will penetrate 
the ground to as great a depth at least, as it is moved 
by the plow, and'Which is at the same time calculated 
to thoroughly stir the soil and bring the fibrous roots to 
the surface. 
Various kinds of extirpators or scarifiers are used by 
the English and Scotch farmers for cleaning the soil. 
Of this class of instruments, one called, from the name 
of the inventor, Finlayson’s Scarifier or grubber, (fig. 
30) has been extensively employed, and is, probably, 
as efficient as any in use. It is described by Prof. 
Low, in his Practical Agriculture, asTollovrs- 
£ | 
it 
SMB 
30— SCARIFIER OR GRUBBER 
1 It is made wholly of malleable iron, and consists of 
a frame supported by wheels, and having inserted into 
it a certain number of curved teeth or prongs. It is so 
formed that the wheels can be raised or depressed, so 
that the frame can be brought nearer to the surface of 
the ground, or raised more 
above it, by which means, the 
prongs penetrate the soil to a 
greater or less depth. This in¬ 
strument was originally formed 
with nine prongs in two rows, 
and required a power of four 
horses to work it. It has 
now been lessened in weight, 
and the number of prongs re¬ 
duced to five, so that it can be 
readily worked by a pair of 
horses. It has further under¬ 
by the same depression of the handle, the rod u. is tur¬ 
ned, and the arms H. P. are placed more vertical, and 
the wheels L. L. are lowered' or, in other words, the 
frame is raised- Thus the depression of the handle 
raises the whole frame with its prongs- Again, when 
the handle is elevated, the operation is reversed j the 
wheels are raised, and consequently the frame approach¬ 
es nearer to the ground, and the prongs penetrate 
deeper. Thus, the prongs can be elevated or depres¬ 
sed at pleasure - and thus by fixing the handle in the 
notches at a greater or less height, the prongs work 
at a greater or less depth in the soil. By pressing the 
handle sufficiently down, the prongs can be raised en¬ 
tirely out of the ground, which is required when turn¬ 
ing at the end of the ridg 
from one place to another. 
“The curvature given to the prongs is for the purpose 
of preventing any roots or other substances raised from 
the soil, from collecting and impeding the machine. 
They are supported by stays a . a., and they cover a 
space of about 4 feet 4 inches. 
“ The introduction of this class of instruments into 
tillage, must be regarded as beneficial and important. 
When land is full of root-weeds, the repeated opera¬ 
tion of the plow, the harrow and the roller, is resorted 
to for tilling and cleaning it. In these cases the grub¬ 
ber is a useful assistant, and may frequently supercede 
the necessity of one or more plowings. 
u The grubber can be made to go to any depth which 
may be required, and thus the soil can either be stirred 
to the depth at which it had been originally plowed, or 
to such lesser depth as may be deemed expedient. It 
31 —SCARIFIER OR CULTIVATOR FOR HOED CROPS-. 
gone certain modifications, so that its frame with its 
prongs can be more readily raised or depressed, and the 
prongs more easily set at a greater or less depth, or 
raised wholly out of the ground, by the workmen. The 
figure shows the form of the machine, as it is now con¬ 
structed. 
“ It consists of two parallel sides A. A., with two 
sets or pairs of cross-bars, as shown in the figure. In¬ 
to the hindmost of these sets are inserted three curved 
teeth or prongs, and into the foremost set two prongs. 
From the foremost set of bars, the sides begin to con¬ 
verge, so as to meet at B., where there is a bent lever 
moveable on a bolt, and connected with the wheel D., 
which runs upon the surface. This lever is attached by 
a bolt to the rod K., and this rod again by a bolt at I. 
with the handle C. The handle is bent at the same 
bolt I., and connected at O. with the horizontal rod c. 
c., by which means, when the handle is elevated or de¬ 
pressed, the rod c. c. is turned. This rod has an arm 
at each extremity, H., at right angles to it, which car¬ 
ry at their ends the hind-wheels L. L. Standing upon 
the frame, in the manner shown in the figure, is a cur¬ 
ved bar, E., with a set of notches on one side, so that 
the handle, being raised or depressed, can be fixed at 
any given position. When the handle is depressed, the 
radial part O. is drawn hack, and consequently the rod 
K.; and thus the wheel I). is pressed downward—the 
point of the franffiB. rising in the same degree. Again, 
is, in this respect, greatly superior to the harrow, 
which we cannot regulate in this manner. The ©m 
ployment of the grubber, however, does not supersede 
that of the harrow in the pulverization of the ground 
and disengaging of the roots and weeds. The harrow 
is still to be used in conjunction with the grubber, and 
especially for collecting into heaps the roots of the 
plants brought to the surface." 
We will remark that a better implement than the 
harrow for collecting the roots and weeds, is the spring 
tooth horse-rake. It should be made of wire a size 
larger than is commonly used, and will answer admira¬ 
bly for the purpose mentioned. 
Scarifier or Cultivator for hoed Crops. —The 
implement above described, it will be seen, is intend¬ 
ed for open fallows. One, similar in principle, but on 
a smaller scale, is wanted for hoed crops. The com¬ 
mon cultivator, especially when made of cast iron, fre¬ 
quently fails to perform the work required, in a proper 
manner. Clayey soils sometimes run together and be¬ 
come so close and hard as to be almost impenetrable to 
the roots of plants. This hard crust also prevents the 
absorption of moisture from the atmosphere, as well as 
its exhalation from the subsoil, and renders the crop 
liable to injury from drouth. The cultivator and har¬ 
row, as usually made, are only superficial in their ac¬ 
tion •, and the common plow throws the ground too 
much into ridges and hollows, and by its pressure or 
