Press enter after choosing selection

Farm Field And Garden

Farm Field And Garden image
Parent Issue
Day
27
Month
May
Year
1892
Copyright
Public Domain
OCR Text

It is not enough to give land the customary single or even doublé tine of the harrow as a preparation and completion of the spring seeding? One can scarcely harrow too much where the labor is cheap and the boys have little else to do. Especially is this the case in spring seeding. Fast genuination is desirable and retention of moisture too is necessary, and both are brought about by reducing the soil to as small particles as possible. In fall seeding to rye and wheat, harrowing is not so necessary, as it is found best to leave the land rather lttmpy; the lumps are supposed to give the plants some shelter in winter and fnrnish f resh soil f or their roots in spring when "weathered" or rolled down. There are now at the command of the enterprising farmer several different lorts of harrows all of wliich may be used to good advantage. In addition to the old forms of drags and Scotch harrows, we now have those furnished with levers, by means of which the teeth may be made to "take land" or merely tickle the surface. These are a great advantage as they may be made to do both heavy and fine harrowing. Among the most recent inventions are the smoothing disk and spade harrow, which are wonderfnlly effective in their service. By means of these implemento the soil may.be got into the best possible condition for spring seeding, and there is no longer any good excuse for slovenly work. But not only should the harrows be used liberally in the fields seeded to spring grain. They may be employed with great profit upon the pastures where horses and cattle perhaps ran all summer and fall and possibly on many days in winter. In such fields the harrows fine down all lumps of manure and other matter and distribute them thoroughly among the roots of the grass plants. Besides this they scarify the surface, which is often found beneficial to old meadows and pastures which have acquired a hidebound condition. Winter rye and wheat are frequently the better for a good harrowing in spring. At this season of the year the roller, too, can be used to great advantage on the new meadows, where it is often found that the young grass plants have been partially thrown out by the frosts of winter. Indeed, it is a good plan on most soils to roll all inowing lands in spring, as firming the soil aronnd the plants leads to better growth and also provides a smooth surface upon which the inower may be operated with greater comfort. In Great Britain there is an implement in use by all farmers that would prove equally usef ui here. We refer to the chain harrow, and we would be pleased to learn that some of our enterprising implement makers had put it upon the market. Instead of rectangular frames fitted with teeth the ?i:plement in question consists of two webs of chain mesh covering about the same área as the usual tooth harrow. The links are quare and are made of fairly thick red iron. For harrowing pastures and meadows, for brushing compost or old manure into grass land, and for gathering trash on land under preparation for a root or corn erop, the chain harrow can not be excelled.

Article

Subjects
Ann Arbor Argus
Old News