The Neihart herald. [volume] (Neihart, Mont.) 1890-1901, 1900-04-21

The harrow Is n Of the tools that
farmers should study with care, In the
light Of the needs of their own soil
and its condition when plowed, fol-
narrowing is one of the most impor-
tam operations connected with the
preparation Of the soil for crops and
is scarcely less so in the case Of such
crops as corn, as an element in the
cultivation of the ground after the
crop is in, says Homestead. Every
body does not see the question alike,
as, indeed, how should they, since the
conditions Of one farmer differ sc
much from those of another that theiG
several necessities in regard to it will
greatly vary? There are some soils
that are in such a mechanical condi-
ton, n are plowed in so timely E
way with respect to the moisture that
10 in them, that they turn over under
the pillow like a bed OF ashes and fall
apart with scarcely a clod in a days
work. Here narrowing is simply a
question Of smoothing the surface, and
a tool that will do this answers every
purpose. On the other soils the pillow
leaves the ground lumpy and full OF
holes between the furrow slices, and
narrowing that merely scratches and
levels the surface does not fill the bill
at all. Narrowing In such cases must
consist in breaking up the clods and
cutting the furrow slices to a sufficient
depth to settle the soil together and
make 1t a smooth, compact seed-bed
through which the wind will not blow
and ~evaporate all the moisture it con-
tains, and which will present to the
roots finely comminuted soil from
which they may extract nutriment
presented in an available form. Two
armers whose soil represents these
Two opposite conditions scarcely I'M
derstand each other when they talk
about narrowing. An implement that
satlsnes all the requirements OF the
one is of little or no use to the other,
md results that are all that are neces-
'ary in the one case will in the other
pe found worthless.
outside OF blowing matches, where
he best plowmen are on their best
behavior, there is not a great deal of
frst-rate blowing done on soils that
are a little difficult. We are in the
habit Of c~ultivating areas so large that
a days stint is a little too big to do
the work in a really artistic way, and
even the best plowmen fall into care
less habits, and the result Is that most
fields are full Of uneven places, cloddy
furrow slices, balks and other imper-
fections. unless the soil should happen
to be of the sort that pretty much
plows itself. The task of making a
mellow, well-pulverized seed-bed sufi-
GENTLY deep to take the seed at an
even depth and give it's roots a chance
to spread themselves without drying
out In the open spaces between clods,
is not only a very important one, but
becomes largely a question of good
narrowing and plenty Of it, with a tool
adapted to the faults to be overcome.
The narrowing that is done by way of
cultivation, on the other hand, 10 quite
another matter. 1t is very necessary,
but 1t Ia the surtace-st!rring, weed
killing. smoothing, moisture-conserv-
ing kind Of narrowing that is needed,
and with an entirely different kind OF
a tool. The two kinds OF narrowing,
in fact, have scarcely anything in com
mon except the name.