Rosebud County news. [volume] (Forsyth, Mont.) 1901-1906, 1901-03-21
FARM AND GARDEN,
MATTERS OF INTEREST TO
ACRlCULTURISTS
ONE Up-to- Date Hints About Cultiva-
ton OF tho Soil aud Yields Thereof
Horticulture, viticulturs and Floricul-
ture

The Work Of the Harrow.
There is no farm tool that occupies
a larger place in the work of the farm
than does the harrow. It's popularity
has grown as agricultural knowledge
has increased. It Is now used 0ftener
and in more places than ever before.
A generation ago each farmer thought
one harrow sufficient for all his needs;
but now the scientific agriculturist
feels that he can invest in several with
profit, obtaining thus tools that will
do perfect work under almost any con-
ditions likely to arise on the farm and
on any soils.
Year by year the farmer is coming
to understand better that he must
make war on the clod. The plow Gre
ates 1t; the harrow alone can destroy
st. In it is locked up the plant food
that should make part of his reve-
nue.. The clod resists the roots of the
plants and they run around it. If it
lies on top Of the ground it dries out
and the humus in it is destroyed to
the extent Of its exposure to heat.
Whether in the soil or above it. the
clod, like a stone. occupies valuable
room. If it lies above the ground it
shuts off light from the soil under
1t. If it is in the soil it lies in that
part (near the surface) where the room
is most needed for the development Of
roots. On heavy soil clods often 0c-
~ hn
ground, both on the surface and under
1t. This is equivalent to putting that
amount Of ground out of cultivation,
which means, in turn, proportionate
decrease OF the crop.
There is only one way of getting
rid OF these clods, and that is by use
OF the harrow. BY this implement the
clods are pulverized on the surface
and for two or three inches in the
ground. The feeding area is thus in
creased, and the ground brought into
condition where it can be used as
starting bed for the tender shoots first
sent out by the seeds. Insufficient har-
rowing is often the cause of great loss
IN the crops. Where the ground is
inclined to be lumpy and the harrow
ing has been only imperfectly done, the
air is admitted to the ground in all
directions and through spaces so large
that the moisture is dried out of a
considerable portion of the soil. This
drying out renders it exceedingly diff
hcult for the seeds to get foundation
in which to develop their shoots. Many
instances of this kind might be cited.
sod had been turned over for corn.
The narrowing was SO imperfectly
done that whole burrows Of the turned
SOD We're separated from the subsoil
TO an extent that permitted the air to
move through and under them and dry
out the earth. The season was dry.
or rains might have washed down
enough soil to fill up the open spaces.
AS it was, the corn crop proved to be
a failure, except where the kernels of
corn fell into the bottoms Of the fur
rows Elsewhere, the kernels sprouted
and sent up feeble stalks, which never
obtained enough moisture to reach
maturity or form ears. BY sufficient
narrowing the soil would have been
pulverized sufficiently to establish the
action of capillary water throughout
and the whole corn crop would have
been fed. Doubtless the farmer in the
instance mentioned lost enough money
on this one crop to have purchased a
good many harrows.
The harrow is the enemy of weeds
and the most potent factor in destroy
Ing them. Before even the top of the
tiny weed gets to the surface Of the
ground the harrow goes over them, If
the narrower is on the alert, and thew
are destroyed. Their tender rootlets
winch We're just getting fixed in the
SOL, are loosened, and, being near the
surface, are dried out before thew can
re-establish themselves. The form of
narrow that we call "weeder" will
often be found of immense value in
the destruction Of weeds, as it can he
used when the corn crop or potato
crop is we'll up, and in such case il
Will keep down the weeds without in
Jurlng the crop that is being grown
Ih1s IS because its teeth go far enough
into the soil to turn out the newly
started weeds, but do not go down to.
the roots of the potato or corn plants
some OF our best Orchardists, as we'll
AS our general farmers, are using weed
ers extensively. The writer was in the
peach orchard OF Mr.. Morrill, of Ben
ton Harbor, Mich, and was forcibly
struck with the extensive use being
mace OF weeders there. These imple-