The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1911-01-14
THE VALUE OF THE ROLLER.
An Implement of Special Utility i'm
Dry Wcater--HOw to Make One at
Home.
by Professor d. n. Barrow

(By Professor d. N. Barrow.)
AS L am now writing there is a
gentle shower falling, but it is so
slight that it promises to give out be-
fore it accomplishes much good. This
is the first rain of any consequence
that has fallen in this section for
nearly two months and the same dry
conditions have pretty well prevailed
all over this State. While this has
made 1t an unusually favorable sea-
son for the gathering of crops, yet on
the other hand it has made the pre-
| paration of ground and the sowing
, OF fall crops exceedingly difficult and
has greatly imperilled what grain and
winter legumes have been sown. In
many instances the soil has been so
dry that it was not possible ID get it
in propc" condition for sowing. Even
where it was possible by means of re-
peated harrowings to work the sur
face into a fine secd-bc5 the layer of
soil that had been brci:ln by the har-
row remained in clods. This interfer-
red with capillary movement, and as
consequence, much of such grain
either has failed to germinate or,
worse still, has started to grow and
then died for lack of sufficient mois-
ture.
In watching the efforts of the
farmers to contend with this condi-
tion l have been impressed with the
fact that there is one valuable agri-
cultural implement Of which they
seem to know very little. II times
, such as this there is no implement
that wall pay a greater dividend for
its use than the roller. When land
| is so dry that it breaks up in clods,
the harrow can do very little towards
pulverising these clods, especially If
the narrowing is delayed for any
length of time. A good, heavy roller
at such times is invaluable and will
go long way towards putting the
ground in good condition to receive
the grain At the same time by COM
pressing The soil ii re-estabitshes the
capillary condition that has been
moro or less destroyed by the plow.
and iard in tn, preparation OF which
the roller has played it's proper part,
will contain more moisture than that
which has not been so treated. But
it is after the seed are sown that the
roller does it's most effective work in
times Of dry weather. While it COM
pesses the soil and improves its
power Of drawing water from the
lower depths, it at the same time
presses the seed close to the soil thus
enabling them to more rapidly alb
sorb moisture. In times Of dry
weather the first seed to come up
! are invariably those that have been
pressed into the soil, either by the
tracks Of the mule or Of the driver.
The roller does for the whole field.
what the weight Of the animal has
done for these small areas. / have
rarely failed to secure a stand and to
hold that stand, even with clover
| seed in the driest falls, On land in
even half proper condition, if the
| seeding was followed by a good
heavy roller and this in its turn by a
light harrow. The roller compacted
the soil, improving its capillary pow
er and at the same time bringing the
seed close to the soil so that it could
the more readily absorb moisture.
But if the land were left in This con-
| dition, the moist ire brought up by
the soil would escape into the at
| mosphere and be lost. Following the
roller with a light harrow breaks up
the capillary tubes and leaves a layer
of loose soil upon the surface that
acts as a blanket and prevents the
| escape Of this mosture.
Such a roller need not be the eX-
pensive affair SO often quoted by our
agricultural implement house. 1
have made and used he for years at
very small cost. a log that is
/ round and Is inches to feet in
diameter can be made into an excel
| lent roller. | prefer the larger di-
ameter if | can get light wood like
poplar. If oak, or even piue. is to be
used, the smaller diameter would
| probably be better as the larger
diameter in these woods would make
the roller too heavy. Cut section
of the log off to feet long, being
careful to saw the ends square. Drive
into the center OF each end a piece of
round iron 1 to l 1-2 inches in diame-
| DRIVING II IN oh q