The Oakes times., 1911-03-16
DISK HARROW is IMPORTANT
indispensable Implement to Every
Farmer Who Uses PIow-WeIi
Known Soil PuIverIzer.

The disk harrow and pulverizer has
long been numbered among the most
valued of farm implements. 1t is an
indispensable auxiliary to every farm
er who uses a plow, but modern sci
ence Is fast widening the scope of its
activities beyond the reduction Of the
plowed field, writes l.. r. Johnson in
the Breeders Gazette. Invented more
than a generation ago, 1t has re-
mafned for sagacious minds during
the last few years to discover new
uses of great Importance for its well
known capacity as pulverizer. One
of these is the principle that thorough
ly to fine the surface soil in advance
of the plow is Of great value to the
coming crop, whatever it may be,
and the argument Is SO simple and
convincing that there can be no dis
pute.
Under former methods the soil was
set on edge or turned over in rolls,
chunks, clods and sods and the raw
rough upper surface, for the depth of
few inches, rolled, narrowed and
dragged until smooth and fine. This
treatment left field looking beautiful
on the surface but just below there
was the medley of chunks, clods and
sods, compressed no doubt to some ex-
tent, but still labyrinth Of air cham
bers in a crude chaos Of weeds, grass
and uncompacted soil particles. Now
when the grain was sown or planted
on the fine upper stratum it would
come up promptly. but when the grow
ing roots began to make their way
downward in search of water and
food, they found themselves frustrat-
ed by the air spaces which prevented
the necessary contact with the soil
particles from which water and food
are derived. They were also checked
by the lack Of moisture which was
dried up by the free circulation of the
air in these cavities and assures.
Compare this with the condition for
roots in the soil-bed when the disk
precedes the plow and the surface is
well pulverized before being turned
under and forms stratum of fine
soil that is readily compacted by the
pressure from above as we'll as by the
action of rains. Another value OF
this preliminary disking is its break
ing down and cutting to pieces of the
weeds and trash left by preceding
crops. It Is quite common to see
farmers turning under waving masses
of weeds when plowing for wheat al
though few of them are unaware of
their very Injurious action on the
coming crop. The disk would at least
chop these up and thereby reduce ma
terially their capacity for damage.
A more important service and ono
but little related to this is the en-
ployment of the disk in conserving
moisture in the ground to be broken
and preventing 1t from becoming too
hard, as often happens in July and
August. Heretofore the farmer who
on account of the press of other du-
ties entered late upon the breaking
of wheat land, frequently found it so
hard that 1t was only with great suf-
fering to his teams that the work
could be accomplished, and even then
with the result that the field was a
mass of huge clods akin to powders.
1t was either this alternative or the
more unendurable one Of waiting for
the rain that was to come the next
few days, but did not.
Under the new dispensation he can
early in the season put boy on the
big disk and while he himself is en-
gagged In imperative work, the surface
of the field will be cut to pieces in
such manner as effectually to baf.
fle sun and winds In their ATTEMPTS