The Ordway new era., 1913-07-18
USE FOR THE HARROW
Important implement In Prevent
ing Escape Of Moisture.
Some Authorities Claim When surface
10 Smooth II Does Not Hold opow
as Well AZ When Left Rough
Other Faets.
(By PROF. THOMAS sHAw.)

By PROF. THOMAS sHAw.)
It would seem correct to say that no
implement Ia 20 patent to prevent the
escape OF moisture from the soil ~ the
harrow. The ways in which It may be
used to effect this end are many.
These include the narrowing of sum.
mer fallow land. autumn plowed land.
land that is plowed late in the spring
for immediate sowing and land that
has been sown to grain both autumn
and spring.
Summer fallowed land should be
first compressed a. soon a. II 10
plowed. It Is then at once narrowed
when the management II what is
should be. Tho narrowing makes a
dust mulch. This mulch Of fins earth
dries out to the extent of ono or two
inches. When moisture ascends from
below. as 1t always does. on the prin.
ciple of capilarity. It cannot pass this
dust mulch. But when rain falls In
suficient quantity 1t passes down
through this dust mulch to the moist
soil below and destroys its effective
ness. In order to again be effective
1t must be renewed, and in order to re-
new 1t the harrow must be again
used. The bsst time to use It il as
soon as the harrow can be used on the
soil without the earth adhering to 1t.
II It 10 not then run over the ground.
the surface soil will contract in dry.
ing, with the result that numerous
cracks or assures will appear in It.
and through these the moisture will at
once begin to escape from below. BY
narrowing at such q time the dust
mulch will be renewed. Such renew.
al must be given after each rain Of
sunicient volume to destroy the dust
mulch. This may not call for many
harrowings. as such rains are mot very
frequent in dry areas.
When land 10 plowed In the autumn
II should usually be narrowed quite
soon after It is plowed. Some authori-
ties object to such narrowing. They
say that when the surface 10 thus
made smooth 1t does not hold the
snow 30 well AZ when II II left rough.
~ the burrows are by the plow. There
il some force In the objection. But
when the land is left thus rough II
dries out more than II It were impact
cd with the harrow. In the spring tho
ridges ON the crest of the furrows dry
out more than would be possible II the
land were smoothed and impactsd
with the harrow. This 10 true Of those
ridges both fall and spring. It would
ssem reasonable to. claim. thanpfore.
that there II a distinctive advantAgs
from narrowing autumn-plowed land.
Land that blows may make an excep-
tion to this rule.
When land Is plowed late in the
SPRING for a crop of millet or other
crop that should be sown late. II 10
always important that 1t shall be har.
rowed at once. II IN important for the
reason that the moisture escapes very
readily from such land at such time.
So rapidly will 1t escape. especially
from near the surface. that 1t will
soon become SO dry that seed sown
ON 1t will not germinate, and when II
does not. of course the result 10 crop
failure. and thaa failure may be %
complete as to be total.
The harrow may be used with ad.
vantage on crops sown both In the au.
tumn and in the spring In dry areas.
When sown In the autumn good re-
suits viii usually follow from running
the harrow over the land when the
grain Is Just beginning to appear. The
harrow should usually be of the ad-
Unstable type. That means that II
should be Of = type that will admit OF
fitting tho teeth backward at any
slant that may be desired. Whether
any subsequent narrowing should BE-
given In the autumn will depend upon
the encrustation Of the ground. When
the ground does not encrust the neces-
sity for using the harrow second
time 10 not apparent. The frst time It
IL used 1t more or less rsnews the
dust mulch. In the spring 1t may b
similarly used on such land with much
advantage when the crop 10 firmly
rooted and Of strong growth. But
should the crop be delicate. then har-
rowing at such time must be done
with much caution or the harrow may
bury the wheat. The wesder may be
used with moro advantage in some
such instances than the harrow.
Should the ground be impacted, It
may be advisable to use the spike
tooth harrow with the teeth straight.
In some instances the harrow should
be weighted. and there may be ex-
treme instances In which the disk may
be used on such crops with advan-
taSe.