The Breaking-plow
Categories:
TILLAGE
Land containing enough clay to give it an excellent
soil inclines to become firm. During the growth of a crop, when plant
roots fill the soil and prevent deep stirring, the particles pack
closely together, limiting the power of the land to make fertility
available. The presence of organic matter counteracts, in part, this
packing tendency, but there are few soils that remain permanently
mellow. The breaking-plow is used to loosen the soil, and to undo the
firming that has been taking place while plant roots prevented deep
tillage. At the same time the plow may be used to bury organic matter
below the surface, affording a clean seed-bed. In some soils it has
value in bringing inert soil to the surface, and in mixing the soil
constituents.