The undersoil is richer and
better for seeds to start growing in than the upper part, where the rain
may wash away the plant-food things that are needed to make a good garden.
"But Daddy said the ground had to be SMOOTH to make a garden," said Mab.
"The plowing man is making it all ROUGH."
"Yes, it does look rough now," said Daddy Blake, as he came along just
then, in time to watch the man plowing. "Those long lines of overturned
soil which you children see are called furrows."
"Could you plant anything in them?" asked Hal.
"Well, you could, yes. But it would not grow very well, and when the corn,
beans or whatever you planted came up, you could not work around them well
to cut down the weeds. It would be too rough. So after the man has plowed
the ground he will harrow it."
"What's that?" asked Hal
"Well a harrow is something like a big rake," explained Daddy Blake.
"There are three kinds of harrows, but they don't often use more than one
kind for a garden. The man will use a tooth harrow. It is called that
because it is made of iron spikes, or teeth, driven through some long
beams of wood. The teeth stick through and when they are dragged over the
plowed ground they make it quite smooth.
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