500 Agricultural Gazelle of iV.S. JF. [Mar. 2, 1908. 



Notes oil Humus and the Best Means of 



supplying it. 



F. B. (;UTJ1R1E. 



Over that considerable portion of the State's arable land on which the rainfall 

 is limited or uneven, the need of retaining within the soil whatever moisture 

 is received as rain is one of paramount importance in the treatment of the 

 land. The maintenance of the soil's fertility in these areas becomes largely 

 a question of conserving this sometimes scanty supply, and soil treatment 

 having for its object suitable means of maintaining the most favourable 

 conditions as to moisture will rlaiin the most serious consideration of the 

 farmer. 



As the land taken into cultivation gradually extends so as to include more 

 and more of the area within the belt of reduced rainfall and approaching to 

 semi-arid conditions, this question cf the conservation of soil moisture becomes 

 of increasing importance. 



It far exceeds in importance the question of manuring, and it is safe to say 

 that unless the conditions as to moisture are satisfactory the apphcation 

 of manures is not likely to be of any benefit, and the money expended on their 

 use is practically thrown away. 



Apart from the question of cultivation and drainage, the maintenance of 

 the best conditions as to water within the soil depends to a very large extent 

 upon the presence of humus. Humus, which is derived from the gradual 

 decay of animal or vegetable matter within the soil, is one of the most impor- 

 tant of the soil's constituents, and any variation in its amount affects 

 profoundly the value of the soil for agricultural purposes. 



Functions of Humus. 



The presence of liunuis in the soil increases the fertility in the following 

 ways: — 



In the hrst place it absorbs and retains moisture in the soil, and prevents 

 surface evaporation. A surface soil, fairly rich lu humus, exercises much 

 the same influence on the underlying soil as does a mulch of dead leaves or 

 other vegetable matter. During dry spells, and under the influence of the 

 hot winds usually prevalent under such conditions, the loss of moisture from 

 the soil by surface evaporation is enormous, and in soils destitute of humus 

 this loss is so rapid as to result in the drying up of the soil and the wilting 

 of the crops. The hnal result of such conditions is the formation of scalded 

 spots and the complete removal of the fine surface soil in the form of dust. 



