284 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 



crop may have been g-rown on the same soil for a series of yeons 

 until the laud utterl}^ refuse to produce remunerating results. 

 The available mineral constituents within reach of the plant have 

 become exhausted. Plow it ; turn up the soil from below and mix 

 with the esjiausted surface soil, and the land is rendered again 

 fertile. A plant, too, may actually starve, for a substance which 

 an exact chemical analysis will sho^\ exists in abundance. The 

 trouble is it is not available. Plow the land, expose it to the 

 action of the elements, and the plant will ag'ain thrive. 



The second object to b^ attained by plowing' is to pulverize the 

 soil. That plow which inverts the soil only, does not accomplish 

 all that a plow should be required to do. The rendering a soil fine, 

 porous and light, is of far more consequence than its inversion. The 

 objects of this pulverization may be briefly summed up as follows: 



To promote those chemical changes which will render the mineral 

 combinations available plant food. 



To prepare the soil so that the roots may permeate it freely in 

 all directions. 



To prevent the cooling of the soil by the evaporation of stag- 

 nant water from its surface, thus counteracting in a measure the 

 damaging effects of an excess of water. 



To secure the absorption of the moisture in the atmosphere by 

 the particles of soil, thereby increasing the humidity of the soil in 

 times of excessive drought. 



Should I attempt to expand upon these reasons for pulverizing 

 the soil, and explain their full bearing, it would take up more time 

 than could be given in one whole paper, if devoted to that alone ; 

 hence I give a summary of the reasons and leave the hearer to 

 vfork out mainly the bearing of those reasons himself. Some of 

 the more important facts alone can be alluded to at this time. 



The porosit^'' of a soil is greatly increased by pulverizing it; 

 therefore "a finely pulverized soil will condense the greatest 

 amount of nianurial substances; will retain them the longest 

 against the action of water, and will give them up the most readily 

 to the rootlets of the growing plant." We all know that a solid 

 lump of earth presents an impassable barrier to the rootlets of a 

 plant, and will turn it aside as surely as a stone; and we know too 

 that it will absorb but a small amount of manure ; but pulverize it, 

 make it porous and light, and its power of absorption is greatly 

 increased. One of the most active agents employed in rendering 

 inorganic matters in the soil soluble, so that they may become 



