Moisture of the Soil. 



485 



as to the proper use of this implement. As an implement to be 

 used in the preparation of the soil for the reception of moisture, 

 it stands pre-eminent. Good plowing does not consist — as ordi- 

 narily supposed — in merely inverting a portion of the earth, 

 but in pulverizing and fining it and burying the sod or refuse 

 which may be on the surface. The amount of water which a 

 soil is capable of holding depends directly upon the fineness of 

 its particles. Then that plow which will break and pulverize the 

 soil moist thoroughly is the one best adapted to fit the soil for 

 holding moisture. This point is well illustrated by King in his 

 book on " The Soil." He says, " Since each independent soil 

 grain of a moist soil is more or less completely surrounded by a 

 film of water, it is evident that, other conditions being present, 

 the largest aggregate surface area may retain the most water 

 per cubic foot. Now, a cubic foot of marbles one inch in diameter 

 possesses an aggregate surface of 27,7 square feet while if the 

 marbles were reduced in diameter to one-thousandth of an inch, 

 then the total area per cubic foot is increased to 37,700 square 

 feet," From this it is evident that the total amount of water 

 capable of being absorbed by a soil which is cloddy and lumpy 

 is very slight in comparison with what it would be were it in a 

 finely divided state; and not only is its absorbing power less, but 

 its power of holding moisture is also greatly reduced. King 

 found the rate of percolation from soils of different degrees of 

 fineness to be as follows, the column of soil being eight feet in 



height: 



Time of Percolation. 



This striking difference in the rate of percolation from soils of 

 different degrees of fineness shows most forcibly the importance 

 of thorough pulverization of soils to increase their water absorb- 

 ing and moisture holding capacity. 



A large amount of water is lost during the winter and spring 



