472 Bureau of Farmers' Institutes. 



per hundredweight additional put new hope into the then-and- 

 future dairy farmers in that province. The sixpence extra 

 brought hopefulness., confidence in their own ability, and en- 

 thusiasm. 



The exports of cheese from Prince Edward Island in 1900, 

 were over one hundred times larger than in 1892. These educa- 

 tional agencies are affecting the practice of dairy farmers in all 

 parts of their work. They are bringing about a better under- 

 standing of soil, plants, animals, and products, and how to manage 

 these to get the best results from each in proper relation to the 

 others. To most dairy farmers now, the cultivation of the soil 

 has a meaning much clearer than it had in former years. It is 

 perceived now that cultivation is a means toward providing seed 

 bed, suitable for the particular crop to be grown. 



Purpose of Cultivation. 



Cultivation is not only to make a suitable seed-bed for the root- 

 hold of the plants; it is to kill weeds which are the great thieves 

 of plant food and mainly the thieves of the water, which they 

 evaporate into the atmosphere. Surface cultivation keeps the 

 moisture near the roots of the plants. Experiments at the Ex- 

 periment Station at Michigan, show that frequent cultivation 

 between rows of Indian corn made a difference of 86 per cent, in the 

 yield over the uncultivated. Frequent cultivation gave an increase 

 of 17 per cent, over partial infrequent cultivation. Surface culti- 

 vation makes a loose mulch of soil which arrests the capillary 

 movement of the water from beneath, and leaves it available to the 

 roots. For nearly all the crops, the ideal method of surface culti- 

 vation is to roll the land after they are put in (that makes the 

 soil warmer), and then immediately before the plants are up or 

 after they are a few inches high, to harrow it lightly to make a 

 surface mulch (that makes the soil moisture available and prevents 

 drying and cooling the soil by rapid evaporation until it is shaded 

 by the crop). All matter taken up by the roots of the plants is 

 taken in solution. It has been estimated that for every ton of 

 dry matter which a crop contains it has thrown off through its 

 leaves not less than 300 tons of water in its growing. Then there 

 is the solvent action of juice from the roots of the plants. Exuda- 

 tions from the roots touch mineral matters and dissolving them 

 make them available for the rootlets to take up. 



