106 Bulletin 174. 



farmer cannot secure sufficient nitrogen by other means, lie may use 

 tliese-plants as green-manures. If his system of farming will not 

 allow him to use these plants, or if he does not secure sufficient 

 nitrogen when he does use tliem, then he can go to the warehouse 

 and buy nitrogen. 



12. The soil is not a mere inert mass : it is a scene of life and 

 actimty. — This is the new and true teaching. Soil which is wholly 

 inactive is unproductive. Movements of air and water, actions of 

 heat and evaporation, life-rounds of countless microscopic organisms, 

 decay and disintegration of plants and soil particles, — these are some 

 of the activities of the fertile soil. If our ears were delicate enough, 

 we could hear the shuffle of the workers, the beating of the hammers, 

 and the roll of the tiny machinery. All things begin with the soil 

 and at last all things come back to it. The soil is the cemetery of 

 all the ages, and the resurrection of all life. If the soil is not idle, 

 neither should the farmer be. 



LESSON NO. 2. TILLAGE AND UNDER-DRAINAGE : REASONS WHY. 



By John W. Spencer. 



13. TJie difference hetween hlack and, white. — Two farmers are 

 neighbors. Mr. White has made a study of potato culture for a 

 number of years, and, as a result, now has an average yield, one 

 year with anotlier, of about 200 bushels per acre from a field of 

 three to five acres. Mr. Black is considered a faii-ly good farmer, 

 as farmers go, but has given potato culture no special study. He 

 manages his crop as his neighbors do. His methods are those which 

 have been a tradition for several generations, and they had their 

 origin when the country was new and liigh cultivation was impos- 

 sible on account of the stumps and lack of tools, and also because 

 the vii'gin soil made it unnecessary. His annual yield is not far 

 from 60 bushels per acre. In other words, Mr. Black has to plow, 

 harrow, furnish seed, plant and cultivate about ten acres to secure 

 as many potatoes as Mr. White does from three acres. Both men 

 sell their product to the same dealer, and we will assume that they 

 receive the same price per bushel. The cost of producing a bushel 

 of potatoes must be very much more v,'ith Mr. Black than it is with 

 Mr. White. No manufacturer or merchant could withstand the keen 



