,soil. These are facts which a farmer should be familiar with in order that he 

 may intelligently manure the soil and plan the rotation of crops he wishes to 

 follow in a manner that will give the best possible results. 



THE SOIL. 



But a knowledge of the plant and its requirements alone is not sufficient. 

 It is very important that the farmer should know something about the constituents 

 of the soil and the manner in which they may be brought into solution. 



Soils are formed from rock by the prolonged action of water, frost, and air. 

 combined with that of vegetable and animal life and their products. It is not 

 necessary to go into details regarding the action of these various agencies. It is 

 sufficient to point out that through their combined action, extending over thou- 

 sands of years, the rocks have been broken down and their materials more or 

 less separated by water into gravelly, sandy and clayey soils, and all the mixture? 

 of these so commonly found throughout the Province. In these soils there is 

 practically all the potash and phosphoric acid that was present in the original 

 rocks. They are differently distributed, as, for instance, clays are richer w 

 potash than sands; but the rocks are the sole source of the natural supply of these 

 and all the other ash constituents essential for the growth of plants. 



Drainage. 



It must not be forgotten that the soil is the home of the plant, and if the 

 plants are to make good growth, the home must be congenial. The factors that 

 make it so are an abundance of readily available food, water, air, and a suitable 

 temperature. To secure this good drainage is of primary importance. No soil 

 can be warm or well aerated that is full of water. Nor will the organisms that 

 bring about the decay of the organic matter exist in such a soil. IIence> good 

 drainage must precede all other work in endeavoring to get the maximum result? 

 from the soil. 



Decaying Organic Matter. 



iSTitrogen is derived from the air and is incorporated into the soil largeh 

 by means of plants. Consequently, the natural richness of a soil in nitrogen 

 is almost entirely dependent upon the amount of decaying organic matter present. 

 Through careless cultivation, this original supply of nitrogen may be depleted; 

 or by growing plants, particularly legumes, the nitrogen gatherers, it may be 

 increased. There is an almost unlimited supply of nitrogen in the atmosphere, 

 and man has been given the means of gathering this and incorporating it in 

 the land. As a result, the amount of this element in the soil, more than any 

 other plant food constituent, is within the control of the farmer. Moreover, the 

 addition of organic matter to a soil has a very much wider bearing than the 

 simple addition of nitrogen ; for, in its decay the vegetable acids and the carbon 

 dioxide formed tend to bring the insoluble potash and phosphoric acid into an 

 available form. Humus, which has such a wonderful effect on the mechanical 

 condition of the soil, and which so increases its water-holding capacity, is also 

 a product of the decay of organic matter. In fact, the presence of an abundance 



