much less nitrogen than legumes, but they have more difficulty in secur- 

 ing it. The autumn sown cereals have both deeper roots and longer 

 period of growth than those sown in the spring, and consequently are 

 better able to supply themselves with the necessary ash constituents. 

 The spring tillage for barley, oats, and garden crops aids nitrification 

 in the soil, therefore these crops have less difficulty in securing nitrogen. 

 Barley, however, has a very short period of growth and is shallow rooted 

 and cannot rustle for its food to the same extent as oats. Corn and the 

 root crops are not only spring sown, but have a much longer period of 

 growth than the cereals, and will thus have command of the nitrates 

 produced during the whole summer. They have fairly good root develop- 

 ment, but may not always secure all the potash and phosphoric acid 

 required for the production of a full crop. 



The striking characteristic of all the legumes is the large amount 

 of nitrogen, potash-, and lime found in them. However, although they 

 contain fully twice as much nitrogen as the cereals, because of the power 

 they possess of making use of the free nitrogen of the atmosphere, they 

 have comparatively little difficulty in securing the required amount. On 

 the other hand, they have difficulty in collecting potash. Consequently, 

 it may sometimes happen that legumes suffer for want of this constituent 

 on the same soil that cereals would find an abundance. 



It will thus be seen that plants differ widely in composition, range 

 of root, period of growth, and in their ability to gather that which they 

 need from the soil. These are facts which a farmer should be familiar 

 with in order that he may intelligently manure the soil and plan the rota- 

 tion of crops he washes to follow in a manner that will give the best pos- 

 sible results. 



THE SOIL. 



But a knowledge of the plant and its requirements alone is not suf- 

 ficient. 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 pro- 

 ducts. It is not necessary to go into details regarding the action of these 

 various agencies. It is sufficient to point out that through their com- 

 bined action, extending over thousands 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 mixtures of these so com- 

 monly 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 in potash 

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



