LECTURES AND ESSAYS READ AT FARMERS' 



INSTITUTES. 



PEEPAKATION OF SOIL FOR CEREAL CROPS. 



BT EUGENE DAVENPORT. 

 [Read at Hastings Institute] 



That a seed may germinate it requires moisture, heat, and air. An excess 

 of the first two will be injurious ; of the third not. The degree of moisture 

 and heat necessary for germination varies with different seeds. The variation 

 in the degree of moisture is slight. 'No cereal will germinate in a soil that is 

 water-soaked, nor in one that is very dry. The range of temperature is con- 

 siderable through which seeds will germinate, both for the same and for dif- 

 ferent kinds. Very few will sprout below 40°, or above 120°. Wheat will 

 grow from 41° to 102°, but succeeds best at about 84°. Corn, being a native of 

 a warmer country than most cereals, requires a higher temperature, both for 

 germination and aftergrowth. It will grow from 48° to 115°, but is most 

 certain at 93°. Oats will, I think, grow at a lower temperature than either 

 corn or wheat, but I have nothing but inference on which to base the assertion. 



As the seed sprouts and sets up business for itself two more agents must be 

 supplied, viz. : sunlight and a fertile soil in which to grow. Of the five 

 requisites of plant growth, moisture, heat, light, air, and fertility, light and 

 air are never present to an injurious degree. They are as free as water, as 

 active, as essential, and far less harmful. As to fertility, I will say that there 

 might be too much of it, but there seldom is, while extremes of heat and 

 moisture are always injurious. Light acts upon the leaves of plants only, air 

 directly on the leaves and indirectly upon the roots. Moisture, heat, and a 

 fertile soil are concerned in the action of the root. 



So far as these agents act upon the plant above the ground they act without 

 our control. The sun will shine upon the leaves and the air surround them in 

 spite of us. They will do as much for the crop of a lazy man as for that of 

 his diligent neighbor. But so far as they act upon the roots of plants so far 

 do they act in proportion to our intelligent exertion. The art and science of 

 agriculture, if you please, is concerned with the best method of securing these 

 conditions in the proper degree. The whole operation of preparation of the 

 soil to this end may be classed under three heads : draining, cultivating, and 

 fertilizing the soil. I will notice briefly how each tends to furnish the already 

 named conditions of plant growth. 



The temperature of a soil depends upon the amount of moisture it contains, 

 which, as well as the circulation of air in the soil, depends both upon drainage 



