The Bulletin. T 



system of continuons cropping in clean cultivated crops, and the crops 

 removed, give the necessary conditions to produce profitable crops. 



A soil, to he effective and of high productive power, must be granu- 

 lar, porous, mellow, easily pulverized, and these conditions are ob- 

 tained and maintained by an abundant and deep incorporation of suit- 

 able organic matter, and if the soil is not naturally well drained, by 

 adequate underdrainage. 



When these conditions co-exist the soil moisture will be retained in 

 sufficient abundance, and will permit adequate circulation of air in 

 the soil ; heavy rains will pass into the soil readily and deeply, the 

 excess going off in the underdrainage, while that retained will be in 

 best fomi for use by the crop and for the promotion of microscopic 

 life in the soil. When wholesome soil-water and soil-air and suitable 

 organic matter occur in abundance, and are well and deeply dis- 

 tributed through the soil, the micro-organisms of the soil, and the 

 roots of crops follow, then we have an effectively deep soil and begin 

 to see results in the form of larger and more profitable crops. 



A field thus fitted has large productive capacity because there^ is a 

 large area of soil per acre in which the soil organisms can multiply, 

 and in association with water and air transform organic and mineral 

 matter into plant food material, and disseminated through the soil in 

 such manner as to afford an ever-ready and available supply to the 



crop. 



With this glimpse at the character of a soil, effectively deep and of 

 high productive power, we will consider ways and means by which we 

 may prepare, construct, and have for our very own a soil teeming with 

 microscopic life, and of high productive power. And by adopting 

 these methods we will no longer farm our lands in such manner as 

 that in a few years we have nothing in the form of soil, save a mere 

 skeleton, depleted in fertility, and in many instances washed and 

 gullied. Or as might be better expressed in the simile of a bank 

 robber, who enters a bank, takes everything of value he can carry 

 away, leaving the furniture and fixtures abused and so wrecked that 

 they can be repaired only at great cost. We no longer want to con- 

 duct our farms in the similitude of a bank robber, but on the other 

 hand we want to farm our land and conduct our farming operations 

 with the dignity and intelligence of a bank president ; directing the 

 affairs of the farm in such manner that good dividends may be de- 

 clared, the capital stock, which is our soil, remain intact, and a nice 

 surplus fund laid up in the soil each year in the way of increased 

 fertility. 



It is impossible to write down specific directions, or modes of pro- 

 cedure that will apply in every case, suit all conditions, or that are 

 practical in all seasons. However, some general instructions may 

 prove beneficial for our guidance, and can be conformed to as nearly 



