84 The Bulletin. 



summer, fields that were partly broken last fall and the remainder broken 

 this spring, and there is all the promise of 5 to 15 bushels more corn per acre, 

 due wholly to the presence of more moisture and better mechanical condition 

 in the fall-plowed land. 



The average annual rainfall in North Carolina is sufficient for the sustain- 

 ing of large yields of all crops as to moisture requirements. Crops require 

 large quantities of water for a comparatively short period, and it often hap- 

 pens that the rainfall is most deficient when they require most moisture. 

 Wheat and oats, for instance, which mature from first to middle of June, 

 require and must have an abundant supply of moisture the last six weeks of 

 their growth, if a maximum crop is produced. And it frequently happens 

 that very little rain falls during this period. Corn and cotton demand most 

 moisture during the six or eight weeks prior to maturity, and usually drouths 

 are most severe at this time. And even with a normal rainfall at this time, 

 these crops frequently suffer because of insufficiency of moisture in the soil. 



Information is often sought as to the relative quantities of plant food to 

 apply to the soil, and in what amount to produce 50 or 100 bushels corn per 

 acre. The first provision should always be for a bountiful and healthful 

 moisture supply ; having this, or the conditions which practically assure it, 

 the growing of bountiful crops is assured when the proper amount of plant; 

 food is supplied. 



In order that crops may be supplied with sufficient moisture in time of drouth, 

 and when needed in greatest abundance, the storage capacity of the soil miist 

 be enlarged, and the winter and early spring rains stored away and conserved 

 by tillage until used by the crops, just as the honeybee gathers honey while 

 honey-making material is plentiful, and stores away for use against the time 

 when nature cuts off the supply : or as the provident farmer garners his crops 

 at harvest time, that his family and stock may be amply provided for luitil 

 harvest comes again; so may we solve the problem of moisture — by making 

 ample provision for the future while there is plenty. 



The principal ways by which the moisture-holding capacity of the soil can 

 be increased are deep fall plowing, underdrainage, and the adding of humus- 

 making material. To get the full benefit of the rainfall it must pass down- 

 ward through the soil. That which runs off over the surface is useless to 

 agriculture, and is often very injurious. On close and compact soils, a large 

 percentage of the water moves off over the surface during the winter and 

 early spring. The soil should be put in condition in the fall and early winter 

 to receive the winter rains. If the soil is close and compact, it should be 

 broken deeply, and let lie rough and uneven as left by the plow, that the rain 

 water may find ready entrance into the soil. If there is danger of surface 

 erosion, and the plowing is done early, rye, wheat, oats, or barley can be 

 sown in front of the plow. The plants assist in holding the water, and the 

 roots bind the soil and prevent washing. 



Plants, in order to get the moistiu'e required in the production of maximum 

 crops, must have a deep and extensive root system. A strong and vigorous 

 root system enables them to receive more moisture, and consequently more 

 plant food in times of drouth. King finds in an experiment conducted with 

 four stalks of corn, just as they were coming into tassel and their ears were 

 forming, that in thirteen days they removed from the soil 150.G pounds of 

 water, a daily average of nearly three pounds per day for each stalk; and 

 this from a soil so dry that no amount of pressure could express from it a 

 drop of water. These plants had a strong, vigorous, and extensive root sys- 

 tem, otherwise they could not have derived tiiis amount of water from the 

 soil, or the plant food demanded, in the time stated, and "firing" of the blades 

 would have resulted. 



T'nderdrainage and deep plowing, apart from preparing the soil to receive 

 and hold more moisture, prepare a deeper seedbed, a larger pasturage for the 

 roots of plants, thereby encouraging the development of a strong, deep, and 

 vigorous root growth. 



