346 Missouri Agricultural Report. 



land and where the rainfall comes in downpours it is evident that 

 this estimate should be increased. 



Most of the available water stored in the soil will have been 

 exhausted by the time the corn plants are four or five feet high, 

 and unless more comes in the form of rainfall the plants must 

 suffer, as the rise by capillarity from the lower depths of the soil 

 is hardly rapid enough to supply the plant's needs at this stage 

 of its growth. 



Unfortunately, or fortunately, the weather is not in our con- 

 trol, but there are some things that a farmer can do to conserve 

 the supply of soil moisture. Deep and early plowing will increase 

 the amount of available moisture and frequent and shallow culti- 

 vation to keep a dust mulch on the ground while the corn plants 

 are small and the conditions of the field more nearly those of 

 fallow land will conserve considerable quantities of water that 

 would be lost by evaporation. Keeping the soil in good tilth 

 with a good supply of organic matter will also increase its ab- 

 sorbing and retaining power. Furthermore, less moisture is 

 required by plants in a fertile soil than in an infertile one. 

 Hence it is evident that keeping the soil fertile will tend to 

 lessen the injurious effects of a drouth. 



Clover seed trophy, donated by E. J. Mahony, Dexter, Mo. Awarded at annual Missouri 

 State Corn Show, 1914. Won by W O. Bedford, Fayetteville, Mo. 



