435 



[Tho (lata given indicate that] the third foot of soil, ^hici was only 4^ foot from 

 ptsnnaiicnt water, only j^ained from below in 51 days al)oiit 0.02.') pound of water. 

 Hero a^aiii (lie i'acts indicate in an emphatic manner tli;it duriiijr ordinary s<!asons wo 

 mscd to do what we can to save not only the moiistnre already in tho soil, but also 

 that which falls as rain from time to time during the summer; they point, too, with 

 ecjual emphasis, to the necessity of draining cultivated soils where the water in them 

 naUirally lies too near the surface, rather than depend upon capillary action and 

 cva])oration to do tho work. 



Experiments with reference to the rate of capillary movement in fine 

 sand and to the influence of stirring the soil on the rate of evaporation 

 are reported. From the latter the following suggestions were drawn, 

 though the author is careful to state the need of further investigations 

 for their confirmation : 



(1) A tool like the disk harrow, or like the curved-toothed harrows, which cut narrow 

 and comparatively deep grooves in the soil, leaving undisturbed ridges between them, 

 tend to dry the ground rapidly and deeply. 



(2) Tools like the plow and some forms of cultivators, which cut the whole snrfiice 

 of the ground, leaving a loose layer of soil on the top, tend to dry the loosened soil 

 while the loss of moisture from below by capillary action and evaporation is dimin- 

 ished. 



(3) Deep plowing in the spring, especially if the soil is heavy, and if coarse material 

 is turned under, would tend, unless prevented by early, heavy rains, to produce a 

 deficiency of moisture for shallow-rooted plants, and for deep-rooted plants duriu"- 

 the early part of the season, by partially cutting oif the water supply at a depth 

 below the roots. 



(4) Shallow plowing or surface stirring would tend todimiuish surface evaporation, 

 and at the same time allow capillary action to lift water from below to the roots of 

 young and shallow-rooted plants. 



(5) Fall plowing and early spring treatment with tools like the disk harrow would 

 tend to draw the water to the surface with the minerals held in solution, and thus 

 concentrate the fertility at the surface for later use, thus preventing so much beino- 

 lost by underdrainage. 



Prickly oomfrey versus red clover, F. W. Woll, M. S. (pp. 

 207-211). — Four cuttings of second year's growth of prickly comfrey 

 yielded at the rate of nearly 34 tons, and three cuttings of red clover at 

 the rate of over 26 tons of green fodder per acre. From the tabulated 

 analyses of the several cuttings of these materials and calculations of 

 the food nutrients furnished in the same per acre, it would seem that 

 " the prickly comfrey, while yielding an enormous quantity of green fod- 

 der per acre when once established, can not, all things being considered, 

 compare in value as a cattle food with red clover, looking at both forage 

 plants from the standpoint of the general farmer." 



Loss IN HAY DUE TO WEATHERING, F. G. SHORT (p. 212).— Deter- 

 minations of the dry matter and protein showed that " by leaving the 

 hay out only four days after cutting, during which time there was a 

 rain, there was a resultant loss of over 4.J per cent of dry matter, and 

 over 3.J per cent of protein. [Six weeks later] nearly one fourth of the 

 dry matter and an equal proportion of protein had disappeared." 



Stable floor and watering trough for the dairy stable, 

 L. H. Adams (pp. 213,214).— An illustrated description of a stable 

 floor and a watering and feeding trough. 



