Soils 



After this treatment the soil will l)e too damp for workinj^'', and should 

 be allowed to stand two or three days before planting is begun. The sterilizer 

 may be removed by means of wires fastened around the header and at the 

 farther ends of each one of the lateral pipes. It may be pulled straight up 

 out of the soil and carried to another portion of the bench and the operation 

 repeated. 



I am somewhat of the opinion that this steaming may be beneficial in the 



Soil Sterilizer in Operation 



way of disintegrating the chemical constituents of the soil necessary to plant 

 growth, rendering soluble a greater percentage than would be the case if 

 the soil ^vere not sterilized, but so far as my personal experience goes. I 

 have not yet proven this to be the case. It is certain that the killing of all 

 insect life and the destruction of the seeds of all weeds and spores of fungi 

 in the soil are of sufficient benefit to pay the cost of sterilization, providing the 

 soil is not damaged nor its usefulness impaired by the high heating. It is 



58 



