14 Progressive Agriculture 



degree of warmth. To obtain rapid healthy 

 growth of all cultivated plants there must be at 

 all times a liberal amount of moisture at the top 

 of the firm soil just below the loose soil mulch. 

 The farmer will try every concievable plan to 

 obtain this, for it means much. The simple keep- 

 ing out of the weeds, where the atmosphere is dry 

 or low in humidity, is not enough. The cultiva- 

 tion must be deep enough and frequent enough 

 to obtain those conditions that will assure, as far 

 as possible, a continuous moist character to the 

 top of the firm soil or root bed. 



CLASS VI PLANTING 



The sixth is the matter of planting the seed, and 

 in this we must consider how much of each kind 

 of seed to plant or sow, also, when to do the plant- 

 ing. In considering both quantity of seed and 

 time of planting, due consideration must be 

 given to the physical condition of the seed bed 

 and quantity of available moisture. Success or 

 failure often depends almost entirely on the time 

 of planting and quantity of seed. Later planting 

 than is now common, if preceded by careful spring 

 tillage, will bring increased yields, as a rule, and 

 frequently defeat the ill effects of a drouth. Not 

 infrequently is it true that a well fitted field fails 

 in reaching its best results because of too much 

 seed. 



CLASS VII CULTIVATION 



The most vital part of tillage, after all else has 

 been said, is the cultivation of the crop. 



