HANDLING THE SOIL 



45 



less rain than in the spring, and the ground soon gets too dry 

 for the plants to grow well. When the plants get large they 

 use a great deal of water and so draw much moisture from 

 the ground. Professor King* tells us that when a corn plant 

 is coming into tassel it uses nearly three pounds of water 



8. THE ROOT SYSTEM OF A CORN PLANT 



One of these large roots cut off in cultivating means much loss of moisture and 

 food to the plant. 



By courtesy of the Indiana Experiment Station 



every day. If we think of all the stalks in the field using 

 that much water daily we can see how important it is to save 

 the moisture. 



Cultivation saves moisture by making a loose, dry layer of 

 soil on the surface. This dry layer acts like a blanket and 

 when moisture comes up from below it can go no further 

 * The Soil, p. 208. 



