CHAPTER V 



THE SOIL AND THE CEOP 



Lack of Plant Food in Soil. As suggested in the 

 last chapter, the crop will usually tell the farmer by 

 its appearance the kind of food it most needs. How- 

 ever, the only way by which he can find this out for 

 a certainty is by making careful experiments with the 

 three essential fertilizers. Good, fertile, well-drained 

 soil, properly cultivated, usually produces healthy, dark 

 green plants with strong, good-sized stalks and numer- 

 ous well-filled seeds. 



Nitrogen. Now, the growth of the stalk and foliage 

 of the plant is largely due to the nitrogen in the soil, 

 provided, of course, that the drainage is good and 

 other conditions of heat, light, air and moisture are 

 favorable. If the plant has a yellow and sickly appear- 

 ance and, with proper cultivation, refuses to grow, it 

 is likely starving for want of nitrogen. What should 

 the farmer do? 



The Best Fertiliser. Barnyard manure is an almost 

 perfect fertilizer; that is, it has the right amounts of 

 nitrogen, phosphoric acid and potash in it in a form 

 readily obtainable by the plant. A plentiful application 



