18 SMALL FEUIT CULTURIST. 



with it moisture. To prove this fact, we have only to 

 take a piece of glass or polished steel, or any similar sub- 

 stance, and place it in an ice-house where it will become 

 cold ; then carry it into the open air, and in a moment it 

 will be covered with water condensed from the atmos- 

 phere. Now, we know that this moisture did not exude 

 from the glass, therefore it must have come from the air. 

 By stirring the soil, and placing that which has become heat- 

 ed underneath to warm the roots, and bringing the cooler 

 portions to the top to condense the moisture, two objects 

 are obtained : besides loosening the earth that it may be 

 the more easily penetrated by the rootlets, it at the 

 same time admits the air charged with moisture for their 

 nourishment. The benefit derived from frequent stirring 

 of the surface soil in dry weather, especially if it be of a 

 compact nature, is mainly derived from the admission of 

 air containing moisture. Many cultivators appear to 

 think that all that is required of them is, to keep the 

 weeds from growing among their plants, and they never 

 stir the soil except for this purpose ; but our best culti- 

 vators have learned that frequent moving of the soil is 

 very beneficial to all crops, especially in time of drouth. 

 If any one doubts that soil can be made moist by frequent 

 stirring, let them select a piece of ground under some 

 open shed where no rain has reached for a year or more, 

 break up the soil and pulverize it finely ; then stir it and 

 turn it over every morning for a week or two, and it will 

 become quite moist, while a similar soil in the open field, 

 which has not been stirred, will be parched and dry. 

 Mulching the surface with straw, leaves, or similar materi- 

 als, is often very beneficial, especially to plants whose 

 roots do not penetrate deeply. The mulch not only as- 

 sists in preventing evaporation, but insures condensation 

 of moisture from the air, which passes freely through it to 

 the soil. 

 It is not my purpose to enter into any elaborate discus- 



