THE SOIL. 



21 



SURFACE CULTIVATOR AND DISK CULTIVATOR USED TO PRODUCE SOIL 



MULCH. 



will continue to move along this wetted path for some 

 time. The fact is that it is much easier for the water 

 to move over the wetted surface than over the dry sur- 

 face. This principle is made use of in developing the 

 soil mulch. If the surface two or three inches of the 

 soil is stirred thoroughly on a dry windy day it will 

 become thoroughly dry and then offer a great deal of 

 resistance to the upward movement of the moisture 

 from below, and so greatly lessen the loss by evapo- 

 ration. This treatment is of great importance in man- 

 aging land in cultivated crops, such as cotton and corn 



NARROW SHOVELS AND FENDERS FOR EARLY CULTIVATION. 



