FIRST PRINCIPLES OF AGRICULTURE. 



CHAPTER I. 

 THE SOIL. 



1. The cultivation of the soil is commonly 

 known as Agriculture, and the term usually includes 

 the several operations and the general system of man- 

 agement whereby the farmer is enabled to grow corn, 

 meat, wool, and various other marketable products. 

 The success of his work is determined by his producing 

 as large a supply as possible from the land, at the small- 

 est cost to himself, and with the least injury to the soil. 

 The object of the present work is to explain in familiar 

 language some of the circumstances which influence 

 these results. 



2. The surface of the land consists of earthy matter, 

 more or less "fin ely broken, and this is called the soil. 

 This may be termed the raw material which the farmer 

 has to manufacture into products suitable for food and 

 clothing. He uses the soil for these purposes, calling 

 to his aid the agencies of animal and vegetable life, 

 and the stores of fertility which are present in the at- 

 mosphere. 



3. In some cases the soil is very shallow, and if you 

 dig a hole in the ground you will soon reach the hard 

 rock. In other instances there is a very considerable 

 depth of earth, and thus we have both shallow and 

 deep soils. 



4. When a hole is dug into a deep soil especially 

 if it be what is known as a clay soil we observe a 

 marked change in the general appearance of the soil 



