TILIA 



TILLAGE 



3349 



nate teeth, dark green above and pubescent at first, 

 finally glabrous or nearly so, grayish tomentose beneath 

 with brownish axillary tufts of hairs, finally often 

 becoming partly glabrous, 3-6 in. long; petiole stout, 

 than half the length of the blade: fls. small, 10-18 

 in pendulous tomentose cymes; style exserted: fr. 

 globose. 5-ribbed, tomentose, thick-walled. Japan. 

 S.I.F. 2:50. G.F. 6:113 (adapted in Fig. 3815). 



T. caucdsica, Rupr.=T. rubra. T. corinthiaca, Bosc=T. rubra, 

 DC. T. Henryana, Szyszyl. Tree, to 50 ft.: branehlets pubescent 

 at first: Ivs. broadly ovate, obliquely cordate or truncate, with 

 bristly teeth, brownish tomentose beneath, with axillary tufts of 

 hairs, 2-5 in. long: fls. 20 or more in a cyme. Cent. China. T. 

 intonsa, Wilson (T. tonsura, Veitch). Tree, to 60 ft.: young 

 branchlets pubescent: Ivs. broadly ovate, _ cuspidate, serrate, 

 pubescent and grayish green beneath, 3-6 in. long: fls. 1-3: fr. 

 ovoid, 5-angled. W. China. T. kiusidna, Makino & Shiras. 

 Tree, to 50 ft.: Ivs. oblong-ovate, acute, obliquely truncate at 

 base, serrate, glabrous, 1 }--2 in. long; petiole about Jin. long: 

 cyme 20-35-fld.: fr. globose. Japan. S.I.F. 2:50. Very distinct 

 on account of the small and narrow, short-stalked Ivs. T. arbicur 

 laris, Jouin. Very similar to T. petiolaris, but lustrous and glabrous 

 above, grayish tomentose beneath, on shorter petioles. Supposed 

 to be a hybrid between T. petiolaris and T. euchlora, but probably 

 only a variety of the former; originated in the nursery of Simon- 

 Louis near Metz, Germany. T. paucicostata , Maxim. Small tree; 

 allied to T. cordata: Ivs. ovate, usually truncate at base, with 

 long-pointed teeth, green on both sides, about 2H in. long. W. 

 China. T. pubescens, Ait. Tree, to 40 ft. : branchlets rusty stellate- 

 pubescent: Ivs. ovate, obliquely truncate at the base, coarsely ser- 

 rate, rusty tomentulose beneath: fr. rusty tomentose. N. C. to 

 Fla. and Texas. S. S. 1:26. Tender and rarely cult.; the plant 

 cult, under this name is usually T. No. 8.T. rubra, DC. (T. cau- 

 casica, Rupr. T. corinthiaca, Bosc). Tall tree with red glabrous 

 branchlets: Ivs. similar to those of T. platyphyllos, but glabrous, 

 lustrous above, light green beneath, with long-pointed teeth: cymes 

 3-7-fld.: fr. ovoid or subglobose, slightly angled. S. E. Eu., Cau- 

 casus, W. Asia. Apparently not in cult., often confused with red- 

 branched, slightly pubescent forms of T. platyphyllos. T. Spaethii 

 =T. americana X T. cordata. T. tonsiira, Veitch=T. intonsa. 

 T. Tuan, Szyszyl. Tree, to 50 ft.: young branchlets glabrous or 

 nearly so: Ivs. broadly ovate, truncate or slightly cordate at the 

 base, minutely toothed, entire below the middle, grayish tomen- 

 tose beneath with axillary tufts, 2 Ji-5}^ in. long: cymes 10-20-fld.: 

 fr. subglobose, thick-shelled. Cent. China. 



ALFRED REHDER. 



TILL&A (named for M. A. TUli, 1653-1740). 

 Crassidaceie. Annual herbs, usually very small, aquatic 

 or terrestrial, somewhat succulent, generally very 

 glabrous: Ivs. opposite, cylindrical, subulate or flat, 

 very entire: fls. minute, axillary, solitary or cymose or 

 arranged in terminal cymose panicles, white or red- 

 dish; calyx 3-5-lobed or parted; petals 3-5, free or 

 connate at the very base; stamens 3-5; carpels 3-5, 

 free: follicles many, rarely 1-seeded. About 25 species, 

 cosmopolitan. T. muscbsa, Linn. Minute : sts. branched 

 and decumbent at base, reddish, about 1 in. or more 

 long: Ivs. oblong, blunt: fls. axillary, sessile; sepals 

 ovate or lanceolate; petals nearly subulate, white 

 tipped with red. Eu., in moist barren places. 



TILLAGE. The working or stirring of the land, with 

 the purpose to improve it for agricultural purposes, is 

 known by the general name of tillage. There is a ten- 

 dency to use the word cultivation for these operations. 

 Tillage is a specific technical term, and is to be preferred. 



In the eager discussions of scientific matters, as 

 applied to agriculture in recent years, there is danger of 

 forgetting that the fundamental practice in all kinds of 

 farming, after all, is the tillage of the land. The knowl- 

 edge of the importance of tillage has developed late in 

 the world's history. In fact, it was only within the 

 latter part of the last century that the real reasons for 

 tilling came to be popularly understood in this country. 

 Even now there are many persons who think that the 

 object of tillage is to kill weeds. 



The modern conceptions of tillage probably date 

 largely from Jethro Tull's book on "Horse-Hoeing 

 Husbandry," which reached the second and full edi- 

 tion in 1733, in England. This book awakened so much 

 discussion that the system of "horse-hoe husbandry" 

 recommended by it was called the "new husbandry." 

 There had been tillage of land before Tull's time, but 

 his writing seems to have been the first technical effort 

 to show that tillage is necessary to make the soil pro- 



ductive rather than to kill weeds or to open the ground 

 to receive the seeds. He contrived various tools whereby 

 grain crops could be sown in rows and afterward tilled. 

 The tillage of the land in early times was confined very 

 largely to that which preceded the planting of the crop. 

 In the vineyards of southern Europe, however, Tull 

 observed that tillage was employed between the vines 

 during the season of growth. Such vineyards pros- 

 pered. He made experiments and observations on his 

 return to England and came to the conclusion that 

 tillage is of itself a very important means of making 

 plants thrifty and productive wholly aside from its 

 office of killing weeds. He supposed that tillage bene- 

 fits plants by making the soil so fine that the minute 

 particles can then be taken in by the roots. On the 

 same hypothesis he explained the good effects of burn- 

 ing or "devonshiring" land, and also the benefits that 

 followed the application of ashes: the minute par- 

 ticles of the ashes are so small as to be absorbed by 

 roots. Although this explanation of the benefits of til- 

 lage was erroneous, nevertheless Tull showed that til- 

 age is necessary to the best agriculture and that it is 

 not merely a means by which seeds can be put into 

 the land, weeds killed, and the crop taken out. 



Tillage improves land in many ways. It divides and 

 pulverizes the soil, gives the roots a wider "pasturage," 

 as Tull puts it, increases the depth of the soil, aerates 

 it, and improves its physical condition with respect to 

 warmth and dryness. 



Tillage also saves moisture by deepening the arable 

 soil so that moisture is held, and also by checking 

 evaporation from the surface by means of a thin blanket 

 or mulch of granulated earth that is made by surface- 

 working tools. Water is lost from the soil by under- 

 drainage and by evaporation from the surface. The 

 more finely the soil is granulated, within certain limits, 

 the more water it will hold. Its capillary power is 

 increased. As the water evaporates from the surface, 

 the moisture is drawn up from the under surface so 

 that there is a more or less constant flow into the 

 atmosphere. If any foreign body, as a board or a 

 blanket, is spread on the land, the evaporation is 

 checked. A similar result may follow when the soil is 

 covered with a layer of dry ashes or sand or sawdust. 

 Very similar results are also secured when the surface 

 is made fine and loose by means of frequent shallow 

 tillage. The capillary connection between the surface 

 soil and the under soil is thereby broken, This sur- 

 face soil itself may be very dry, but it may serve as a 

 blanket or mulch to the soil beneath. In some cases 

 this conservation of moisture by frequent shallow til- 

 lage is probably the chief advantage of the tillage of 

 the land in the growing season. 



Land that is well tilled has different chemical rela- 

 tions from that which is neglected. Nitrification, 

 decomposition, and other bacterial activities are has- 

 tened. The stores of plant-food are rendered available. 

 The soil is made more productive. 



The first requisite for the growing of the plant is to 

 have the soil in such condition that the plant can thrive 

 in it. It is only when the land is well tilled and pre- 

 pared, or when its physical condition is nearly or quite 

 perfect, that the addition of concentrated fertilizers may 

 be expected to produce the best results. Fertilizing, 

 therefore, is a secondary matter; tillage is primary. 



The ideal tillage is that which is practised by the 

 gardener when he grows plants in pots. The soil is 

 ordinarily sifted or riddled so that unnecessary parts 

 are removed, and most of it is brought into such con- 

 dition that the plants can utilize it. The gardener 

 adds leaf-mold or sand or other material, until the 

 soil is brought into the proper physical condition. He 

 also provides drainage in the bottom of his pots or 

 boxes. Often the gardener will produce as much from 

 a handful of soil as a farmer will produce from a bushel. 



L. H. B. 



