556 GLOSSARY 



Lister. A double moldboard plow used in the Southwest for 

 opening a deep furrow in which to plant crops. 



Lock of cotton. The seed and attached lint contained in one 

 division or compartment of a boll of cotton. 



Lubricant. A substance used to oil machinery to reduce fric- 

 tion. 



Macaroni wheat. A class of hard or durum wheats, from which 



is manufactured the human food macaroni. 

 Maize. Another name for corn. 

 Malvaceae. The scientific name of the Mallow family, which 



includes cotton, okra, etc. 



Manihot utilissima. The scientific name of the cassava plant. 

 Mating area. A tract of land on which two or more valuable 



strains, as of corn, are planted in adjacent rows for the 



purpose of effecting cross-pollination. 

 Maturity. Ripeness. 

 Melilotus alba. See sweet clover. 

 Mendel's law. A principle discovered by Mendel, which explains 



the mathematical proportions in which certain qualities are 



inherited by hybrid plants or animals. 

 Middle burster. A plow with both a right-hand and a left-hand 



moldboard, thus at the same time throwing the soil both 



to right and left. 



Middling. A certain commercial grade of cotton. 

 Midge. A particular insect of small size. For the sorghum 



midge, see p. 233. 



Milk stage. The stage of ripeness of a grain in which the con- 

 tents of the seed are of the consistency and color of milk. 

 Mower. A mowing machine. 

 Mulch. A covering, usually of loose soil or litter. 

 Multiplication plot. An area of some crop grown chiefly with 



a view to increasing the amount of good seed for planting, 



without special reference to improvement in the quality of 



the seed. See p. 135. 

 Muriate of potash. A salt-like fertilizer containing about 50 



per cent of potash. 



Nematode worms. Minute worms which enter the roots of 

 certain plants and cause harmful enlargements. 



Neocosmospora vasinfecta. The scientific name of cotton wilt or 

 black root. 



Nitrate of soda. A combination of sodium and nitric acid, form- 

 ing a soluble and prompt fertilizer, containing 14 to 16 per 

 cent of nitrogen. 



Nitrogen. A chemical element, which in certain combinations is 



