CROP YIELDS AND PROPER CULTURE 4! 



to conserve the soil moisture. The mellow surface 

 also favors the catching and storing of the rains. 

 The stirring in early spring warms the soil by de- 

 creasing the evaporation of water, and the mulch 

 of mellow soil acts as a blanket to prevent the rapid 

 radiation of heat from the soil. The soil is also 

 aerated by cultivation, the foul gases arising from 

 decaying organic matter are removed, and life-giv- 

 ing oxygen is supplied to the soil bacteria and to 

 the growing plant roots; and more than this, the 

 fertility of the soil is developed by cultivation. 



The store or plant food in the soil is largely in 

 an unavailable condition; before the potassium, 



TWO-ROW CORN CULTIVATOR 



With straight rows one man and three 

 horses are enabled to do the work of two 

 men and four horses. This is quite an item 

 in cultivating large areas of corn. 



phosphorus and nitrogen become soluble, and thus 

 available to the plant, the soil must pass through 

 a stage of disintegration and chemical change, which 

 can take place only in the presence of moisture, heat 

 and air, factors which are largely controlled by cul- 

 tivation, soil and climatic conditions being similar. 

 There are, perhaps, no exact rules or methods for 



