88 



Cultivation and tillage 



It may be expected that the hotter soil — the unhoed 

 plot — will also be drier than the others, and this can be 

 found out by a simple experiment. Take a sample by 

 making a hole six inches deep with straight and not 

 with sloping sides : this is best done by driving a tube 

 two inches wide into the soil (Fig. 42) : if you have not 

 got such a tool you may use a trowel, but you will have 



X 



e> 



Fig. 42. 

 Soil sampler. (See p. 82 

 for description) 



to be very quick and very careful. Weigh the soil — or 

 a part of it if you have got a great deal — then set it to 

 dry in a warm place for three or four days. Weigh 

 again when it is dry: the difference gives the loss of 

 water : find what it would be in a hundred parts. Our 

 results were: — 



