27 



is the nature of the soil, which exercises an imme- 

 diate and most powerful influence upon the first 

 development of the plant. The soil should be 

 prepared in accordance with the construction of the 

 root, whatever sort of crop it may be intended to 

 grow. The radiation and extension of the part of 

 plants underground depend gre_atly upon the porosity 

 or stiffness of the soil. The roots, which are ex- 

 tended and lengthened by the addition of new cells, 

 have to encounter a certain degree of obstruction, 

 and will therefore always extend in the direction 

 offering the least resistance. Consequently, while 

 a stiff, clayey soil may be well adapted for plants 

 with strong and thick root-fibres, it will be found 

 uncongenial to those with delicate fibres, and will 

 materially retard their extension. Small seeds, 

 moreover, will require a finer division of the soil 

 than large ones. 



It may, then, be accepted as a rule that the soil 

 can never be too much operated upon. The teach- 

 ings of Cato in his De Re Rustica, with regard to 

 the tillage of the soil, are still the fundamental 

 principles of Agriculture. In answer to " Quid 

 est agrum bene coleref" he says, " Bene arare. 

 Quid secundum ? Arare. Tertio f Stercorare." 



The farmer cannot devote too much attention to 

 the peculiarities and nature of the roots of the 

 particular description of crop he desires to cultivate ; 

 for it is through the roots alone that he can exert 



