vixal] AN OUTLINE FOR STUDYING THE POTATO 195 



and this practice is known as dry farming in the west. If it 

 were not for saving of the moisture they could not farm in dry 

 regions. 



Experiment 3. Place soil in a tray. Pack the surface firmly 

 on one side and leave a loose surface on the other. Incline the 

 tray slightly and pour water on gently from a watering pot. 

 In which case does the water soak in and in which case does it 

 run off the soil? Lead class to infer that a second reason for 

 keeping a mulch is to absorb the rainfall. 



The sun bakes the soil after a rain forming a hard surface. 

 What effect would this have on evaporation of the water? (Has- 

 tens). What would be the relation of such a surface to the next 

 rainfall? (Water would run off and not soak in). Give two 

 reasons for hoeing the garden after a rain. Tillage to conserve 

 soil moisture is really more important than tillage to kill weeds. 



Experiment 4. Place the same weight of wet sand in two trays 

 of the same size. Arrange soil in one so that it is made up of 

 parallel ridges and keep the contents of the other tray flat. These 

 two trays illustrate two methods of cultivating potatoes, one is 

 called the ridged system or "hilling-up" potatoes and the other 

 is known as the flat method. Weigh occasionally to see which is 

 losing the moisture more rapidly. (The flat method exposes less 

 surface soil and therefore conserves the moisture.) Should we 

 "hill-up" potatoes or use the flat method in a dry region? In a 

 region which has a great deal of rainfall ? 



The Blind Angler 



The picture shows this amazing fish right-side up and we beg its and Dr. 

 Schufeldt's pardon that we after much deliberation displayed it wrong 

 side up in the April number of The Nature-Study Review. 



