SEED PER ACRE— SERVICE TREE— SOILS 



1843 



Summer vetch, bushels I M: 



rnnada pea, Imsliels 1 M; 



Buckwheat, busliel 1 



Rye, bushels 1 ^ 



Barley, bushels 1^,4- - 



Barley aud peas, bushel, each 1 



■"rhe American .\pple Orchard. " by Wau.iih. 

 Puhlished by Orange .Tudd Comi)aiiy. 



Seedling Gitowixti. See Apple Nursery. 



Seepage. See Irrigation. 



Service Berry. See June Berry. 



Service Tree 



Horhu.'i riomrsticata 

 A round-headed, slow-growing tree, na- 

 tive of Europe, reachin.!? a height of 50 to 

 65 feet. It is sometimes confounded with 

 the ash when not in bloom, for the leaves 

 very much resemble those of the ash, but 

 the glutinous withered buds help to identi- 

 fy it. It blooms profusely, has small, 

 whitish flowers, gathered in pinnacles at 

 the end of the branches. It bears a pear- 

 shaped fruit, astringent and only edible 

 when very ripe or in a state of semi-de- 

 cay. The wood is a very fine grain, solid. 

 hard and is highly prized and much used 

 for cabinet making, turning, wooden 

 screws for presses, etc. 



Gr.\nvili,e Lowther 



Skttixg or Fruits. See p. 1059. 



Siberian Apple (large). See Apple. 

 Botany of. 



Siberian Apple (small). See Apple. 

 Botany of. 



Sou Mulch. See Apple Orehard, Culti- 

 vation of. 



Soils 



The term soil is aiiiilied to that part of 

 the surface of the earth which is stirred 

 or tilled by implements in the process of 

 agriculture. Below that outer stratum is 

 the subsoil. The soil is formed by the 

 action of the atmosphere, changes of heat 

 and cold, frost, snows, lain, wind and 

 other agencies which tend to jnilverize the 

 rocks, to disintegrate their masses, and 

 to form out of them the finer particles 

 which remain in place or are carried 

 by the wind, water or gravitation to 

 other situations. This outer surface is 

 looser in texture than the subsoil. The 

 subsoil frequently contains materials 

 which are not favorable to the growth 

 of crops. On this account deeper tillage 



than usual, which often implies what is 

 called by farmers the subsoiling pro- 

 cess, and which allows easier penetra- 

 tion of the subsoil to the surface, must 

 always be considered. Generally the sub- 

 soiling process increases crop production. 

 These considerations are of great impor- 

 tance when we reflect that directly or in- 

 directly all food materials needed by man 

 and beast are taken from the soil. 



In addition to the process of the disin- 

 tegration of rocks already named in the 

 formation of soil, there is the process of 

 the growth and decay of vegetable mat- 

 ter, such as leaves, stems, trunks, 

 branches of trees, grasses, weeds and all 

 kinds of vegetation, together with a slight 

 mixture of animal substances. These, 

 mixed together, form the principal bulk 

 of the soil on the earth's surface, and the 

 proportions of the ingredients of these 

 mixtures determine largely the quality of 

 the soil. 



Gu.vNvii.LE Lowther 



ESSENTIALS OF CROP PRODrCTIO^ 



It is essential for the proper growth of 

 plants that they should have sufficient 

 water, light, the proper amount of space, 

 a suitable temperature, a suitable phys- 

 ical condition of the soil, and be well sup- 

 plied with plant food. If any of these 

 essentials are deficient the crop produc- 

 tion will be deficient also, and the de- 

 crease in production will be. to a certain 

 extent, in projiortion to the deficient con- 

 ditions. 



Plant food is only one of the conditions 

 which are necessary for the production 

 of crops. The other conditions are 

 equally important. Chemical analysis 

 deals almost entirely with the plant food 

 of the soil. The other conditions we have 

 mentioned are largely conditioned by the 

 situation of the soil, the climatic condi- 

 tions which affect it, and its physical 

 character and structure. 



Plant Food. — Material which is essen- 

 tial to the growth of plants is termed 

 plant food. Plants require a number of 

 substances, but experience has shown that 

 practically all soils contain a sufficiency 

 of all kinds of plant food, with the excep- 

 tion of phosphoric acid, nitrogen and pot- 



