TILLING THE SOIL 



271 



(cf. 32), from the place having more water to the place 

 having less. Hence the effects of a drouth are not felt 

 by the plant for a long time. 



Besides the water that is held, by capillary action, 

 between the particles of the soil, each minute soil particle 

 has a film, or covering, of water, which it does not lose 

 entirely, even in dry weather. This water film, like 

 capillary water, is a solution containing the materials 

 needed by growing plants. 



296. Tilling the Soil. Tillage is the working of the 

 soil by the use of implements. The implements may be 

 simple garden tools, such 

 as the spade and hoe, or 

 they may be plows, culti- 

 vators, and seeders, 

 drawn by horses or en- 

 gines. We till the soil 

 in order to improve its 

 structure, so that it may 

 retain water better, and 

 may permit plants to get 

 their nutriment from a 

 wider range. We also 

 use tillage to turn under 

 rubbish, manure, and 

 fertilizers, and to make 

 them part of the soil. Seeders deposit seeds and plants 

 in the position in which they are to grow. They usually 

 turn the soil at the same time. 



Plowing (Fig. 229) consists in forcing a slanting knife or shovel, 



Fig. 229. 



Egyptian Plowing. Copyright, International 

 Stereograph Co. , Decatur, 111. 



