SECTION XII. PREPARATION AND CULTIVA- 

 TION OF THE SOIL 



BEFORE the seed is sown the land is plowed. The main 

 object of early plowing is to form a loose, mellow layer of 

 soil through which the roots can spread in any direction. 



When to plow. When the plowing is well done, the 

 soil is broken into small particles. This will not re- 

 sult, however, if the soil is very dry jyhen plowed, for then 

 great lumps and clods are turned over. On the other 

 hand, the soil does not pulverize well if plowed when wet 

 enough for it to stick together and to show a shiny, 

 polished surface on the furrow slice. Only experience will 

 tell just how wet or how dry the soil should be when 

 plowed. Extremes should be avoided. Plowing when the 

 land is very dry means poor plowing, but it does the land 

 no permanent harm. But to plow land when it is too wet 

 may injure the soil for several years, especially if it con- 

 tains much clay. 



A good seed-bed. In the previous section it was learned 

 that capillary moisture moves toward the roots best when 

 the soil has no very large air-spaces. It is often well, 

 therefore, to plow land a number of weeks before it is to 

 be occupied by the roots of the crop. An opportunity 

 is thus given the soil to settle and become compact. 



A seed must have moisture in order to germinate, and 



