SOIL IMPROVEMENT 93 



TILLAGE 



Crop Increase by Tillage. On a certain farm the average yield 

 of wheat was sixteen bushels to the acre. This did not satisfy 

 the farmer. He was tilling his fields as well as his neighbors, but 

 he began to till them better. By thorough and proper cultivation, 

 unaided by manures or fertilizers, his farm was made to produce 

 thirty-four bushels of wheat to the acre instead of sixteen. How 

 did tillage more than double the crop yield ? To understand this, 

 we must consider the purposes and results of tillage. 



Benefits of Tillage. First: Tillage breaks and makes fine the 

 soil, thus opening it to plant roots. At first there is no close con- 

 nection between soil and plant. Until it can connect itself with 

 the soil, the young plant lives on the food stored in its seed or in its 

 stem. If its tender young roots come in contact with clods and 

 hard soil, their progress is checked or delayed. They have such 

 a narrow area from which to collect food and water that the plant 

 grows slowly or dies of starvation. But if the soil be fine, deep, 

 and well-drained, the roots range freely to collect food and moisture, 

 and the plant grows strong and thrifty. The finer the soil, if not 

 too compact, the larger is the feeding-ground and water-range 

 of the plant. 



Second: Tillage regulates the soil moisture. Rain, falling on a 

 loose, broken surface, sinks in instead of running off. In fine, 

 deeply-broken soil, water is held as in a sponge. This deep tillage 

 should be followed by shallow tillage. As before explained, a 

 loose, dry soil- mulch on the surface prevents the escape of moisture 

 by capillarity and evaporation. A well-tilled soil also absorbs more 

 moisture from the air than a hard or rough one. 



Third : Tillage admits air and heat to the soil. You have learned 



