72 



Elementary Principles of Agriculture 



the winter rains may be ab- 

 sorbed, (b) By adding sub- 

 stances to the soil that increase 

 its water-holding power, such 

 as compost and green manures 

 (K 101). Increasing the water- 

 storage power of the soil tends 

 to lessen washing. The water 

 "runs'" after every little 

 shower in the hard roadway, 

 but in the well-plowed field 

 the rain is soon absorbed and 

 passes to the deeper layers 

 of soil. A well-plowed field 

 may absorb a full three-inch 

 rainfall, and thus lessen the 

 damage so often caused by sur- 

 face washing. No one may say 

 when the rains will come, nor 

 forecast the amount; but the 

 farmer has it in his power to 

 store up a large amount of 

 the rain to provide against 

 temporary drought. This he 

 may do by increasing the stor- 

 age space by deep fall plow- 

 ing, which prepares the 

 ground to readily absorb the 

 rain. The evaporation may 

 be reduced by renewing the 

 soil-mulch after each shower. 

 This is particularly important 

 in regions of low rainfall. 



