THE EARTH'S BOUNTY 



and subtracting from information gathered 

 from several different sources, I decided that 

 the best course would be to plow the custom- 

 ary depth, when the soil was moderately wet, 

 using a bould mold-board (the upper part of 

 a plow, which regulates at what angle the fur- 

 row is turned) , and apply a liberal dressing of 

 lime, and, lastly, the heavy roller. 



As the necessity for different tillage in the 

 two fields may not be plain to the layman, I 

 will try to explain. Heavy, clayey soil is really 

 extremely fine-grained earth good in itself, 

 but as wanting in substance as fine pastry 

 flour. Plowing when wet is like mixing such 

 flour with water. It works into paste like 

 mud, which, in drying, cracks apart into stony 

 clods, from which the roots of plants can 

 gather little food. 



The years of shallow plowing had, of course, 

 established a plow-pan in the clayey field, but 

 in that case it was an impregnable obstacle to 

 the ascent of moisture during dry weather, or 

 the descent of rain. Consequently the few 



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