AC) THE FIRST BOOK OF FARMING 



By experiments at the Cornell University Agri- 

 cultural Experiment Station, Ithaca, N. Y., it has 

 been found that during the growth of a sixty bushel 

 crop of corn the plants pump from the soil by 

 means of their roots, and send into the air through 

 their leaves over nine hundred tons of water. A 

 twenty-five bushel crop of wheat uses over five hun- 

 dred tons of water in the same way. This gives 

 us some idea of the importance of water to the 

 plant and the necessity of knowing something of 

 the power of the soil to absorb and hold moisture 

 for the use of the plant. Also the importance of 

 knowing if we can in any way control or influence 

 the water-holding power of the soil for the good of 

 the plant. 



SOURCES OF SOIL WATER 



From what sources does the soil receive water? 

 From the air above, in the form of rain, dew, hail 

 and snow, falling on the surface, and from the 

 lower soil. This water enters the soil more or less 

 rapidly. 



ATTITUDE OF THE SOILS TOWARDS WATER 



Which soils have the greater power to take in the 

 rain which falls on their surface? 



Experiment. Take four student-lamp chimneys. 

 (In case the chimneys cannot be found get some 

 slender bottles like salad oil bottles or wine bottles 

 and cut the bottoms off with a hot rod. While the 



