earth. Ploughing a field in May after a very heavy shower of 

 rain one may find the furrow turned up wet only superficially, 

 and dry at its deeper layers. Loose earth could retain over 

 40 per cent, of its weight of water while the same earth in 

 a very compact condition would hold only about 25 per cent. 



130. Rolling and Mulching. On the other hand, soil which 

 is too loose gets dry too quick and does not firmly support 

 the plants growing on it. A tilth too open is not desirable es- 

 pecially for light soils, which should be rolled after ploughing 

 and harrowing. Rolling and mulching are practised for keep- 

 ing in moisture. By ( mulch' is meant anything laid on tilled 

 soil to keep in moisture, such as leaves and straw, bits of 

 cowdung cake, &c.. Too free a subsoil may also result in 

 water sinking too quick leaving the surface soil hungry. Ex- 

 tremes should therefore be avoided in tilling operations. 



131. Harrowing. The object of harrowing is to level the 

 land after ploughing and to collect the weeds. Where the 

 land has to be ridged the operation of ridging follows that of 

 harrowing The native ladder acts both as a harrow and a 

 roller inasmuch as it collects weeds, levels the land and 

 gives it a certain amount of compactness. But the work is 

 done very imperfectly by a ladder. The beam or the levelling 

 board used in other parts of India is not effective in collect- 

 ing weeds, but it is more effective than the ladder for level- 

 ling land and giving it a compactness. It is advisable to 

 introduce a light harrow and a light wooden roller (which 

 can be easily managed by a pair of bullocks), in the farm 

 operations of this country. 



132. Burning the sod is recommended only for new 

 jungle land, for peaty soils and for some clay lands, i.e. on 

 clay lands which contain a good deal of silicate of potash and 

 some lime. The lime decomposes the silicate and liberates 

 some of the potash. All clays are benefited by moderate 

 burning which makes the land more friable and less plastic. 

 Moderate burning i.e. burning in slow heat, being essential, 



