LUTHER BURBANK 



are brought to the surface and exposed to the hot 

 sun and thousands of them are thus destroyed. 



Soil is of a very complex composition, and 

 furthermore it is continually changing. A worm 

 burrows into the soil and in his way replaces and 

 rearranges thousands of soil particles. 



As the root hair penetrates among the particles 

 of soil it affects a change. 



The passing of moisture from one particle to 

 another makes changes which are of extreme im- 

 portance from the standpoint of fertility. 



Because of this everchanging condition, it is 

 necessary to pay close attention to the cultivation 

 in order to keep the conditions as near uniform 

 as is possible. 



A soil that is not given the proper care as to 

 cultivation often holds its valuable food elements 

 like a deposit in a bank that bears no interest. 



Every business man knows that it is an 

 extremely bad policy to allow resources to lie idle, 

 but farmers too often do not consider the elements 

 in the soil as resources. 



There are three important ways to make 

 available the supply of plant food in the soil : One 

 is by stirring the soil so that the air makes it pos- 

 sible for the root hairs to secure the elements. 

 Another is by supplying sufficient air and moisture 

 so that the elements in the soil will be dissolved. 



[286] 



