322 Coco-nuts The Consols of the East 



To give these microbes a " square deal" 

 in other words, to keep the soil surface fresh 

 and moist, and at a more or less even tempera- 

 ture, to prevent wind-drying and sun-burning, 

 to give the root-hairs on the feeding roots 

 a chance to take their liquid nourishment in 

 comfort and abundance we must mulch. 



It is a sad fact that only a small percent- 

 age of the producers of economic crops know, 

 or even care to know, the prime functions and 

 qualities of plant roots that is, the very large 

 majority of planters, and even horticulturists, 

 do not use mulches. It is sad, because it 

 means an unnecessary and unconscionable loss 

 of probably about 15 per cent, of the normal 

 production of the world's cultivated crops. 

 And, putting the total annual value of all 

 merchantable products of cultivated plants at 

 about ; 5, 000,000,000 sterling, doubtless an 

 under estimate, the loss from the non-mulch 

 system of the majority of agronomists is a 

 matter of some ^800,000,000 at least. It may 

 be argued that this is not lost, that it is "left 

 in the ground " ; but this point needs no reply, 

 it merely asks the question whether a forest 

 soil would outlast a bare soil. In the 

 subterranean battlefield where living matter 

 must meet and try to devour the cold, dead 

 grain of one-time rocks there the questions 

 of economy and ecology are left to fight it 

 out. Bacteria and toxins, colloids and enzymes, 

 antibodies, acids, a medley microcosm, all 



