324 Coco-nuts The Consols of the East 



is being gradually demonstrated. The future 

 oleraculturist will investigate the idiosyncrasy 

 and inherited Mendelian characters of each 

 variety before he puts it out on a large 

 scale. The viticulturist's sons will, keep an 

 eye on their " cultures " in the handy-by 

 laboratory. 



A square deal for the roots ! Protection 

 from their enemies, the venomous grass-root 

 excretions (that can make even a lusty orange- 

 tree sick and choke the vigour out of the best 

 stand of maize), the burning rays of the sun, 

 the deadly soil-surface dryness; decent bed and 

 board, i.e., tilth and humus ; give them these, 

 and there will certainly come an increase of 

 hundreds of millions of solid cash for the 

 pockets of the planters. 



If mulching were an expensive affair or 

 difficult, there would be more sympathy for 

 the losers. But the dust mulch is of the 

 simplest preparation ; the straw, or leaf 

 blanket, is, except for the grain crops, almost 

 always possible and profitable ; the live mulch, 

 or u cover-crop," is the triple-action modern 

 implement which the farmer is beginning to 

 wield very successfully in the soil-food-man war. 

 If roots were only outside on the top, where 

 the easy-going, well-meaning farmer could 

 see them, he would then perhaps carefully note 

 their symptoms arid understand them. But, 

 of course, being stuck into the ground, they 

 are just anchors or props, and therefore 



