x. CONTEXTS 



34. The Essential Elements. 35. The Essential Ele- 

 ments and Saskatchewan Soils. 36. Average Saskatche- 

 wan. Soil vs. Other Soils. 37. Organic Matter and Soil 

 Fertility. 38. Functions of Organic Matter. 39. Ixxsses 

 of Organic Matter in the Soil. W. The Rothamsted Ex- 

 periments on Soil-Fertility. 41. Illinois Experiment. 

 42. Soil Acidity and Liming the Land. 43. Crop Rota- 

 tions and Soil Fertility. (The Soil a Living Mass). 44. 

 Importance of Micro-organisms in the Soil. 45. The 

 Soil a Living Mass. 46. Functions of the Bacteria in 

 the Soil. 47. Preparation of Available Plant-food. 48. 

 The Nitrogen Cycle. 4-9. The Mineral Plant Food Ele- 

 ments. 50. Parasitism (disease). 51. Nitrogen Fixa- 

 tion by Leguminous Plants. (The Factors of Soil Fertil- 

 ity). 52. The Measure of Fertility. 



CHAPTER IV. 



The Moisture Problem - 78 



53. Storing Moisture in the Soil. 54. Conserving Mois- 

 ture in the Soil. 55. Keeping Soil Moisture Available. 

 56. The Efficient Utilization of Soil Moisture.- -57. Soil 

 Fertility and Soil Moisture. 



CHAPTER V. 



Dry Farm Crops and Cropping Practices 89 



58. Drought Resistant Crops. 59. Durum Wheat. 60. 

 Winter Rye. 61. Spring Rye. 62. Flax. 63. Two- 

 Row Barley. 64. Emmer. 65. Early Oats. 66. Grasses 

 for Hay and Pasture. 67. Alfalfa. 68. Millet. 69. 

 Sweet Clover. 70. Rape. 71. Corn. 72. Sunflowers. 

 73. Suitable Crop Management Practices. 74. The Time 

 to Sow. 75. The Amount to Sow. 76. Sow into the 

 Moisture. 77. Non-Shattering Varieties. 78. Short vs. 

 Long Straw.' 



CHAPTER VI. 



The Principles of Tillage 104 



79. The Chief Functions of Tillage. 80. Objections to 

 Excessive Tillage. 81. Implements of Tillage. 82. The 

 Function of the Plow. 83. The Disk Plow. 84. Coulters. 

 (Soil Looseners). 85. Cultivators. 86. Disk Harrows. 

 87. Drag or Smoothing Harrows. (Soil Firmer*). 88. 

 Purpose of Soil Firmers. 89. Drills as Tillage Machines. 

 90. Press Drills. 



