150 SOIL MANAGEMENT 



PRACTICAL QUESTIONS 



1. What is meant by the phrase soil management? 2. In what 

 ways may a soil be abused? 3. Define tillage. 4. How did the 

 ancients till their land ? 5. How does tillage conserve moisture ? 



6. Discuss tillage as a means of ridding the soil of insects and weeds. 



7. What is the most important purpose of tillage? 8. Describe 

 the plow. 9. State some facts on plowing. 10. Describe the work 

 of the different types of harrows. 11. In what sense are crops 

 "rotated"? 12. State three benefits of crop rotation. 13. Give 

 a good order of crops for a five-year rotation. 



HOME EXERCISES 



1. Make a drawing of your farm or one you know, as at the close 

 of the last chapter, showing the exact size and location of the differ- 

 ent fields. Mark on each field the name of its crop for this year, 

 last year, and for the last five years. Does your rotation correspond 

 with any of those given in the text ? 



2. Ascertain the yield per acre of all your leading crops. What 

 was the cost of the fertilizer, and how many dollars worth of produce 

 were sold ? 



3. How is your manure kept? Is it placed under cover or stored 

 in the yard ? How many loads of manure do you apply to the acre ? 

 Is the manure spread on the sod or on oat stubble? If on neither 

 of these, where is it spread ? 



4. If there are any poor or run-down farms in your neighborhood, 

 what is this condition due to? 



5. Does your father turn the furrow over completely in plowing? 



6. Write a description of all your home implements of tillage and 

 the care that is given them. 



SUGGESTIONS 



1. Get a good manual or bulletin for detailed directions on how 

 best to illustrate the topics discussed in this chapter. 



2. A member of the class may be given the problem of studying 

 the different methods of tillage as practiced in the different countries. 

 Histories, geographies, encyclopedias, and other books likely to con- 

 tain information on this point should be used. A few days should be 

 allowed for this work and then an' oral report should be presented. 



3. A Club study on soil management under the direction of the 



