98 SOILS 



of this campaign, or "tillage era," as It lias 

 been called, are seen everywhere in better crops 

 and more fertile fields. Just now we seem to be 

 passing through a "humus era" in our agricultural 

 development. The benefits of green manuring 

 and cover crops are being heralded far and wide 

 perhaps over-emphasised a bit as the benefits of 

 tillage may have been overstated; for humus, as 

 well as tillage, is only one of many factors that enter 

 into the profitable production of crops. It is well, 

 however, that each of the important points in 

 good farming is before us so prominently for a 

 time; it brings them to the attention of men who 

 would not consider them so carefully were they not 

 stated so emphatically and discussed so exclusively. 



TILLAGE TO PREPARE THE SEED BED 



The primary object of stirring the soil is to pre- 

 pare it to receive the crop and to eliminate com- 

 petition with other plants. In the wild, seeds are 

 sown on untilled land and very few find a congenial 

 seed bed and grow into lusty specimens of their 

 kind. They may find the soil upon which they 

 fall hard, cold and unresponsive, or already pre- 

 empted by other plants of the same or other kinds. 

 Even if the seeds germinate they at once engage 

 in a life struggle with their neighbours for food, 

 water, sunshine, a struggle that is relentless and 

 inexorable. A very few plants, favoured by some 

 accident in position, get a start over the others and 

 slowlv choke them to death, or keep them in wan 

 and feeble subjection. Nature is satisfied, appar- 

 ently, with small returns for her prodigal seed sow- 

 ing; if one seed in a thousand brings forth fruit unto 

 the harvest she is satisfied. 



