INTRODUCTION 



5 



a little time the tip end is sent further on in the search ; 

 it grows longer; it finds a new place to take nourishment. 



The roots grow on and on and new root hairs form, 

 taking their nutriment from the new and fresh pastures. 

 So all about in the soil they go, just below the surface, 

 a little deeper in the soil top; even in the subsoil (if they 

 can enter it), and all the while they search and seek for 

 plant food that the great body above may be supplied. 



Fertility is more than soil. And we should bear in 

 mind that fertility is more than a mere abundance of 

 plant food in the soil (we have learned more about the 

 soil). Fertility is plant food, of course, but in part, only. 

 It is water just the right amount and served when 

 needed. It is climate neither too cold nor too hot for 

 the particular plant. It is texture soil grains of proper 

 size and in proper relation to control heat, moisture, and 

 air. It is humus a goodly amount to supply nitrogen 

 as required, and to help in making pleasant and comfort- 

 able the home of the roots. It is tillage the real, true 

 sort of tillage that provides tilth and mellowness. It is 



A BIT OF THE EARTH'S CLOTH INC 



