CONTENTS 



CHAPTER PAGE 



Introduction I 



I. The Soil Makers 7 



II. The Soils that Living Things Have Made ... 17 



III. What We Find in Soils 23 



IV. Concerning the Texture of the Soil 34 



V. How Plants Feed 44 



VI. The Elements that Plants Use 52 



VII. How Plant Food is Preserved 62 



VIII. Getting Acquainted with Plant Food 71 



IX. The Potential Plant Food: Its Stores and Nature 79 



X. The Role that Tillage Plays 88 



XI. Liming the Land : A Corrective for Acidity . . 90 



XII. The Quest of Nitrogen 108 



XIII. The Release of Soil Nitrogen : The Return to the Air 117 



XIV. Nitrification : Nitrogen Made Ready for Plants . . 124 

 XV. Reclaiming Lost Nitrogen : the Call to the Air . . 132 



XVI. Soil Inoculation : How Done 143 



XVII. Draining the Land 152 



XVIII. Soil Water: How it is Lost; how it May be Held 164 



XIX. Dry Farming: A Problem in Water Conservation 176 



XX. Tillage Tools : What They are for ; how to Use Them 185 



XXI. The Cultivation of Crops : The Tools and Purposes 197 



XXII. Stable Manure : Its Composition and its Preservation 206 



XXIII. Handling Manure on the Farm 216 



XXIV. Buying Plant Food for the Soil 227 



XXV. Using Chemical Manures Intelligently 238 



XXVI. Mixing Fertilizers at Home 246 



XXVII. Dairying: An Example in Soil Building .... 255 



XXVIII. Rotation of Crops 266 



XXIX. The Old, Worn-out Soils : What we May do for Them 282 



XXX. Conclusion: A Bit of Philosophy ...... 291 



