SOIL WATER: HOW IT is LOST 175 



soil a half inch or four inches deep ; for the time being, 

 you are not concerned with the moisture content. But 

 during dry weather you ought to be careful : you ought 

 to interrupt and break the capillary tubes, that connect 

 the surface and the immediate lower region, so that the 

 escaping water may be kept within the smallest limits. 



Now, as to the depth of the mulch : an inch is good if 

 it is even and level and completely separated from the 

 tubes below ; if it provides an effective blanket over the 

 surface of the soil. Even with so slight a mulch, the 

 operation is beneficial, and quite a good deal more effect- 

 ive in retaining water than any form of broken tillage, 

 although four or five inches deep. In ordinary practice, 

 cultivating tools usually are run two or three inches 

 deep, and hence a rather good mulch is thereby secured. 



Experiments on this subject indicate the following: 



1. That the water content of the soil is increased to a 

 very appreciable extent, when the soil is evenly and uni- 

 formly stirred. 



2. That the water content is increased in proportion to 

 the depth and effectiveness of the mulch. 



3. That the water content increases less rapidly as the 

 depth of cultivation is increased beyond three inches. 



4. That the water content is greater when cultivation is 

 provided in a form of mulch, than by ridge culture or 

 broken tillage. 



