CHAPTER II 



THE SOIL AS A FACTOR IN THE WORK OF THE 

 MARKET GARDENER 



A controllable water supply, good tillage, and suitable soil are 

 three of the important factors with which gardeners are con- 

 cerned in the production of crops. Arranging these factors in the 

 order of their importance, most gardeners will agree that they 

 stand : (i) water, (2) culture, and (3) soil. 



Water supply. The water supply influences the mechanical 

 condition of the soil, and this in turn has an influence upon the 

 character of the crops that can be grown. The water supply deter- 

 mines to a large extent the availability of the supply of plant food. 

 The food upon which plants thrive is intimately connected with 

 the particles of which the soil is composed, and it is through the 

 action of moisture, frost, tillage, and low forms of life that the 

 material suitable for nourishing the plant is made available. 



Water supply also influences the rate of plant growth. Farmers 

 know only too well the effect which a prolonged drought has upon 

 the yield of crops, the growth of trees, and the labor necessary to 

 prepare soils properly ; without a sufficient supply of water, growth 

 is slow and dwarfed, and the resultant crop usually very meager. 

 Arid countries may frequently, and in fact often do, possess 

 exceedingly fertile soils, but which for lack of water are sterile. 

 As soon as water is carried to these regions a most productive 

 territory may be developed. The most intensive agriculture in the 

 world is oftentimes carried on upon lands which, under normal 

 conditions, are sterile but which, through the influence of irrigation, 

 are rendered extremely productive. Too much water, however, is 

 as detrimental as too little. Plants require a certain balance 

 between the water in the soil and the air in the soil. 



Air of the soil. All normal soils upon which plants thrive carry 

 a large volume of air in the spaces between the soil particles, and 



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