LESSON VII 

 TILLING THE SOIL 



Purpose of tilling the soil. - - The soil is tilled for 

 the purpose of making it more suitable for the growth 

 of useful plants. There are but few crops which will 

 grow in untilled soil. In general, good soils need 

 only to be well tilled in order to produce large crops. 



Plowing. The ground is plowed in order to loosen 

 the soil and to turn under the layer of vegetable matter 

 lying on the surface. By harrowing, the soil is made 

 loose and fine in texture, and the humus thoroughly 

 pulverized and mixed with the soil. 



Porous soil. It is necessary to loosen the soil in 

 order to plant the seeds which must be covered, and 

 for the growing plants to take root. A loose porous 

 soil will absorb more rain than a compact soil. In a 

 loose soil the air can readily reach the plant roots and 

 the useful soil bacteria. The finer the texture of the 

 soil, the more film water it can hold, and the more 

 plant food which the film water can dissolve from the 

 soil particles. 



Soil mulch. In dry regions the soil is tilled in 

 order to prevent loss of soil moisture by evaporation. 

 By making a layer of fine, loose soil on the surface, 

 the upward capillary movement of film water is checked, 



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