prevents it from moving downward, deep plowing or a subsoiler will 

 relieve the condition. If the ground is naturally low and soggy, drain 

 tile is the surest and best means to adopt, for the reason that the tile not 

 only carry off water, but through them air is admitted. Drain tile 

 always improve the physical condition of the seed-bed and usually the 

 increase of production in one or two crops will pay the cost of the tile. 



Water 



Water is indispensable to growing crops, and how to control the sup- 

 ply is certainly a serious question with the farmer. Too much or too 

 little is disastrous to the growing crop. Proper methods, however, will 

 reduce the danger of damage to a minimum. An over-abundance can 

 be taken care of by ditches, tile and deep tillage, but in sections where 

 the annual rainfall is abnormally low, the problem of storing a sufficient 

 amount to provide for the crop during protracted drouths is a serious 

 question. To make the operation of storing, preventing the waste 

 and nature's process of consuming water plain to the farmer, we will 

 offer the following explanation: 



Soil water exists in three forms — 



1. Hydrostatic or gravitational water. 



2. Capillary water. 



3. Hygroscopic water. 



Hydrostatic Water 



Hydrostatic water is the water that falls on the surface 

 from rains or by irrigation. It gravitates into the deeper 

 subsoils through cracks, worm holes and through air spaces 

 between the particles of soil. If the soil is compact and 

 the movement slow, the air spaces will become filled, and 

 if the congestion remains too long, the plants will die, as 

 is often seen in fields of grain, or any crop where water 

 has stood for a few days in a low place. 



Illustration Below Represents an Ideal Seed-Bed. It is Loose 



to Depth of Planting. Lower Portion is Compact 



and Makes Good Contact with Subsoil 



