soon as the ground begins to dry or bake after rains. Unless the farmer 

 is watchful, one or more inches of water will escape during a single hot, 

 windy day. 



In grain fields the mulch can be formed either with a harrow or corru- 

 gated roller. The harrow gives the best results in hard ground where 

 the roots are deep, but if the soil is loose, the corrugated roller forms a 

 retaining mulch and at the same time packs the soil about the grain 

 roots. Either implement can be used to good profit even when the 

 grain is beginning to joint. 



Humus 



When organic matter becomes thoroughly rotted and combines with 

 chemical elements in the soil, it is called humus. Indirectly, it is an 

 important factor in fertility; in fact, soil devoid of humus is practically 

 barren. Humus increases the moisture-absorbing ability of soil to a 

 very marked degree and exerts a decided influence on the temperature 

 of the ground. Barnyard manure is the best source of humus, although 

 gi'een crops plowed under are excellent. 



Fertility or Plant Food 



Plants require certain specific ingredients in the right quantities if a 

 rapid growth and an abundant production is secured. An unbalanced 

 plant food ration proves as disastrous to the growing plant as an unbal- 

 anced food ration does to the animal. Hence, the farmer should know 

 three things pertaining to feeding plants, and he can secure that infor- 

 mation by studying and experimenting. 



1. He should know the requirements of plants. 



2. He should know the quantity of each element or substance neces- 

 sary to secure the best results. 



3. He should know how to till his land and manage the operations of 

 the farm so as to utilize and make available what nature has provided 

 in a crude form. 



Soil is composed of disintegrated rocks. Rocks are composed of 

 silica, alumina, lime, iron, magnesia, soda, potash, phosphorus and sul- 

 phur. In those substances we have the basic elements of fertility. To 

 make them available plant food compounds, we must have nitrogen, 

 oxygen, hydrogen and carbon-dioxide. Oxygen exists in the air in 

 abundance. Hydrogen composes two-thirds of the volume of water. 

 Three-fourths of the atmosphere is composed of nitrogen, and carbon- 

 dioxide is the result of decomposition of vegetable and animal matter. 

 The whole layout is fine, and it is up to the farmer to convert them into 

 useful plant food. 



Can it be done? Certainly it can, and that too by any intelligent 

 farmer if he will use his good judgment and apply means and methods 

 that are at his disposal. Nature's generosity is of little use, however, if 



