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ith it, the rootlet itself is so replete with water, and the area of contact 

 between rootlet and the soil particles is so small, that the water cannot be 

 imbibed. If the air between the soil particles becomes ever dryer the water 

 adhering to them will evaporate and leave the soil bone dry. In arid steppe 

 country, both the soil and the plants grown thereon suffer every year 

 from all the above mentioned stages regarding conditions of moisture. 

 All these inter-relations between humidity of the soil and plants are sup- 

 ported by facts in the following statements; where, out of numerous sta- 

 tistics at my disposal. I shall only cite those observations relating to the 

 yearly soil water regime of fields sown with barley, winter wheat, maize, 

 and potatoes, on waste land, pasture, etc. 



