u6 



THE APPLE 



space for water. The result generally is an increase in the other 

 actions in the soil, such as bacterial action, liberation of plant 

 food, and the like. If, in addition, coarse material, like manure 

 and straw or cover crops, is plowed under, thorough incorporation 

 of this material into the soil by means of cultivation will decidedly 

 improve the physical condition of the land. 



Cultivation kills weeds. From recent experiments carried on 

 by the government it has been ascertained that destruction of the 

 weeds in the neighborhood of cultivated plants is of the utmost 



A fine piece of soil mulch-work in a Western orchard. (Oregon Agricultural 

 Experiment Station) 



importance ; in fact, in many cases it is the only requirement for a 

 full crop that compares in importance with the thorough cultivation 

 of crops. Since plants which we call weeds are robbers of the 

 moisture and food of the soil and of sunlight, we can readily see 

 that their elimination must be beneficial. 



The clean culture necessary to conserve the soil moisture or to 

 free plant food would quickly eradicate the weeds without added 

 expense or labor. 



Cultivation improves environment. All of the above objects 

 may be summed up in one — improvement of the environmental 



