16 



BULLETIN 462, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



upon the soil moisture. The top curve shows good moisture content 

 under the dust mulch, which is seen to be about 5 inches in depth, 

 while the open, uncultivated space is seen to be very dry for the 

 first 2 feet in depth. The curves for the cultivated groves show 

 no such marked differences, although there is nearly 1 per cent more 



Fig. 6. — Curves showing 



P&pfh m jTe&f 



effect of cultivation on soil moisture in citrus grove and 

 open space at Orlando, Fla. 



moisture in the cultivated grove; yet both curves are below the 2 

 per cent mark, which would show that both tracts were about as dry 

 as could be. It is probable that the moisture represented by these 

 two curves would appear to the eye to be about the same, the soil in 

 both being dry enough to run freely between the fingers. The 

 reader should be cautious, however, in drawing conclusions from 

 these results. It can not be assumed, because there is so little differ- 



