98 MANUAL OF GARDENING 
but in different degree. A covering of sawdust or leaves or 
dry ashes will prevent the loss of moisture. So will a cover- 
ing of dry earth. Now, inasmuch as the land is already cov- 
ered with earth, it only remains to loosen up a layer or stratum 
on top in order to secure the mulch. 
All this is only a roundabout way of saying that frequent 
shallow surface tillage conserves moisture. The comparatively 
dry and loose mulch breaks up the capillary connection be- 
tween the surface soil and the under soil, and while the mulch 
itself may be useless as a foraging ground for roots, it more than 
pays its keep by its preventing of the loss of moisture; and its 
own soluble plant-foods are washed down into the lower soil by 
the rains. 
As often as the surface becomes compact, the mulch should 
be renewed or repaired by the use of the rake or cultivator or 
harrow. Persons are deceived by supposing that so long as 
the surface remains moist, the land is in the best possible condi- 
tion; a moist surface may mean that water is rapidly passing 
off into the atmosphere. A dry surface may mean that less 
evaporation is taking place, and there may be moister earth 
beneath it; and moisture is needed below the surface rather 
than on top. A finely raked bed is dry on top; but the foot- 
prints of the cat remain moist, for the animal packed the soil 
wherever it stepped and a capillary connection was established 
with the water reservoir beneath. Gardeners advise firming the 
earth over newly planted seeds to hasten germination. This is 
essential in dry times; but what we gain in hastening germina- 
tion we lose in the more rapid evaporation of moisture. The 
lesson is that we should loosen the soil as soon as the seeds have 
germinated, to reduce evaporation to the minimum. Large 
seeds, as beans and peas, may be planted deep and have the 
earth firmed about them, and then the rake may be applied to 
the surface to stop the rise of moisture before it reaches the air. 
Two illustrations, adapted from Roberts’s “Fertility,” show 
