Adding the Fiber 



375 



is accomplished by fitting the soil and making the surface- 

 mulch the moment the land is dr}^ enough to work in spring. 

 Even if the land is not to be used until June, it should be 

 fitted early, and lightly harrowed at frequent intervals 

 before the crop is planted. The principles and practices 

 of dry-farming, which is the recourse in non-irrigable 

 semi-arid regions, should be understood by all farmers. 



Addition of humus. 



Land is rapidly improved by the incorporation of fiber. 

 This fiber is obtained by plowing under any kind of 

 vegetation or organic matter, as rye, clover, manure or 

 the refuse of the garden. When this fiber decays it be- 

 comes humus. Tlie humus improves the physical condi- 

 tion of the soil by making it loose, open and mellow; by 

 enabling it to hold moisture; by preventing the puddling 

 or cementing of clay soils; by decreasing the heat of the 

 surface in summer; and by improving the chemical char- 

 acter. Humus itself contains plant-food. It also affords 

 solvent acids. If it is derived from leguminous plants, it 

 also adds nitrogen. The chief reason for the almost ex- 

 travagant use of stable manures by market-gardeners is 

 the addition of humus. Lands thus manured year after 

 year become quick and amenable to treatment. Fertilizers 

 Avork speedily in them. The lands can be tilled at almost 

 any time in the growing season, and when one crop is off 

 another can be put in quickly. 



In the addition of plant-fiber much will be gained if it 

 is thoroughly decomposed. It thereby becomes quickly 

 incorporated with the soil, and its plant-food soon becomes 

 available. This is the explanation of the general desire of 



