Campbell's 1902 Soil Culture Manual. 



87 



and soil, followed with careful cultivation, when the same results may 

 practically be attained any year that were secured in the seasons referred 

 to. when we had the unusual amount of rain scattered along at proper 

 periods at just the right time to produce decomposition. The peculiarity 

 of the formation of our soil is such that manures, when properly applied, 

 very materially aid us in carrying our crops through the dry periods and 

 preventing the serious effects of the drouth, for the simple reason that the 

 humus, which is the complete decomposed vegetable matter, very materially 

 increases the water holding capacity of our soil. The more humus 'we 

 have in the soil, the greater is the number of particles, consequently the 

 greater amount of surface to hold water. It also aids in the movement of 

 moisture through the soil, and in the encouragement and development of 

 root growth. 



When barn yard manures are properly applied to the prairies of the 

 semi-arid belt, their effect upon plant growth is noticeable much longer 

 than in the east, where the greater rainfall has a tendency to wash the 

 humus below. This trouble of washing out is especially perceptible in the 

 gravelly soils of New York and the New England states There is another 

 advantage of the semi-arid belt which will be appreciated when these facts 

 are better understood by the masses, for our observations so far clearly 

 show that, manures are even more valuable here than in the east, not that 

 our soil is not fertile, but the more humus we have in the soil the more 

 water will each square inch of soil hold, and consequently the safer is our 

 crop and less liable to suffer from drought. There is but little expense 

 attached to an experiment to ascertain the correctness of our assertions 

 on this subject, and were you to make them, you would find more and 

 surer profit from them than from government bonds. The sub-surface 

 packer is a very valuable tool in securing immediate results from manure. 

 See cut No. 2. This shows how the manure would be compacted in the 

 bottom. 



THE WEEDEB. 



While the weeder is comparatively a new tool upon the market, it 

 has come to stay. Its usefulness is found in many ways. In the growing 

 of wheat in the great wheat country, the Dakotas and Northern Minne- 

 sota, the fields have become very foul. The effect of the weeds upon the 

 yield of the crop is very detrimental. There is a time when the weed first 

 makes its appearance that it is easily destroyed. This time in the spring- 

 wheat country is usually about the time wheat is stooling. Here the 

 weeder comes in with its very effective work. The long flexible tooth as it 



