REASONS FOR TILLAGE 



99 



bulletin. That so many entertain this belief illus- 

 trates the lack of knowledge of the subject, for noth- 

 i ing could be farther from fact. Figs respond more 



quickly to good treatment than any other fruit 

 trees, except olives, but become dwarfed and blight- 

 ed by one season's neglect. With congenial sur- 

 roundings, they often make six feet of growth a 

 year. Considering that every pound of wood re- 

 quires about five hundred pounds of moisture to 

 convey vitality from root ends to branches and 

 leaves, some idea can be formed of what trees need 

 as to water and depth of soil. Roots often grow 

 ten feet the first season, soon forming a closely in- 

 terlaced mesh in every direction from the trunk. 

 If soil is merely scratched on the surface an inch 

 or two deep, they soon suffer, pale foliage indicat- 

 ing insufficient nourishment. It is just as unreason- 

 able to expect a fig tree to grow well in improper 

 soil as to believe a child will develop if denied sus- 

 taining food. In one case vitality is derived from 

 the assimilation of organic matter containing traces 

 of metalic compounds, while in the other it comes 

 by digesting organic and mineral solutions. 



The student of tillage never forgets that the bet- 

 ter soil is pulverized the more abundantly it gives 

 up plant food. It is composed of minute particles, 

 which ordinarily measure one-tenth to five-one- 

 thousandths of a milimeter in diameter. "When raw 

 turf is plowed the furrow slices form lumps, or 



