Miscellaneous. 



[May, 1909 



possible. In the Philippines, where 

 Japan matches are dutiable but still 

 command a small market, they would be 

 entirely supplanted by the Philippine 

 product. 



China and Australia would also offer 

 fine fields for an export trade from 

 Manila, and should the lumber famine 

 which threatens all wood manufactures 

 in the United States become a fact, 

 there also would be a field for the 

 Philippine product. —Indian Forester. 

 Vol. XXXV., No. L, Jauuaiy, 1909. 



ELEMENTARY AGRICULTURE. 



By H. T. Edwards, 

 Bureau of Agriculture. 



1. General Agriculture. 



Question 1. What is agriculture ? 



Answer : Agriculture is the business of 

 raising products from the laud. 



Q. 2, What does the farmer produce ? 



A. Crops, or plants and their pro- 

 ducts ; stock or animals and their pro- 

 ducts. 



Q, 3. What does the farmer furnish 

 the world ? 



A. The farmer furnishes the world 

 with a large part of the material used 

 for food, clothing, and shelter, besides 

 many other minor products. 



Q. 4. Into what four branches may 

 agriculture be divided ? 



A. (a) General agriculture, (b) ani- 

 mal industry, (c) forestry, (d) horticul- 

 ture. 



Q. 5. What does "general agricul- 

 ture " include ? 



A. General agriculture includes the 

 general management of lands and farms, 

 and the growing of staple field crops, 

 such as grains, fibres, sugar cane, hay, 

 and root crops. 



Q. 0. What is " animal industry ''? 



A. Animal industry is the raising of 

 animals, eithei for direct sale or use, or 

 for their products. 



Q. 7. What three departments does 

 animal industry include 't 



A. (a) Stock raising, or the growing 

 of such animals as cattle, horses, and 

 sheep; (6) dairy husbandry, or the pro- 

 duction of milk and milk products ; (c) 

 poultry raising, or the growing of fouls, 

 as chickens, turkeys, geese, aud ducks. 



Q. 8. What is forestry ? 



A. Forestry is the growing of trees 

 for timber and wood. 



Q- 9. What is horticulture ? 



A- Horticulture is the growing of 

 fruits, gardeu vegetables, and orna- 

 mental plants. 



Q. 10 What are the most important 

 things with wich the farmer works ? 



A. (a) The soil, (b) plauts.l(c) animals. 



II. The Soil. 



Contents. 



Q. 1. What is the soil ? 



A. The soil is that part of the solid 

 surface of the earth in which plants 

 grow. 



Q. 2. What is the soil made up of? 



A. The soil is made up of small parti- 

 cles of rock {inorganic matter) and the 

 remains of plants and animals {organic 

 -matter). When the soil is in a condition 

 to grow plants it also contains water, 



Q. 3. What does the soil furnish ? 



A. The soil furnishes a place in 

 which plants can grow. It is also a 

 great storehouse containing large quanti- 

 ties of plant food. 



Q, 4. What do we mean by " plant 

 food?" 



A, We all know that animals must 

 have food if they are to live and grow. 

 Plants, also, must have food, but plant 

 food is quite different from the food 

 of animals. Plants obtain their food 

 from the soil and from the air. 

 When a soil contains all the food 

 that plants require we call it "rich" 

 or "fertile." A " poor soil" is one 

 that contains only a small amount 

 of plant food. When a farmer wishes 

 to grow a good crop on a poor soil, he 

 must add more plant food to that soil. 

 This plant food which farmers add to 

 the soil we call " fertilizer." 



Q. 5. What are the three important 

 kinds of plant food? 



A, fa) Nitrogen, {b) phosphoric acid, 

 (c) potash. 



Q. 6. Do soils usually contain nitro- 

 gen, phosphoric acid, and potash? 



A. Yes. Soils usually contain large 

 amounts of these three plant foods. It 

 has been found that in average land on 

 farms the 8 inches of the soil on the 

 surface of each hectare contain over 

 3,400 kilos of nitrogen, nearly 4,540 kilos 

 of phosphoric acid, and over 19,000 kilos 

 of potash. In some cases soils contain 

 enough plaut food to grow three hundred 

 crops of rice or corn, 



Q. 7. Can all this plant food be used 

 at once ? 



A. No. Only a small amount of the 

 plant food in soils is available, or in 

 condition to be used at once. 



Q. 8. What do w e mean by plant 

 food in the soil that is not available ? 



A. Plant food in the soil that is not 

 available is the food that is combined or 

 " locked up " Avith other substances, so 

 that the plants cannot use it. Each 

 year a part of this food becomes separ- 

 ated or " unlocked," so that the plants 

 feed upon it or use it. Air, Water, and 

 the roots of plants all help to unlock 

 this plant food. 



