Mat, 1900.] 



177 



Miscellaneous. 



A. (a) Tillage which covers the entire 

 ground, (b) tillage which covers only 

 that part of the ground which lies 

 between the plants. We practise the 

 former before the seed is sown to pre- 

 pare the land for the crop, and the lattei 

 between the rows of growing crops, 

 to maintain the condition of the soil. 



Q. 3. Whatare other kinds of tillage ? 



A. We sp^akof surface tillage, shallow 

 tillage, and deep tillage- Surface tillage 

 is the stirring of from 2h to 8 centi- 

 meters of the surface of the soil. Shallow 

 tillage may extend 15 centimeters into 

 the soil, and deep tillage is that which 

 extends below 15 centimeters. 



Q, 4. What three things does tillage do? 



A. (a) Tillage improves the physical 

 condition of the soil by refining the soil 

 and extending the feeding area for the 

 roots ; by increasing the depth of the 

 soil so that the plants obtain a better 

 root-hold ; by making the conditions 

 of moisture' and temperature more 

 uniform throughout the growing season. 



(b) Tillage aids in the saving of moisture 

 by increasing the water-holding capacity 

 of the soil, and by cheeking the evapora- 

 tion by means of the surface-mulch, (c) 

 Tillage hastens the chemical action of 

 the soil by admitting air to the soil, and 

 by hastening the decay of organic 

 matter, 



Q. 5. What three different classes of 

 tools are used in tilling the soil ? 



A. (a) Deep-working tools, (6) surface- 

 working tools, (c) compacting tools. 



Q. 6. What are the principal deep- 

 working tools? 



A. Different kinds of ploughs. 



Q. 7. What are the principal reasons 

 for ploughing ? 



A. (a) To get the land in condition 

 for planting, {b) to pulverize the soil, 



(c) to turn under manures, green- 

 crops and trash, (d) to deepen the soil, 

 (e) to break up the hard pan, (/) to warm 

 and dry the laud, (g) to allow the 

 weather to act on the soil. 



Q. 8. How deep .should lands be 

 ploughed? 



A. Under ordinary conditions lands 

 in the Philippine Islands should be 

 ploughed 15 to 18 centimetei e deep. 



Q. 9. What ate the principal surface- 

 working tools ? 



A. Hoes, rakes, cultivators, and 

 harrows. 



Q. 10. For what purpose do we use 

 surface-working tools? 

 - A. (a) To make beds in which seeds 

 can be sown and plants set out, (b) to 

 cover the seeds, (,c) to pulverize the soil, 



(d) to establish and maintain an earth- 

 mulch, (e) to destroy weeds, 



Q. 11. How frequently should a har- 

 row or cultivator be used? 



A. The harrow or cultivator should 

 be used as often as the soil becomes hard, 

 particularly after every rain. In dry 

 time surface tillage should usually be 

 repeated every ten days or oftener. 

 The drier the soil the greater the neces- 

 sity for surface tillage. 



Q. 12. What are compacting tools? 



A. Rollers and implements know as 

 ' plankers " or " floats." 



Q. 13. What are the reasuns for 

 using these tools ? 



A. (a) To crush clods, (b) to smooth 

 the ground for the seed bed, (c) to 

 hasten germination of seeds, (d) to 

 make loose soils more compact and solid 

 (e) to put the land in such condition 

 that our tools can be used. 



Q. 14. What is the principal object- 

 ion to rolling laud ? 



A. When land is rolled the surface- 

 mulch is destroyed so that more or less 

 soil moisture is lost by evaporation. On 

 lands that have been rolled, surface 

 tillage should begin as soon as the 

 plants have appeared.— Phil ippine Agri- 

 cultured Review. Vol. I. No. 9. Septem- 

 ber, 1908. 



IMPROVEMENT OP AGRICULTURE 

 IN CEYLON. 



What to Teach the People. 



There is nothing like a few statistics 

 to show us clearly our position to-day as 

 pertaining to agricultural production, 

 what we import aud what might easily 

 be produced in this country. 



Rice imported in 1908, 7,907,912 bushels- 

 valued at R5 per bushel, R39,539,560. 



We grow in Ceylon 4,800,000 bushels at 

 the average of eight bushels per acre on 

 600.000 acres of laud as per Mr. W. A, de 

 Silva's paper read at the December 

 meeting of the Agricultural Society. 



Total amount of rice consumed in 

 Ceylon 12,599,910 bushels. 



To have enough for home consumption 

 we must produce 2L bushels per acre on 

 the 600,000 acres now cultivated, or 13 

 bushels more per acre than we do 

 now. This seems simple enough on 

 paper— that if we produce 13 bushels 

 more per acre on the land that is being 

 now cultivated we would have our own 

 rice supply. But it is a question that 

 has baffled the Government for the last 

 half century or so. Still it is not of the 

 impossible class, but within all possi- 

 bility, if the cultivator would cultivate 

 his land in a manner that would yield 

 good crops. We know that an acre of 

 first class paddy land, if properly work- 

 ed, should yield 50 bushels per acre, but 



