90 
SECOND BOOK. 
rain-water cannot enter it freely, and, especially on 
hillsides, it therefore runs away. Then our soil loses 
the good that might be done by the water, and by 
the gases which it washes out of the air. 
4 . In dry weather the soil may be moistened by 
water rising from the store that lies below, and 
if by digging and hoeing we keep the soil free and 
loose, the water can rise the better. Sometimes, 
indeed, it ‘dries up’, or passes into the air too 
fast, and then, again, hoeing is useful; for, by 
disturbing the top inch or two of soil, we break 
up the little passages, and thus prevent the water 
passing into the air so quickly. 
5. The ground should never be left in large lumps 
or clods, because they dry so hard that young roots 
cannot enter them, and the plant-food that is bound 
up in them is therefore lost to the crop. Then, 
when rain comes, the clods are washed into fine 
mud which chokes up the top-soil. 
6. The spade and fork are the most useful of the 
tools used for tilling the ground. They dig deeply, 
and break and mix the earth thoroughly. But 
where much land has to be turned over, the plough 
is a quicker and cheaper means of doing the work. 
7. The hoe is an excellent tool for weeding, and 
for loosening the top-soil or drawing it around the 
roots of plants, but it cannot lift and turn the soil 
as a spade does. 
8. In those parts of Jamaica where the soil is 
