28 HINTS ON SOILS AND FERTILIZERS 
tion, and hoeing between the plants in the rows, 
a great deal of this trouble can be remedied. 
Usually after a heavy rain, we find the soil 
hard and compact. If the soil is left in this 
condition, a great amount of the soil water will 
evaporate, which is a considerable loss to the 
crop, as the crop should have the advantage of 
all water in the soil possible. However, if we 
cultivate the soil between the rows of the crops 
that are what we call cultivated crops, we can 
stir up this upper crust of the soil, so that this 
evaporation is almost entirely eliminated. 
Some soils, especially those containing a large 
percentage of clay, have a tendency to bake 
during a long, continued, dry, hot spell. This 
is harmful to the texture of the soil, causing it 
to be hard and lumpy. By stirring the soil 
occasionally, this condition can be eliminated 
to a large extent, and a loose texture main¬ 
tained. 
Finally, the cultivation of the soil also causes 
plant food to be liberated. By the admission of 
air into the soil, certain beneficial bacteria are 
enabled to break down, or decompose the plant 
food from an insoluble form to a soluble form, 
thereby producing more food for the plant to 
take up. 
For those who are not very familiar with 
farming operations, the meaning of cultivated 
crops had better be fully explained. A culti¬ 
vated crop is a crop that is planted in rows, 
so many inches, or feet apart, so as to allow 
a cultivator to go between these rows, during 
the growing season, to stir up the soil for the 
reasons mentioned above. Examples of such 
