Productive farming . Describe good drain tiles. 10. How does water enter a line of tile? References.—^U. S. Farmers Bulletins: 158, How to Build SmallIrrigation Ditches; 187, Drainage of Farm Lands; 263, Practical Infor-mation for Beginners in Irrigation; 373, Irrigation of Alfalfa; 399, Irriga^tion of Grain; 404, Irrigation of Orchards. CHAPTER IMPROVEMENT. The farmer should do what he can to improve soils, asnatural causes work too slowly. The depletion of a poorsoil may be due to the natural causes. Fields that are onhillsides may be badly washed and gullied by nmning water 70 PEO
Productive farming . Describe good drain tiles. 10. How does water enter a line of tile? References.—^U. S. Farmers Bulletins: 158, How to Build SmallIrrigation Ditches; 187, Drainage of Farm Lands; 263, Practical Infor-mation for Beginners in Irrigation; 373, Irrigation of Alfalfa; 399, Irriga^tion of Grain; 404, Irrigation of Orchards. CHAPTER IMPROVEMENT. The farmer should do what he can to improve soils, asnatural causes work too slowly. The depletion of a poorsoil may be due to the natural causes. Fields that are onhillsides may be badly washed and gullied by nmning water 70 PEODLCTIVE FARMING from rains. Such l^ad effects can usually be remedied by theapplication of practical methods. The aim should be tobring the soil into suitable condition for the production oflarge crops. Kinds of Improvement.—The improvement may be inseveral regards: 1. In its physical condition. 2. In its chemical make-up and food-yielding power. 3. In its moisture-holding power. 4. In its germ life or Fig, 41.—Plowing under a crop of green manure to add humus to the soil. Tillage is one of the commonest ways to put soil in properphysical conchtion to yield good crops. There are two maintjTDCs of tillage: Deep tillage, as with a plow (Fig. 41), andshallow tillage, as with harrows and cultivators (Figs. 37and 42). Objects of Plowing.—The primary object of plowing afield is to make a good seed bed by crumbling the soil and SOIL IMPROVEMENT 71 making it fine. As the furrow slice slides along the curvedsurface of a polished mouldboard, the particles are caused toslide upon each other. Take the leaves of a book betweenyour thumb and finger when the edges are nearly them, and see that they all slide a little and the edgesare no longer even. Thus, in plowing, the particles of soiltend to shde upon each other and the crumbling is accom- „.: ••••.-| phshed. Other objects ofplo^^^ng include: 1. The covering of wildplants and bm-ying of stub-ble, sta
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