. Australian Garden and Field. 498 THE GARDEN AND FIELD. April, 19U which are applied to the top 6 in. of soil must so chaiipi^ that thev can be carried bv the waters which the plants take up, otherwise the plants could never get the^n. Now there are aj^ncies at work accomplishint^ these chanijes. Amonfr them are fermentation, heat li'ht, and water. Every one of these aeencies is made active bv cultivation, and dormant by non-cultivation. The eas, or a blood and bone ferti- liser. These must first decay. Now the little micro-oreanism which converts decayed matter in- to nitro<'-eri
. Australian Garden and Field. 498 THE GARDEN AND FIELD. April, 19U which are applied to the top 6 in. of soil must so chaiipi^ that thev can be carried bv the waters which the plants take up, otherwise the plants could never get the^n. Now there are aj^ncies at work accomplishint^ these chanijes. Amonfr them are fermentation, heat li'ht, and water. Every one of these aeencies is made active bv cultivation, and dormant by non-cultivation. The eas, or a blood and bone ferti- liser. These must first decay. Now the little micro-oreanism which converts decayed matter in- to nitro<'-eri must have oxy<^en for its work. Cultivation 'iupplies this. The more frenuent and deep thr lultivation. the more actively the nitrifvine trerms can work, which results in more active growth by th^ plants. The yearly fertiliser bill is one of the lareest on every successful fann. and the quicker the farmer "•ets the most benefit the better. The best means to this end is cul- tivation, and it is so simple and so cheap that it ouirht to be more freelv used. One can lock money in the •Tound bv aPPlvincr fertilisers and then ;illowin(r the eround to settle. Ml the friends of nlant life then lM»conie inert or disappear. The lit- tle nitrifvinc r-rrrnnism cannot p-et its oxvren. Sunli'^rht is driven back from the soil it (tries to wanr onb- to dry nnd curl the folHaife. and the moisture whidi the root«< are trvinir to absorb is carried straight to the surfa«:e and lost in the air.—Exchange. The Soil. ]\ranv a'/ricultural terms are dif- ficult to define exactl}^ and some have varied and intt'rchanjreable meanings. One minute we may sreak of the earth, meaning our planet : and in the next talk of a handful or a load of earth. N man mav speak of buying i,ooo acres of land and his friend mav at once ask him whether his land, is sand, loam or clay. One may speak of cultivating the soil, an- other of ploughing the land, a thiird refers to digging the ground, and the thre
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