. Agriculture for beginners. d. 14 AGRICULTURE FOR BEGINNERS EXERCISE 1. Why is the soil wet under a board or under straw? 2. Will a soil that is fine and compact produce better crops thanone that is loose and cloddy? Why ? 3. Since the water which a plant uses comes through the roots, canthe morning dew afford any assistance ? 4. Why are weeds objectionable in a growing crop ? 5. Why does the farmer cultivate growing corn and cotton ? SECTION IV—HOW THE WATER RISES IN THE SOIL When the hot, dry days of summer come, the soil dependsupon the subsoil, or undersoil, for the moisture that itmust f
. Agriculture for beginners. d. 14 AGRICULTURE FOR BEGINNERS EXERCISE 1. Why is the soil wet under a board or under straw? 2. Will a soil that is fine and compact produce better crops thanone that is loose and cloddy? Why ? 3. Since the water which a plant uses comes through the roots, canthe morning dew afford any assistance ? 4. Why are weeds objectionable in a growing crop ? 5. Why does the farmer cultivate growing corn and cotton ? SECTION IV—HOW THE WATER RISES IN THE SOIL When the hot, dry days of summer come, the soil dependsupon the subsoil, or undersoil, for the moisture that itmust furnish its growing plants. The water was stored in the soil duringthe fall, winter, andspring months whenthere was plenty ofrain. If you digdown into the soilwhen everything isdry and hot, you willreach the cool, moistundersoil. It be-comes more moist asyou go deeper intothe soil. Now the roots of plants go down into the soil for thismoisture, because they need the water to carry the plantfood up into the stems and Fig. 8. Using Lamp Chimneys to showRise of Water in Soil THE SOIL 15 You can see how the water rises in the soil by perform-ing a simple experiment. EXPERIMENT Take a lamp chimney and fill it with dry, fine dirt. The dirtfrom a road or a field will do. Tie over the bottom of the lampchimney a piece of cloth or a pocket handkerchief, and place thisend in a shallow pan of water. If the soil in the lamp chimney isclay and well packed, the water will quickly rise to the top. By filling three or four lamp chimneys with as many different soils,the pupil will see that the water rises more slowly in some than inothers. Now take the water pans away, and the water in the lamp chim-neys will gradually evaporate. Study for a few days the effect ofthis evaporation on the several soils. SECTION V —DRAINING THE SOIL A wise man was once asked, What is the most valu-able improvement ever made in agriculture.* He answered, Drainage. Often soils unfit for crop production b
Size: 1767px × 1414px
Photo credit: © Reading Room 2020 / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookdecade1900, bookpublisherbosto, bookyear1904
