The First Book of Farming | Page 2

OF SOIL WATER By surface wash By percolation and leaching By evaporation By transpiration How to check these losses 53
VII.--SOIL TEMPERATURE 57 How soils are warmed 58 How soils lose heat How to check loss of heat 59 Conditions which influence soil temperature 60 Value of organic matter 61
VIII.--PLANT FOOD IN THE SOIL 63
IX.--SEEDS 70 Conditions necessary for sprouting 70 Seed testing 75 How the seeds come up 77 Use of cotyledons and endosperm 79
X.--SEED PLANTING 81 Depth of planting: Operation of planting Planting machines 81 Seed classification 85 Transplanting 87
XI.--SPADING AND PLOWING 90 Spading the soil 90 Plowing 91 Why we spade and plow 91 Parts of a plow 92 Characteristics of a good plow 95 The furrow slice 96 How deep to plow 96 "Breaking out the middles" 97 Ridging the land 98 Time to plow 98 Bare fallow 100
XII.--HARROWING AND ROLLING 101 Harrowing: Why we harrow Time to harrow 101 Types of harrows 102 Rolling 106
XIII.--LEAVES 108 Facts about leaves 108 The uses of leaves to plants: Transpiration Starch making Digestion of food Conditions necessary for leaf work 109 How the work of leaves is interfered with 115
XIV.--STEMS 120 What are stems for? 120 How the work of the stem may be interfered with 126
XV.--FLOWERS 128 Function of flowers 128 Parts of flowers 129 Functions of the parts: Cross pollination 130 Value of a knowledge of the flowers 134 Fruit 136

PART II
SOIL FERTILITY AS AFFECTED BY FARM OPERATIONS AND
FARM PRACTICES
Chapter Page
XVI.--A FERTILE SOIL 141 Physical properties: Power to absorb and hold water Power of ventilation Power to absorb and hold heat 142 Biological properties 143 Nitrogen-fixing germs 144 Nitrifying germs 145 Denitrifying germs 147 Chemical properties: Nitrogen in the soil Phosphoric acid in the soil Potash in the soil Lime in the soil Great importance of physical properties 147 Maintenance of fertility 150
XVII.--SOIL WATER 151 Importance of soil water 151 Necessity of soil water 151 Sources and forms of soil water 153 Too much water 154 Not enough water 154 Loss of soil water 155 How some farm operations influence soil water 156 Hoeing, raking, harrowing and cultivating 158 Manures and soil water 159 Methods of cropping and soil water 159 Selection of crops with reference to soil water 160
XVIII.--THE AFTER-CULTIVATION OF CROPS 164 Loss of water by evaporation 164 Loss of water through weeds 165 Saving the water 165 Time to cultivate 166 Tools for after-cultivation 167 Hilling and ridging 169
XIX.--FARM MANURES 171 The functions of manures and fertilizers 171 Classification 171 Importance of farm manures 172 Barn or stable manure 173 Loss of value 173 Checking the losses 176 Applying the manure to the soil 177 Proper condition of manure when applied 179 Composts 181
XX.--FARM MANURES, CONCLUDED 183 Green-crop manures: Functions 183 Benefits 185 Character of best plants for green-crop manuring 185 The time for green-manure crops 186 Leguminous green-manure crops 186 Non-leguminous green-manure plants 191
XXI.--COMMERCIAL FERTILIZERS 192 The raw materials 192 Sources of nitrogen 193 Sources of phosphoric acid 195 Sources of potash 199 Sources of lime 200
XXII.--COMMERCIAL FERTILIZERS, CONTINUED 202 Mixed fertilizers: What they are Many brands Safeguard for the farmer Low grade materials Inflating the guarantee 202 Valuation 205 Low grade mixtures 207 Buy on the plant food basis 209
XXIII.--COMMERCIAL FERTILIZERS, CONCLUDED 211 Home mixing of fertilizers 211 Kind and amount to buy 212 The crop 213 The soil 215 The system of farming 215 Testing the soil 215
XXIV.--ROTATION OF CROPS 219 Systems of cropping 219 The one crop system 221 Rotation of crops 224 Benefits derived from rotation of crops 230 The typical rotation 231 Conditions which modify the rotation 232 General rules 233 Length of rotation 233
XXV.--FARM DRAINAGE 235 How surplus water affects fertility 235 Indications of a need of drainage 235 Drains: Surface drains Open ditch drains Covered drains or under drains 236 Influence of covered drains on fertility 237 Location of drains: Grade Tile drains 238
GLOSSARY 241

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
The farm equipment--plants, soils, animals, tools, buildings Frontispiece
Figure Facing Page
1. Specimen plants for study 6
2. The first effort of a sprouting seed 7
3. Germinating seeds with roots 7
4. To show that plant roots take water from the soil 10
5. To show that plant roots take food from the soil 10
6. A radish root, from which the stored food has been used to help produce a crop of seeds 11
7. A sweet-potato root producing new plants 11
8. Sweet-potato roots 14
9. Soy-bean roots 15
10. A plow stopped in the furrow, to show what it does to the roots of plants when used for after-cultivation 18
11. A corn-plant ten days after planting the seed 19
12. To show where growth in length of the root takes place 22
13. Radish seeds sprouted on dark cloth 22
14. To show how water gets into the roots of plants 23
15. To show osmose 23
16. To show that roots