The First Book of Farming | Page 3

need air 26
17. Comparison of fresh and boiled water 26
18. Comparison of moist sand and puddled clay 27
19. Comparing soils 32
20. Water-test of soils 33
21. To show what becomes of the water taken from the soil by roots 40
22. Percolation experiment. To show the relative powers of soils to take in water falling on the surface 41
23. Bottles used in place of the lamp chimneys in Figs. 22 and 24 44
24. Capillarity of soils. To show the relative powers of soils to take water from below 44
25. Water-absorbing and water-holding powers of soils 45
26. Capillary tubes. To show how water rises in small tubes or is drawn into small spaces 48
27. Capillary plates 48
28. A cone of soil to show capillarity 49
29. To show the relative amounts of film-moisture held by coarse and fine soils 49
30. To show the effect of a soil mulch 56
31. Soil temperature experiment 57
32. Charts showing average temperature of a set of dry and wet soils during a period of five days 60
33. To show the value of organic matter 61
34. Soy-bean roots, showing nodules or tubercles 64
35. Garden-pea roots, showing tubercles or nodules 65
36. To show that seeds need water for germination 72
37. To show that seeds need air for germination 72
38. To show that seeds need air for germination 73
39. A seed-tester: two plates and a moist cloth 80
40. A seed-tester: a plaster cast with cavities in the surface for small seeds 80
41. Germinating corn-kernel and bean 81
42. To show how the bean-plant gets up 82
43. To show how the corn-plant gets out of the soil 82
44. To show the use of cotyledons 83
45. To show the use of the kernel to the young corn-plant 86
46. To show how deeply seeds should be planted 87
47. Operations of seed-planting 88
48. A collection of planting machines 89
49. Spading-fork and spade 92
50. A wood beam-plow 93
51. A slip-nose share and a slip-nose 96
52. A straight knife coulter 96
53. An iron beam-plow with rolling coulter and double clevis 96
54. A rolling cutter-harrow 97
55. Spring-toothed harrows 97
56. Spike-toothed harrows 104
57. A coulter-toothed harrow 104
58. A plank harrow 105
59. To show transpiration 108
60. Amount of transpiration 109
61. To show that growing leaves contain starch 114
62. To show that starch disappears from the leaf when the plant is placed in the dark 114
63. To show that sunlight is necessary for starch-making by leaves 115
64. To show that chlorophyl is necessary for starch formation in the leaf 115
65. To show the giving off of gas by leaves, and that sunlight is necessary for it 118
66. Seedling radishes reaching for light 119
67. Elm leaves injured by the "imported elm-tree leaf-beetle," a chewing insect 119
68. A horse-chestnut stem, showing leaves, buds, and scars, where last year's leaves dropped off 128
69. An underground stem. Buds show distinctly 129
70. Flower of cherry 130
71. Flower of apple 130
72. Pistil and stamen of flowering raspberry 131
73. Flower of buttercup 131
74. A magnolia flower showing central column of pistils and stamens 134
75. Flowers of squash 135
76. Flower of a lily 136
77. Bud and flower of jewel-weed or "touch-me-not" 137
78. Pistillate flower and perfect flower of strawberry 137
79. A crop of cowpeas 178
80. Red clover 179
81. Soy-beans in young orchard 182
82. A young alfalfa plant just coming into flower 183
83. Cross-sections of stone-drains 238
84. Cross-section of a pole-drain and of a tile-drain 238
85. A collection of drainage tools 239
86. A poorly laid tile-drain and a properly graded tile-drain 239


PART I
General Principles Underlying Plant Culture

THE FIRST BOOK OF FARMING

PART I
General Principles Underlying Plant Culture

CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION TO PLANTS
Our object in reading and studying this book is to find out some facts that will help those of us who are thinking of going into farming and gardening as a business or recreation to start right, and will also help those of us that are already in the business to make our farms and gardens more productive.
In order to make the book of greatest value to you, I would urge you not only to read and study it, but also to make the excursions suggested and to perform the experiments. In other words, it will be of much greater value to you if you will make the observations and investigations and find out for yourselves the important facts and principles rather than simply take statements of the book unquestioned.
A very good time to begin this work is during the latter part of the summer, when the summer crops are ripening and the fall and winter crops are starting into growth. So suppose we begin our study with a visit to some farm in early September, to bring to mind the many things a farmer works with, the many things he has to think about and know about.
As we approach the farm we will probably see first the farm-house surrounded by shade trees, perhaps