W- FUNDAMENTAL Jii PRINCIPLES B.EJOHNSON PUEUSHlNS COi New York State College of Agriculture At Cornell University Ithaca, N. Y. Library Cornell University Library S 495.S72 3 1924 003 318 197 The original of tiiis book is in tine Cornell University Library. There are no known copyright restrictions in the United States on the use of the text. http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924003318197 Woods in Spkino Dogwood in Blossom AGRICULTURE ITS FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLES BY ANDREW M. SOULE PRESIDENT OF GEORGIA STATE COLLEGE OF AGRICULTURE AND MECHANIC ARTS AND EDNA HENRY LEE TURPIN " At the head of all the sciences and arts, at the head of civilization and progress, stands — not militarism, the science that kills, not com- merce, the art that accumulates wealth — but agriculture, the mother of all industry, and the maintainer of human life." — Garfield B. F. JOHNSON PUBLISHING COMPANY ATLANTA RICHMOND DALLAS Copyright, 1907, By B. F. JOHNSON" PUBLISHING CO. All rights reserved. PREFACE A FEW years ago the study of agriculture was introduced into common schools as an experiment; now, in most states it is on the list of required studies — a place to » which its importance well entitles it. The subject is as interesting and as teachable as it is important, dealing in a practical way with the elementary principles of many sciences. The purpose of teaching agriculture is not to make a farmer of each child, arty more than the purpose of teaching literature is to make an author of each one. The study is, however, especially useful to children who will some day be men and women with good farms to maintain or poor ones to improve. The knowledge of the forces and laws which control plant and animal development raises the daily round of farm tasks from drudgery to intelligent labor. As labor is better informed, it is better directed; it brings larger returns in dollars and in happiness. The aim of this book is so to state the scientific facts and principles which under- lie the processes of agriculture that they will be intelligible and interesting to young people. These principles are stated briefly but clearly; illustrations and examples are drawn from common crops and methods. The constant effort is to bring the stu- dent in contact with nature, to have him observe for himself how plants live and develop under various conditions, to learn by these observations and by simple ex- periments the relation of the soil and its elements to crop growing, and to understand how the processes of nature may be influenced and aided by man. By means of the experiments described and suggested, every student can use to advantage the great laboratory of nature. It is believed that the full experiments and exercises on every topic, the orderly arrangement of subjects, the clear chapter outlines, and the full index make this book especially valuable for class-room use. The appendix supplies useful tables and sug- gestions for supplementary study of special subjects. No pains has been spared to make the illustrations really illustrate the text, and thus add to the value as well as to the attractiveness of the book. The authors and publishers desire to make acknowledgment to the Department of Agriculture, Washington, D.C., for the use of numerous illustrations belonging to it. For photographs, information, and other assistance, thanks are due to Professor W. B. Alwood, Miss S. B. Sipe, to many persons connected with the Department of Agriculture, and to the directors of various State Agricultural Experiment Stations, 3 SUGGESTIONS TO TEACHERS 1. Discuss with pupils the topic assigned for study in the text-book, so as to excite their interest. 2. Collect beforehand materials needed for experiments to illustrate each topic. 3. Ask pupils to perform experiments and bring specimens to illustrate the sub- ject under discussion. 4. Encourage pupils to observe good and bad methods of farming; make with them excursions to observe special crops and methods. 5. Have a school garden-aiid make use of it for experiment and illustration. Each child should work in the garden, and if possible each one should have a plot for the care of which he is responsible. 6. Write to your State Agricultural Experiment Station for information and bulletins, and to the Department of Agriculture for bulletins and seeds. 7. In addition to the text-book, each pupil should have a notebook, in which he keeps a neat pen-and-ink record of experiments, of work in school garden, and of supplementary work and reading. 8. Each pupil should have also a drawing book, a hard pencil, a soft pencil, and an eraser. He should illustrate each topic as fully as possible with copies from pic- tures and with drawings from objects. This exercise teaches habits of careful and accurate observation. 9. For work in the garden, each child needs a light hoe and a ten- or twelve- tooth rake, and a string with which to lay off straight rows. 10. In performing experiments to illustrate the text, the teacher will find the follow- ing articles useful : an alcohol lamp, three straight lamp chimneys, three small glass tubes of different sizes, a set of iron soil sieves, two grain sieves, a dozen six-inch flower pots U'ith saucers, three thermometers, an eight-ounce graduated glass, blue litmus paper, a dozen heavy glass tumblers, a dozen large-mouth bottles, seeds and cuttings of common plants, a collection of crop plants and weeds and insects, and the few chemicals mentioned in the text. If these articles are unavailable, the teacher need not be discouraged. Common seeds and plants, some bottles, wooden and pasteboard boxes, and old tin cans furnish material for interesting experiments. CONTENTS PAGE Outline of Chapter One 7 Chapter One. — The Soil Formation of the Soil 9 Farm Soils ............ 1 6 Soil Moisture 22 Soil Ventilation 27 Soil Temperature .28 Composition of the Soil 29 Outline of Chaiter Two 33 Chapter Two. — The Plant From Seed to Seed ........... 35 Differences in the Parts of Plants 46 Plant Food -54 Plant Reproduction from Buds ...... -5^ Transplanting ....... ... 62 Plant Reproduction from Seeds ..... . . 65 Plant Improvement 73 Outline of Chapter Three 77 Chapter Three. — Soil Improvement General .... . . .... 81 Drainage ............. 86 Irrigation . 90 Tillage 93 Crop Rotation 100 Green Manures ; Legumes and Soil Inoculatian . . . 108 Stable Manure . . . 112 Commercial Fertilizers . . . . . . . . . 'I'S Outline of Chaffer Four 123 Chapter Four. — Field, Orchard, and Garden Crops Crop Raising ............ 127 Forage Crops . . . . . . . . . . . . '33 Corn, Wheat, and Other Cereals ........ 140 Cotton, and Other Fiber Plants 153 5 CONTENTS Tobacco Sugar-producing Plants The Orchard and its Care The Vegetable Garden ■ The Flower Garden . Outline of Chapter Five Chapter Five. — Crop Enemies and Friends Weeds ... . . Fungous Diseases ..... Insect Enemies ...... Insect Friends . .... Birds Outline of Chapter Six .... Chapter Six. — Domestic Animals Stock Raising Cattle Horses Sheep Goats Hogs . Poultry Bees . Outline of Chapter Seven . Chapter Seven. — Miscellaneous Trees .... Farm Tools Good Roads The Help of Science . School Gardens . Appendix Mixing Fertilizers ...... Formulas for Spraying Preparations Average Digestible Nutrients in American Feeding Stuff's Feeding Standards . . .... List of Farmers' Bulletins ...... State Agricultural Experiment Stations Index , ... PAGE 1 60 164 166 176 184 191 1 98 208 221 224 231 235 245 254 258 262 264 268 274 277 279 287 293 298 301 305 306 309 309 310 312 313 OUTLINE OF CHAPTER ONE THE SOIL Uses of Soil: Root-hold and home for plant Storehouse for water, air, heat, and plant food Soil Makers: Heat and cold Atmosphere Water : Vapor, rain, dew, frost, snow, and ice Living forms : Bacteria, fungi, mosses, higher plants Earthworms, ants, higher animals Classes of Soil: Sedentary, or in place Transported, or carried: By wind By water Alluvial, by streams ; drift, by glaciers Farm Soils: Sandy Clay iLoam Limestone Soil Moisture : Uses of water: Supplies plant food Dissolves and carries plant food Sources of loss : Percolation, or passing through soil spaces 7 i AGRICULTURE Evaporation, or changing from a liquid state to a vapor Transpiration, or giving out, as vapor, from leaves Lack supplied by irrigation Excess removed by drainage Soil Ventilation: Uses of air: Supplies oxygen to plant roots Supplies carbon dioxide for chemical processes Evils of under-ventilation Evils of over-ventilation Soil Temperature : Warmth needed for : Germination of plants Growth of plants Chemical processes and vifork of bacteria Soil warmth affected by: Slope of land Nature of soil Moisture Soil warmed by: Drainage Tillage Manures Composition of Soil: Some metallic elements : ' Iron, calcium, m,agnesium, potassium, sodium, aluminium Some non-metalHc elements : Silicon, sulphur, phosphorus, chlorine, carbon, oxygen, hydro- gen, nitrogen . AGRICULTURE CHAPTER ONE THE SOIL FORMATION OF THE SOIL Soil. — We are now to consider the processes by which Nature brings forth harvests from the soil, and the ways in which man can aid and direct her work. What, in the first place, is the soil? It is the thin layer of surface earth which covers our globe. It is composed of fine particles of rock, mixed with matter formed by the decay of plants and animals. Its thickness is measured by feet, often by inches. Below it for many miles extends the solid earth-crust. Probably you are familiar with some place where a river or road has cut its way through a hill. There you can examine the layers of the earth-crust. On the top you find grass or weeds or trees. Below that is the soil, which is generally dark in color ; gradually this changes into the subsoil, which is harder and usually lighter . colored. Under that there is a layer of rock. Importance and Uses of Soil. — Compared with the size of the earth, the soil is no more than a film of dust on an orange. Yet it is this film, this surface-layer, this earth-dust, which gives us the fragrant beauty of the rose, the grateful shade of the oak, the whole- some food of the com. Without it, plant and animal life could not 10 AGRICULTURE exist. It supplies a root-hold and home for plants. It is a store- house for the water, air, and heat which they need. It is a manu- factory, too, in which forces and organisms are at work changing matter into forms that plants can use for food. Formation of Earth-crust. — Have you ever considered how the soil was formed ? We are told that long ago the earth was a fiery mass of matter whirling through space. Gradually it cooled, and as it cooled it hardened into a sphere, or round body. Its surface was a crust of solid rock, surrounded by heavy acid vapors. Bare and lifeless as a ball of iron, it whirled through space. There was no foothold for the tiniest plant, no home for the hum- blest insect. Then God set His servants, the forces of nature, to work to make the barren rock' an abode for plants and animals. Many agencies worked, singly and together. Heat and Cold. — First, there were heat and cold. As you know, heat causes most substances to expand, or grow larger, and cold makes them contract, or grow smaller. As the earth- surface cooled, the rock contracted, cracked, and broke, forming elevations and depressions, or hills and valleys. The cold con- densed the heavy acid vapors surrounding the earth and they de- scended in rain. Continents rose, small at first, but increasing in size as the earth-crust shrank and cracked. The waters flowed in streams through narrow valleys and in deep ones formed lakes, seas, and oceans. Atmosphere. — The atmosphere, or air and gases and vapors around the earth, worked slowly but constantly. It crumbled the earth-surface and bore the rock-dust from one place to another. Water. — The greatest part of the soil-making, however, was done by water in its various forms — vapor, rain, dew, frost, snow, and ice. As a gas, a liquid, and a solid, it worked and is still working. During those early days water was busy, — rain and streams Pernii^isiuii oi J^'ure.stry .Service Wa'1 er at Work The Rapids of the Cutawba Rivur in North Carolina. 12 AGRICULTURE Lichens on, a Rock wearing down the rocks, ice breaking them, frost crumbling them, making the particles fine and ever finer. Fungi, Lichens, and Mosses. — Even before the rocks were ground and crumbled, there arose simple forms of vegetable life, fun'gi, ll'chens, and mosses. They drew soine food from the air, and dissolved and absorbed other food from the rock. Their decay add- ed to the rock- dust the material gathered from the air. This formed soil. It was poor and shallow at first, able to nourish only fungi, mosses, and other simple forms of life. But countless generations of low forms of plants and animals deepened and enriched the soil. Higher and yet higher, forms succeeded. Untiringly, unrestingly, worked the forces of nature, so slowly that at the end of a year or a century little advance was visible, but so surely that the earth became a fair garden spot, rich in vegetable and animal life. Classes of Soils. — According to their origin, soils are divided into two classes, s6d'en ta ry and trans port'ed. Sedentary Soils. — Sedentary soils, or soils in place, are those that rest upon the rock from which they were formed. The soil differs from the rock in being- fine, loose, and porous, so as to admit air, water, and roots. It is crumbled rock, subjected to the action of plant and animal organisms and mixed with matter formed by their decay. Transported Soils. — But all soils do not rest upon the rocks from which they were formed. Many have been transported, or THE SOIL 13 carried, and deposited hundreds of miles from tlie j)arent rock. The two chief soil-transporters are wind and water. Wind as Soil-transporter. — I'r()l)ablv aou have seen snow whirled along and heaped up by a gust of wind. In the same way the winds gather up soil and bear it along wherever ' it is loose and unprotected b}' vegetation. In the Desert of Sahara there Saxii IIii.ls in the Dksekt ok Sahara are sand drifts larger and deeper than snowdrifts cA'cr arc in New England. Wind shifts sand on the seashore and along the lakes, but it is not an important soil-trans[)orter in many parts of our country. Water as Soil-transporter. — The world's great soil-transporter is water. The rain is constantly carrying soil from hills to xal- levs. Streams are constantly bearing it along and depositing it on their banks. Have you noticed a brook after a sudden summer shower? The water, usually as clear as cr}-stal, is dark with mud; it rushes along, bearing particles of soil and even gravel and stones. Suppose )-ou take a glassful of this muddy water and let it stand a few hours. The water will be clear again, but at the 14 AGRICULTURE On the left is a glass of muddy water; on the right is the same a few hours later, showing sediment. bottom of the glass will be a sediment of mud. This is soil which the rain washed down into the brook. The amount in one glass of water is small, but think how much the brook and all the other streams transport. Where a rolling field is un- drained and badly tilled, every rain steals some of its fertil- ity; later you will learn how a farmer can protect his land against such thefts. Alluvial Soils. — Streams bear down to the ocean a vast amount of soil, but far less than they get from the hillsides. Like greedy children, they take more than they want and have to leave part. They drop it in shallows and leave it along the banks. This material, deposited by water, forms al iQ'vi al soils. They are usually fertile loams, rich in organic matter. Egypt, ' the gift of the Nile,' is formed of soil brought from distant mountains by heavy rainfalls and floods. So Louisiana is the gift of the Mississippi. The sediment which forms its fertile soil has been brought hundreds of miles by the river. Each year the Mississippi carries to the ocean enough soil to cover two hundred and sixty-eight square miles with a layer one foot deep. Drill Soils. — Most of the soil of America in the great area north of the thirty-ninth parallel is a transported soil. It was formed, not by streams of water, but by gla'ciers, or streams of ice. The Glacial Period. — Thousands of years ago, the climate in the region north of the equator became very cold. There came a long, long winter which destroyed plant and animal life. Snow fell until it was hundreds and thousands of feet deep. This formed a glacier. TJIK SOIL 15 a mass of ice many hundreds of feet thick. It extended from the Arctic regions southward to central Pennsylvania and from New England to the Rocky Mountains, co\'cring two thirds of North America. The glacier moved far more slowly than does water, but its grinding and transporting power was much greater. It wore down hills and tilled up vallevs. Like a giant millstone, it ground rocks to powder. At last it melted, depositing a layer of soil. A Greenland Glacier The ice-mass is darkened by soil and rock waste. The rounded pebbles and rocks liave been transijorled hundreds of miles and deposited by the melting glacier. Soils of the United States. — The underlying surface rock of the northern part of the United States is chielly sandstone; had the soil been formed from lliis, it would haA'e been thin and poor. The soil formed b}' the glacial deposit is usually deep and fertile, being formed by the grinding and mixing of a \ariety of rocks. l6 AGRICULTURE The soils of New England are nearly all drift or alluvial; those of the Southern states are alluvial or sedentary. Soil Fertility. — Left to the processes of nature, as a rule, soil becomes more fertile, more productive, year by year. Is this the case when it is cultivated by man ? It ought to be. Good farming maintains and increases the fertility of soil. This fertility, or productive power, is well termed ' the farmer's capital.' If his methods are good, he preserves and increases the fertihty of his land. He draws a large interest in good crops, and adds to his capital. Thus year by year he and his farm are enriched. If his methods are bad, his crop lessens his capital; every year his farm grows poorer, and so does he. Methods in America. — There are to-day in the United States thousands of acres of ' worn out ' land which fifty years ago were cultivated fields and a hundred years ago were forests. On the other hand, there are thousands of acres which industry and skill have reclaimed from barrenness and made productive. EXPERIMENTS 1. Put some clean stones in water. Let the water freeze and then expose it to heat. Repeat several times and then examine it. What causes the sediment at the bottom ? 2. Scrape lichens from a stone. Compare it with a freshly brolien rock. Notice how the lichen-covered stone is marked and furrowed. Why is this ? 3. Stir into a pint of clear water as much clay as 'it will dissolve. Let it settle, and then measure the sediment. What does this show as to the soil-bearing power of water? FARM SOILS Let us examine three substances which we may regard as the basis of soils. These three substances are sand, clay, and hii'mus. THE SOIL 17 A knowledge of their properties will enable us to understand more clearly the characteristics, or natural traits, of soils. Sand. — Here is a piece of quartz. If you pulverize, or powder it, you will have sand. But the rock is so hard that you would find this dif&cult to do ; so we will fill a gill measure with sand, which is rock that has been worn down by natural processes. You observe that the sand is heavy, and that it consists of little hard grains. If you try to press it into shape, the dry grains fall apart. Mix it with some water, noticing how much it will absorb, or hold. You can press the wet sand into shape, but it dries l<:^~iT tA quickly and then falls apart again if you han- ^^^/l^ die it. Now put the sand into a glass half full a piece of quartz of water, and stir it. The particles separate readily, but when you stop stirring they sink quickly to the bottom of the glass. Soon the water will be clear again. The dry sand does not stick to your fingers, and you can easily rub off the wet particles. Clay. — Now take a piece of potter's clay. It is so much softer than quartz that we can, without difficulty, grind it to powder. Let us fill a gill measure with this powder, and exam- ine and test it as we did the sand. We find that it is light in weight. Instead of feeling hard, it is soft to the touch; that is because the particles composing it are very small. If you squeeze it in your hand, it takes the* imprint of your fingers. Mix it with water. You find that it absorbs much more than did the sand, and that you can mold it into any shape you wish. It does not dissolve readily in water, and when it does dissolve, it settles very slowly, leaving the water discolored a long time. You find that the wet clay is sticky, and even the dry clay adheres to your fingers and soils them. i8 AGRICULTURE Differences between Sand and Clay. — What have we learned, from these experiments with sand and clay ? We have found that sand is heavier in weight than clay; it is composed of small, hard grains which do not adhere closely; it holds little water, settles quickly in water, and is not sticky. We have learned that clay consists of very small particles which adhere closely; it holds much water, does not settle quickly in water, and is sticky. These dif- ferences are largely the result of one thing, a difference in texture. The texture of sand or clay, like that of cloth, depends upon the size of its particles and their relation to one an- other. We say of clay, as of muslin, that its texture is ' fine ' and ' close,' — that is, its particles are small and near together; we say of sand, as of bagging, that its texture is 'coarse' and 'loose,' — that is, its particles are large and far apart. Humus. — But let us look at the dark-colored substance called humus, which we place in a third gill measure. Humus is not formed, as are sand and clay, by the breaking down of rocks; it is formed by the decay of vegetable matter. You observe that humus is light in weight, lighter than 'clay and much lighter than sand. It is soft to the touch, because its particles are very fine. It absorbs a great deal of water and dries very slowly. Its capacity for absorbing and holding water and heat is a very important quality of humus. Although humus is soft to the touch, it is not sticky like clay, and it does not ' bake,' or dry hard. Effect of Humus on Sand and Clay. — Now let us divide this humus and add half to the sand and half to the clay. We find that Soil Particles, magnified 162 TIMES THE SOIL 19 it modifies the qualities of both; it binds together the particles of sand and enables it to hold more moisture; it makes the clay less adhesive or sticky, and keeps it from baking when it dries. Farm Soils. — Let us see the application to agricultural soils of these facts about sand, clay, and humus. A farmer will tell you that the four chief classes of soils are sandy, clay, loam, and limestone. These are the most important and most widely distributed. Later, you will learn their special adaptations to crop plants and how their qualities may be modified and improved. Sandy Soil. — A sandy soil is made up largely of sand. Farmers call such a soil ' light,' although it is the heaviest in weight. The term is applied to its working quality. It is fight and easy to work, because its particles do not adhere closely. It is so open in texture that air and water pass freely through it; thus it recovers quickly from rain and can be worked early in the spring. Clay Soil. — A clay soil contains large quantities of clay. It differs from sandy land in the fineness and relations of its particles; though it is lighter in weight than sand, farmers call a clay soil ' heavy ' because it is heavy or hard to work. This is due to the fact that its particles adhere closely. Water, air, and heat do not penetrate it readily, but it has great power to absorb and retain moisture. Heavy winter rains make it wet and cold, so that it cannot be worked until late in the sprmg. If plowed too wet, it runs into a sticky mass and bakes when dry. If plowed too dry it breaks in hard clods. Loam. — Loam is composed of a mixture of sand, clay, and humus. According to the quantity of sand or clay, it is called a ' sandy loam ' or a ' clay loam.' Loam is easy to work. Its porous texture enables air and water to penetrate it readily, and its humus enables it to retain water and heat. Limestone Soil. — A limestone soil is one derived from fimestone 20 AGRICULTURE rock. Other things Ix-ing equal, '' hmestonc country is rich coun- try." The soil is generally dr\-, warm, and healthy for stock; and its luxuriant "rowth of i/rass es-iecialh' tits it for stock rais- ing. Alkali Lands. — Al'ka li soils contain larg:.- fleposils of mineral salts which check \-egeiation. The\- are found in dry regions in the western part of the United States, in Egypt, in India, and in other countries. Swamp Soils. — Swamp soils, found in what are or ha\'e been lowlands, contain a large amount of decaying vegetable matter. A SriA'K IN Tin: Dismai, Sw'.ami' The great Dismal Swamp in \'irginia and North Carolina has, by continued deposits of ^-egetable matter, been raised above the sur- face of the surrounding country. THE SOIL 21 EXPERIMENTS 1. Try for yourself the experiments with sand, clay, and humus described on pages i6, 17, and 18. 2. Get specimens of sandy and clay soil and loam. Compare them as to color and weight, and as to size of particles. 3. Make a rack, like the one in the illustration, by boring holes in one side of a box. Get three glass tubes or straight lamp chimneys, tie a cloth over the smaller end of each,' and put in one sand, in one clay, and in one garden loam or wood mold. Set them in the rack with the lower end of each over a glass of water, as illustrated. Pour watc r into them. Through which does it percolate first ; which absorbs most water before it begins to drip ; which takes longest to become dry ? For this and other experiments it is well to have an eight-ounce grad- uated glass, such as druggists use, in which to measure water. 4. Fill three tubes, as before, with the three kinds of soil. Set them in the rack with the lower end of each in a glass of water. In which tube does water rise most rapidly, and in which does it rise to the greatest height ? 5. What is the character -of the soils of your section? Collect and examine some specimens and write an account of them. Many interesting experiments with soils may be made by the use of a set of soil sieves, which separate particles according to size. Sepa- rate a soil and make the same tests with each of the classes. The differences in power to absorb and retain water are due largely to the differences in size of particles. Illustration of Experiment 3 22 AGRICULTURE SOIL MOISTURE Plants' Need of Water. — The soil is the home of plants, the storehouse of their food. We know that it is necessary to the growth of crops, and yet it is not necessary to plant life. A seed, such as Indian corn, will sprout in water. If there be added to the water certain substances which it needs for food, the plant will continue to grow and flourish without soil. Uses of Water. — But no plant will grow in any soil without moisture, ^Moisture is needed to make the seed ger'min ate, or sprout ; the plant can take its food from the soil only in a liquid form. Water dissolves plant food, conveys it to the roots, bears it through the stem and branches to the leaves, where it is prepared for food; thence it is carried where it is needed in the structure of the plant. An enormous quan- tity of water is re- quired for these purposes. A twenty- five-bushel crop of wheat uses over five hundred tons of water during its season of growth. Where does the wheat get this water ? The amount is far in excess of the usual rainfall during 1. In this tube is showti the amount of water required to wet the pebbles in the glass. B. In this tube is shown the amount of water re- quired to wet the sand made by crushing the pebbles in .-/. THE SOIL 23 its growing season. Some it gets from the air, but for the greater portion it depends upon its storehouse, the soil. Soil Water. — If you dig down into the soil, you find it moist below the dry surface, even when there has not been rain for sev- eral days. Each particle of this moist soil is surrounded by a film of water. Around these particles is air. The finer the particles of soil, the more numerous are the water films and the air spaces. Fine-grained clay can contain three or four times as much water and air as can coarse-grained sand. Careful experiments prove that under average weather condi- tions there is in twelve inches of well-tilled loam about four thousand barrels of water to the acre. Near or far below the surface, a depth is reached where the soil spaces are filled with water instead of air. This is called the ' water table.' The water in the soil is always in motion. Sometimes it is drawn downward by the force of grav'i ty. Sometimes it is drawn upward by the force of cap'il lar'i ty. Gravity. — Gravity is the tendency of particles or bodies toward a center of attraction. It is this force which makes the apple fall and which makes the rain sink into the wet earth. Coarse, sandy soils offer little resistance to grav- ity and allow water to sink freely, but fine clay soils hinder its action. If this force worked alone, all water would sink into the earth out capiiiary water held of reach of plant roots. t>«*™==" r™, ^°'i '^ . . grams, greatly en- Capillarity. —The force of gravity is counter- ,^,.ggj acted by the force of capillarity, or cap'il la ry attraction. Capillarity causes a fluid to ascend through a porous substance; it makes oil rise in the lamp wick, ink in the blotter. 24 AGRICULTURE water in the soil. A coarse, sandy soil has httle power to lift water by capillarity, because its particles are so far apart. In a clay soil, on the other hand, the particles are so close together that they hinder capillary movement. Capillarity works best in soils of medium texture. Soil Loss of Water. — The soil loses water in three ways, — by per co la'tion, by trans pi ra'tion, and by e vap o ra'tion. Percolation. — By percolation water passes through the soil, and is carried by the force of gravity out of reach of plant roots. This loss is greatest in coarse, loose soils. They need to be kept compact to hold the wa- ter near the surface. Evaporation. — Evaporation is the passing off of moisture into the air as a vapor. If you spill water on the floor, in a little while it dis- appears. It evaporates. Much of the moisture brought to the soil surface by capillarity is removed by evaporation. In hot, dry weather, it removes water faster than capil- The moisture condensed on the glass larity Can Supply it ; that is why the was transpired by tlic plant. c i i i i i surface becomes dry and parched. Transpiration. — Much of the water taken up by plants is returned to the air by transpiration, or being given out through the pores of their leaves. Transpiration is greatest in hot, dry, windy weather. Plants differ greatly in the amount of water which they transpire. Willows, poplars, and other wet-loving trees are like great pumps,' drawing water out of the soil and THE SOIL 25 pouring it into the air. For this reason they are sometimes planted in wet pastures to dry them so that grass will grow there. Care of Soil Moisture. — As agricultural plants need much moisture, farmers in most sections find it important to conserve, or save, and utihze soil moisture as fully as possible. The methods used depend largely on soil, climate, and weather conditions. A soil's water-holding capacity is increased by deep plowing, and by the addition of manures and of humus. Loss by evaporation can b3 checked by stirring the surface so as to form a soil- mulch, or layer of loose soil, an inch or two thick. This sepa- rates the particles so that they cannot lift the moisture from the soil and subsoil to the surface, where it is carried off by evapora- tion. Irrigation. — In some sections the rainfall is scanty or uneven and the ' water table ' is far from the surface. Even when the soil moisture is properly cared for, there is not enough to supply crop needs. This may be the case with soils which are rich in plant food. Are these to be given over to barrenhess ? It has been found wise and practicable to ir'ri gate these lands, — that is, to supply them with water by a system of reservoirs and canals connected with streams. Lands thus reclaimed are often wonderfully productive. There are millions of acres of land in the western part of the United States which need ir ri ga'tion. Drainage. — While some soils are barren for lack of water, others are useless for agricultural purposes on account of its excess. We have already seen that some plants can live without soil in water supplied with plant food. Does it, then, seem contradictory to say that plants can have too much water ? In fact, it is not that they have too much water, but that they have too little air. Plants, like animals, need ox'y gen, and this oxygen they take in chiefly through their roots. Like animals, they are drowned and die if deprived 26 AGRICULTURE of air. Some air reaches the roots of plants in water, but it is excluded from close, saturated soils. You may have seen stunted, sickly-looking stalks of corn in a marshy place, while near by on better-drained land were large, thrifty plants. In wet land, the roots' supply of air is so limited that growth is stunted. Certain plants, such as rice, are adapted to saturated soils, as fish are to water. But most agricultural plants need well-drained soil. There are millions of acres of land in the United States which need drainage to make them productive. EXPERIMENTS I. Fill a glass with gravel or small pebbles and pour into it as much water as is needed to wet them, — that is, to form water films around each one without leaving any free, or standing, water. Crush the pebbles as _ fine as you can so as to form a coarse sand, and see how much water is required to wet this. Which requires more water, the pebbles or the sand, and why? 2. Put a layer of gravel in a pan and then fill it with water. Put in this three glass tubes of different sizes, supported in a rack or frame. Notice that the smaller the tube is, the higher the water rises. Thus water rises higher through small soil spaces than through large ones. 3. Repeat experiments 3 force causes water to descend Illustration of Experiment 2 and 4 described on page 21. What in the soil ? \Miat force causes it to rise ? 4. Put a plant with long roots in a bottle nearly full of water. Put paper around the stem and cover it with paraffin so as to make the bottle air-tight. j\f easure the height of the water and weigh the whole. Meas- THE SOIL 27 ure and weigh it again in one week, and in two weeks. What has be- come of the water ? 5. Fill two glass jars with moist, well-packed soil. Smooth the surface of one and let it form a crust. Keep the second covered to the depth of an inch with loose soil. Weigh. At the end of a week, weigh again and examine the condition of the soil in each. SOIL VENTILATION Uses of Air. — As has been already said, it is as important to admit air to the soil as to remove surplus water. Few plants can flourish unless air is admitted to their roots. The air is of benefit in several ways. Plants need the oxygen to breathe ; the car'bon di ox'ide works in the soil, preparing plant food. Under-ventilated Soils. — There is a great dif- ference in the natural ventilation, or airing, of soils. Stiff clay soils are poorly ventilated. They are so compact, or close, that they do not admit the air freely; in wet seasons or regions the water stands and chokes the air soil particles spaces. Such soils need drainage. As water ^^° spaces is drawn out, air is drawn in by suction. Drainage allows roots to penetrate deeper and range more freely; these roots open channels for water and air. Tillage, or cultivation, also helps ventilate the soil. Over-ventilated Soils. — On the other hand, coarse, sandy soils are often too thoroughly ventilated. Air and water pass freely through and carry away plant food; because of this loss of plant food, sandy land is often poor. Such a soil needs to be kept firm, except for a soil-mulch to protect it against loss of moisture by evaporation. 28 AGRICULTURE EXPERIMENTS I. Put in each of two bottles of water a cutting of wandering jew, or some other easily rooted plant. Pour melted wax into one bottle, so as to cover the surface of the water and exclude air. What is the result? 2. Put a flourishing plant in a tin can of fertile earth. Keep it flooded with water and notice the result. ' SOIL TEMPERATURE Conditions affecting Climate. — Soil temperature, or its condition with re- gard to heat and cold, is determined To the cutting on the left, air is freely , . >, i >• /-.i- admitted; it is excluded from that- chiefly by climate. Climate, you know, on the right by melted wax poured is affcctcd by many things, — neamess over the surface of the water. , , i , i • i . to the ocean, ocean currents, height above sea level, distance from the equator, prevailing winds, and the presence or absence of forests. Conditions affecting Soil Temperature. — But there is often difference in the temperature of soils exposed to the same climate. The slope of land affects its warmth. A field that slopes to the south receives more of the sun's heat waves than one inclining to the north, and so is warmer. Color affects temperature. A dark soil is warmer than a light one, as a black dress is warmer than a white one; the dark color absorbs more heat waves. A wet soil is colder than a dry one. Many of the heat waves which fall on wet land are spent in evaporating its surplus water; the heat waves on a dry soil are used to raise its temperature. You have probably had a personal experience which illustrates this. Were you ever caught in the rain and compelled to remain awhile in your wet clothes ? It may ha\'e been summer, but unless you THE SOIL 29 kept yourself warm by exercise, you became chilled. This was because the heat which would have kept your body comfortable was being used to evaporate the water from your clothes. EXPERIMENTS 1. Take three boxes of the same size and fill one with dry sand, one with dry clay, and one with dry loam. In each insert a thermometer to a depth of two inches. Take the temperature at 9 a.m. Set the boxes in the sunshine and take the temperature at 12 m. Put in the shade and take the temperature at 4 p.m. What differences do you notice? 2. Put a cupful of dry sand, one of wet sand, and one of water on a warm stove. Which becomes warm first and which last ? Why ? 3. Take the temperature at midday of the soil two inches below the surface in a wet, undrained field and in a well-drained field. What difference do you find ? Explain the reason. COMPOSITION OF THE SOIL Elements. — We are apt to think of the objects around us as simple substances, but this is seldom the case. Plants, animals, the soil, and even most rocks are made up of several elements, or simple substances. These are mixed and combined in different ways so as to produce very different results. Strange as it seems, it is none the less true, that our bodies, a blade of grass, and the dust under our feet are composed of almost the same elements. Chem- ists have proved this by separating these compound substances into the simple ones composing them. As the farmer measures wheat and the grocer weighs flour, so the chemist 'measures and weighs the elements of the soil, air, and water, of plant and anirrial bodies. Elements as Plant Food. — Although we may neyer wish to separate and examine them as does the chemist, it is well for us to know something about these elements. We are interested in the 30 AGRICULTURE earth-crust as the source of plant food, and it is these which supply that food. In Nature's vast storehouse, most of the elements needed by plants are placed within their reach, in bountiful quantities, but sometimes one or more are lacking. The farmer who under- stands this subject can supply the needed elements, and by thus feeding his crop — or fertilizing it, as we say — can increase its yield. Let us consider, then, some of the elements in the earth-crust. Metallic Elements. — Six important elements of the soil are metaUic, — iron, cal'ci um, mag ne'si um, po tas'si um, so'di um, and al u min'i um. Iron is an important element everywhere abundant. It forms from one to four per cent of the soil. Calcium is a yellowish metal. It is found in limestone. Magnesium is a hard, white metal. Potassium is a soft, whitish metal. With ox'y gen it forms p5t'ash, which is a compound of great importance in agriculture. Sodium is a soft, light metal, resembling potassium in appearance. Aluminium is a hard, white metal, like silver in appearance. Nonmetallic Elements. — The most important and abundant nonmetallic elements of the soil are sil'i con, stil'phur, phos'- phor us, chlo'rine, oxygen, hy'dro gen, ni'tro gen, and car'bon. Silicon is the second most abundant element in the earth's crust, of which it forms from one fourth to one third. Sulphur is a pale yellow substance. Phosphorus is a soft, yellowish substance. It is usually found in small quantities in the soil, and its lack is soon felt by plants. Chlorine is a gas of yellowish green color and disagreeable odor. Oxygen is a colorless gas, the most plentiful element in nature. It forms one half of the earth-crust, one fifth of the air, and eight ninths of the water. THE SOIL 31 Hydrogen is another colorless gas, the lightest known substance. United with oxgyen it forms water, one of the most important and abundant compounds in nature. Without water, plant and ani- mal life cannot exist. Nitrogen is a colorless gas which forms four fifths of the air. It is necessary to both plants and animals. Carbon, which exists in the earth-crust in three forms, is found in plants and animals, often in large quantities. Plants, however, get little carbon from the soil. They take most of their supply from the carbon dioxide of the air, a gas formed by the union of oxygen and carbon. Compotinds. — Few of these elements are found separate, or free, in the soil. Usually they are combined to form compounds. Oxygen takes part in more compounds than any other ele- ment; it unites readily with almost all other elements. Nitrogen, on the other hand, takes part in very few compounds. We have learned that nitrogen is necessary to both plants and animals, but neither animals nor the higher plants have the power of using free nitrogen^ — that is, nitrogen uncombined with other elements. How, then, do they get their supply ? Animals get theirs from plants, upon which they feed directly or indirectly. The nitrogen in the soil or the air is prepared for plant use by httle organisms, called bac te'ri a, of which you will learn more later. Fertile and Sterile Soils. — The particles of the earth-crust have been so mixed and combined by wind and water, by plants and ani'^ mals, and by chemical action, that practically the same elements enter into the composition of all soils. A sterile soil is composed of the same elements as a fertile one. The fertile soil, however, contains all the elements necessary for plant food in sufficient quan- tity and in available forms, — -that is, in forms which plants can use. Some elements, such as aluminium, are not used by plants for 32 AGRICULTURE that one food. Others, such as chlorine, do not seem necessary to plant life; most plants flourish without them. Others, such as iron, are so abundant that even the poorest soils are well supplied. Elements sometimes Lacking. — There are three elements which are necessary for plant food and which are sometimes lacking in the soil or are found in forms which plants cannot use. These three are potassium, phosphorus, and nitro- gen. More rarely, calcium is lacking. If the soil lacks any one element must be supplied. Without it a crop will not thrive, although all others may be abundant. The case is like that of a painter who is making a picture and needs several colors. He cannot paint his picture if you give him much blue paint and no yellow, when he needs some blue and some yellow. So Nature must have all her materials, the elements needed for crop growing. Now, it is the farmer's aim to get from his soil the largest crop possible at the least possible cost. In order to do this he must know what his land needs and how to supply it in the most eco- nomical way. It is here that chemistry comes to his aid, as will be explained in the chapter on Soil Improvement. EXPERIMENT Take two ounces of pure sand and two ounces of rich wood mold. Heat each over an alcohol lamp and weigh again. The organic matter has been burned off ; what remains is inorganic matter derived from the rock. What difference is there between the sand and the mold ? The buckwheat plant on the left is supplied with every element needed except potash ; the plant on the right is supplied \vith potash also. OUTLINE OF CHAPTER TWO THE PLANT Parts of a Plant : Seed Root Stem : Branches, twigs Leaves Blossoms : Calyx, — sepals Corolla, — petals Stamen, — filament, anther, pollen Pistil,^ — stigma, style, ovary Duration of Plants : Annual Biennial Perennial Differences in the Parts of Plants : Roots : Taprooted, fibrous Stems : Upright, climbing, prostrate Blossoms : Perfect, imperfect Pollen carried by wind, by insects Seeds : Scattered by plant, by wind, by animals Plant Food : Air-derived elements : Carbon, oxygen, hydrogen, nitrogen indirectly through soil Necessary soil-derived elements : Iron, calcium, magnesium, potassium, phosphorus, sulphur 33 34 AGRICULTURE Plant Reproduction from Buds : Layering Cutting Grafting Budding Transplanting: Rules for success : Choose suitable season and weather Transplant young plants Do not injure the roots "Prune the tops, if necessary Set firmly in moist soil Set no shallower and little deeper than they grew originally Use a mulch of straw, leaves, or loose earth Plant Reproduction from Seeds: How to obtain good seed : Select from plants in the field Consider each plant as a whole Choose vigorous, productive plants having desired qualities Select large, vigorous seed Dry them carefully Store them in a cool, dry place Examine seeds for purity and test as to vitality How to Plant Seeds : Depth Soil condition Time Plant Improvement: Underlying principles : Heredity, variation, selection Methods : Selection of seeds or buds, cultivation, crossing, hybridizing CHAPTER TWO THE PLANT FROM SEED TO SEED Seed and Plant. — Herfe is a seed, grayish green and fuzzy. Have you seen one like it before ? If not, this seed brings to your mind only a vague, general idea. You know that under favorable conditions it will produce a plant, something green and living. If you are familiar with this seed, you know just what kind of plant it will be, and how it will grow. It will be weak at first, and rather clumsy-looking when its crumpled seed leaves push through the soil. But it will grow strong and graceful, and throw out spreading branches like a tiny maple tree. It will become perhaps two feet, perhaps six feet, tall. It will put forth buds called ' squares' ; then pretty cream-colored blossoms, changing with age to rosy pink; then fruit called ' bolls.' The bolls, at first green, will grow larger and turn brown. When ripe, they will open and yield a harvest of soft white fiber, the cotton of which our clothing is made. All this li,es infolded in this grayish green, fuzzy seed. If the question be asked, " For what does the farmer grow the cotton plant? " you answer readily, " For the sake of its fiber." You know that, because his chief care is to save and use it. But if you are asked why Nature raises the cotton plant, you find it more difficult to answer. It is not for the graceful plant, nor the pretty blossoms, nor the soft fiber. She lets all these return to the soil. One thing she saves and uses, — the seeds inwrapped in the fiber, the seeds which bring forth new plants. 35 36 AGRICULTURE Cotton Plant. — Let us follow in detail the life history of a cotton plant. It is a pretty and interesting plant, which less than two hundred years ago was grown as an ornament in flower gardens. Now it is one of our chief agricultural crops. It is a good plant with which to begin our study of agricultural plants on account of its perfect and conspicuous blossom, its regular habits of growth. "^ Germinating Cotton ■ Stages of Development and the way in which man has influenced Nature in its develop- ment. Seed Development. — Cut open a cotton seed and examine it carefully. Wrapped in a hard covering or hull are a germ, or minute plant, and food to support the plant until it can put forth roots and get food for itself from the soil. How can we help the little plant come forth from the seed ? It must have help from outside. We know that we may keep seeds year after year, and they never develop into plants. To make THE PLANT 37 them germinate, they need three things, — moisture and warmth and air. Let us supply these. Put some cotton seed in a flower- pot filled with fertile soil. Keep it moist and warm, and your seeds will germinate and develop into plants. In the soil, however, you cannot watch the development as you would like to do. For this purpose, let us use a glass. Fill it with soil, and plant cotton seed next to the glass. Fasten paper or cloth around the outside, to exclude the light ; keep the soil moist, and the glass in a warm place. The seeds will germinate more quickly if they are soaked twenty-four hours before they are planted. How Plants Grow. — As a seed absorbs moisture, it .swells. Then it puts forth a tiny shoot, the first root ; from the other end of this, after a while, it puts forth the beginning of the stem. The first tiny shoot turns downward into the soil, never by any chance making a mistake and growing upward. The stem goes upward into the air and sunlight as surely as the root goes downward into the soil and darkness. We said that the store of nourishment in the seed enables the plant to put forth its root and stem. But that store is soon ex- hausted, and the little plant must get food for itself. This is, in part, the work of the root. How Plants Feed. — The cotton plant has what is called a tap- root, a long, straight main root. From this grow branch roots, which divide and subdivide into rootlets, from the ends of which grow hundreds and thousands of root hairs. These are like tiny hands reaching out for water and food. Plant Food from Soil. — But what is plant food ? Why, it is the elements of which you learned in the chapter about The Soil. Some of these elements — nitrogen, sulphur, phosphorus, potas- sium, calcium, magnesium, and iron, in compounds which the 38 AGRICULTURE plant can use : — are dissolved in the films of water which, as you learned, surround soil particles. Osmosis. — But the roots have no mouths or openings through which to take in food. How, then, do they get it ? The root hairs take it in by os mo'sis. That is the scientific name for the passing of substances through a membrane, or layer of covering tissue. By a simple experiment you can observe the working of this force. _- Fill a small bottle with a sirup made of sugar and water, and tie over the mouth a piece of softened bladder or the membrane of the white of an egg. Invert this bottle in a glass con- taining clear water. In a little while the water will be sweetened by The bottle on the left and the glass on the right contain sirup; observe how the membrane covering the bottle is pushed out on the left and in on the right by osmosis. the sirup which osmosis causes to pass through the membrane. Re^'erse the experiment, putting clear water in the bottle and sirup in the glass; again the sirup is drawn through the bladder into the water. So, by osmosis, the water containing the dissolved elements passes through the membranes of the root hairs. Do you think that the hungry roots feed at once upon this sap, as it is called? No, it is not yet ready for them. It must be pre- pared for plant use, as our food must be prepared to nourish our bodies. The leaves are often called the stomach of the plant, because it is in them that the sap is prepared for plant food. How Sap Rises. — Do you wonder how the sap gets from the roots to the leaves? Osmosis, capillarity, and transpiration all aid in pumping it up. You can observe for yourself the working THE PLANT 39 of these forces. Take a lily, snowball, or other white flower, and put the stem in a vase of water colored with red ink. The reddened water is drawn up through the stem, and colors the flower. Plant Food from Air. — We know that a plant absorbs food through its roots. This is important and necessary. If you cut off the root, the part of the plant above ground will die for lack of nourishment. But by far the greater part of its food — about ninety-five per cent — is derived from the air. Wonderful it is, yet true, that from the invisible air, to a large extent, the plant builds up its substantial body. The elements derived from the air are carbon, oxygen, hydrogen, and nitrogen. Carbon dioxide, which is carbon and oxygen, is taken in by the leaves. Oxygen and hydrogen, in the form of water, pass down into the soil and are taken in by the roots. The nitrogen, in compounds pre- pared chiefly by bacteria in the soil, also enters through the roots. A Leaf. — Let us examine a leaf under a microscope. It is composed of cells which are as colorless as glass. Stored in these cells is a green coloring matter called chl5'ro phyl, or leaf green, which is formed from iron salts in the sap. Wherever there is greenness in the plant, there is chlorophyl, — in stems and branches, but especially in leaves. Chlorophyl can be formed only in sunlight. That is the reason a plant which grows in a dark place is pale and colorless. How much prettier is the green plant ! But the green coloring matter is not for beauty alone, though we may well believe this is one of the purposes of our Heavenly Father, its Creator. On the leaf, chiefly on the under side, are many little openings or mouths. Through these it takes in the carbon dioxide of the air. By the action of chlorophyl and of sunlight, this gas is sepa- rated into oxygen and carbon. Most of the oxygen is returned to 40 AGRICULTURE the air by the leaf. The carbon is retained for food. But it is not used in its pure form. It is united with the oxygen and hydro- gen of the sap to make starch and sugar. These substances form plant food. All parts of the plant — stem, branches, leaves, and root — are nourished by food formed in the leaf laboratory from elements gathered from the soil and the air. Need of Sunlight. — The two processes, the formation of chlo- rophyl and the changing of carbon, oxygen, and hydrogen into starch and sugar, cannot take place without sunlight. The plant is like a machine run by a motor, the sun. All parts of the machine may be perfect and in readiness, but their work does not proceed unless the motor is in action. Need of Water. — Leaves perform other work besides taking ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^_ in and preparing food. It POTATOES i,7?8 POUNDS rcqulres a great deal more ^ ■ water to carry food from i.aoe POUNDS 753 POUNDS ^^^^^^^ the roots to the leaves than 1.049 POUNDS is needed by the plant in its " growth. The surplus water is transpired, or given out, Amount of water used, in producing one pound of , ^^^ ^^ ^^^ ^^ ^^_ dry matter ■' ' turned to the air. Experi- ments prove that a plant uses several hundred pounds of water in forming one pound of dry matter. Most plants thrive best when they have mXich sunshine and fre- quent showers. In wet seasons, they suffer for want of sunlight ; in dry ones, they lack water. The cotton plant is a native of the tropics, and it loves warmth and sunshine. It does not thrive in cold, wet weather. Sap. — The food prepared in the leaves goes to all parts of the cotton plant. It passes through the soft, iibrous layer called the THE PLANT 41 cam'bi um, which is between the hard outer bark and the woody stem. It is diffused throughout the plant, and causes the cells which compose it to increase in size and in number, — that is, it causes the plant to grow. Cells. — If you ex- amine the stem, leaves, and roots of a cotton plant under a micro- scope, you find that they are made up of many parts of differ- ent shapes and sizes. These parts are called cells. Old cells con- tain water and air; in young, active ones, there are water and a jellylike substance called pro'to plasm. This is a very wonder- ful substance. The wisest men cannot tell you what life is, but by long and patient study they have learned that the life of a plant or an animal exists in this substance called protoplasm. Plants of a low order, such as the bacteria of which you will Bud and Blossom of the Cotton Plant 42 AGRICULTURE learn more later, consist of a single cell, a simple wall containing protoplasm. But plants of a higher order, such as the cotton plant, consist of many cells, connected more or less firmly. Flower. — Week after week passes. The lea\es and branches of our cotton plant grow larger, and new ones are formed. It puts forth buds. These open into pale yellow blossoms. The pretty, graceful flowers are a delight to the eye. Of these, also, we feel that beauty is one of their purposes, though not their chief one. Let us examine one of these blossoms carefully. We find that it has four parts. These parts are made up of leaves changed in form to adapt them to the special work that they ha^'e to do. Calyx. — There is a cup- shaped green covering at the base of the blossom. This is called the ca'lyx. You will observe that this calyx is five-parted. These parts are called se'pals. In some plants the sepals are separate leaves ; in others., as in the cotton, they grow together. The calyx is usually, but not always, green. Corolla. — The blossom cup is called the co rol'la. The corolla, like the calyx, is separated into fi-.-e parts joined at the base. The parts of the corolla are called pSt'als. Often, as in the cot- ton blossom, the corolla is more delicate in texture than the leaves and is different from them in color. The calyx and the corolla are the most showy parts of the blossom, yet they are only cover- ings for the necessary parts, the organs in the center. CoTioN Blossom Outside, showing calyx ; inside, showing stamen and pistil. THE PLAxNT 43 Stamens. — Next to the corolla are the organs called sta'mens. Each stamen is composed of three parts : the fil'a ment, which is the stem; a knob on the end of the iilament, called the an'ther; and the fine dust in the anther, called the pol'len. This dust is yellow in the cotton and in most other plants. Pistil. — In the center of the flower is an organ called the pis'til. Like the stamen, a complete pistil is made up of three parts. The enlarged top is called the stig'ma. Below this is a stem called the style. This connects the stigma with the enlarged base of the pistil, called the o'va ry. The ovary contains the 6'vules, which later form the seeds. A grain of pollen dust falls on the stigma and puts out a thread finer than the finest thread of a spider's web. This grows through the style into the ovary, carrying life to the ovules. The ovules are then said to be fertil- ized. If pollen dust fails to reach the stigma, the ovules are not fertilized and they do not mature into seeds. Boll and Seeds. — After a day or two, the corolla of the cotton plant turns pink. Then it shrivels and falls. The ovary develops into the fruit, or boll, containing seeds. Larger and larger grows the boll, green at first, then turning brown. When ripe it opens, disclosing locks of soft white fibsr. Wonderful as it seems, this fiber is almost pure carbon, like the coal we burn. It is made by the plant out of the carbon of the air. Its threads, single cells about an inch long, grow on the seeds. The boll has three or five divisions, each con- taining several fiber-covered seeds. To produce these seeds is the An Unopened. Cotton Boll 44 AGRICULTURE life purpose of the plant. As soon as they mature, its work is done. Its roots cease to take in food and water, its leaves cease to manufacture starch and sugar, and the plant dies. Annuals. — This is the life history of an ^n'nu al, such as our agricultural cotton, which lives only one year and produces one crop of seed. Biennials. — Some plants, such as the turnip, do not produce seed the first season. They make a part of their growth one summer, live through the winter, blossom and produce seeds, and die the second year. These plants are called bi en'ni als. Perennials. — There is a third class of plants called per en'ni als, which take still longer to make their growth. They live three or more years, usually growing in the sum- mer and resting in the winter. Perennials often bear many crops of seed; sometimes, as in the case of the oak, they are slow of growth and live many years before they bsgin seed bearing. It is an interesting fact that cotton is by nature a perennial. But the plant that grows in our held is an annual. It has been made so by the work of man. He has used conditions of soil and climate, cul- ture, and fertilizers to shorten its period of growth, and thus change it from a perennial to an annual. Later, we shall learn more of the influence of man on the development of our agricultural plants. An Opened Cotton Boll THE PLANT 45 EXPERIMENTS 1. Get large, simple flowers, such as apple blossoms and morning- glories. Take them apart so as to see the different parts. 2. Examine germs and germ food in seeds. To do this, put large seeds, such as beans or corn, in warm water and let them soak twenty- four hours ; then slip off the outer skin. 3. Plant some grains of corn in moist soil and some in dry soil, and keep both in a warm place. What is the result ? What does this prove as to the requirements for seed germination ? 4. Plant corn in two boxes of moist soil and keep one in a cold place and the other in a warm place. What is the result ? What does this prove that seeds require ? 5. Plant some grains of corn in moist, firm soil and some in wet clay, of which the surface is kept packed and wet so as to exclude air. What is the result ? What does this prove that seeds require ? Experiments 3, 4, and s can be made with seeds put between layers of blotting- paper, which is kept dry, liioist, or saturated with water. 6. Try experiments 3, 4, and 5 with growing plants, and observe the results in each case. 7. Perform the experiment described on page 38 to show the working of osmosis. 8. Put the same amount of water in each of two glasses. In one glass put a branch of clover or some other plant. Examine the two glasses every day for a week. What difference is there in the amount of water in each? What has the plant done with the water? Perform ex- periment 4, page 26. 9. Cover green grass with a small board. What effect has this ' covering on the color and growth of the grass ? Cover a branch of a plant with dark paper so as to exclude light. Examine in three days. What do these experiments prove about chlorophyl ? 10. Pour iodine diluted with water on a piece of cornstarch. You will see that iodine turns starch blue. Take a leaf which has been uncovered, and one which has been covered, as in experiment 9; soak both in alcohol, and then pour diluted iodine on them. What difference is there ? What does this prove that the leaf requires in order to form starch ? 11. Make a list of common farm annuals; biennials; perennials. 46 AGRICULTURE DIFFERENCES IN THE PARTS OF PLANTS Main Parts of Plant. — You have learned from your study of the cotton plant that the main parts of a plant are root, stem, leaves, blossoms, and seeds. Each of these parts has its special work to do for the whole plant. The root supports it in the soil, and receives . . .mi'. 3jjjLIuic Corn, a fibrous root ; beet, an enlarged taproot ; alfalfa, a long taproot. Root Systems and carries food and water. TJie stem and branches are channels through which the sap is diffused to the different parts of the plant. The leaves are laboratories in which the sunlight makes plant food out of the elements collected from air and soil. The blossoms con- tain the organs necessary to reproduce the plant and to continue the life of its kind on the earth. The seed is the result of the work of these organs. Taproot. — The cotton plant has, as we have learned, what is called a taproot. The first root grows and enlarges into one main root with branch roots, rootlets, and root hairs. Among taprooted THE PLANT 47 plants are the oak, tobacco, and thistle. What are called root crops, such as turnips, beets, and parsnips, are biennials with taproots. During the lirst season, their roots store up food, in the form of sugar and starch, for the plant to use the second season. A Climiung Stkm This California grapevine is probably tlie largest in the world. The vine yields every year about ten tons of grapes. Instead of drawing from the soil for the latter part of its growth, the plant uses this store laid up in itself. If you examine a turnip root after the jjlant has made its second season's growth, you find that it is a mere shell, almost empty of nourishment. Fibrous Roots. — Instead of a taproot, some plants have fibrous roots, a number of roots extending in all directions. These, also, 48 AGRICULTURE branch and subdivide into smaller roots, rootlets, and root hairs. Cereals and grasses are fibrous-rooted plants. Sometimes fibrous roots enlarge and store up sugar and starch. Sweet potatoes, for instance, are enlarged fibrous roots. Weak- and Strong-Feeding Plants. — Roots differ greatly in their power to take in food from the soil. Some plants are very weak feeders. For them to thrive, the soil must be carefully pre- pared, and food must be near in available form. Strong-feeding ■plants have much greater power to collect food and require less care, though no agricultural plant will thrive on neglect. Wheat is a weak feeder and corn is a strong feeder, belonging to the same great family of cereals, or grain plants. Stems. — The stem b^ars the branches, with the leaves, blos- soms, and seeds. It is the channel for the sap. Stems vary greatly in appearance. Usually, as in the case of the cotton plant, they are stiff enough to hold the plant upright. Vines, such as the grape- vine and ivy, have stems which climb pn some support. Melons, such as the watermelon, have pr6s'trate stems, which lie upon the ground. Sometimes the stem, or a part of it, grows underground. This is the case with Bermuda grass. The white, or Irish, potato is an enlargement of an underground stem. Parts of Stem. — In most stems there ■e a woody, fibrous matter, a cambium, ■ inner bark, and a thick outer bark. I 1 the center of the stem of long-lived perennial trees there is a layer of old A white potato— an enlarged tissuc, or hcartwood, through which underground stem ,, . ,.,^, , . there js little movement of sap. Girdling Plants. — If a plant is girdled, or has its outer bark and cambium cut off all around, the top does not wither and die at once, as it does if its roots are cut. Sap still mounts upward THE PLANT 49 through the wood, is changed to food in the lea\-es, and feeds the upper part of the plant. But it cannot go below the girdled cam- bium to feed the roots. Sooner or later — in the case of a tree it mav be several months — the roots die of star\'ation. A farmer often girdles in summer trees that he wislres to kill; they die entirely, root iirst. If they were cut down, the roots might still li\'e and send u]i new growth year after A-ear. An Ear or Corn, thf; 'Silic' of which was nut i-ekiii,i/i- KROM illE TaSSELH OF ANUIHER Pl.ANl Leaves. — You ha^e learned that leaves are formed of clear cells containing a green coloring matter called chlorophyl, and that they manufacture food for the plants. Therefore you realize that the presence and health of the foliage are \-ery important. If it b:- dcstrovcd, as by disease, the' Avhole plant will suffer and perhaps die. If crops are shaded by trees or weeds, the manu- facture of plant food in the leaves is hindered for lack of sun- light. Sugar and starch are stored up in some lea\'es, as they are in some roots. It is this store which makes the leaves of cabbage valuable for food. Underground Leaves. — There are underground leaves as well as underground stems. They are never green in color, because 50 AGRICULTURE the sunlight, which is necessary to form chlorophyl, cannot reach them. Bulbs, such as the lily and the onion, are thick- ened, underground leaves crowded together on a shortened stem. Perfect Flowers. — The cotton is a plant with a perfect flower, — that is, the blossom has calyx, corolla, stamens, and pistil. One blossom can fertilize and pro- duce seeds. Imperfect Flowers. — Some plants have imperfect flowers in which one or more of these four- parts is lacking. Some lack the Perfect and imperfect strawberry blossoms. CalyX, Or the COrolla, Or both ; The one on the left has both stamens and somC bear StamenS and pistils On pistils, the one on the right has pistils only. ^ i i t-\- j separate blossoms. Did you ever think of the tassels and the ear as the blossoms of the corn? That is what they are. The tassels are the stamen-bearing flowers, and the yellow dust on them is pollen. The ear is the pistil- bearing flower and cannot ripen grain unless pollen falls on its silk, which is the ends of its pistils. Sometimes the pistil- and the stamen-bearing blossoms are on different plants. This is the case with the hop and with many varieties of strawberries. Pistil- bearing flowers cannot bear fruit and mature seeds unless they are fertilized by stamen-bsaring ones. Plants which bear only stamens never produce seeds. Pollen Carrying. — One plant cannot leave its place in the field and carry its pollen to another. How, then, is it conveyed ? The two chief ways are by means of the wind and by means of insects. By the Wind. — Pollen is so light that it is easily and often carried a great distance by the wind. It is to prevent the wind from bearing the pollen of one to another, that farmers plant dif- THE PLANT SI A bumblebee getting nectar and pollen from red clover ferent varieties of corn far apart. If pop corn is planted near field corn, they will 'mix,' as farmers say, and grow alike.' The wind is a very wasteful messen- ger. It scatters pollen on the ground and over other plants. Plants that depend upon the wind as their pol- len bearer need to produce a great deal. As a rule, plants with wind- borne pollen have small, scentless flowers, and light, dry pollen. Such are the grasses. By Insects. — Some plants de- pend on winged insects to carry their pollen.- Insects, as you know, are busy little workers. They labor to provide food for the day and also for the morrow. They do not carry pollen for nothing. The plants pay them by giving food — nectar or pollen — and it is to get this that the insects visit flowers. The blossoms' gay colors or sweet odors are signs that they have food to give for pollen bearing. When an insect gets food from a flower, it is dusted with pollen. This is deposited on the stigma of the next flower that it visits. Flowers which depend on insects as pollen bearers do not provide as much as do those that depend on the wind, because it is carried with much less waste. By Hand. — Pollen can be transferred by hand, and this is one of the methods which is used to produce new varieties of plants. The blossom that it is desired to pol'li nate is kept covered to prevent its receiving pollen from any other source. Pollen is care- fully collected from another plant and put upon the stigma. By hand-pol li na'tion valuable breeds of wheat, oats, corn, and other agricultural plants have been obtained. 52 AGRICULTURE Seed Sowing. — To have their seeds sown, plants resort to many methods. Sometimes a plant scatters its own seed. This is the case with the balsam, or touch-me-not. If you touch a ripe seed pod, it pops and throws its seed some distance. Sometimes the wind acts as' seed bearer. In that case the seeds are very light, such as those of the dandelion and thistle. Sometimes animals convey seeds. Those with hooks and burs, such as beggar weed and cbcklebur, stick to the wool or fur or hair cf animals, or to the clothing of people, and make them unintentional and often unwilling seed bearers. Plants sometimes treat higher ani- mals as they do insects, and pay them to carry seeds. Berries and orchard fruits have juicy, fleshy coverings. These are used for food, and the seeds are scattered. Plants as Food Makers. — Seeds, as you learned, contain not only a germ, or little plant, but also a store of nourishment to support the germ in its first stages of plant life. Some seeds, such as those of wheat, oats, barley, rice, and corn, are rich in starch ; these furnish food for man and beast. Some seeds, such as those of the poppy, flax, and cotton, are rich in oils ; they are used to produce oil for illumination, paint, varnish, medicine, food, and other purposes. Did you ever consider that plants are the only real food makers in the world? Out of inorganic material they form sugar, starch, oil, and other compounds, which they store up in their roots, stems, leaves, fruit, or seeds. From this source, man and the lower animals derive, directly or indirectly, all their food. EXPERIMENTS 1. Collect and compare the stems, roots, leaves, blossoms, and seeds of as many agricultural plants as you can get. 2. To see the extent of a root system, grow clover plants in a box of THE PLANT 53 mellow soil. Then remove the bottom of the box and soak the soil away so as not to break the roots. 3. To see how biennials feed on their root-store of food, put a Chinese lily bulb in a pan of water in a sunny place. See how as it blooms it ' eats up its own root.' 4. Girdle a branch of a worthless tree and observe what happens. 5. Watch flowers and see what are their insect visitors. Can you think of any reason why a bee is a better pollen-bearer than an ant ? 6. Examine strawberry blossoms to find perfect and imperfect ones. Keep a plant with an imperfect flower covered during blossom time so as to exclude insects. Does it bear fruit? ILLUSTKATION OF EXPERIMENT 7 The three plants on the left are from whole grains of corn ; the three on the right are from grains from which -most of the germ food was cut. 7. Take some grains of corn of about the same size, and from half cut ofiE most of the germ food, being careful to leave the germ uninjured. Plant the grains and observe the difference in germination and growth of the plants from cut and uncut grains. What does this experiment teach as to use of germ food and as to relative value of large and small seeds? 54 AGRICULTURE PLANT FOOD Plants' Need of Food. — You know that an animal must have food; did you ever consider that food is as necessary to a plant as to an animal ? Every living thing needs food to keep it alive and to make it grow. But, you say, we did not feed the cotton plant. We did so indirectly. We planted the seed and cared for the young plant so that it could get food from its two great storehouses, the soil and the air. Sometimes, however, we have to do more than this. We have to supply to our crop-plants elements that they need, and in order to do this we ought to know what these ele- ments are. Chemists have analyzed plants and separated them into the elements of which they are composed. Thus they have learned what is needed to make them grow and develop. All of the elements which exist in the soil are not necessary to plants. Necessary Elements. — There are ten which are necessary for plant growth. These are oxygen, hydrogen, carbon, nitrogen, iron, phosphorus, sulphur, calcium, magnesium, and potassium. We cannot say that any one of these is more important than another. If the plant be deprived of any one, it will die. Air-derived Elements. — Jhe elements oxygen, hydrogen, car- bon, and nitrogen are derived directly or indirectly from the air. They form about ninety-five per cent of the plant's body. The oxygen and hydrogen are taken in chiefly in the form of water. It dissolves solids, liquids, and gases, and carries food to plant roots. Carbon composes about half the solid matter of a plant. It forms a small quantity of the air, — only about one part in twenty- five thousand, — ^^but the amount in the whole volume of THE PLANT SS air is enormous. Great as are plant demands upon it, there is no danger that the supply will ever hz exhausted. Nitrogen, which is necessary to all living things, cannot be used by the higher plants until it is prepared in. certain compounds. Most plants get their nitrogen as ni'trates, com- pounds prepared by bacteria in the soil. A class of plants, called leg'- umes, can use the nitrogen of the air indirectly by means of bacteria which live in knots, called tu'ber- cles, on their roots. In one way or another the nitro- gen, without which all living things would starve, is prepared by bac- teria. Later on, you will learn more about these bacteria. They are the smallest known living organisms, and are so tiny that they are visible only under a powerful microscope; their very existence was unsuspected until recent years. Soil-derived Elements. — The plant derives from the soil only about five per cent of its food ; but, small as this portion is, the plant cannot live without it. The necessary soil-derived elenients are iron, sulphur, magnesium, calcium, phosphorus, and potassium. Of these elements, four — iron, sulphur, magnesium, and usually calcium — are abundant in most soils. As has been said, nitrogen, phosphorus, and potash sometimes exist in soils in limited quan- Roots of soy bean, showing tubercles, slightly reduced in size S6 AGRICULTURE tity. If present, they are often in forms which the plant cannot use. A chemist will analyze a piece of granite and tell you that it contains all the elements needed for plant food. But they are locked up in forms which the plant cannot use ; they are ' un- available,' we say. The plant can no more feed on them than we can clothe ourselves in the cotton fibsr in the boll, or than we can make bread of unhusked corn. Soil Texture. — Even in soil well supplied with plant food, crops may not thrive. The soil texture may be unfavorable. You have learned something about the differences in soils and how texture affects rela- tions to water, air, and heat. You have learned also, that these three things have an important influence on the growth of plants. You un- derstand, then, that while sand, clay, and humus furnish little plant food, they affect plant growth and crop yield. Each kind of soil has vegetation especially adapted to it. A sandy soil, if well supplied with plant food, is adapted to tubers and root crops; it yields up plant food fully and freely, and the growing roots easily push its particles aside. Clay soils are adapted to grain and grass crops and to other plants with fine, fibrous roots that can make their way among the tiny particles to collect plant food and water. Certain plants, such as blue grass, thrive best in a limestone soil. The limestone region of Kentucky The beet on the left was grown in mellow, well-tilled soil ; that on the right was grown in rough, hard clay. THE PLANT 57 is often called ' the blue grass country.' Nearly all plants flourish on a mellow loam, because it is well supplied with moisture, warmth, and air. EXPERIMENTS 1. Weigh a plant, such as cotton. Put it in the stove and let it dry thoroughly. Then weigh again. What has the plant lost? Take ofif the leaves and weigh them. Burn them and weigh the ashes. Weigh the stem, and then burn it and weigh the ashes. The ashes are the soil- derived dements. What difference is there between the quantity in leaves and in stem? 2. Bum an equal weight of dry straw and dry tobacco. What does this experiment sho«' as to the composition of plants ? 3. Put some grains of corn in a bottle of pure distilled water. What happens as soon as the plants use up the store of food in the seeds ? 4. Put in another bottle water supplied with plant food in the following proportions : — Distilled water 1 000.0 grams Potassium nitrate i.o grams Calcium phosphate .5 grams Calcium sulphate .5 grams Magnesimn sulphate .5 grams A trace of iron sulphate Put some grains of corn in this water. Renew the solution fre- The plant on the right is supplied with plant food in the proper amount of water ; the plant on the left has similar plant food in one fourth the amount of water. quently and keep the bottle covered with dark paper. Prepare other bottles of distilled water, omitting one or more of these food elements. What are the results ? Use all the elements with one fourth this quantity of water. What does this prove about the oversupply of plant food? 5. Collect legumes and examine tubercles on the roots. 58 AGRICULTURE PLANT REPRODUCTION FROM BUDS ' Buds. — Plants are usually grown from seeds, but it is sometimes easier and better to grow them from buds. Every branch ends in a bud, and buds are also found at regular places on the branch. These buds which continue the growth of the old plant can be used to make new ones. A budded plant is sure to be like its parent plant, because it is a part of it. There are cases in which it is not only desirable, but necessary, to grow plants from buds, in order to preserve the variety. Some plants do not 'come true to seed.' An apple seed, for instance, instead of producing a tree that bears fruit like the one from which it was taken, is more apt to produce one resembling the wild crab / from which it originated. Methods of Bud Re- production. — There are various ways of reproduc- ing plants by buds, — by lay'er ing, cut'tings, graft'ing, and biid'ding. In all cases the purpose is the same: to produce •from a part of an old plant a new one that reproduces its character- istics. Layering. — In layering, there is used a shoot which grows from the root of the plant. Earth is placed over the stem of this, and usually the tip is left out to continue its growth. At first it receives nourishment from the parent root, but after a while the covered Layer of Grapevine THE PLANT 59 stem sends forth a root of its own. Then it is separated from the parent. Layering is an easy and successful way of reproducing most plants which send up shoots from the roots. Some plants, such as the raspberry, increase naturally by layering. Cuttings. — For cuttings, there are used pieces of stem which contain one or more good healthy buds. These cuttings are rooted A Dormant Cutting A Green Cutting in water, in soil, or in fine, clean sand kept warm and moist. Roots grow from the end of the stem or from the base of a bud; a bud sends forth a stem, which becomes a new plant. Sometimes the cutting does best if it is taken when the plant is dor'mant, — that is, when it is resting from growth, as fruit trees do in the winter. During the growing season, nourish- ment is stored up in the cambium and at the end of the twig to begin the growth nexf season. The cutting from a dormant 6o AGRICULTURE twig has this nourishment to help it make roots and growth of its own. As you learned, the white potato is an underground stem. When we cut and plant potatoes for seed, we use a method of reproduction by cutting, just as when we make a cutting from the above-ground stem of the grape. For some plants, such as geraniums^ we use green cuttings, — that is, cuttings taken from the plant during its season of growth. At, least half the leaves are removed, some being left to pre- pare plant food. Grafting. — Grafting, also, is a method of re- production by means of buds. In this case, however, instead of being grown in soil, the young plant is grown on the stem or root of another plant. Grafting has several advantages in the case of plants to which it is adapted. In the first place, it gives the new plant the benefit of a root system already established. In the second place, jt has been found that certain plants are more vigorous and productive on other roots than on their own. In the third place, grafting can be used to modify habits of growth. A pear tree on a quince root is smaller, matures earlier, and is more productive than a pear tree on a pear root. Grafting is done by inserting a twig of the desired variety on the root or stem of another. The plant food passes from the cam- bium of one to the other, and finally the two grow ijito one. Methods of grafting are described more fully in connection with orchard fruits, for which they are much used. Budding. — Budding is a method of grafting where, instead A coleus leaf cutting, rooted Grafting b, separate parts of the graft ; c^ parts united ; d, wax applied. Budding «, cutting off the bud ; b, stock prepared by a T-shaped cut ; c, inserting the bud into the Stock ; d, the bud inserted ; e, the bud fastened in place. 62 AGRICULTURE of a twig, there is used a single bud of the desired variety. This is inserted into the stem of the pjant upon which" it is to be grown. Budding, also, is more fully described in Wl connection with orchard fruits. EXPERIMENTS Try to grow some plants from buds. You may not find it easy to grow plants by grafting and budding, but layering and cutting are less difficult. Be sure that you try to reproduce the best varieties. 1. Raise a strawberry plant and a grapevine by layering. 2. Raise a white potato and a geranium from cuttings. Do you use a green or a dormant A budded tree from which cutting of the geranium ? Why ? the top of the stock has just g^j ^^^ jj ^^^^ Seedling apple trees, been cut. . , , ? . r ^ , . usmg buds and scions from a good variety. Do you use green or dormant cuttings ? Why ? 4. Why do you remove some leaves from a green cutting and why do you leave some ? TRANSPLANTING Transplanting. — It is seldom the case that we wish to leave just ,. where we reared it the plant grown from a bud by layering, cut- ting, grafting, or budding. When it has a root system of its own, we usually transplant it, or take it up and set it in another place. If this be done with care, most plants will live. They develop more roots and flourish better than those that are not trans- planted. If transplanting be carelessly done, plants are very apt to die. THE PLANT 63 Rules for Transplanting. — There are a which give success in transplanting. First : The most f a\-orable season should be selected. In the case of such plants as tomatoes and sweet potatoes, transplanting should be done when the weather is cool and damp, preferably in the late afternoon. Second : A plant should be transplanted when young. It is more apt to adapt itself to new conditions and make vig- orous growth. Third: It should be taken up so as to break the roots as little as possible and should be kept moist and shaded.. If the roots become dry, the plant loses vitahty and may die. Fourth : It is well to cut off some of the top, especially of a tree or large plant. In taking it up, roots are unavoidably broken. few simple precautions The plant on the left was improperly set ; the soil is being pressed properly to the roots of the plant on the right. Fifth: The plant should be dipped in fertile soil packed firmly around its roots The celery plant to the left was transplanted ; the one to the right was not. The root system is thus smaller, and it has to adapt itseK to new conditions. It is unable properly to supply food to the whole plant. Therefore the top should be cut back to corre- spond with the smaller root and to give it time to reestablish itself, water and have moist, This enables them to 64 AGRICULTURE absorb moisture and to begin as soon as possible to take food from the soil. The soil should not be too wet, as wet soil around the roots excludes air. Unless it be very dry, it is generally better not to use water except to moisten the roots. If water be used, it should be poured around the roots before all the soil is added. If it be applied to the surface, as the soil dries, it forms a- crust which ex- cludes air and hastens evaporation. Strawberry Plants The plant on the left is set too deep, with its roots bunched ; the one in the middle is set too shallow ; the one on the right is set properly. Sixth: The plant should be set as near as possible as it grew originally. It will usually do no harm to set it a little deeper. But it is not apt to thrive if it be set much deeper or much shallower than it originally grew. The hole should be deep enough and broad enough for the roots to spread out naturally without being bunched or bent. The surface soil should be put in first, and then the subsoil, which is usually harder and poorer in available plant food. It is important to make the soil firm and compact, as it is put in, by trampling or pressing. Seventh: It is sometimes well to shade a plant for a few days from the hot sunshine, or to protect the roots by a mulch of straw or leaves, as well as of loose earth. THE PLA^T 65 Transplanting Crops. — There are a number of crops which are grown ahnost entirely from transplanted plants. Nearly all orchard fruits and most berries are so grown. Tobacco is the only field crop which is so raised. Some vegetables, such as tomato, cab- bage, and sweet potato, are raised in seed beds and transplanted. To transplant crop plants, the farmer usually selects what is called a ' season ' — that is, damp, rainy weather when the ground and air are fuU of moisture. In such weather, transplanted plants are apt to hve. In dry weather, they may starve for lack of water before their root systems get reestablished, especially if the soil is loose and porous. If, however, the soil is too wet, air is excluded, the soil is apt to ' bake,' and the plants do not thrive. EXPERIMENTS 1 . Transplant a tomato, a pansy, and other plants, following carefully the foregoing suggestions. 2. Transplant similar plants, disregarding in each case one or more of these suggestions. Compare the results and explain the causes. PLANT REPRODUCTION FROM SEEDS Budded Plants and Seedlings. — A plant grown from a bud is, as you have learned, a new plant produced from an old one. A seedling, or plant grown from a seed, is usually made up of parts of two plants. The pistil of the one receives pollen from the other. From the seed thus formed, a new plant is produced. There is, of course, less room for variation in a budded plant than in a seedling, which may have the quahties of one or both of its parents or even of more distant- ancestors. Most of our crop plants are grown from seeds. Since plants are apt to resemble those from which the seed was taken, the matter of seed selection is important. 66 AGRICULTURE Good Seed. — For good crops there are necessary three things, — good soil, good seed, and good tillage. Of the three, good seed is easiest to secure, and yet it is the one oftenest neglected. Thou- sands of dollars are lost by farmers every year through the use of inferior seed. Thousands of dollars are paid every year for those which could easily be grown at home. Selecting Seed in the Field. — The farmer should select the best seed from the best plants. To do this he must make the selection in the field. He must consider each plant as a whole, selecting those that are healthy and productive. Qualities to Consider. — If he gets his seed corn from the crib, he can, it is true, choose large, sound, well-formed ears. But these may have been the only ears on the stalks on which they grew. They will tend to produce one-eared stalks. The crop from them will be smaller than , that from field-selected seed, chosen from stalks that have each two or more good ears. It costs little more in tillage and labor to raise forty bushels of corn on an acre of land than to raise twenty bushels ; it costs nearly twice as much to produce forty bushels on two acres as it does to produce it on one acre. Seeds may be selected from plants with a view to certain qual- ities or products. We prefer sweet, well-flavored melons, and choose them even when they are smaller and less productive than large, coarse ones. By careful selection of roots which are richest in sugar, the sugar in a crop of beets has been increased from eight to eighteen per cent. Some varieties are especially valuable because they are vigorous and able to resist disease. In certain sections, only wilt-proof varieties of cotton and of cowpeas can be grown. Farmers sow rust-proof oats because they make a crop in localities where va- rieties not resistant are entire failures. THE PLANT 67 Earliness of maturity is another quality which it is often desirable to cultivate, especially in fruit and vegetables. An extra early tomato or peach- is more profitable as a market crop than one which ripens a week or ten days later. Seeds, then, should be selected from healthy, productive plants having the desired qualities. They should be dried carefully, stored in a dry place, and protected against extremes of cold and heat. Cleaning Seeds. — Seeds are cleaned by fan- ning or sifting them to remove chaff, dirt, weed seeds, and all small and immature seeds. From large, vigorous seeds a larger yield of more vigorous plants is secured. Seeds, especially purchased ones, should be examined for pu'ri ty and tested for vi tal'i ty before planting in the field. Purity. — Purity means that they are seeds of the desired kind, free from dirt, weed seed, and chaff. Seeds very different in kind can be readily separated. It is easy to distin- guish beans from wheat, or black peas from white ones. It is difficult to distinguish seeds that resemble those with which they are mixed, as chess, or cheat, and oats, — or very small ones, as some weed and grass seeds. Vitality. — Vitality is the ability of a seed to sprout and pro- duce growth. There are many things which affect vitality. Age is one. The seeds of most agricultural plants yill not germinate . after they are a few years old. Seeds that are gathered before they are ripe have low germinating power. Those that are stored in a The plant on the left is from a Hght seed ; that on the T^ht is from a heavy seed. - 68 AGRICULTURE damp place or that are exposed to great heat often have the germ injured or killed. Seed Plots. — All seeds for planting should be carefull}' selected, examined for puritv, tested for vitality, and planted where they Ears of Corn selected from the Yieiti of the Same Ear The per cent of germination from the ear on the left is loo ; from that on the right, 50. This sliow'S the importance of testing seed corn for vitahty before planting. will not mix with other varieties. For a garden crop or for one planted in small cjuantitics, this is all that is necessary. For a field crop where a large quantity is required, it is usually best to have a seed plot. This plot, so placed as to avoid mixing with the field crop, is planted with choice seed and given most careful cultivation. From its best plants, seed is selected for next year's seed plot, and the remainder is used for field planting. The farmer who thus selects and raises his seed does not complain of its ' running out.' Instead, his varieties improve year by year, and the increase in quantity and quality of crop- yield repay his care a hundred times. Purchasing Seed. — It is usually desirable to purchase seeds, such as clover and grasses, which need special machinery to clean them and free them from chaff and hulls. THE PLANT 69 Plants that thrive in a certain soil or climate sometimes lose desirable qualities under different conditions. Certain varieties of tobacco are grown in the United States from Cuban seed. If home-grown seed be used even one i^^ f^ f^ year, the flavor and texture of the leaf are changed.. It is sometimes desirable to buy seed in order to in- fluence the ripening season of a crop. In a warm climate seed from the north mature earlier than home- grown seed of the same variety. Some Texas farmers buy cotton seed from North Carolina in order to have their crop ripen early before the Mexican boll weevil becomes most injurious. Losses by Impure Seeds. — In pur- chasing seeds it is always economical to get high-grade, well-cleaned ones from a reliable dealer. Suppose a fanner buys at less cost an inferior grade. Sometimes half or more of such seed consists of impurities. The farmer's loss is threefold. He loses the money which he paid out. He loses the time, labor, and money tube on the right shows the good seed spent in cultivating his field. He loses the profit which he might have gained. Moreover, he inay have brought in weed pests. Home-grown Seed. — As a rule, it is to the farmer's interest to grow his own seeds. He is thus saved much unnecessary ex- pense. He knows the kind, quality, and age of his seed. He The tube on the left shows one pound of Kentucky blue grass seed, as bought ; the middle tube shows the amount of dirt, weed seeds, and broken seeds ; the 70 AGRICULTURE avoids the risk of introducing ncAv Avecd pests. He gets acclimated seed, which is in many cases an ad\'antage. By carefully selecting seed from the best plants, he can grade up and impro\e a variety. Planting. — Depth. — As ^•ou know, seeds dilTer much in size. This naturallv makes a difference in the depth that they should be planted. Each secfl contains a store of food to nourish the germ under or- dinary conditions until it can send forth its root and stem and begin growth. If the seed be planted too deep, this store is used up before the jjlant is well estaljlished. Sometimes the deep-planted seed cannot get air and warmth enouglr to enable it to germinate at all. Some seeds, such as wheat, come up with thin blades and slender leaves. These can make their wa}' througli the soil more easih' than thick-lea\-ed ]>lants, such as beans, and so mav Ix- ]>lanled deejx'r. Soil Conditions. — Seeds require for germination a certain amount of moisture, heat, ancl air. Thcv grow Ix'st when the soil around them is made fine and compact, not so close as to exclude air, but close enough for the soil particles to touch them and su])]ily moisture. Gardeners often press small seed down witli a board and trample the beds in which larger ones are planted, and farmers roU the land on \\-hich grain or grass seed are sown. They know that firmly-planted seed come up in a shorter time and produce stronger plants than those put in loose soil. A CllX\ 1 Ml M SI I I llbll R It consists of a sli ill w I \ tilk J with s il It is li videcl into sections Ij) lAMrc n ttingwith cnc mcl ni sIils THE PLANT 71 Time of Planting. — Seeds vary greatly in the amount of warmth that they require for germination; this requirement determines the time of planting. Cotton, for instance, requires much heat, and oats need little; so cotton is planted late in spring when the soil is warm, and oats early in spring or in fall when it is cool. Plants of the same family vary greatly in this respect. Corn and wheat both belong to the great cereal family. Corn requires much warmth ; wheat takes so little that it has been known to germinate on ice. EXPERIMENTS 1. Save seed from your largest and from your smallest pansies and plant some of each in garden mold and in poor soil. Note the resulting differences. 2. Examine a handful of wheat for impurities. 3. Make a seed-tester. To do this, dip two pieces of flannel in boiling water in order to de- stroy mold. Lay one piece in a plate and put on it one hun- dred seeds, such as clover. Put over them the other piece of flannel and cover with another plate. Add water when neces- sary so as to keep the flannel moist, and keep the seed-tester at a temperature of 70° to 80° The seed will germinate in a few days. The number which germinate shows the per cent of vitality. Two pieces of wet blotting paper may be used for a seed- tester. The seed is placed between the two, and they are kept damp. Several layers of these can be kept in a shallow wooden box. A Small Seed-tester A, closed; B, open. 72 AGRICULTURE 4. Fasten two panes of glass together by a wooden frame, as illustrated. Fill the b(jx thus made with fertile soil. As you put in the soil, plant corn and beans close to the glass, at depths of four, three, and two inches, one inch, half an inch, and a quarter of an inch. Cover the glass with dark paper and keep in a warm place. Rcmo\e the tjaper e\'erv day and -1*. St*t'« 'T _ •:,-■;.■- 'r-** v-^ Illustration of Experiment 4 examine the seeds. What difference is there in the germination of seeds at different depths? Which plants make their way to the surface from the greater depth, corn or beans, and why? 5. Plant twent\--fi\-e morning-glory seeds in a bo.x of fine soil and press them down firmly with a board. Plant twenty-tiye seeds in a box of rough soil and leave it loose. \\'hat difference is in the number and appearance of plants in the two boxes ? 6. Weigh one hundred seeds of several different kinds, such as peas, clover, and corn. Put them in water and weigh again in twentv-four and in forty-eight h(jurs. What difference is there in weight? \\'hat does this prove as to the moisture rccjuired in the germination of differ- ent kinds of seed ? . ■■ THE PLANT 73 PLANT IMPROVEMENT Origin of Cultivated Plants. — Our cultivated plants, as you probably know, originated from wild ones. These kindred of our field crops exist still in many parts of the world, and it is interesting to compare the two. In appearance and in habits of growth, the wild and the cultivated plants differ as much as do savage and civilized races of men. For instance, the ancestor of most of our apple trees is a European crab. It is small and poorly flavored, very unhke the large and luscious fruits familiar to us. Hundreds of varieties differing in habit of growth, and in the size, color, flavor, . and ripening season of their fruit have been developed from that insignificant-looking, ill-flavored crab. How have these wonderful changes been made ? It has been done by yea,Ts and centuries of care and cultivation, raising plants from the best specimens under the most favorable conditions. The Law of Heredity. — Changes in varieties are made by taking advantage of certain laws which govern all living things, both plants and animals. The first is the law of heredity, that ' like begets like.' Corn produces seed which brings forth corn, never by any chance wheat or rye. The product shares the general, and, to a great extent, the special characteristics of the parent plant. If that ripened early, so will this ; if that was sugar corn, this will be sweet. The Law of Variation. — You will notice that we say that a plant inherits ' to a great extent ' the special characteristics of its parents. It is just here that another laws comes in, a law which makes progress possible. This is the law of variation, the tendency of offspring to be unlike the parents. If the plant were in all respects exactly like its parents, no improvement would be possible. Usually variations are not great, for the law of heredity is very strong. 74 AGRICULTURE Selection. — Suppose that in a field of beans you find four plants bearing beans a little different from the remainder. One plant Ijears beans that mature a day or two earlier ; the second has pods a little larger than the others ; the third has better-flavored beans ; the fourth has more pods than the others. Suppose you save seed from these plants and keep and cultivate them in four plots. The second year you again select seed, choosing from the first the earliest beans, from the second the largest, from the third the best-flavored, and from the fourth the one bearing most pods. If you do this year after year, you will have four distinct varieties. By reason- able care you can keep them distinct, thanks to the strength of the law of heredity. Effect of Cultivation. — Suppose that in each case half your seed is planted on fertile, well-tilled soil and that the other half is planted on poor, badly-cultivated soil. You will find that on the fertile soil the improvement is great and the variations decided. On poor soil, the plants will have to use most of their energies to live and grow, and have little left for improvement or variation. Three Methods of Improvement. — What you learn from this experiment is what others before you learned by observation and experience and applied to the improvement of plants. The three chief ways in which plants are improved are by seed or bud selection, by cultivation, and by crossing and hybridizing. Crossing and hybrid iz ing give us new varieties and even new species. A cross is a plant obtained by fertilizing one variety with pollen from a dif- ferent variety, as one kind of pear with another. A hy'brid is the off- spring of two plants of different kinds, — as a blackberry and a raspberry. Plant Breeders. — Plant breeders, by selection and reselection of seeds, grafts, and cuttings, and by crossing and hybridizing THE PLANT 75 new and old varieties, improve varieties of fruit, vegetables, and flowers, and create new ones. One of the' most famous plant breeders of the present day is ]\Ir. Luther Burbank, who lives in California. He has produced new species, among others the plum' cot, a union of the jjlum and the apricot, and the pri'mus berry, a union of the raspberry and the blackberry, having the general appear- ance and combined tlavors of both. Keeping up a Vari- ety. — It is not enough to originate a good variety. It must be kept good by care and attention. All im- proved varieties tend to deteriorate, or grow worse. They are arti- ficial products, and the tendencv is to return to the state of nature. Scientists say thev 'revert to tvpe,' or go back to the character- istics of their wild ancestors. Farmers say the ' seed runs out.' In different terms, scientists and farmers express the same truth. Plant improvement can easily be maintained and increased. First : Seeds or buds should be selected from plants having the equalities it is desired to maintain. Second : Good \-arieties should be protected against mixing with inferior ones. Third : They should be given such care and cultivation as suit them best. Plants can, to some extent, adapt themselves to unfavorable conditions of soil, From photograph furni>he,) hy .Mr. Burbim Pllmcots 76 AGRICULTURE moisture, and climate, but their most flourishing and most profitable growth is under favorable conditions. This work of plant improvement is one in which every man and child on a farm should take part. By selecting buds and seeds from the best specimens, a farmer should try to increase the )-ield and improve the good qualities of every crop which he raises. Every child can make interesting experiments which may result in the development of new and valuable plants. EXPERIMENTS 1. Save seeds from balsams, or touch-me-nots, selecting and keeping separate the seeds of plants bearing the most and the least double blos- soms. If this process of selection be continued two or three years, what is the result ? 2. Compare the wild onion with its relative, the garden onion. What changes have been made by cultivation ? 3. Experiment with the cross breeding of corn. Use two good plants. Keep the ears of one covered with paper bags until you are ready to pollinate them. Then dust them with the tassel from another good plant, and re-cover with the paper bags for a few days. 4. Decide on some change that you think will improve a certain plant, and try to make it by seed selection and cross breeding. Re- member that these changes must be in line with the natural develop- ment of the plant. OUTLINE OF CHAPTER THREE SOIL IMPROVEMENT General: Nature's processes and man's Drainage : Benefits : Gives plants more room Makes soil warmer Favors processes which produce plant food Makes soil workable earlier Prevents washing Methods : Plowing Surface ditches Underdrains Terraces Irrigation : Methods Advantages Tillage : Benefits : Breaks and makes fine the soil Regulates soil moisture Admits air and heat to soil Destroys weeds Tools used In preparing land : Plow, harrow, roller, etc. In cultivating crop: Harrow, cultivator, sweep, hoe, weeders, etc. 77 78 AGRICULTURE In harvesting crop : Reaper, mower, etc. Methods : Flat, ridge, or hill Deep, shallow Crop Rotation: Disadvantages of one-crop system Advantages of proper rotation : Money crop and feed for live stock are raised Nitrogen-gathering crops prepare for nitrogen-destroying ones Drain on land is lessened by crops of different habits of growth Best use is made of manures and crop residues Weeds, insect pests, and fungous diseases are kept in check Land being occupied, plant food is not wasted Labor of men and teams is as evenly distributed as possible Green Manures; Legumes and Soil Inoculation: General benefits of catch, or cover, crops Special advantages of legumes Stable Manure: Benefits : Supplies plant food Makes food in soil available Improves texture and moisture condition of soil Warms the soil Value depends on Kind, age, and food of animals Methods of saving and applying Sources of loss : Escape of liquid matter Leaching and washing of rains Escape of gases in fermentation, or ' heating ' Composting Commercial Fertilizers: Rules for use : Depend mainly on tillage, crop rotation, and natural manures SOIL IMPROVEMENT 79 Choose the commercial fertiUzers best and cheapest for soil and crop Nitrogen suppliers: Guano, nitrate of soda, ammonia salts, cotton-seed meal, dried blood and tankage, fish scraps, artificial nitrates Phosphoric acid suppliers : Guano, bones, phosphate rock Potash suppliers : Ashes, kainit, muriate and sulphate of potash Calcium supplier : Lime Testing and mixing fertiUzers Ri'.suL'is OF Bad Farming This field sliows Ihc results of lack of rotation and of improper nietliods of cultivation. RjiiUI^TS OF Liooii FAKMtNi; Thiis field, not far from the above, has been made and kept fertile by rotation of crops arid proper methods of cultivation. CHAPTER THREE SOIL IMPROVEMENT GENERAL Past and Present Conditions. — The subject of soil improvement was little considered by American farmers in early days. Crop after crop of corn and wheat, cotton and tobacco, was raised; then fields were turned out to ' rest '; new fields were subjected to the same treatment. "Why not? "thought the farmer, if he thought at all on the sub- ject. He was master of uncleared forests and untilled valleys. It seemed no serious matter to exhaust the fertility, not merely of some fields, but of whole farms. To the west lay vast prairies, their deep soil unbroken by the plow. Foolish and extravagant, but natural, it was that the farmers should take the cream of this rich land. But, you know, if we keep on taking off cream, after a while .we have nothing left but skim milk. And from skim milk we cannot make butter. Thus it is with land. If we keep on taking off the cream of its fertility, after a while we have poor land, and poor land is worthless for crop raising. Nor are farmers now able to move west and take up rich new farms in place of poor old ones. The country is settled, fertile lands are occupied, land values have increased. It has become necessary for the farmer to make the most and best of his farm. And it is not the number of acres which he owns, but their fertility, which brings him money and success and happiness. 82 AGRICULTURE Nature's Processes. — ^.How is a soil made fertile? We have observed the processes of Nature. We have seen how they build up soil from rock. Left to themselves, they usually improve it and make it fertile. Frost fines and mellows it, rain briftgs plant food from the atmosphere, and chemical changes make available some elements in the soil. Roots drink in food from the surface and pump it up from the subsoil; decaying plants give to the soil the elements thus gathered and others derived from the air. Year after year the barren land improves; slowly but surely it becomes fertile. Farm Methods. — But the farmer cannot wait on the slow processes of Nature, nor restore to the land all the fertihty of its products. His business is to take from it once a year, or oftener, the richest of these products. Can he do this and not impoverish it ? He can, if he will imitate and aid Nature. The plow can fine and mellow the soil more quickly than the frost; green and stable manures can improve texture and supply humus, and these manures and commercial fertilizers can add plant food more rapidly than do the methods of Nature. The farmer can take the place of Nature's reclaiming processes and protect his land against her destroying ones. By drainage and irrigation and tillage he can largely regulate the supply of moisture, and improve the texture of the soil and its relations to heat and air. By proper rotation he can lessen the drain of crop- ping. To do all this, he must work and work intelligently. The Ideal Soil. — The best soil for agricultural purposes is a loam containing sand, clay, humus, and lime. The sand admits air and water, the clay holds moisture and plant food, the humus absorbs and retains moisture, and the lime assists the decay of vegetable matter. This soil is ideal if it be rich in available plant food and has a well-drained subsoil. Most farm soils have not this SOIL IMPROVEMENT 83 nature ; when they have, they do not retain it unless they are prop- erly cultivated. Improving Soils. — The farmer cannot change the character of a soil, but he can modify and improve it. There are three ways in which soils need to be cared for and improved. Texture. — First : The texture should hz attended to, so as to give plants the best possible conditions with regard to moisture, air, and heat. This is done by proper tillage and by applications of manures which supply humus. Humus is lacking in most of the 'run down' farms of the East; it is abundant in the fertile prairie lands of the West. Lime, too, often benefits the texture and con- dition of land. Plant Food. — Second : There should be supplied the plant food which is naturally lacking, or which is taken out by crops. You know that there are three elements that sometimes need to be supplied, and that they must be in forms which plants can use. Nitrogen is used chiefly in the form of nitrates; phosphorus, of phos phor'ic acid; and potassium, of potash: all three are com- pounds formed with oxygen. AU crops do not remove elements in the same amounts or the same proportions. Forage crops, for instance, of which the stems and leaves are used, need much nitrogen to form their luxuriant foliage; grain crops store up much phosphorus in their seeds. Legumes are sometimes called ' lime plants ' because they use so much calcium, which is usually applied to the soil in the form of lime. Whatever is taken from the land must have its place supplied, or the land grows poor. Conditions for Bacteria. — Third: Conditions should be made favorable for nitrogen-gathering bacteria. You have already learned that these tiny creatures in the soil change nitrogen into compounds which plants can use. These bacteria will not work 84 AGRICULTURE unless they have food, warmth, air, and moisture, and are protected from strong Hght. In poorly- drained soils, there thrive harmful bacteria which consume nitrogen and make the soil acid and unfit for plant life. Common sense — and it is nowhere more important to listen to its voice than on the farm — will tell you that as soils differ in character, they need different treatment. Each kind has its special natural defects and adaptations, of which you have already learned something. ^H^jPS^^^ i Clay Loam Sand The Texture and Relative Sizes of Soil Grains Improving Sandy Soils. — On account of the size of its particles, a coarse, sandy soil has little power to hold moisture and plant food. Elements needed by plants are often dissolved by rain water and leached or washed out. In dry weather, its crops suffer for moisture. What can a farmer do to improve a sandy soil ? If it be not too dry and coarse, he can make it very productive, for it responds quickly to good tillage and fertlHzing. It needs to be kept compact by rolling and other methods of cultivation. It needs to have its soil spaces filled with humus so as to enable it to hold food and moisture: this is best done by applying green manures and well- rotted stable manure. It needs to have its losses of plant food supphed by application of manures and commercial fertilizers. Improving Clay Soils. — In a clay soil the texture is often too close. Water runs off its surface, and plant food and moisture are SOIL IMPROVEMEiNT 85 not readily available in it. Its crops suffer from both wet and dry weather, — from wet because water stands on it and drowns the plants, from dry because water does not rise freely in it and because it becomes so hard that roots cannot penetrate it. How can its faults be corrected? If it be low, it needs to be drained to remove surplus water. Then it needs to be made more open and porous by applications of Hme, green manures, and coarse stable manure. It is espe- cially important for clay soils to be worked when in proper condition, for they are injured by tillage when too wet or too dry. They are improved by being ' put down ' in grass, both . . Clay soil plowed when to avoid ■ tillage and to increase their store of loo dry ; it is hard and plant food. Clay soils retain manures and fer- cioddy. tilizers better than do sandy ones. Improving Loams. — A loam, especially a limestone loam, is naturally a good farm soil. It can be kept so by proper tillage and by returning to it the humus and plant food removed by cropping. Reclaiming Alkali and Swamp Lands. — On alkali lands, as you have learned, there are deposits of mineral salts. These salts are brought to the surface by capillary attraction, and the rainfall is not sufficient to drain them off. Such soils need irrigation, drainage, and deep plowing to free them from these salts. Swamp soils are generally of good texture and rich in plant food; if relieved of surplus water, they are very productive. EXERCISE I. In the exercises under Drainage, Irrigation, Tillage, Crop Rotation, Green Manures, Stable Manures, and Commercial Fertilizers, there are suggested experiments which show methods of improving soils. 86 AGRICULTURE 2. Observe the methods used on farms in your locaHty. Compare the methods used by successful and unsuccessful farmers. 3. Put a layer of salt about one fourth of an inch thick in the bottom of a pan and cover it with wet sand to the depth of two or three inches. Set the pan in the sun till the sand is dry. What do you find on the sur- face ? Put the top layer of sand in a glass of water ; let it settle, and taste the water. Put similar layers of salt and sand in a pan having a bottom of wire gauze over which is put a cloth. Pour water on this frequently and allow it to drain off. Then dry the sand and compare with the other. What do these experiments show as to the formation and reclamation of alkali lands ? DRAINAGE Reclaiming Land by Drainage. — Nothing is of more importance to a crop than the regulation of soil moisture. If there be too little, the plants perish for want of water; if too much, they starve for lack of air to the roots. In low sections and in regions of heavy rainfall, one of the chief problems is how to dispose of surplus moisture. It is often necessary to drain these lands, — that is, to carry off the water by drains or ditches. Holland is a striking instance of the extensive and profitable use of drainage. By dikes and ditches, thousands of acres have been reclaimed from the sea.. Their products every year are worth millions of dollars. Our government has spent over ten million dollars in dikes and jetties, to drain and protect the lower Mississippi Valley. Farm Drainage. — Farm drainage, which we are now consider- ing, deals chiefly with the removal of free, or standing, water from wet fields. In the eastern part of the United States, there are over a hundred thousand square miles which need drainage. These swamp and bottom lands are well supplied with plant food. SOIL IMPROVEMENT 87 and need only to have the surplus water removed to make them very- productive. Benefits of Drainage. — Let us consider some of the ways in which drainage benefits soils and crops. First: Drainage gives plant roots more room. The roots of few agricultural plants can penetrate airless, water-filled soil. As water is drawn off, air is admitted. The plants are not drowned by standing water in wet weather; in dry weather they have the advantage of larger areas from which to collect food and water. Second: Drainage makes the soil warmer. In wet soils a large part of the heat waves are used to convert the surplus water into vapor. On these cool, wet lands, plants grow slowly. Drainage lessens evaporation by drawing off the surplus water; it also warms the soil by admitting air. Third : Drainage, by warming the soil and admitting air, favors processes which produce plant food. As you learned, bacteria which prepare nitrogen for plant use work best in warm, rich, moist, well-drained soils. In wet, ill-drained land, bacteria thrive which destroy nitrogen and form acids injurious to crops. Fourth: Drainage, by drying the soil, makes it workable earlier in the spring. Crops can be planted earlier, and thus get the benefit of a longer, and usually of a more favorable, growing season. Fifth: Drainage prevents washing on light and rolling land. The particles of such soils do not adhere closely, and heavy rains carry away the plant food and even the soil itself. Have you not seen thin, unproductive hillsides scarred with gullies ? Fring- ing these hills is often a rank growth of weeds and briers, which shows where their fertility has gone. Methods of Drainage. — Sandy and light soils are naturally drained, unless the water table is near the surface. Clay soils and those with clay subsoil often need artificial drainage. 88 AGRICULTURE Plowing. — Wet land may be drained to some extent by deep plowing. It should be thrown up in narrow ' lands,' or ridges, from twenty to sixty feet wide. The ' dead ' or finish- ing furrows should be con- nected by cross furrows running On the left is a tile drain in place ; on the right is a section not yet _ _ g i carrv off covered. the water. Ditches and Underdrains. — Where there is too much water to be disposed of by deep plowing and water furrows, surface ditches or underdrains should be used. All drains should be large enough to carry off the surplus water and should lead gradually to the lowest part of the field. Open ditches are cheaper, but less satisfactory, than under- drains. They carry off in the water much plant food and fine particles of fertile soil, and they interfere with the cultivation of land. Where it is necessary to use them, they should be broad, with sloping sides, so that the farmer can cross them with his team. The best underdrains are tiles, tubes made of clay. They are out of reach of the plow, do not fill up like surface ditches, and take off surplus water, without carrying off fine particles of soil. Good substitutes for tile drains An underdrain made with stones covered with earth SOIL liMPROVEiMENT 89 are made by digging ditches as deep as needed, putting in a layer of loose stones or brush, and then filling them with earth. Land Terraced to Preveni Soil Wasidng Hillside Ditches and Terraces. — Sandy, rolling land which does not suffer from standing water often needs to be protected against washing rains. It should be terraced so as to break long, downward slopes, or ditched with broad, shallow ditches which lead gradually to the lower ground. Hillside land should be plowed deep, and culti^'ating tools should run as near on a level as possible. It is often a ' good plan to jjut thin hillsides down in grass or to lea\-e tlum d(j\vl' 1 1 \ 1 11 in p iiid lull, instead ut ;il(jund it go AGRICULTURE for woodland. The roots bind the soil together and prevent washing. As a rule, shallow plowed land washes most, unplowed land less, and deep plowed land least of all. EXERCISE 1. Take two thrifty plants of the same kind and as near the same size as you can get. Set one in a glass jar filled with moist, mellow soil ; set the other in a flowerpot of similar soil, with a layer of gravel at the bottom. Water equally and observe the results on growth. In three or four weeks soak the soil away, and examine the root development of each plant. 2. Grow timothy and alfalfa in flowerpots. Set these pots in pails of water deep enough to cover their tops. Which plant suffers more from lack of drainage ? IRRIGATION Arid and Semi-arid Region. — A soil may contain abundant plant food but be unproductive because moisture is lacking. This is the case in the arid and semi-arid region of the United States, which lies between the ninety-fifth meridian and the Rocky Moun- tains, and extends from Canada almost to the Gulf of Mexico. It includes all or part of the states of Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Kansas, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Dakota, Utah, Texas, Washing- ton, and Wyoming, — a vast region of three hundred million acres of land. The ocean breezes are deprived of moisture by the moun- tains and plains to the east and west, and come dry and parched to this Great Basin. Uneven Rainfall. — Where the rainfall is abundant or excessive, it may be so uneven as to allow the crops to suffer for moisture. In parts of Florida where the yearly rainfall is sixty or seventy SOIL IMPROVEMENT 91 inches, crops often suffer for laclc of rain during the growing season. Droughts are becoming more frequent and prolonged in many of the eastern states on account of the destruction of tlie forests, which are Nature's reservoirs of moisture. Irrigation. — Crops are protected against scanty or uneven rain- fall by irrigation. Irrigation is a system of distribution of water iKKHJAi'iNG Alfalfa kv the Fcrrow Svsi'fm On this western field, alfalf.i is irrigated after each cutting; tlieic are sometimes as many as six cuttings a year. to crops, by means of canals and reservoirs connected with streams or lakes. Irrigation is not a modern in\'cntion. It was practiced in Egypt and in India thousands of years ago. When the Span- iards first came to America, they found Mexico and Peru irrigated by vast systems of canals. Our go^■ernment is spending millions of dollars in irrigating the arid states. ]Much of this land was once a barren waste dotted with stunted sagebrush and cacti, the home of prairie dogs and 92 AGRICULTURE rattlesnakes. Where the hfe-giving water has been distributed, it is now fair with farmhouses, pleasant gardens, and fertile fields. Arid Soils. — The irrigated land of the arid states is very valuable for agricultural purposes. It is a light, sandy, or silty, loam, which absorbs water freely, parts with it slowly by evaporation, yet yields it regularly and freely to plants. Instead of changing, as most soils do, at a depth of a few inches to a subsoil of different character, it is almost the same for twenty or thirty feet. The soils in humid regions dry hard, with a surface crust; these arid soils dry loose, forming a natural soil-mulch. The weather is a great and usually an uncertain factor in crop production. In irrigated arid lands, this is not the case. The farmer turns on the water when his crop needs it, and the plants are sure to get the moisture they need, no more, no less. As there is no danger of rain during harvest season, grain is often allowed to ripen on the stalk; it is harvested by a combined steam harvester and thresher, and carried from the fields in bags, ready for the mill. EXERCISE I. Fill a shallow box with dry soil. Bore a hole on one side near the center. Make a trench across the middle of the soil and pour water slowly in till it runs out at the hole. Remove the soil next to the jjfe^^^^fel.g-"^ - ^-^ Y^fey- trench and see how moisture has spread by capillary action. This is the principle upon which irri- gation is based. Illustration of Experiment i t^ , ,. , , 2. Do you know of any land that usually or often suffers from lack of water? Do you think it could be irrigated profitably ? Give reasons for your opinion. SOIL IMPROVEMENT 93 TILLAGE Crop Increase by Tillage. — On a certain farm the average yield of wheat was sixteen bushels to the acre. This did not satisfy the farmer. He was tiUing his fields as well as his neighbors, but he began to till them better. By thorough and proper cultivation, unaided by manures or fertihzers, his farm was made to produce thirty-four bushels of wheat to the acre instead of sixteen. How did tillage more than double the crop yield ? To understand this, we must consider the purposes and results of tillage. Benefits of Tillage. — First : Tillage breaks and makes fine the soil, thus opening it to plant roots. At first there is no close con- nection between soil and plant. Until it can connect itself with the soil, the young plant lives on the food stored in its seed or in its stem. If its tender young roots come in contact with clods and hard soil, their progress is checked or delayed. They have such a narrow area from which to collect food and water that the plant grows slowly or dies of starvation. But if the soil be fine, deep, and well-drained, the roots range freely to collect food and moisture, and the plant grows strong and thrifty. The finer the soil, if not too compact, the larger is the feeding-groimd and water-range of the plant. Second: Tillage regulates the soil moisture. Rain, falling on a loose, broken surface, sinks in instead of running off. In fine, deeply-broken soil, water is held as in a sponge. This deep tillage should be followed by shallow tillage. As before explained, a loose, dry soil-mulch on the surface prevents the escape of moisture by capillarity and evaporation. A well-tilled soil also absorbs more moisture from the air than a hard or rough one. Third : Tillage admits air and heat to the soil. You have learned 94 AGRICULTURE how necessary air is to the roots of plants, and to the processes that form plant food from the elements in the soil. Tillage extends these processes to a greater depth and hastens the decay of organic matter. Fourth: Tillage destroys weeds. Weeds are stronger and more vigorous than most agricultural plants; they should be de- stroyed while young to keep them from depriving the crops of food, water, and sun- light. The Plow. — The plow is the first and the most important implement of the farmer. It cuts, inverts, and roughly pulver- izes the soil. It opens the land to frost, sunlight, air, and moisture and prepares it for the crops. Time to Plow. — The best time to break up land with the plow depends on soil, climate, and crops. As a rule, it is well to plow clay soil in fall or winter, especially in cold climates where the land freezes and does not wash. The texture is improved by it, and there are destroyed many harmful insects which winter in the soil. Fall plowing also lessens the burden and rush of spring work. In warm climates and on light soils, fall plowed land needs to be protected against washing, leaching rains, by a cover crop of grain or clover. Fall or winter plowed land should be cultivated as early as possible in the spring. This prevents loss by evaporation of the winter store of moisture, and enables the crop to get the benefit A Good Plow SOIL IMPROVEMENT 95 of it. If this moisture be allowed to escape before a crop is planted, the crop is apt to suffer in summer, especially on light, upland soils. Condition of Soil. — At whatever season plowing is done, the soil should be in good condition, neither too wet nor too dry. When in condition for plowing, the furrow-slice breaks and roughly pulverizes the soil. If too wet, soil, especially clay, ' bakes,' or dries hard ; if too dry, it breaks in large clods instead of pulverizing. In either baked or cloddy land, much of the plant food is unavailable. The texture of the soil and its relations to moisture and plant food are often influenced for months by one day's plowing. Depth of Plowing. — The depth of plowing is determined largely by soil, season, crop, and rainfall. As a rule, fall and summer plow- ing should be deep, and spring plowing shallow. Land in a region of scanty rainfall needs shallow cultivation. So does thin soil until it can be improved and deepened. Usually, The plant on the left was grown in subsoil ; the plant on the right, in soil from the same field. however, shallow culti- vation means poor land, poor crop, and poor farmer. On deep-plowed land, crops flourish in dry weather because they are stronger and have deeper root range; they flourish in wet weather because drainage is better. 96 AGRICULTURE As we learned, depth of plowing and direction of furrow do much to drain land and also to prevent washing. Some farmers work as if only four inches of the top soil be- longed to them and they were afraid of robbing some one below. If they would cultivate the soil well to a depth of eight inches, it would produce much larger crops at little more expense. A shallow soil should be deepened gradually, an inch at a time, until its depth is nini2 or ten inches. It is important that the process be gradual ; productiveness is lessened by bringing to the surface a large amount of the subsoil, because the plant food in it is unavailable. It is generally a bad plan to plow land the same depth year after year. The plow, as it lifts the furrow-slice, presses the soil together at the bottom of the furrow. In land plowed the same depth for several years, a hard, close layer is formed, called the ' plow pan.' This is injurious in most soils. The surface soil is apt to wash off, and the hard lower soil does not freely admit roots and moisture. Subsoiling. — The subsoil plow is one which loosens the lower soil and, without bringing it to the surface, opens it to air, moisture, and roots. Some good farmers ap- prove and prac- tice subsoiHng. Others say that few soils require or repay the labor. They think that it is better to loosen the lower soil by deep plowing with large plows drawn by heavy teams, by under- drains, and by clover and root crops. A Good Subsoil Plow SOIL IMPROVEMENT 97 A Good Harrow The Harrow. — In the preparation of land for a crop, the plow is usually followed by the harrow or drag. The chief office of the harrow is to pulverize finely the surface soil. It secures a fine, even surface free from clods, prepares a shallow seed bed, covers seeds, and destroys weeds. The Roller. — On land which has been seeded in grain or grass, the roller often follows the plow and the harrow. Farmers claim that its use gives a bet- ter stand and larger yield. Rolling compacts the soil. It makes the soil-spaces smaller, and causes water to rise by capillarity. Thus seeds are better supplied with A Good Roller moisture ; they germi- nate more quickly, and form stronger plants. Sometimes, to avoid leaving the surface too compact, the roller is followed after a time by the harrow to admit air and to form a soil-mulch. Purposes of Crop Cul- tivation. — After the soil is prepared with .plow, harrow, and roller, and the crop is planted, cultivation is continued with harrow, hoe, and other tools. Why do we cultivate the growing crops ? On the left the soil is compacted by rolling; on the right the roller has been followed by the harrow, to form a soil-mulch. 98 AGRICULTURE First: To keep a soil-mulch on the surface and to prevent, as far as possible, loss of soil water by evaporation. Second : To admit air to nourish the plant roots and to prepare plant food. Third: To destroy weeds in order to prevent their robbing the plants of food and water. Deep and Shallow Cultivation. — The plowing and preparation of land should be deep and thorough. After the crop is planted, it is seldom wise to use deep cultivation. It dries the soil too far down and breaks plant roots. Flat, shallow cultivation is usually much better. The surface soil should be kept pulverized. Flat and Ridge Cultivation. — Good farmers say that the best tools for crop cultivation are cultivators and weeders with small teeth that leave the surface smooth. This protects the land against loss of moisture by evaporation and against leaching, washing rains. On cold, wet soils, hill or ridge cultivation is of advantage. As more surface is exposed, evaporation is more rapid. The rows between the ridges also act as ditches to carry off surplus water. Time. — Cultivation is most beneficial in the early stages of crop growth. No amount of care or work later can make up for neglect or improper tillage at first. In order to prevent the for- mation of a surface crust, a crop should be cultivated as soon after rain as is possible without injury to the soil. EXERCISE I. Lay off three plots side by side. In the first, break the soQ to a depth of three or four inches, plant corn in the rough, loose soil, and do not cultivate. In the second plot, break the soil about six inches deep, plant corn, and cultivate three times to a depth of about four inches, as is done by some farmers who use a plow.' In the third plot, break the soil at least ten inches deep, make it fine, plant corn, and cultivate the surface soil not deeper than two inches after each rain, so as Preparing fur a Poor Crop by Shallow Plowing I'kli-\rinl. I ok a ijiMjij Crop pv Deep Flowinl lOO AGRICULTURE to keep a crust from forming. Compare the growth and yield of the corn in the three plots. 2. Just after you cultivate the second plot, carefully remove the soil from the roots of a plant in each plot and examine them. 3. Fill one flowerpot with wet, packed clay, and one with the same kind of soil in good condition. Set in each a geranium or other plant, and water and care for both in the same way. Is there any difference in the growth of the two ? 4. Examine and compare the plowing of farmers in your neighbor- hood. Are straight furrows better than crooked ones ? If so, why ? What is the disadvantage of a very wide furrow-slice ? of a very narrow one ? Why should the furrow-slice be inverted ? 5. Compare the tools and methods used by different farmers in the cultivation of the same crop. Tell which you prefer, and why. CROP ROTATION One-crop System. — In many sections, as in the grain states of the West and the cotton states of the South, the one-crop system is practiced. Farmers rely on a certain staple for their money crop. In this, all available land is planted year after year. This cropping is continued as long as the land yields profitable crops — often longer. There are prairie farms which have been in corn thirty years. Acres which once produced seventy-five bushels of grain now grudgingly yield fifteen, but spring after spring sees them plowed and planted again in corn. Generally, however, the soil will not bear this continuous crop- ping, and it is left out every two or three years to ' rest,' as it is called. The processes of nature to some extent restore its wasted fertility, but sooner or later its crops cease to repay the labor of production. Then the land is left to wash in gullies or to grow up in weeds and bushes. There are thousands and thousands of acres of this ' run down ' land in the United States. SOIL IMPROVEMENT lOI Disadvantages of One-crop System. — In nearly all sections, the one-crop system is being abandoned by good farmers. It is bad for the farmer and worse for the farm. The farmer risks everything for the year on the success or failure of one crop. On its profits he has to run his farm a whole year. A scanty harvest or a crop failure leaves him without funds for the expense of a second year. One-crop farmers are often poor. In the grain states of the West they mortgage their land, in the cotton states of the South they mortgage their crops, — and bear year after year the burden of debt. The one-crop farm, like the one-crop farmer, is often poor. Slowly or rapidly its plant food is exhausted and its texture in- jured by the constant drain of the same crop and the same methods of cultivation. If lands are to regain, keep, and increase fertility, rotation of crops must be practiced. This means that crops must be changed and must follow one another according to a certain system. Nature practices rotation. We see the place of field grasses gradually taken by pines; when the pines are cut they are followed, not by pines, but by oak and other hardwood trees. Let us look into this subject of crop rotation. Cotton as the One Crop. — Here, for instance, is an upland farm on which cotton has been raised year after year. The land is poor and yields a scanty crop. The soil is light in color and we find that it is lacking in humus. No wonder. It never receives any vegetable matter except the stalks and leaves of the cotton, or what is left of them by the cattle that ' pick up a living ' in the fields in winter. Cotton is a rather weak-feeding plant, and it uses chiefly the plant food in the upper soil; some plant food is taken away in the cotton seed, and more is removed by air and water from the soil left bare during the winter. To supply these 102 AGRICULTURE losses and keep on raising cotton, the farmer must buy ferti- lizers. He will tell you that his crop is subject to disease and insect pests, nor is it strange that they breed in the fields where the plant on which they feed grows year after yea:r. The farmer will tell you that he has trouble about labor, too. He cannot afford to keep all the year as many laborers as he needs at certain times, especially during the cotton-picking season, and it is difficult to get them when needed. Probably he cannot tell you his exact expenses, but he knows that they are heavy and his profits small. In addition to paying laborers and buying fertilizers, often he has to buy feed for his horses and mules; these must be kept all the year, though they are not busy one fourth of the time. If you ask this farmer why he does not plant less land in cotton, he looks at you in amazement. He answers that he would like to plant more; it is hard to get on as things are, and he could not make expenses if he planted less. Let us see. Cotton in a Rotation. — The farm adjoining this has the same natural conditions, but luxuriant crops grow on its fertile soil. One important element of its owner's success is his well-planned rotation of crops. His tilled land is divided into three parts, or ' shifts,' as farmers call them. On one he plants cotton, on one corn, on one cowpeas are drilled or sowed. These crops require planting and cultivating at different times, and so there is lighter and more constant work for man and team. Oats are sowed after the cotton. The cowpeas are gathered and the vines plowed under, or the vines are cut for hay and the stubble is plowed under. In either case, the land is improved in ways which are more fully explained on page io8. On this land is seeded a winter-growing crop, such as rye or barley; this keeps SOIL IMPROVEMENT 103 the land from washing, and uses plant food which would other- wise go to waste. With the corn at the last working is seeded crimson clover, which is a winter-growing crop. The second year, after grazing the rye or barley in the third s-hift, the farmer plows it up and plants that land in corn, — sowing, as before, crimson clover at the last working. He feeds or plows under the crimson clover in the second shift and plants it in cotton, later seeding this land in oats. When he cuts the oats on the first shift, he seeds cowpeas on the stubble, and when these are cut or picked, he sows rye or barley. The third year he again changes the crops on his shifts. Corn and crimson clover come on the first shift, cowpeas and small grain on the second, and cotton and oats on the third. The farmer is kept busy, but is never so much hurried as his neighbor who raises only cotton. Winter finds something growing on all the fields; the land is « gaining instead of losing .fertility. By change of crops and by plowing under green crops and stubble, humus and plant food are saved and supplied. This farmer has to buy less commercial fertilizers, and yet has better crops. Crop diseases and insect pests are less troublesome in his fields. He has plenty of feed for live stock; the hay and peas and grain he raises more than make up for his smaller crop of cotton. In the long run, it will be found more profitable to grow a crop, such as cotton or tobacco, once every two or three or four years on a field than every year. The advantages of crop rotation are so great that the farmers who give it a fair trial do not return to the one-crop system. In most sections the most prosperous farmers are those who practice rotation of crops. There are three kinds of crops which should have place in every rotation. First, of course, is the money crop to which •I04 AGRICULTURE I. cotton oats com crimson clover cowpeas rye or barley 2. cowpeas rye or barley cotton oats com crimson clover 3. corn crimson clover cowpeas rye or barley cotton oats the main place is given; this is usually the one which prevailed under the one-crop system, — tobacco, wheat, corn, or cotton. Second, there should be grain and fodder crops to provide food for man and beast. Third, there should be at least one legume to supply humus and plant food. Principles of Rotation. — There are no hard-and- fast rules as to the crops in a rotation. Yet the rotation should be arranged according to definite principles so as to secure cer- tain advantages for the farm and the farmer. First: Crops should rotate so as to give every year a money- market crop. It is better if a farmer can have two or more money crops, marketable at different seasons. Of course, the main one should be a profitable one. To determine the profitableness of a crop, the farmer must consider not merely selling price, but cost of production and market condition. The cost of produc- tion includes labor and fertilizers and the demand on soil fer- tihty. It must always be borne in mind, in considering the profit and loss of crops, that the elements removed from the soil must be returned in some form. Tobacco costs much labor to produce, and makes great, demands on the soil for plant food which must be returned in the shape of fertilizers and manures. The selling price must be high to make it profitable. Hay and grass, on the other hand, demand less labor and remove less fertility; thus they can be profitably sold at a lower price. If live stock be sold, or still better live-stock products, such as milk and butter, little fertility is removed from the farm, and the chief cost is in labor. SOIL IMPROVEMENT 105 Second: Crops should rotate so as to secure most of their nitrogen from the air. This is done by growing legumes, such as clover and cowpeas. Their work in improving the soil is more fully de- scribed in the section on Green Ma- nures. More and more, farmers are realizing the importance and the economy of raising legumes, and so avoiding partly or wholly the expense of buying nitrogen in fertilizers. Third: Crops should rotate so as to have plants of different feeding capac- ities and habits of growth follow one another. The greater the difference in all ways, — growth, food needs, food- getting power, and methods of cultiva- tion, — the better. Food unavailable to plants with shallow fibrous roots, such as wheat, is pumped out of the subsoil by plants with deep taproots, such as clover. Thus the drain of crop-feed- ing is divided between soil and sub- soil. Different methods of cultivation required by different crops improve soil conditions to 'be sometimes loosened, sometimes compacted. Fourth: Crops should rotate so as to make the best use of the residue, or remains, of the preceding crop and of the manures and fertilizers applied. Coarse manures are generally most valuable when applied to strong-feeding crops to precede and prepare for weak-feeding ones. Clover, for instance, is a strong- feeding plant and it makes good use of stable manure; it stores Courtesy of Alabama Agricultural Station I, rye after velvet beans ; 2, rye from an equal area, after sweet potatoes. All soils need I06 AGRICULTURE up nitrogen and leaves plant food in the surface soil. It is there- fore valuable to precede a weak-feeding plant, such as wheat. Tobacco is another good crop to precede wheat. It is a tap- rooted plant and it leaves the soil in a good condition for the fibrous-rooted cereal. Fifth: Crops should rotate so as to keep in check weeds and insect pests and fungous diseases. Certain weeds and insects flourish on certain crops. Moreover, plants grown a long period on the same soil lose vigor and ability to resist their enemies. These enemies are checked or destroyed by rotation of crops. Sometimes it is necessary to plan or change a rotation so as to reclaim land from these pests. Farmers change their crops and their methods of cultivation to check wilt diseases and weevils. By rotation of crops, lands can be freed of cattle ticks, so injurious to stock in the South. Sixth: Crops should rotate so as to furnish abundance of food for all live stock kept on the farm. When the farmer buys feed, he has to pay not only the cost of production, but the producer's profit and the cost of marketing and transportation. Seventh: Crops should rotate so as to keep land occupied. If a market or food crop is not being grown, there should be a catch, or cover, crop on the land. This will save and increase plant food, supply humus, and prevent the washing and leach- ing which cause far more loss of fertility than does cropping. Sandy soils and rolling land should never be left bare in winter. It is better for the farmer and the farm for them to be kept busy producing fertihty. to feed the next season's crops. Eighth : Crops should rotate so as to secure for men and teams as even distribution of labor as possible. Where this is not done, labor is more expensive and more unsatisfactory. In the great wheat region of the West, work is constant and hard for two SOIL IMPROVEMENT 107 or three months, then ceases almost entirely. There most un- satisfactory labor conditions prevail. Some Good Rotations. — A favorite three-year rotation where wheat and root crops are grown is wheat, clover, rye, and pota- toes. The wheat and clover are seeded in the fall. The wheat is cut the next summer, and the clover stands two years. The clover is followed by a winter cover crop of oats or rye which is grazed and followed by potatoes. Where cotton or tobacco is the main crop, a good three-year rotation is the one described, — corn and crimson clover, cotton or tobacco, small grain, and cowpeas or soy beans. A good four-year rotation is clover, wheat, and tobacco ; in this the clover stands two years. Another four-year rotation is potatoes, oats, clover, and wheat. A five-year rotation which includes small fruits is corn, wheat and cowpeas, early potatoes and beans, and strawberries for two years. Where dairy-farming and market-gardening are practiced, manures and fertihzers are largely relied on instead of crop rotation. EXERCISE 1 . Plan a rotation to bring in the staple crop of your section with re- gard to the principles explained. 2. Plan a rotation to bring in sweet potatoes as chief crop on sandy soil ; tobacco as chief crop on loam ; hay as chief crop on clay soil. 3. Plan a rotation to improve a clay soil that lacks humus; one to improve a thin, sandy soil. 4. Set aside two plots of equal size. Divide one into three parts and cultivate on it the crops in one of the three-year rotations described. On the other plot grow for three years the main crop in the same ro- tation. 5. Write an exercise on "crop rotation," illustrating it from your observation of the farms of your neighborhood. Io8 AGRICULTURE GREEN MANURES; LEGUMES AND SOIL INOCULATION Green Crops. — Green manures are crops, such as rye, cow- peas, and clover, plowed under when green to improve land. Sometimes the green crop is grazed or fed to stock or cut for hay, and the stubble is plowed under to improve the land. These crops benefit the soil's texture and moisture conditions, add humus and some plant food,- and make available much food already in the soil. Humus is especially needed by light soils ip. humid climates. Without it, they never produce good crops. Usually, the cheapest way to get it is to grow it on the fields where it is needed. A soil is kept well supplied with it by proper rotation of crops and by stock raising. 'Catch,' or 'cover' crops, as these are called, may often be grown without interfering with other crops in a rotation. They keep the land from becoming infested with weeds in summer, and in winter they prevent the washing away of soil and the leaching out of plant food. Cowpeas is an excellent summer crop to follow small grain, such as wheat or oats. Where it thrives, crimsoii clover is an excellent winter crop. It can be seeded alone, or in such- crops as corn, cotton, and tobacco, when they are worked the last time; in spring it may be cut or plowed under and the land planted in corn or other crops. Legumes. — Both cowpeas and crimson clover are legumes, which are the best green crops for soil improvement. What are legumes, and how do they benefit the soil more than other plants ? Legumes, or pod-bearing plants, include cowpeas, vetches, beans, peanuts, al fa,l'fa, and the clovers. They are valuable as humus suppliers and as forage crops, but their greatest value lies In the flowerpots on the left is wheat supplied, first, with potash ; second, with potash and phosphoric acid; third, with potash, phosphoric acid, and nitrogen. The tubes below show the relative yield of grain. In the flowerpots on the right is- vetch supplied, first, with potash; second, with potash and phosphoric acid; third, with potash, phosphoric acid, and nitrogen. The tubes below show the relative yield of seed. Fertilizing Experiment with Wheat and Vetch no AGRICULTURE in the fact that they are nitrogen-gatherers. Nitrogen is a costly and scarce element of plant food, costing, in commercial form, about sixteen cents a pound. An average crop of peas or clover adds about one hundred and fifty pounds of nitrogen to each acre of soil. Free Nitrogen. — Where do the plants get it ? From the air. Over every acre of soil there are more than three thousand tons of free nitrogen. This is of no service to crops, such as the cereals, which have no power to use nitrogen until it is changed into certain compounds. With vast quantities of nitrogen around it, a plant may starve, just as a sailor may perish of thirst with the great ocean surrounding him. Nitrogen is there, water is there, but not in forms available to the plant and the man. Tubercles. — Legumes, however, feed indirectly on this free nitrogen by means of certain forms of bacteria, -which live in knots, called tubercles, on their roots. The decay of the tuber- cles leaves nitrogen in the soil. On different legumes and under different conditions these tubercles vary from the size of a tiny pin head to that of an egg. They are thought to be rootlets, changed in form by thousands and millions of bacteria. Bacteria in Soils. — In soils where legumes have been culti- vated, these bacteria are abundant. Where legumes have not been grown, they are apt to be lacking. In that case the legumes will produce a smaller crop and the soil will be less enriched. The bacteria increase rapidly, and often legumes thrive the second year on land where they failed the first. Bacteria may be sup- plied by sprinkling land with soil from a field on which has been grown the legume desired; soil from an alfalfa -field must be used for alfalfa, from pea land for peas, and so on. Sprinkling the soil, or in oc'u lat ing it, as it is called, with soil from another field is troublesome and often inconvenient; it often introduces weeds and insect pests and fungous diseases. SOIL IMPROVEMENT III Pure Culture of Nitrogen. — After many experiments by scientists, a method has been discovered of growing these bacteria, so as to give legumes a start on land where they have not been cultivated. This is done by means of what is called a ' pure culture ' of nitrogen; it supplies bacteria raised under conditions that make them depend upon the air instead of the soil for their supply of nitrogen. This ' pure culture ' is applied to the seed or to the soil. It is similar in action to a yeast cake, and like yeast the bacteria must be raised carefully according to directions. The practical value of this method is doubted by many scientists. Certainly it is not enough to inoculate the seed or the soil. The soil should be well prepared, and there should be supphed mineral food, — potash and phosphoric acid, and lime if the soil is acid. If these elements be furnished in abundance, the legumes make a rank growth. EXPERIMENTS 1. Obtain the 'pure culture' from the Department of Agriculture or from your State Agricultural Experiment Station, and experiment with it. Fill two boxes with quartz sand which has been heated red- hot in order to burn out nitrates. Supply both with potash and phos- phoric acid. Plant wheat in one, and in the other plant peas inoc- ulated with the ' pure culture.' What happens to each when the nitrogen stored in the seed is ex- hausted ? At the left, crimson clover on uninoculated 2. Plant crimson clover seed in a soil; at the right, crimson clover on inocu- paper box of soil from a field i^'^<^ ™"- in which clover has been grown. When the plant blooms, put the box in water and soak the soil from the roots ; examine the tubercles. 112 AGRICULTURE Cross Section of Hotbed STABLE MANURE Benefits of Manure. — Stable manure is the liquid and solid excrement of farm animals. We find the richest farms and the most prosperous farmers where stock raising is practiced and the manure is properly saved and utilized. Stable manure increases the supply of plant food in the soil. It does this directly by supplying some elements, — nitrogen, potash, phosphoric 'acid, and lime, — and it does it indirectly by helping to change into available forms some un- available elements. It also improves the condition of the soil, binding together sandy soil and loosening clay. It enables a soil to re- tain more water and to yield it more fully and more gradually to plant roots. By the heat which it gives out in decaying and also by the heat which it absorbs from the air, it warms the soil. It does this to such an extent that ' hotbeds ' of manure are used to hasten the germination of seeds and growth of plants. Value of Manure. — The value of manure depends on the kind of animals which produce it, their age and food, the methods of saving and applying it. As a rule, the more concentrated ' the food of an animal, the more concentrated, and hence the ""-s-^^If^E^gfiSS^gs^-^f, more valuable, is the manure. -^^-^..^^iiku^vt,^.*- The manure from poultry, hogs, "°™=°' '"^ ^"'^^ ''"^''" ^^^ °'^°^^'''° and horses, which are fed. concentrated foods, is more valuable than cow manure, which is produced chiefly from coarse, bulky SOIL IMPROVEMENT 113 foods. Under good management, eighty per cent of the fertility in food can be returned to the soil in manure. The manure from old animals is more valuable than that of young ones, because growing animals retain more of the fertilizing elements, especially nitrogen, to build up their bodies. VALUE OF MANURE, ANNUALLY, OF FARM ANIMALS Produced Saved by Average Farmer Horse .?2 7.oo Sio.oo Cow ig.oo 6.00 Hog 12.00 4.00 Sheep 2.00 •75 Manure yields about one fourth of its value the first season. Its effects are more lasting than commercial fertilizers, which give up from one half to three fourths of their value the first season. Sources of Loss. — Manure often loses half or more of its value from lack of proper care. There are three sources of loss. Loss OF Manure by Exposure The manure on this farm loses more than half its value before It is applied to the land. Refer to the text and explain how and why this happens. First: Manure loses by the escape of the liquid matter. This is more valuable than the solid matter, as it contains nearly all 114 AGRICULTURE the nitrogen and some of the phosphoric acid and potash. Its loss may be prevented by the use of the proper quantity and kind of absorbents, such as straw or leaves, to catch and retain it. Second: Manure loses by exposure to rain. The liquid and some of the elements of the solid matter are leached and washed out. In manure exposed for several months to the weather, the loss of nitrogen and potash may amount to more than one half. When it is not desired to apply manure at once, it should be piled under cover or composted and kept moist. Third: Manure loses through the escape of gases in fermenta- tion, or ' heating ' as it is called from the heat produced and given oil in the process of decay. Fermentation is caused by the action of bacteria. If they are allowed to work unchecked, they set free in gases the most valuable elements of the manure. The process of fermentation can be checked by mixing the manure of different kinds of animals and by keeping the mass moist and well packed. When it is kept moist, the heat, instead of causing fermentation, is spent in evaporation; when it is well packed and trampled, fermentation is checked by lack of air. Manure is improved by fermentation if it be protected against loss of nitrogen. Composting Manure. — Farmers often compost manure. This is done by making a heap composed of alternate layers of manure and of weeds, leaves, etc. The whole is put up in a cone-shaped heap to protect it against rain, and covered with a layer of dry earth to absorb gases. It needs to be occasionally repiled and wet thoroughly to keep in check the process of fermentation. Where labor is scarce, it is often better to haul manure directly to the field where it is to be used, and to scatter it upon the land so as to let its fertilizing elements be embodied in the surface soil. SOIL IMPROVEMENT II5 EXPERIMENT Fertilize a row in your garden with stable manure that has been pro- tected against loss by leaching, washing, and heating. Fertilize another row with the same amount of the same kind of manure that has been ex- posed to the weather. Plant both rows in corn and cultivate in the same way. What difference do you observe? COMMERCIAL FERTILIZERS Crop Removal of Plant Food. — Perhaps you have heard a farmer say, "That crop has taken a great deal out of the land." That is literally true. In the case of abundant elements, such as iron, it is a matter of no importance ; there is always enough left. But you know there are some elements which are scarce in available forms. The phosphoric acid, nitrogen, and potash removed by crops must be replaced if the soil is to continue productive. Supplying Elements Needed. — Much plant food can be supplied and made available by deep and thorough cultivation, by proper rotation of crops, and by raising legumes. For crops which make large demands on soil fertility and in order to give proper balance of plant food, a farmer sometimes finds it desirable to supply some elements in concentrated, readily available forms. For these pur- poses, he uses commercial fertihzers. By their wise use, farmers gain thousands of dollars; by their unwise use, they lose more. Commercial Fertilizers. — What are the sources of these com- mercial fertilizers ? Some are obtained from vast natural deposits in Germany, South America, the United States, and other countries. Others are the by-products of certain manufactures, such as gas from coal, and oil from cotton seed. They contain plant food in a more concentrated and more directly available form than it exists in green and stable manures. ii6 AGRICULTURE They arc rarclv so cheap or so good for the soil as natural manures; some injure soil-texture and water-holding power. ^lost of them, indeed, are crop stimulants rather than soil impro\'ers. Rules for Use. — Two rules should go\ern tlie farmer's use of commercial fertilizers. First: To enrich his soil and increase his crop, he shoulfl depend chielly on tillage, rotation of crops, and natural manures. Tiiis grass was sowed in September. The field on tlic left received no further care ; that on the right had in the spring a top dressing of 250 lb. of muriate of soda and 250 lb. of nitrate of soda to the acre, at a cost of $18. 63. Tlie manured crop yielded 6,567 lb. of cured hay to the acre; the unmanured yielded 1,284 ^^- The hay sold for $16.00 a ton. What was the profit from the use of the fertilizer? Second: He should supplement these «uth the proper amount of the commercial fertilizers that experience pro\-es best and clreap- cst for his soil and his crops. Guano. — One cf the best commercial fertilizers is guano (gwa'no), which is especially rich in nitrogen and phosjjhoric acid. Guano is the manure and remains of lish-eating sea fowls. For countless centuries these birds frequented the rockv islands off the Pacific coast of South America. There they hatched and reared their ^'oung. Their manure and dead Ijodies accumulated, and in SOIL IMPROVEMENT I17 that rainless, tropical climate the moisture evaporated, leaving the fertilizing elements uninjured. The ancient Peruvians knew the value of these deposits, and protected the sea fowls and their homes. It was forbidden under penalty of death to kill the birds or even to set foot on the islands during the breeding season. About eighty years ago the first cargo of guano was sent to Eng- land, and experiments proved that it had a wonderful effect on crop production. Millions of tons were shipped until the best beds were exhausted. Deposits have been found in other places, but none so rich in nitrogen as the old beds off the Peruvian coast. Nitrogen. — For soil nitrogen, a farmer should rely chiefly" on raising legumes, on proper rotation of crops, on stock raising and the use of manures, and on deep plowing and thorough cultivation ; thus bacteria supply the soil with nitrogen. The chief commercial forms of nitrogen are : guano ; nitrate of soda, which is a vast natural deposit in rainless districts of South America ; sulphate of ammonia, which is obtained as a by-product in the manufacture of illuminating gas from coal and from other sources ; cotton-seed meal, which is a by-product of the manufacture of cotton-seed oil ; dried blood and tankage, which are by-products from slaughter houses ; dried fish and fish scraps, which are by- products of fish-oil factories and canneries. The value of fish as a fertilizer was known to our American Indians. You remember that Squanto taught the New Eng- land settlers that they could increase the yield of corn by putting a fish under each hill. This gave the grain the two elements it needed most — phosphoric acid and nitrogen. Commercial nitrogen was until recently obtained entirely from natural deposits and products. Artificial nitrates are now being made by the use of electric furnaces. By these the nitrogen and oxygen of the air are made to unite, forming nitric acid. Il8 AGRICULTURE Phosphoric Acid. — Many soils contain phosphorus in forms unavailable to plants; these soils need thorough tillage, and stable manure and lime to combine with the phosphates and form phos- phoric acid. The chief commercial sources of phosphoric acid are guano, ground and crushed bones, and phosphate rocks. There are large deposits of phosphate rocks in South Carohna, Florida, Virginia, North Carolina, Tennessee, and other states. These are supposed to be the accumulated remains of ancient animals. The phosphoric acid in them is insoluble and cannot be used by plants; it is made soluble, and so available, by being treated with sul phu'ric acid. Some preparations contain free sul- phuric acid, and if these be used year after year on land, it will become 'baked' and lose, instead of gaih, fertility. The insoluble forms of phosphates, such as bones and untreated phosphate rock, decay slowly and should be applied some time before needed. They do not injure the soil, are slow and lasting in effect, and are especially useful for slow-growing crops. Potash. — It is difficult to estimate the amount of available potash in a soil, as plants vary greatly in their ability to get it; it is un- available for some, where others collect all they need. Tobacco, grass, potatoes, legumes, and fruit trees use much potash. The chief commercial sources of potash are wood ashes and the products of the Stass'furt mines in Germany. These mines are in a vast salt bed formed probably by the evaporation of water from an inland sea, leaving the substances leached from the land. Potash is shipped from these mines in various forms, such as kain'it, mu'ri ate of potash, and sul'phate of potash. Common salt is the chief impurity in kainit and in muriate of potash. Sulphate or nitrate of potash is used on such crops as tobacco, potatoes, and fruit, of which the quality would be injured by the salt in muriate of potash and kainit. SOIL IMPROVEMENT 119 Calcium. — Calcium is an essential yilant food of which there is generally enough in the soil for plant needs. Ap]jlications of it, however, in the form of lime, are usually beneficial. One of the most useful effects of lime is in correcting acidity of soils. From various causes, there sometimes form in soils acid compounds, which A LlME-SrREAUlNG MACHINE AT WORK are injurious to plant growth. Such soils will not produce good crops. It is necessary to ' sweeten ' them, as farmers say. This is done by applying lime, which combines with the acids and destroys the injurious compounds. I.inie improves soil texture, sets free much unavailable plant food, and prevents many fungous diseases. TheeFfect of lime is largely a forcing one. Therefore it should be used as a supplement to other ])lant foods, not as a substitute for them. A wise old proverb says, — " Lime and marl without manure Will make both farm and farmer poor." I20 AGRICULTURE Mixing Fertilizers. — Many farmers buy materials and mix fertil- izers according to formulas which tests and experience have proved B satisfactory. Thus they know the kind and quality of plant food they are getting, and obtain it at a reasonable cost. On page 305 in the Appendix will be found simple and useful sug- gestions about mixing fertilizers. iJ*;-!. V vf 7 W» '^V^i V(. >s-- Alfalfa THQMA5 OLAG STABLE GUANO The alfalfa on the left was from limed land; that on the right was from an equal area of unlimed land. Legumes are usually benefited by applications of lime. suP«PMo=PH.T. pjglj Tests. — By mak- ing field tests, a farmer can learn what fertilizers suit the special ' needs of his soil and his crops. It is a good plan to set aside for a test eight plots, each twenty-one feet and four inches wide and one hun- dred and two feet long, .,,.,. .u J , V . . containing one twentieth In this diagram the dark lines unite names of.mate- ° rials which should never be mixed; the light lines of an acre. They should unite those which may be mixed at any time; the up senarated bv 'tr'OS of double light lines unite those which should be applied -Jr' immediately after mixing. land about three feet wide, POTASH SALTS NITRATE OF SODA SOIL IMPROVEMENT 131 to prevent the fertilizer used on one plot from affecting the adjoining plots. The fertilizers should be applied as illustrated in the diagram. They can be mixed with fine earth and drilled in the rows. The plots should be cultivated in the same way and planted in the same crop, the one for which the farmer usually buys fertihzers. - If he uses them largely on several crops, it will prove helpful and economical to make the test for each If potatoes or tobacco be the 81b. Nitrate of Soda. 81b. Muriate of Potash I6lb. Phosphoric Acid. 81b. Nitrate of Soda. 8" Muriate of Potash. 81b. Nitrate of Soda. 16 " Phiosphoric Acid 5 8lb. Muriate of Potash 16" Phosphoric Acid. one. test crop, sulphate of potash should be used instead of muriate of potash. The test plots may be made smaller, the quantity of fertihzers being reduced accordingly. Cost of Fertilizers. — In buying or in mixing fertilizers, the farmer should try to get as many pounds of available plant food as possible for the money, not as many bags of material. The freight and trouble of handling a ton of kainit containing one hundred and twenty pounds of plant food are as great as those on a ton of muriate of potash containing a thousand pounds. A fertilizer at forty dollars the ton may be, and often is, cheaper than one at twenty dollars the ton, on account of supplying over twice as much plant food at the same cost for freight and hauhng. v.aaranteed Analysis. — To protect the farmer against fraud. 81b. Nitrate of Soda S'Muriate of Potash. 16" Phosphoric Acid. 2 bu. Lime 7 8 Fertilizer Field Tests 122 AGRICULTURE many state laws require that the guaranteed analysis, or formula, of a fertilizer shall be placed on the bag containing it. At the pre- vailing prices of unmixed materials, a pound of nitrogen is worth about sixteen cents, a pound of potash about five, and a pound of phosphoric acid about four and a half. If a farmer understands a fertilizer formula, he can tell how many pounds of each he is getting in available form; by the price of the ton he can tell whether or not he is paying a reasonable price, including the manufacturer's profit for mixing and bagging. If he be not willing to take time and trouble to learn the A B C of the matter, his purse, and often his crop also, will suffer. A few years ago a ' natural plant food ' was widely advertised and extensively sold at from twenty-five to twenty-eight dollars the ton. So much of the plant food which it contained was in insoluble and unavailable forms that the real value of the mixture was one dollar and fifty-two cents the ton. The printed formula was given on the bag, as required by law. But to the man who did not under- stand it, this was of no more value than so many Greek letters. EXERCISE 1. To find out if land is acid, take some soil from two to four inches below the surface and moisten it thoroughly. Put in it a slip of blue litmus paper and leave it there several hours. If the blue paper turns red, the soil is acid and needs lime. 2. Lay off eight plots and make the field tests described on page 120. Remember that weather will affect the results; the experiment should be repeated several tirnes. You may modify the experiment by using more or less of certain substances, so as to learn how to attain most economically the best result for a given crop. 3. Are commercial fertilizers used in your locality ? For what pur- poses ? 4. Get samples of different commercial fertilizers and test them, comparing results on sams soil with same crop plant. OUTLINE OF CHAPTER FOUR FIELD, ORCHARD,. AND GARDEN CROPS Crop Raising: Conditions determining crop : Climate, soil, labor, market Profits lie in Cultivating well, in proper way, and at proper time Avoiding waste and unnecessary expense Forage Crops: " Uses : Supply green and dry feed for stock Some grasses : Blue grasses, meadow fescue, redtop or herd's grass, orchard grass, timothy, Bermuda Corn, sorghum Some legumes : Clovers, cowpeas, alfalfa, vetches, soy beans, Canada field peas, velvet beans, peanuts Cutting and curing hay Cereals: Uses: Grain for food Stalks and leaves for forage Requirements : Fertile soil, clay or loam preferred Much moisture Improved by Seed selection Good tillage Cross breeding 123 124 , AGRICULTURE Corn: Cultivation : Deep plowing before planting Shallow cultivation of crop Wheat : Cultivation : Deep, firm seed bed with fine mellow surface Oats Rye Barley Rice Cotton and Other Fiber Plants : Uses: Fiber for clothing Seed for oil, stock food, and fertilizer Cultivation : Deep plowing before planting Shallow cultivation, not continued late Improved by Seed selection Good cultivation Cross breeding Cotton : Special requirements : Long growing season Even rainfall Much sunshine Well-drained soil, loam preferred Flax Hemp Tobacco: Uses: Leaves for smoking and chewing Stems for snuff Requirements : Soil and climate adapted to type desired FIELD, ORCHARD, AND GARDEN CROPS 135 Cultivation, fertilizing, and curing adapted to grade desired Cultivation : Deep plowing before planting Shallow, thorough cultivation of crop Improved by Seed selection Cultivating according to requirements Sugar-producing Plants: Sugar cane Sorghum Sugar beets The Orchard and its Care: Our common fruits How fruit trees are grown Orchard location Selection of varieties Transplanting Cultivating Fertilizing Spraying Thinning fruit Pruning trees The Vegetable Garden: Location and cultivation Market gardening or truck farming Our common vegetables Berries, bush fruits, and grapes The Flower Garden: Improvement of flowers Annuals Biennials Perennials PRINCIPAL CROP PLANTS Grass family Corn or maize Wheat Oats Rye Barley Rice Sugar cane Sorghum Timothy Blue grasses Redtop, or herd's grass Fescues Orchard grass Goose-foot family Beet Spinach Mangel-wurzel Melon family or cucurbs Gourd Cucumber Muskmelon Watermelon Squash Cymling Pumpkin Sunflower family Artichokes Lettuce Salsify Rose family Apple Pear Quince Peach Plum Apricot Cherry Strawberry Raspberry Blackberry Dewberry Citron family Orange Lemon . Lime Carrot family Carrot Parsnip Parsley Celery Nightshade family Tomato Eggplant Pepper White potato Tobacco Lily family Onion Asparagus Nettle family Hops Morning-glory family Sweet potato Legume family Clovers Cowpeas Alfalfa Vetches Soy bean Canada field pea Velvet bean Peanut Garden pea String beans, or snaps Shell beans, — lima, navy, and butter beans Vine family Grapes Mallow family Cotton Okra Mustard family Mustard Turnip Radish Cabbage Cauliflower Rape Cresses 126 CHAPTER FOUR FIELD, ORCHARD, AND GARDEN CROPS CROP RAISING Principles not Methods. — In this chapter you will be told little about special methods of cultivating special crops. These are to be learned by observing and practicing them in connection with the growing crop. Methods vary with season and with soil, as well as with crops : what is right in dry weather, may be wrong in wet; what is beneficial on a sandy soil, may be injurious on clay. Instead, then, of studying special methods, let us look into the principles which underhe crop raising and govern all good and successful farm work. Let us first consider briefly our agricultural plants; Plant Families. — Plants are divided by botanists into families, or orders, which include those of common origin. There are two hundred families of flowering plants, including over a hundred thousand species. A few of these families furnish our crop plants, which have many wild relatives, some of which are poisonous. Our crisp celery is close kin to the poisonous hemlock, the white potato to the deadly nightshade. It is useful to know these kin- ships. While related plants may differ greatly in appearance, they need similar food and care and are subject to the same diseases and insect enemies. The grass family is a large and useful one. In it are included sugar cane, sorghum, and the cereals, as well as numerous pasture 127 128 AGRICULTURE and hay grasses. These plants have fibrous surface roots, long, narrow leaves, and jointed, hollow or pithy stems. Their flowers are usually small and scentless, as they depend upon the wind to carry their pollen. You have already been told something about the legume, or Produci'ive Areas of the Principal Agricultural Staples of the United States pod-bearing, family, which has the power of using free nitrogen by means of bacteria that hve in the tubercles on the roots. The rose family, which gives us our most beautiful flowers, is the .great fruit family of the north temperate zone. On page 126 is a table of our principal crop plants, classified according to families. Crop Development. — To Asia we owe most of our food plants. They have had their qualities developed by hundreds, even thou- FIELD, ORCHARD, AND GARDEN CROPS 129 sands, of years of cultivation. By cultivation they have been given a much wider range of soil and climate than their wild ancestors had. But they stiU have preferences, often very decided ones, as to chmate, soil, moisture, and other conditions. Their yield is largest in quantity and best in quality when these preferences are regarded, and therefore it is to the farmer's interest to consider them. His profits He in producing at the least possible cost the best possible crop. Climate. — Chmate is a matter of main importance. A warmth- loving plant, such as cotton, will not grow in northern climates; certain varieties of wheat do not flourish in warm sections. Crim- son clover seldom does well in the North, and Canada peas are usually unsatisfactory in the South. Soil. — Soil has a decided effect on crops. 'On a sandy soil most grain crops, especially wheat, are small in quantity and inferior in quahty; on that soil tubers and root crops thrive. On a clay soil, on the other hand, root crops do not develop well, but wheat and most other cereals and grasses thrive. Moisture. — In their moisture requirements, also, plants vary widely. The drought-enduring Kafir corn will grow where most plants' would die for want of water; moisture-loving rice will thrive where most plants would be drowned. Conditions Determining Crops. — Soil and climate, then, de- termine the possibihty of the crops on a farm; but it is market and other conditions which, to a large extent, determine their profitableness. The eastern states, where there are many towns and cities and a network of railroads, are largely occupied with dairy farming, poultry raising, and market gardening. In the South, where land is plentiful and labor has been abundant, are raised the great labor-demanding staples, tobacco and cotton. In the West, where I30 AGRICULTURE land is plentiful but labor scarce, are raised vast crops of grain and great quantities of stock. It will not do to grow a crop simply because it was a profitable one for our fathers and grandfathers. Labor and market condi- tions change, and the successful farmer, like the successful man in other fields of business, must adapt himself to circumstances. New England was once the wheat farm of the United States. Since large crops of grain have been produced on the prairie lands, New England farmers have found it more profitable to raise other crops. In turn, the vast wheat crops of the Northwest will prob- ably compel the prairie states to seek profit in other branches of agriculture. Changed labor conditions have brought about changes in south- ern farming. Deprived of the vast fixed element of slave labor, the landowners have been forced to reduce their acreage of cotton and to raise at home their food supplies. They are finding profit in diversified farming and stock raising. Methods of Cultivation. — Special methods of cultivation depend largely on soil and season, and on the habits of growth and feeding powers of each special crop. There are, however, some general principles applicable to most cases. A deep, fertile seed bed and thorough tillage rarely fail to pay their cost, and a profit -besides. Season for Planting. — Other things being equal, the most profitable crop is the one planted at the most favorable season. In sections subject to summer drought, it is important to plant crops as early as possible. This gives them the advantage of the spring and winter store of moisture, and enables them by early growth and vigorous condition better to resist dry weather. The cultivation of a crop should put it in the best possible shape for the average and usual conditions of temperature and moisture of the section. FIELD, ORCHARD, AND GARDEN CROPS IM It is important for sake of both the crop and the soil to utihze favorable conditions. The successful tobacco grower worl-cs early and late to get his crop transplanted during a favorable season. A grain s;ro\ver considers carefullv the condition of his seed bed. Average Plants from Three Fields of Grass The plant on the left was seeded in September ; the others were seeded later and did not get well rooted before winter. Any good farmer can give you instances drawn from his own experience which prove that it pays to cultivate a crop well, and that it is important to plant and work a crop at the right time, when seasons are fa\'orable. Business Methods. — Farming demands for its successful pur- suit the same qualities and methods required for success in other 132 AGRICULTURE occupations, — industry, intelligence, energy, and system. A manufacturer knows to a fraction of a cent what profit he is mak- ing on every bolt of cloth that his mill produces. If he finds that he is working at a loss, he increases his. selling price, cuts down wages, or closes his mill. Farming is a business in which more money is invested than in manufacturing or any other industry in the United States. Does a farmer know at what price he can afford to sell wheat and tobacco, or ,pork and beef, unless he knows what it cost him to raise them? Can he tell what crop is most profitable unless he knows, in each case, the cost of production as well as the selling price ? Keeping Accounts. — He should keep accounts as carefully as does the manufacturer. He should make a record of the cost of each crop, labor of man, team, and tools, quantity, composition, and cost of fertilizers, yield, and selling price. He should keep account of all his live stock, value of food, and returns in meat, milk, wool, and other products. Increasing Profits. — Like the manufacturer, he must change his methods if he finds that he is working at a loss. If he cannot sell a product for a paying price or cut down cost so as to make it profitable, he should stop raising it. Profits can often be increased by foresight and good judgment in planting, cultivating, and marketing crops so as to improve their quality or to get them on the market at a favorable time. It is usually more profitable to sell, instead of raw products, articles made from raw products, — that is, to sell wool instead of hay, rtiilk or butter instead of fodder. Reducing Expenses. — By studying and applying the principles underlying the feeding of plants and animals, a farmer can reduce the cost of crop production and stock raising. This reduction, of course, increases his profits. - - - - FIELD, ORCHARD, AND GARDEN CROPS 133 By-products. — All by-products on the farm, such as manure and ashes, should be used so as to get their full value. Advantage should be taken oi processes to save material that formerly went to waste, such as cotton seed and cornstalks. These matters may seem small, but they are important. All waste, all unnecessary expense, are so many dollars and cents deducted from the farmer's profit. Does he buy seed which he could as well or better raise at home? The cost comes off his profit. Does he hire incompetent laborers and so fail to get his work done at the proper time in the proper way? The so-called economy is an expense reducing his profits. Does he sleep late in the morning and loaf in the afternoon when his crops need him ? The indulgence makes a heavy deduction from his profits. Exercises are given in connection with the special crops which follow. FORAGE CROPS Uses of Forage Crops. — As forage crops, we group those plants which are used as green or dry feed for horses, cattle, sheep, and other stock. These differ widely in growth and habits ; they have one quality in common, — they produce luxuriant and succulent leaves and stems. These forage plants are used in different ways. Sometimes they are sowed on land to form pastures where stock can graze. Sometimes they are fed as soiling crops, — that is, they are cut and fed green. Sometimes they are cut green, but instead of being fed at once, they are put away in air-tight buildings, called si'los, to furnish green feed in winter. This si'lage, as it is called, is espe- cially relished by dairy cattle. Sometimes the crop is allowed to stand until nearly ripe, and then is cut and exposed to the air and sun to dry so as to make hay. 134 AGRICULTURE Grasses. — Among the best pasture and hay plants are some members of the grass family. Those that spread by means of rootstocks or underground stems are especially adapted to pastures. Plants that spread by the seed alone would soon be killed by close grazing, which prevents their maturing seed. Among the best pasture grasses are the blue grasses, meadow fescues, orchard Kentucky blue grass Buffalo grass Three Good Pasture Grasses Bermuda grass grass, redtop or herd's grass, and Bermuda grass. Redtop and timothy make excellent- hay. Many farmers sow on pasture land and hayfields a mixture con- taining several varieties of grass. This produces a larger crop and exhausts the soil less than one variety, because different grasses have different feeding habits and requirements. A favorite mixture is timothy, redtop, orchard grass, and clover. " Most of the true grasses flourish best in cool climates and on fertile soil, especially on limestone soils. FIELD, ORCHARD, AND GARDEN CROPS 135 Bermuda Grass. — In the South, Bermuda grass makes excellent summer pasture. Where year-round pasturage is desired, the Bermuda sod is harrowed and sowed with bur clo\er or hairy vetch to furnish winter grazing. Bermuda grass matures seed onlv in tropical countries; in temperate regions it spreads by means of its underground stems which take root at e^-ery joint. Owing to this habit of growth, it bears close pasturing without injury. It grows on almost anv soil, however poor, and is especially \alu- able on thin, rolling lands disposed to wash. Bermuda is a sun- The Product of a Good Pasture loving grass and dies when shaded. It can be killed in a season or two bv a sowed crop, such as cowpeas. Corn. — Corn, which is our most valuable grain plant, is also our chief forage crop. Its uses and culti\ation arc described on page 140. Sorghum. — In the South and Southwest, especially in semi-arid lands, Kafir corn and other varieties of sorghum are much used for forage. Sorghum resembles corn in growth, but is a stronger feeder and so thrives better on thin land. It endures extremes of heat and cold well, and resists drought that would kill corn. 136 AGRICULTURE It is a valuable hay crop in sections where redtop, timothy, and clover cannot be grown. Rape. — Rape is a valuable crop for pasturing and soiling. It is easily grown and furnishes a large amount of forage that is especially relished by sheep and hogs. In the South it supplies late fall and winter grazing, and at the North cheap summer forage. Legumes. — The most profitable fodder crops are legumes. They do double work, — fertilizing the soil, as you have learned. P- 7+lbi PA 2ifc :^4i»v. 351k P.A. Bibs. N. 38lbs P. 57lbs. lOOIba. RA 33 lbs. 1S7 lbs'.- Timothy Red Clover COWPEAS Alfalfa This diagram shows the amount of potash, phosphoric acid, and nitrogen, as indicated by initial letters, removed from an acre of soil by different hay crops. It is estimated that timothy will yield two tons of cured hay to the acre; red clover, two tons; cowpeas, two tons ; alfalfa, three tons. The shaded figures indicate that the legumes, under proper con- ditions, get their supply of nitrogen from the air. and also furnishing a large yield of excellent feed. Besides luxu- riant foliage, many of them produce seeds .having a high food value. They are strong-feeding plants, and their long roots pump up food that is out of reach of shallow-rooted plants. In the large legume family are members adapted to widely different conditions. Red clover is the one most widely grown in the North, cowpeas and crimson clover in the South, and alfalfa in the West. No one of them, however, is limited to one section. Red Clover. — Red clover is a perennial which is usually culti- vated as a biennial. It makes a light yield the first season, and a heavy yield the second one. It is often sowed with grasses. The FIELD, ORCHARD, AND GARDEN CROPS 137 clover dies the second year, leaving the field in grass. Clover should be cut for hay before the first blossoms turn brown. If cut before the seeds form, it will put out again and, in its efforts to seed, will make a heavy second crop. If cut late, after the seeds form, the second crop will be light. Mammoth clover is a rank- growing variety of red clover. Red clover Crimson clover Cowpeas Four Valuable Legumes Crimson Clover. — Crimson clover is an annual used as a forage crop in the central and southern states. It requires a mild chmate and thrives on lighter soil than other clovers. It is sowed in the summer or fall, furnishes a valuable winter cover crop, and matures in the spring; often it is cut or plowed under to give place to a crop of cotton, tobacco, or corn. Cowpeas. — Where it thrives, the cowpea is one of the best forage crops and soil improvers. It is a tender, strong-feeding annual. It grows better on thin, sandy soil than any other forage crop, and adapts itself to different conditions of soil and moisture. 138 AGRICULTURE Its deep roots get water and plant food from the subsoil. The cowpea grows rapidly, and in three months adds to the soil two thirds as much fertility as does red clover in eighteen months, besides producing a larger quantity of hay of equal feeding value. Soy Bean. — The soy bean is a legume with many of the good qualities of the cowpea. It has the advantage of an upright growth and greater ability to resist drought. Alfalfa. — Alfalfa is a wonderfully productive legume. It is the principal forage plant on the irrigated lands of the West. It can be grown in all sections of the United States, where the soil is properly prepared and inoculated. In some of the eastern states it is called lu cerne', the name by which it is known in Europe. Alfalfa is the Arabic name used by the Spaniards, who introduced it into Mexico. Alfalfa roots descend ten feet, or deeper, and use food and water out of reach of most crops. The land for it must be fertile and well drained. Alfalfa is a slow-growing plant and needs to be protected against quick-growing weeds. It should be kept mowed and free from weeds. It does not reach its prime for three or four years, but produces from three to seven cuttings of hay every year for ten, fifteen, twenty years, or longer. If allowed to bloom and form seeds before it is mowed, its growth and vigor are lessened. Other Legumes. — There are many other legumes used more or less extensively for pasturage and hay. Canada field peas and Alsike, or Swedish clover, require a cool climate; velvet beans require a warm one ; vetches and Dutch, or white, clover thrive in both. The peanut is a legume which is cultivated chiefly for the nuts. These are used for food and candy making, and for an oil re- FIELD, ORCHARD, AND GARDEN CROPS 139 sembling olive oil. The vines, properly cured, make excellent hay, which is relished by all stock. Peanuts are often grown as a crop to be harvested by hogs. An acre of peanuts will make more pork than an acre of cowpeas or corn. The soil should be kept loose by culti\'ation till the vines run freely. The plant flowers like a pea on the vine and then forms the nut at the end of the flower spike. This turns down into the ground and matures underground. The crop is harvested before frost, and the vines are shocked around poles. When dry, the nuts are picked off. Courtesy of ^Ve^t Vir;:inia Agricultural Station A Crop of Timothy Hay which yielded 8,527 Lb. to the Acre Curing Hay. — The feeding value of hay crops depends largely on the time of cutting and the method of curing, or drying. Cut too earlv, plants are immature, sappy, and lack nourishment. Cut too late, the nourishment has gone to form seeds, and the stems are hard and woody. When it flowers fully, the whole plant is in the best condition for hay, full of nourishing juices. It requires care and experience to cure hay properly. Much depends on the weather before and during the season of curing. I40 AGRICULTURE In a dry season hay cures easily. If it continues wet and plants are full of sap, care is needed to prevent mildew and rot. If cutting is followed bycold, wet weather, the crop will be injured or lost in spite of care. EXERCISE 1. Collect specimens of true grasses and legumes. Compare their different parts, — roots, stems, leaves, and blossoms, — and make draw- ings of them. How is the pollen of legumes carried ? How is that of true grasses conveyed ? 2. What are the best pasture and hay crops of your section? 3. You will enjoy raising some peanuts and observing the plants' habits of growth. The small Spanish peanuts are productive and are easy to raise. CORN, WHEAT, AND OTHER CEREALS Cereals. — Cereals are plants of the grass family which are, cultivated for their seed or grains. Among the most widely culti- vated ones are corn, wheat, oats, rye, barley, and rice. During, the early stages of growth there is much nourishment in the stems, and leaves of cereals, and they are sometimes cut then for green; feed or hay. Usually, however, they are allowed to ripen their seeds, — the grain crop so valuable for food. Much of the plant's nourishing substance is stored in the grain, but the leaves and stalk are still useful for forage. Corn. — Corn, or maize, our great American cereal, is probably a native of tropical America. Long before Columbus crossed the ocean, it was cultivated as a bread' grain by Indian tribes in the North and South, the East and West; and still from Maine to Florida, from Massachusetts to California, the summer sun shines on broad, waving fields of corn. The average annual crop of the United States is over two and a FIELD, ORCHARD, AND GARDEN CROPS 141 half billion bushels of grain, — three fourths of the world's crop. This is used as food for man and beast, and as material for the manufacture of starch, alcohol, and many other products. The grain, however, does not form more than half the value of the corn crop. The lea-\'es and husks, or shucks, and stalk con- tain more nourishment than those of most other cereals, and furnish a vast amount of forage; one sixth of the nourishment of the plant is in the stalks. Paper and pasteboard are made from cornstalk fiber, and the pith furnishes mate- rial for linoleum and the packing for gunboats. Corn- stalks are a valuable source of commercial alcohol. This is alcohol made unlit for drinking, but useful for light, heat, and power. Since the go\ernmcnt ta.x has been removed from commercial alcohol, corn growers have a new source of profit and of cheap power, light, and fuel. The cornstalks from an acre of corn fielding fiftv bushels of grain produce about one hundred gallons of alcohol. Range. — Corn, being a tropical plant, thrives best in a warm climate and on a moist, fertile soil. It has, however, such power of adapting itself to its surroundings that it has a wide range of soil and climate, and it grows in all sections of the United States. Indeed, the largest average vield of grain in the country is in New England, with its poor soil and short growing season. .rtfsy uf Kentucky Airriniltural Station Uniform E.-\rs of Corn 142 AGRICULTURE There it is given the thorough tillage to which all cereals re- spond. CuUivaliou. — The cultivation of the corn crop should begin before it is planted. The plowing should be deep and thorough. The corn should be planted as soon as the ground is warm enough; general experience is that early planting gives the best yield. Growing conditions are usually more favorable in the spring, and an early crop is less often injured by drought. Flat, shallow cultivation is best, except on wet lands where ridge culti- vation is needed for drainage. Deep plowing breaks off the A Field of Corn that prodi'cf.p One Hundred and Thirty Bushels TO THE Acre roots near the surface that are busy getting air, water, and food for the plants. This lessens the crop yield. In dry sections corn is often 'listed,' — that is, it is planted in furrows which are gradually filled by cultivation so that the roots range deeper and secure more moisture. Saving Corn Forage. — Farmers are naturally desirous of saving both the forage and the grain of this valuable crop. Some pull the unripe leaves for fodder and cut the tops above the ears. But this re<|uires a great deal of labor and lessens the yield of grain. You can easily see why it is so. You have learned how important the foliage is to a plant. You would never pull the leaves off a FIELD. ORCHARD, AND GARDEN CROPS 143 grape vine and expect it to mature a full crop of fruit ; neither can this be done with corn. If, however, the stalks be left in the field until the CTain is mature, the forasfe loses much of its value. It has been found most profitable to cut the whole stalk before it is quite ripe. The leaves and stalk then continue to feed the grain and mature it without much loss; thus both grain and forage are saved. It is a laborious undertaking to remove the corn from these cut CULTU-ATING CORN Stalks, shuck or husk it, and cut the stalks for forage. Sometimes the stalks are fed whole, as ' sto'ver,' but there is much waste, because their hard fiber keeps them from being fully utilized for food. There are machines which rcmo\-e and husk the corn and cut or crush the stalks into a coarse hay which is a palatable and nutritious fodder. Ferlilizers. — Some plants when they get half enough food ma- ture half a crop. Corn, however, does not. \M:en it is dwarfed by poor soil, it produces either no grain or a small and inferior crop. Therefore poor land should be improved by legumes, manures, and fertilizers before it is planted in corn. 144 AGRICULTURE Place in Rotation. — As corn rcmo\'cs humus and nitrogen from the soil, it should follow and precede crops which supply Corn on Sou. too Poor to yield a Profitable Crop one or both of these. Some good farmers sow rye or crimson clover in the fall on land to be planted in corn the following spring, and plow under the rye crop or clover stubble. Improvement. — The average yield of corn in the United States is only twenty-four bush- This di;igrani shows the amount of fcrtihly removed from an acre of soil by a crop of corn ^'^^ tO lllC aCrC. it IS an CaSy yielding forty bushels of grain and 3500 Ujs. of ^rop to improvc in yield and forage. m quality. It is estimated that the yield to the acre could easily and quickly be doubled with very little increase in work or expense by improving the seed, Grain FllRAOE FIELD, ORCHARD, AXD GARDEN CROPS 145 the condition of the soil, and the methods of cuhivation. Thus each farmer could raise as much corn as he is now producing on half the land with little more than half the labor. Seed Scleclioii. — It is important to se- lect seed corn in the field, so as to choose ears from healthy, productive plants. A farmer planted half of his field with seed selected in the field and half with seed selected from the crib con- taining his best corn. Soil and cultivation were the same. The seed corn from the crib yielded eighty bushels to the acre ; the field-selected seed yielded ninety-six bushels. For seed, the best ears should be selected from the best stalks. The plants should be stout and healthy, well pro- vided with leaves so as to give a good yield of fodder. The stalk should bear two or more good ears, which point down- ward when ripe. The size and shape of ear and kernel, the arrangement and number of rows ''°''" and the size of cob should be carefully consid- ered. The ear should be well filled out at both ends ; the rows should be straight and uniform ; and the grains should be A good stalk from which to select seed corn A iif Arkiinsiis V^rn ultiiral stiiti ii Thrfsiuno and Loading Rice and is allowed to stand several days. It is then drawn off; after the plants get a good start, it is turned on again and is drawn off before harvest time. The crop is harvested and threshed very much like wheat. The fact that the water needed is supplied by irrigation makes it practically a sure crop; and it is proving a profitable crop in Texas and Louisiana and other states where climate and moisture conditions are favorable. EXERCISE 1. Plant grains of each of the cereals in a box with glass sides, as described in experiment 4 on page 72, and watch and compare the de- velopment of the plants. 2. Cultivate in carefully prepared plots eacli one of these six cereals that is adapted to your climate and conditions. Compare tlicir habits FIELD, ORCHARD, AND GARDEN CROPS 153 of growth and especially their seed heads. Select good varieties and try to make them better by good cultivation and careful seed selec- tion. 3. Plant in one row small, shrunken grains of wheat and in the row next to it large, plump grains. Is there any difference in plants and )'ield in the two rows? 4. Obtain from your state Agricultural Experiment Station the score cards which it uses in judging corn, wheat, and other grains. Get from farmers or raise for yourself some of the varieties most popular in your neighborhood. Select five or ten of the best ears of each variety, and mark the points on a score card. 5. Select- an ear of corn that has short grains and one of about the same size that has long wedge-shaped grains. Shell each and measure the grain to see which yields most. Weigh grain and cob of each separately. What per cent of each is corn and what per cent is cob ? Good seed com gives eighty-five per cent grain. COTTON AND OTHER FIBER PLANTS Fiber Materials. — There are four great staples which provide us materials for the fabrics which we use for so many purposes. Two of these, silk and wool, are animal products; two, cotton and flax, are vegetable ones. The United States imports three of these staples, silk, wool, and flax, usually manufactured into fabrics; the fourth, cotton, is our chief export and furnishes material for one of our most valuable manufacturing industries. Uses of Cotton. — While the cotton plant is raised primarily for its fiber, other parts are useful, also. The seed furnishes an oil valuable for illuminating, cooking, and other purposes; the hulls and meal left from the manufacture of oil are used for stock feed and fertilizer. The root bark is used as a medicine, and the stalk fiber is woven into coarse cloth for bagging. Recently, machinery has been perfected to make paper out of the stalks; 154 AGRICULTURE this will doubtless increase the annual value of the crop about a hundred miUion dollars. Range and Cultivation. — The cotton plant is of tropical origin, and its successful culture is limited to the region south of latitude Cil. II 11 \-(, (Jill Kix i:jn a PLANT.VriON IN LOUISIANA thirtA'-seven. It needs a long growing season, — at least six months free from frost, — an abundant, even rainfall during its growing period, and much sunshine, especially during its ripening season. Where climate and rainfall are favorable, it will thriA'e in almost any soil. It prefers, howe\-er, a medium loam. After the plants come up, many good farmers run a harrow crosswise o\-er the held, to destroy young weeds and to thin the cotton. The ilnal thinning, or ' choi^ping to a stand,' should be done Avhile tlic ])lants are small. If this be delayed too long, they become stunted and never regain their vitality. The cultiva- tion should be clean and shallow, so as to destroy weeds and to FIELD, ORCHARD, AND GARDEN CROPS ISS preserve a soil-mulch, but not to break the surface roots. It should not continue too late, else it will produce growth at expense of fruit. The great labor of cotton production is picking the crop, — a tedious and costly operation which has to be performed by hand. Then the fiber is ginned to remove the seed, and the lint is pressed by machinery into large bundles, called ' bales,' each weighing about five hundred pounds. The baled cotton is sent to mills, where it is spun into thread and woven into cloth. -' Cotton makes only moderate demands on the soil, but it is often profitable to use fertilizers to hasten its maturity. Vvlien plant food is scarce or unavailable, cotton needs to have supplied phosphoric acid, nitrogen, and potash. The cheapest way to furnish the nitrogen is usually to precede cotton with a nitro- gen-gathering crop, such as cowpeas or crimson clover. If this is done, it will be necessary to furnish only the cheap mineral elements, phosphoric acid and potash. Cotton lint is composed almost entirely of carbon, obtained from 'the air. If only this be removed, cotton takes less fertility from the land than almost any other crop. The seeds remove twenty- one times as much mineral matter as does the lint. They should be replaced by their equivalent in fertilizing elements. 'Re- placed,' we sa}', for good farmers now seldom use cotton seed for a fertilizer, as they did some years ago, while poor ones left them to accumulate around the gin, like sawdust around a mill. Now the seeds are usually sold to oil mills, which extract^ the oil. Bs0 Fiber N 34 lbs. RA. 14 lbs p. 13 lbs. Seed This diagram shows the amount. of potash^ phosphoric acid, and nitrogen removed from an acre of soil by a crop of cotton, producing a bale of cotton and looo lb. of seed. 156 AGRICULTURE The hulls and meal left from the process arc used as fertilizer or stock feed. Place in Rotation. — Cotton, as already stated, removes from the land less fertility than almost any other crop. Why is it, then, that cotton farms are so often poor and ' run down ' ? This is due to unwise and improper cultivation. The one-crop system pre\ails largely throughout the cotton section. The same land is put in cotton yc'ar after year. Being a clean crop, it destroys humus. Being gath- ered late, it often leaves the land bare through the winter to lose more by leaching and wash- ing than b}- its sum- mer crop. Cotton should take its place in a regular rotation and should sta}' there. In this rotation there should be a nitro- gen-gathering, hu- mus-producing crop. Crimson clover should be sowed in cotton, at the last working, or rve, after it is gathered, to furnish a winter cover-crop. Sea Island and Upland Cotton. — There are two kinds of cotton raised in tlie United States, sea island and upland. The sea island cotton flourishes on the islands and along the coast of South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida. It needs a hot, humid climate. Cotton Bolls On the left is American upland ; on the right, sea island. FIELD, ORCHARD, AND GARDEN CROPS 157 Its long, beautiful, silky staple, or fiber, is much valued for making lace and thread. The yield is smaller than that of the short-stapled upland varieties which are cuIti^■ated in most of the cotton belt. Wilt and Weevils. — Within recent years the cotton crop in some sections has sufl'ered much from disease and insect ravages. The sea island cotton was attacked by a wilt disease which de- stroved entire crops; cotton grown on the same land for }-ears afterward was almost sure to be attacked bv this deadly leaf wilt. By careful selection of resistant plants, a wilt-resist- ing variety was bred. The upland cot- ton in Texas was attacked by the Mexi- can boll weevil, which is graduallv in- festing the cotton-growing region. You will learn more about this insect in the chapter on Crop Enemies. Although it has done great damage, the boll weevil has been of some use, as it is causing southern farmers to improve their cul- tural methods. Seed Selection. — Plants for seed should be selected with care in the field, and marked before picking begins. Thev should be thrifty, free from disease, and should have manv and large bolls. The fiber should be long rather than short. The selected seed should be planted in a separate plot and carefuUv tended. From the best plants seed should be saved for next year's seed plot, and from the others seed for the field crop. No seed ' runs out ' more quickly than cotton where careful selection is not practiced. Flax. — Flax is another ^-aluable fiber plant. The long, fine, tough fibers of its stem are used for making linen. Flax seed, or Staple, or fiber. sho\\ing dif- ference in lengtli between up- land and sea island cotton. St&'^'^^j M ^^v*"* jt",; '''', 'i --^ Li 31' V'. ' 'i^J . ■■Jik'.aia'i^ FIELD, ORCHARD. AND GARDEN CROPS 159 linseed as its seed are often called, are, like cotton seed, rich in oil. This linseed oil is used for mixing paints and ^•arnishes and for other purposes. The hulls and meal from which the oil has been extracted are a valuable stock feed, rich in fer- tilizing elements. Cultivation. — Flax prefers a cool, moist cli- mate. It thrives on a deep, vrell-cultivated loam. It grows to a height of two or three feet, bearing clusters of pretty blue or Avhite flowers at the ends of the branches. The best fiber is obtained from the stalks of plants that are groAvn close together and arc pulled soon after blossoming. Usually, howe^XT, they are sowed thinner and are allowed to ripen seed for oil. Like cotton, the flax crop has been threatened by wilt disease, but of tliis also a Avilt-resisting variety has been bred. Hemp. — Hemp, like flax, flourishes on a moist, fertile soil. If the soil be rich and the weather moist and warm, the plants grow rap- idly and form long fibers. Stunted plants pro- duce short, inferior fiber. The fiber, the cells of its inner bark, is coarser than flax; it is used to make coarse cloth and rope. EXERCISE 1. Grow cotton, flax, and hemp in well-cultivated plots. 2. Sow some of the flax thick and some thin. ^, flax fiber; .e, hemp Observe the difference in branching and flowerina;. fiber 3. Separate and examine the flax and the hemp fiber. Compare them with cotton. l6o AGRICULTURE TOBACCO The Tobacco Plant. — America has contributed few agricultural plants to the world. Aijiong these are the white potato, the sweet potato, corn, and tobacco. Potatoes and corn are useful foods; the tobacco is not a food plant. Uses. — The leaves are used for chewing and smoking. They contain a stimulating compound called nic'o tine. In its pure condition nicotine is a poison, and every man who uses tobacco takes into his system more or less of this poison. History. — The Indians raised little patches of tobacco and used the pipe for private comfort and public ceremony. In the sixteenth century, the weed was introduced into Europe and its use became a fashion and a habit. Cultivating the crop for the European market was one of the first American agricultural industries. The estates on which it was cultivated were called ' plantations ' because, instead of being raised like most agri- cultural crops, the seeds were raised in a seed bed and the young plants set in the field. Range. — Tobacco grows from the equator to Canada. It is raised chiefly in the eastern part of the United States, but is suc- cessfully grown on the irrigated lands of the West. Its quality depends largely on the amount and season of water supply, and where this is regulated by irrigation, tobacco proves a sure and proiitable crop. • Soil and Climate. — No other field crop is so much affected by conditions of soil. A variety changes its character entirely on different soils. On a fertile clay, it may produce large, heavy plants with leaves rich in oil or gum, which cure dark red or brown. On a light, sandy soil, this same variety will produce FIELD, ORCHARD, AND GARDEN CROPS i6i thin leaves of line texture, which cure yellow or mahogany color. Bright tobacco cannot be raiseci on clay, nor heavy tobacco on sandy land. The farmer must consider his soil and climate, and must grow the variety to which these are adapted. While the type of tobacco depends upon soil and climate, the grade depends upon cultiva- tion, fertilizing, and curing. Ci'Ti'iNG Tobacco Cost. — The raising of the crop requires skill and experience and prompt attention to every detail. The rewards of success are large, but the risks are many and the cost of producing the crop is great. Tobacco is an expensive crop in several ways; it costs the farmer much labor, it costs the farm much fertility, — and if weather conditions be unfavorable, in spite of labor and fertility the crop is a failure. Cultivation. — Tobacco plants are grown in a carefully prepared seed-bed, often under cover to protect them from frost and insects. l62 AGRICULTURE The land for the crop is plowed deep, harrowed fine, and well supplied with plant food. The plants must be trans])lanled, preferably when the weather is moist and cloudy, and gi\-en fre(iuent shallow cultivation to keep the soil free from weeds and in good condition. They must be protected against worms by poison or by picking. The}- are ' topped,' — that is, the main stem is broken off, a certain number of P. *9.5 lbs. P 27,5 lbs 36 lt>5. N, I7,5!lii, LEA\"I-i Stalks This diagram shows the amount of fertihty ^ removed from an acre of soil by a crop of to- IcaVCS, tO make the lea\'es bacco producing looo lbs. of leaves and 17=0 ^^ _.^.^.j^ -^ ^j^^. ^^^ quaUtV and lbs. of stalks. , . ■I ' .... " ■■ time of ripening as possible. After the plant is topped, in its efforts to continue its growth it throws out ' suckers,' or shoots, from the joints of the stem; Tobacco Seedlings from Ticiit. AIedium, and Hf.aa'v Seed these must be kept pinched olf so as not to lessen the leaves' supply of food. FIELD, ORCHARD, AND GARDEN CROPS 163 Slight changes in color and texture indicate to the experienced hand and eye when the plants are ripe. The leaves are then pulled or the plants cut, and they are cured, — often by carefully regulated artificial heat. The curing, sorting, and handling of the crop are operations that require skill, practice, and much labor. Fertilizers. — Tobacco is a greedy feeder which requires large quantities of food, especially of nitrogen and potash. For hea.Yy tobacco, these are supphed largely by stable manure and by gen- eral enrichment of the soil. For bright tobacco, commercial fertilizers are generally used to give the leaf the desired color and texture. Crop rotation, manures, and legumes are necessary to keep up the fertility of the soil. Place in Rotation. — As tobacco is such a large consumer of plant food, it should be preceded or followed by a nitrogen- gathering crop, such as cowpeas or clover. It is often followed by wheat or other small grain that uses the plant food which it leaves in the surface soil. Seed Selection. — The seed plants should be carefully selected and should' be those which come nearest the farmer's ideal of what he would ■ like - every plant to be. They should be healthy plants with well- shaped leaves, and as free from suckers as possible. Just before it blooms, the flower head should be inclosed in a paper bag, in order to prevent its receiving pollen from inferior plants. The seed should be graded, so as to separate the different sizes and weights. Large and he.avy see.ds produce strong and Tobacco Plant Bagged for seed l64 AGRICULTURE vigorous, plants. By careful field selection of seed every year, a farmer can grade up and improve the quality and yield of a variety. EXERCISE 1. Raise several plants of tobacco, trying to give them as favorable conditions as possible. Leave one or two of the best plants to mature seed. 2. Top the other plants at different heights, leaving from eight to fourteen leaves. What difference does this make in the leaves? 3. Pull and dry the leaves. Take an equal weight of tobacco leaves and of dry fodder and bum both. What difference is there in the way they burn? It is the large amount of potash in the tobacco which causes it to bum so readily. Compare the amount of ash left by the tobacco leaves and by the fodder. Can you account for the difference ? SUGAR-PRODUCING PLANTS There are two great sugar-producing crops that are raised in the United States, — sugar cane in the South and sugar beets in the North. Sugar Cane. — Sugar cane is a tropical member of the grass family. It is cultivated for the sweet juice laid up in the cells of its stalk. Sirup, molasses, and sugar are made from this juice. Sugar cane is extensively grown in the South, especially in the Gulf States. It is a perennial, reproduced by cuttings, which are pieces of the stalk containing ' eyes,' or buds. Generally, two or three crops, are grown from a planting. In spring or fall the stalk cuttings are buried in furrows. They soon begin to send up sprouts. The crop is cultivated like corn. Like com, it requires a fertile soil FIELD, ORCHARD, AND GARDEN CROPS 165 and it requires a great deal of water. If water and plant food be supplied, it will thrive on any well-drained soil. The stalks are cut in the fall, and crushed in mills. The juice is boiled and evaporated to form a sirup. There are several different methods of evaporating this juice so as to separate it into sugar and molasses. Sorghtim. — Sorghum is another member of the grass family .which has a sweet juice in its cells. Sor- ghum thrives where it is too cool and too dry for sugar cane. Its juice is extracted and boiled down to form sirup or molasses. By selec- tion of seed from plants rich in sugar, the per cent of sugar has been largely increased. Sugar Beets. — The sugar beet in- dustry was developed in Europe by selecting and cultivating beets so as to increase the quantity of sugar they contain. Small pieces of the roots were tested, and those having the largest amount of sugar were planted for seed. Thus the quantity of sugar has been increased from eight to eighteen per cent. Roots have been raised of which twenty-five per cent, one fourth of the whole, was pure sugar. Within recent years th'e sugar beet industry has been introduced into the United States. A section of the northern part of the Sugar Cane 1 66 AGRICULTURE country, from the Pacific to the Atlantic, is well adapted to the crop. The soil must be fertile, A sugar beet root whicli tested 24 per cent sugar. An acre of such beets would \ield 42,000 lb. of sugar. well drained, and well cultivated. . The mature beets are dug and sent to the factory. There lhe\- are cleaned, the juice ex- tracted, and the sugar obtained from it by evaporation. Sugar, like cotton, is formed from the carbon of the air; therefore, if the leaves and pulp be returned to the fields or used for stock feed and the manure put on the land, the crop removes little fertil- itv from the soil. EXERCISE 1. Cultivate some specimens of the crop plants mentioned here. Where the climate is too cool for sugar cane, sorghum ma\' thrive. 2. Compare the sweetness of cane cut from green plants, from those just about to flower, and from those that have gone to seed. THE ORCHARD AND ITS CARE Our common fruits — a]iple, pear, Cjuince, peach, plum, apricot, and cherry — all belong to the rose family ; so do the strawberry, raspberry, and blackberry. The orange, lemon, FIELD, ORCHARD, AND GARDEN CROPS 167 and lime belong to the citrus family, which is a native of Asia. The Apple. — The apple is more v.idchr grown in the United States than any other fruit. Lil^e the Caucasian race, it is not a nati^■e of America, but finds here a congenial home. It thri\'es in all sections and on almost all soils. There are hundreds of varieties, differing in flavor, apjiearance, and ripening season. By selecting sum- mer, fall, and winter apides ad- apted to his localit}-, e\-cr}- farmer can ha\'e the fresh fruit through- out the year. The Pear. — There arc two groups of pjears cultivated in the United States. The European vari- eties, derived from the native pear of Europe, are the better fla\-ored; the Oriental ones, deri\-ed from the native pear of China and Japan, are vigorous .growers and produc- tive, but are usually inferior in quality of fruit. The Bartlett and Seckel are European pears, the Kieffer is an Oriental one. Standard pears are those grafted or budded on pear roots; dwarfs are those grown on (juince roots; the^- are smaller and come into bearing earlier. The Peach. — Break open a peach stone and notice how much the seed resembles an almond. The two are closely related, and tl-^■ .)t Iluhiv.-ari- A'_',ifultui\il Stiitimi isbi.iMs uF Chinese Ci.ing Peach 1 68 AGRICULTURE both are natives of the Old World. The peach thrives best in a sandy soil. It does well on a clay soil, however, if it be well drained. Peach trees come into bearing early and are short-lived. They are often planted between apple trees in an orchard; they mature and can be cut out before the apple trees begin to bear. The Cherry. — The cherry, Uke the peach, prefers a light soil. There are many varieties of wild cherries in America, but most of our cultivated cherries are derived from two European varieties, the hearts and the mo rel los. The morellos, which are sour, are the hardier. The Plum. — Plums prefer a clay soil. Those grown on peach roots, however, thrive on sandy soils. The gage and other Euro- pean varieties thrive in the northern states; the Japanese ones are better adapted to the South; in the Northwest only the native American plums are hardy. The Lemon, Orange, and Citrange. — Oranges and lemons are tender tropical trees. They are grown in our southern states, but even in Florida the weather is sometimes severe enough to injure or even to destroy them. Scientists are trying to breed hardy fruits of this family, and doubtless they will succeed. A new fruit, the cit range', has been created by crossing the little hardy Japanese orange with the Florida orange. The citrange is so acid that it resembles the lemon more than the orange; it is quite hardy in the GuK and South Atlantic states. How Fruit Trees are Raised. — If you wish a crop of a certain kind of corn, you plant seed of that variety. But this is not the way in which you get a desired variety of apples or pears. Their seed do not ' come true,' as farmers say. Seedlings, or trees from seeds, instead of resembling their parents, may be like the wild fruits from which they originated. You may plant seed from a FIELD, ORCHARD, AND GARDEN CROPS 169 large, sweet, red apple and raise a tree bearing small, sour, green fruit. Most fruit trees are grown by budding, a method which has already been mentioned. The process requires considerable care and skiU. Farmers usually prefer to leave it to professional fruit- growers and to buy trees ready for planting. How does the fruit- grower raise a tree ? Take an apple, for instance. The seeds are planted in the spring. The Kttle seedhng is grafted the next winter or budded the following summer with a graft or bud of the desired variety. Grafting. — Grafting is done during the dormant season when the tree is not growing. The top of the seedling, or ' stock ' as it is called in grafting, is cut off. The ' sci'on,' which is a straight vigorous twig of last year's growth of the desired variety, is cut so as to fit the stock as closely as possible. The cambium of one must touch that of the other, for this is the living part of the tree and through it the sap must pass from one to the other. If the cambiums do not unite, the scion dies for lack of nourishment. The joining of the scion and stock must be air-tight; it is covered with grafting wax, made of beeswax, tallow, and linseed oil. Then the graft is wrapped to hold the scion firmly in place. Budding. — Budding is sometimes preferred to grafting. Bud- ding is done in the summer during the growing season. A bud from the desired variety is inserted into a T-shaped cut in the bark of the stock or seedling. The joining is covered with wax and wrapped to exclude the air and to hold the bud in place. The next spring this wrapping is removed. The top of the stock is cut off so as to throw sap and growth into the bud shoot. Transplanting. — The grafted or budded tree is left to grow one or two or more years. Then it is set out in the orchard. It is called one or two or three years old, according to the age of the I/O AGRICULTURE bud or graft. The root is a year older. A vigorous tree, one or two years old, is generally better than one of more advanced age. The larger the tree, the more difficult it is to transplant it without injury to the root system. Twig Budding or Grafting. — By budding or grafting its branches. We can have many varieties on a tree. One apple tree may bear The Course op Failure through Five Years This tree is improperly set, unpruned, uncultivated, and neglected; it grows slowly, is badly-shaped and diseased. summer and fall and winter varieties; there are grafted trees which yield hundreds of different kinds. Perhaps, if you experi- ment carefully, you may succeed in grafting a branch. Graft- ing is generally used for apples and pears, but budding is preferred for plums and peaches. Orchard Location. — The location of an orchard is a matter of importance. It is not planted for one season or one crop, but for ten or twenty or more. It is usually desirable to have an orchard, especially a small one, near the dwelling house. Orchards on FIELD, ORCHARD, AND GARDEN CROPS 171 elevated rolling land are less apt to be injured by frost than those on lowlands where air does not circulate so freely. Most fruit trees prefer a fairly fertile clay loam. Orchards, like other crops, The Course of Success through Five Years This free is properly planted, properly pruned, and cultivated ; it grows fast and yields early and well. do not thrive and give good results on poor soil. The land must be well drained, either naturally or artificially. Selection of Varieties. — Varieties should be selected which are adapted to the soil and climate and to the purpose in view. Some varieties are good in one section and poor in another. An instance of this is the Albemarle or Newtown pippin. It is the finest and best-flavored of apples when grown in a limited section of Virginia, North Carolina, and Cahfornia; out of this section it is an ordinary and rather insipid fruit. 1 72 AGRICULTURE A small orchard for home use should have varieties which give a succession of fruit "throughout the season. The varieties in a market orchard should be the most salable ones adapted to the section. Near a good market, summer and fall fruits are often profitable. At a distance from market, varieties that keep well and bear handling and storage should be raised. Transplanting Trees. — Young fruit trees can be set out in fall or spring; spring planting is usually preferred. On page 63 there are general suggestions for transplanting, but there are some special points which should be regarded in the case of trees. A portion of the soil should be dug away, and the roots should be loosened and carefully withdrawn. Bruised and broken roots should be trimmed off. In resetting it, the subsoil should be loosened at the bottom of the hole, and a little fine soil put in. Then the tree should be set with its largest root in the direction of the prevailing wind. Orchard Cultivation. — After the young orchard is set, it should be cultivated. No farmer expects to make a crop of corn or tobacco without care and tillage. Without care and tillage, it is just as impossible to raise good orchard crops. It is mon.ey and time wasted to buy and transplant trees and then neglect them. The orchard should not be used as a grain field nor a pasture. This does not mean that crops, often profitable ones, cannot be raised in an orchard. But the trees must be the first consideration. Stock, especially cattle, should never be kept in a young orchard, as they injure and often kill the trees. Small grain should never be grown in it; grain and trees make growth and require much moisture at the same time, and the trees are robbed of food and moisture. Clean crops which destroy humus should be followed by cover or catch crops cut for hay or plowed under in the early spring. FIELD. ORCHARD, AND GARDEN CROPS 173 Care should be taken that neither teams nor tools break or scar the trees, and that the ])low does not go close and deep enough to break their roots. After a few years -the orchard may be ' put down ' in grass, such as blue grass or orchard grass, though ri:i II Trees a compact sod should not be allowed to form around the trees. Fertilizers. — The best fertilizers for fruits are those containing potash which improves the quality of the fruit. There is no better fertilizer than wood ashes. Spraying. — Trees sometimes need medicine as well as food. Fungous diseases and insects often attack fruit trees and, if un- checked, cause death. Some of these diseases are very contagious and widespread. It requires care and watchfulness to keep them 174 AGRICULTURE in check. In the chapter on Crop Enemies you are told about some of these pests and the best methods of controlling them. It is as important to destroy, these enemies when there is no crop as when there is a heavy one. They injure the trees and lessen future crops. Fruit buds are formed one season for the next, and the tree needs to be in a healthy, vigorous condition to store up material and to provide for the next crop. Thinning. — Where there is a heavy crop, it is well to thin it by removing some of the fruit while small. If all be left, it is likely to spht . or break the trees. Moreover, the trees are often so exhausted by fruiting a large crop one year that they form few fruit buds, and the next season yield little or noth- ing. A moderate crop every year is better for the trees and better for the farmer. Pruning. — Experience has shown that there are better results where tree growth is trained. Hence, tfairiing or pruning has become an important part Pruning The top branch on the left is prop- r i j erly cut, and that on the right is im- of Orchard WOrk. observe the diiference properly cut ; The orchardist should decide what in the healing of the two. The lower , . , , . , left-hand branch is sawed from the shapc he wishcs his trees to havc and top, and its weight causes it to fall prune them accordingly. When trees and split the tree I this is prevented , , . , ,. in the case of the right-hand branch ^re pruned SO as to givc a low. Spreading by first making an incision in the grOWth, they Suffer IcsS from wind and lower side. from drought, because the low branches keep the ground moist. It is less troublesome to prune and spray them and to gather the fruit. FIELD, ORCHARD, AND GARDEN CROPS 175 Growth should be directed as much as possible by rubbing off buds and cutting off twigs that interlap and grow toward the center. This will prevent the necessity of cutting large branches later, will keep the center open to air and sunlight, and will hghten the labor of spraying and of fruit-gathering. Except in old, neg- lected orchards, severe pruning is rarely necessary. When a large branch is cut, a clean, close cut should be made so that it will heal without leaving a stump. The wound should be painted with white lead to prevent rotting. Pruning in winter increases the yield of fruit, in summer increases the growth of wood. The worst time for pruning is in the spring when the buds begin to start. Wounds made then are slow to heal. EXERCISE 1. You will find it interesting to try to bud and graft some fruit trees. Unless you are careful about every detail, your buds and grafts will not live. 2. Transplant and raise one or more fruit trees, observing the suggestions on pages 63 and 172. 3. Compare the blossoms and leaves of the different fruit trees of your section. 4. Compare ripe fruits in order to see what forms the edible portion. Take two apples and two pears. Cut one of each lengthwise and one crosswise. The edible portion is the thickened lower part of the calyx and the enlarged stem. Take some stone fruits — the peach, plum, and cherry — and examine their parts. The edible portion is the soft juicy part of the calyx leaves. The seed or true fruit is inclosed in the stone in the center of what we call the fruit. Can you think of any reason why these seeds are not edible and the seed covering is? 5. Prune a tree by cutting off two small branches that interlap or grow toward the center. Cut one branch close to the tree trunk, and leave the other two or three inches long. What difference is there in the way that they heal? 176 AGRICULTURE THE VEGETABLE GARDEN Value of Farm Garden. — The farm garden should always be one of the first considerations. It provides for the table, and per- haps for market also, the vegetables and small fruits which those who live in cities have to obtain at much greater expense from the market and green grocery. The garden should be plowed and planted at the proper time, and tilled so as to produce the best results. It should furnish a succession of seasonable vegetables, supplying Hand weeder wholesome and palatable food. In no other way can the same outlay of time, labor, and money give greater returns. Location and Cultivation. — The garden should be convenient to the house. It is better to have the beds long and narrow, rather than short and broad; thus more work can be done by horse and by wheel tools. By frequent culti\'ation under proper conditions, its soil should be made a fine deep seed-bed. It should be thor- oughly fertilized. For most vegetables the soil cannot be too rich; usually, the more rapid their growth, the better their texture and flavor. No untilled corners nor hedgerows should be left in a garden to shelter and breed weeds and insect pests. Nor should the soil be left idle to waste plant food, grow up in weeds, and infest the land with weed seeds. Weeding or Thinning Hook As soon as early vegetables are gath- ered, their rows or plots should be planted in late ones or seeded in some crop, such as clover or rye, to turn under in the spring. FIELD, ORCHARD, AND GARDEN CROPS 177 In the garden, as in the field, rotation of crops should be prac- ticed. Diseases are increased and insect pests harbored by having (he same crop in the same place year after year. Truck Fanning. — Truck farming, or market gardening, is an important and, in many localities, a profitable branch of farming. Earliness and productiveness are the qualities most sought for its products. The soil must be a fight, warm one that will produce early crops; by liberal use of stable manure and comniercial fertifizers, it can be made productive. The great market garden of the United States is a narrow strip extending fifteen hundred miles along the Atlantic Coast. This coast region is free from late frosts in spring and early ones in fall. The soil is light, warm, and sandy ; it is made very fertile with ma- nures and fertifizers. There is a similar soil on the Pacific Coast. Surplus Products. — There is a frequent and direct loss of truck products through inability to market them promptly and profitably. The farmer may be unable to secure transportation or his products may come in when the market is glutted. There are always some unsalable inferior fruits and vegetables. Sometimes the year's balance is changed from loss to profit by putting these surplus products into salable forms instead of leaving them to rot in the field. In canneries many perishable products may be put in shape to be stored and held for market. Fruit may be dried, or e\aporated, — that is, dried by artificial heat — or the juice may be extracted and sold as cider or vinegar. Surplus fruit, melons, and vegetables may be utilized by feeding them to stock. Root Crops. — Root crops make their growth underground. Some of these, such as the sweet potato, are enlarged fibrous roots; some, such as the turnip, are enlarged taproots ; others, such as the white potato, are not roots, but tubers, or enlarged underground 178 AGRICULTURE stems; bulbs, such as the onion, are thickened underground leaves. All these crops need a mellow, fertile soil that can be pushed aside by the growing root, tuber, or bulb, and that supplies food ele- ments fully and freely. Where the soil is not natu- rally loose and porous, it should be plowed deep and made fine and mellow. On heavy soils ridge cultivation may be better; on light soils level cultivation lessens the evils of drought and promotes the use of cultivating tools. The crops for winter keeping should be harvested in dry weather. They should be kept in a cool, dark, well- drained, well-ventilated place. Turnips, ru'ta-ba'gas, man'gel- wur'zels, sugar beets, and carrots are raised in some sections as field crops for stock feed in winter. They are often sowed on wheat or oat stubble. English farmers say that their breeds of cattle and sheep have greatly improved since root crops are raised and fed. These crops are being more and more largely grown in the United States. Potatoes. — Potatoes, sweet and white, are the vegetables most widely raised for table use. Sweet potatoes require a long growing season and so thri\e best in the South; they prefer a porous, sandy soil. The white potato is raised in all sections of the United States. It is a greedy feeder, and thrives best in a fertile, deep, well-drained Potato plant, showing root svstem and growth of tubers. FIELD, ORCHARD, AND GARDEN CROPS 179 loam. Seed should be selected from plants bearing a large number of good-sized, well-shaped potatoes. Oniony — Millions of bushels of onions are imported to the United States every year; they might be raised at home, put- ting millions of dollars into the pockets of American farm- ers. Onions are grown from seeds or from sets. Cheaper, better, and earlier onions are grown by raising plants from seeds in seed beds or hotbeds, and transplanting them. Tomato. — The tomato has a trailing stem and needs to be trained to a trellis or stake. Sometimes the branches are pinched off and the main stem is tied to a support and has its bud pinched off at a height of about four feet. Thus trained, it gives better results in hot, dry weather, and yields several clusters of large, perfect fruit. Celery. — Celery is a popu- lar vegetable, and is not diffi- cult to grow, though most home gardeners suppose that it is. The plants are grown from seed in a hotbed and then transplanted to a fertile spot. They must be well watered and well cultivated. Instead of heaping up Tomato Plant trained to Three Stems i8o AGRICULTURE ^ Asparagus Plant a bank of earth to blanch, or whiten, celery, a board can be set on each side of the row so as to keep out the sunlight. Asparagus. — Asparagus is another pop- ular but little raised vegetable. Beds once established last a long time. Asparagus should not be cut until the plants have been three years set. Legumes. — Peas, string l^eans, or snaps, and the shell beans, lima, navy, and but- ter beans, are legumes. These require a fairly fertile soil; if they are given other plant food, the summer-growing ones get their nitrogen from the air. Melon Family. — To the melon family belong muskmelon, watermelon, cucum- ber, squash or cymling, and pumpkin. Different as these seem, they are alike in many ways. Most of them are tropical or sub- tropical plants and very tender; they rnust not be planted until danger of frost is over and the ground is warm. They need light, mellow, well-drained soil. If planted near one another, members of this family mix. They all have some very trouble- some insect enemies, beetles and bugs. Sweet Com. — Sweet corn requires the same cultivation and care as does field corn, which has been described. It should never be near enough to mix with the field varieties. Okra, Cabbage. — Olvra is grown in hot, dry sections, but does not thrive in cool, moist ones; cabbage, on the other hand, heads better in a cool climate. Herbs. — In every country garden there should be an herb bed for seasoning and flavors. Here should grow such herbs as sage, lavender, spearmint, thyme, mar'jo ram, and sa'vo ry. Sweet FIELD, ORCHARD, AND GARDEN CROPS l8l herbs give best results in a moderately fertile place; on very rich soil, the oil supply is small. In order to develop their oil, herbs need a sunny exposure. Small Fruits. — Xor is the country garden complete without some berries, bush fruits, and grapevines. These should not be planted A Field of Pumpkins along fences and in corners. Thev sliould l:>e set where thev can be well cultivated. They need air, sunlight, and good culture. Raspberries. — Raspberries prefer a fertile, rather moist loam. In warm climates they thri\-e better wJu-n sheltered from the midday and afternoon sun. Canes that put forth one spring bear fruit the second summer. After bearing one crop, the\' die and new ones grow from the roots. The old canes should be cut in fall or earlv spring. Annual prunings, clean cultivation, and an occasional 1 82 AGRICULTURE Strawberries under Grapevines mulch of coarse manure will secure the best results of which a variety is capable. Blackberries. — Blackberries require practically the same culti- vation as raspberries. The cultivated varieties are more produc- tive than the wild ones. Strawber- ries. — Straw- berries are greedy feeders and it is im- possible to make the soil too rich for them. Wood ashes is an excellent fertilizer, as it increases both the quantity and the quality of the yield. Berries grown on a sandy soil are firmer and better-colored than those grown on clay soil. Among the best-bearing varieties are those that have imperfect, pistil-bearing blossoms. To secure a good yield, these must be grown near plants with perfect blossoms. Usually the bed is plowed up the second or third year and a new one set. Bush Fruits. — The most generally cultivated bush fruits are the currant and gooseberry. They prefer a cool, moist soil; currants especially are not grown successfully in the South. The English gooseberries are large and well-flavored, but are subject to disease. In many sections native varieties of gooseberries, plums, and grapes grow well, while foreign varieties do not thrive.' Grapes. — Grapes belong to the vine family. Most of the grapes raised in the United States, such as the Catawba and the Concord, have been developed from nati^'e wild varieties. The wine and FIELD. ORCHARD, AND GARDEN CROPS 183 table grapes, which are nali\'cs of Europe and Asia, are suc- cessfully raised in California and in seclitns of Ih^' South. Grapes thrive best in warm, fertile soil, with sunnv exposure. They are grown from cuttings and la^•ers. The ^•ines are trained to trellises or stakes, and should be well pruned during the dormant season. It should be remembered that " fruit forms upon shoots that grow this year from eyes that were formed on the wood that grew last year." After the harvest is over, gTapevines should not be neglected, left to be choked with weeds and injured by fungous growth. They need to be kept thrift v and vigorous so as to mature new wood and develop healthy buds for next season's growth. Courtisy of Xow ili^xif A-rifullural Stati. Gkates EXERCISE 1. Raise on well-prepared, well-cultivated plots the \-CL';ctables which succeed best in }'(iur locality. Select good \arieties and tr_\' to improve them. How can you do this? 2. Compare the parts of different plants which make their growth underground, — such as a sweet potato, a turnip, a white potato, and an onion. 1 84 AGRICULTURE 3. Grow some beets in mellow, well-drained soil, and some of the same variety in a hard, cloddy clay. Is there any difference in their appearance ? 4. Leave where they grew the stalks of some corn and the tops of some white potatoes. In three or four weeks compare what is- left of them. What has become of the potato tops? Can you think of any reason for this? 5. Why do you plant beans and peas shallower than corn ? Can you explain why the young peas and beans grow so much more rapidly than tomatoes and onions started from seed ? 6. Some of our common vegetables, such as cabbage, tomato, and sweet potato, are of tropical origin. To give them a longer growing season, start these plants in seed beds, or hotbeds which have a layer of manure under the soil, and transplant them to the garden. 7. You will enjoy raising some berries and grapevines for yourself. They are not much trouble, and give large returns in luscious fruit. THE FLOWER GARDEN Flowers. — We are not satisfied with merely useful things. We desire beauti- ful ones. It is not enough for us that our earth brings forth corn and potatoes. We want, we need, flowers, beautiful of color, graceful of form, fra- grant of scent. Around and in tHe house they are a constant source of pleasure. A Vine-clad Porch FIELD. ORCHARD, AND GARDEN CROPS 185 Selection. — Our culli\'atcd flowers, like our agricultural plants, have been produced from wild ones. Thev have been selected for beauty as the ^'cgetables ha\'e been chosen for use. In manv cases our flowers and crop plants are very closely related. The hollyhock is near kin to the cotton. Its large, many-colored, double flowers are the result of long-continued selection and reselcction. ,- of 3K-,.;rd. Burpc-t V Co Crimson Californi.v Poities The Crimson California Poppy. — An instance will show you how this is done. ^Nlr. Luther Burbank, who has been mentioned before, is a flower lover as well as a skillful breeder of useful jjlants. One day he was looking at a field of California poppies, yellow in the sunlight. His quick eye detected one blossom that had ' a thread of crimson on the inside of one of the petals.' He saved and planted the seed of the crimson-streaked poppy. It produced 1 86 AGRICULTURE yellow poppies some of which were marl:cd with red. Seed was saved from those showing most red. In nine years, by this con- tinued careful selection, a brilliant crimson po]j]jy was produced, like its yellow an- cestor in all respects except color. Annuals. — Hardy annuals, such as a lys'sum, nas tur'- tium, morning-glory, California poppy, pansy, poppy, phlox, sweet pea, and zin'ni a, can be sown in the open ground in May or earlier. The semi- hardy and tender annuals, such as por tu la'ca, require more warmth for tlieir germination and growth. The seed of Gaii.lardias these should not be planted until the ground is warm. Some annuals, such as the pansy, thrive in shady places, Init most of them prefer full sunlight. They need deep, fertile, mellow soil. Seed Beds. — Most annuals thrive belter if raised in seed beds and transplanted. A good seed bed is a sliallow I30X with its Ijottom oficn enough to secure good drainage. It should be filled ^\"ilh fine, rich, well-packed sandv loam, kept moist and warm. Most flower secfls are small, and care musl be taken not to cover them deep ; if this be done, they will not germinate. Carnation Pinks FIELD, ORCHARD, AND GARDEN CROPS 187 Nor must the seed bed be watered so freely as to form a crust or rot the seeds. Flowering Plants. — Many of our flowering plants are biennials and perennials. Among these are the peony, holl}hock, ver be'na, chrys an'the mum, clem'a tis, hone}-suckle, and rose. Some of these arc raised from seeds, but most are grown from cuttings of roots or stems or from division of roots. Among the most popular perennials are some tubers and bulbs. Like agricultural root crops, flowering one« need deep, fertile, well- drained soil. Among the spring blossoming bulbous plants are the odorous hy'a j inth, the brilliant til'lip, the fragrant and bright- colored nar cis'sus, daf fo dil, and jon'cjuil, the graceful snowdrop, and the sweet-scented hly of the vallev. Later in the season bloom the beautiful lilies and the showy gla di'o li and diih'has. Roses. — Of all flowers, perhaps the general favorite is the rose, to which has been applied the title of ' queen of flowers.' It has for its own the entire Ijlooming season of the year. It has all charms, — fragrance, grace, beauty, and variety of color. Roses need sunshine anrl a deep, fertile, well-drained soil. Hardy varieties will endure a good deal of neglect, but no flower better repays intelligent care. Success in raising Flowers. — If you wish to succeed in raising flowers, )'0U must study the nature and the needs of the varieties 1 88 AGRICULTURE you wish to grow. Their preferences as to soil, moisture, and sunlight must be regarded. They must have careful cultivation, the soil being kept stirred on the surface, but not so deep as to interfere with their roots. A Gkdui' of Water Lh.if.s Many flowers, such as sweet peas, have their blossoming season prolonged bv keeping the blossoms picked so as to prevent the maturing of seed. A few plants well cared for give far better results than a large number poorly tended or neglected. EXERCISE 1. Set aside a part of your garden plot for flowers. Plant some hardy annuals, such as phlo.x and nasturtium. 2. Compare an American Beauty or other cultivated rose with the wild rose, or sweetbrier. OUTLINE OF CHAPTER FIVE CROP ENEMIES AND FRIENDS Weeds: Some annuals : Charlock, chess, corncockle, dog fennel, pigeon grass, cocklebur, horse weed, wild lettuce, ragweed, Russian thistle Some biennials: Bull thistle, burdock, wild carrot Some perennials : Bind weed, Canada thistle, dandehon, horse nettle, nut grass, oxeye daisy, rib grass, sorrel, wild onion Destroyed by Clean, cultivated crops Preventing the maturing of seed Smother crops Fungous Diseases: Some characteristics of- fungi: Feed on other plants and animals Lack chlorophyl or leaf green Reproduce by spores instead of seeds Some fungous diseases : Blight, black knot, mildew, mold, rot, rust, scab, smut, wilt How to protect crops : Destroy fungi, — On soil, by burning diseased plants In soil, by depriving them of host plants Plant and breed resistant varieties Store fruit and grain when they are dry Remove spores from infested seed Destroy spores of fungi by Dust spray of flowers of sulphur Liquid spray of copper sulphate, lime, and water (Bordeaux mixture) 189 I go AGRICULTURE Insect Enemies: Characteristics of an insect: Breathes through tubes on body Has six legs Body is in three parts,. — head, thorax, and abdomen Several life stages, — egg, larva, pupa, imago, or egg, nymph, adult Some chewing insects that feed on plants: Canker vi^orm, army worm, tent caterpillar, cabbage and tobacco worms, cotton boll worm, cutworm, Colorado potato beetle Some chewing insects that feed in plants: Curculio, borers, Mexican cotton boll weevil Some sucking insects : Aphides or plant lice, Hessian fly, chinch bug, scale Means of controlling: Cultural methods, — Tillage, fertilizers, trap crops, time of planting, rotation of crops Poison, — Arsenic for chewing insects Contact poisons, such as lime, for sucking insects Insect Friends: Ladybirds, ground and tiger beetles, dragon and damsel flies, ichneumon and tachina flies Birds: Some useful ones : Swallows, cuckoos, woodpeckers, sparrows, wrens, kingbird, mocking bird, partridge, Baltimore oriole, bluebird Some useful ones that do some harm: Robin, catbird, bobolink or rice bird, red-winged blackbird, crow Some harmful ones : Sharp-shinned hawk, Cooper's hawk, goshawk, duck hawk, English sparrow How to have bird neighbors : Do not disturb their nests Put nest boxes and water in convenient places Feed birds when snow is on the ground Plant mulberries and seed-bearing shrubs CHAPTER FIVE CROP ENEMIES AND FRIENDS WEEDS What Weeds Are. — Weeds are well defined as ' plants out of place,' those that persist in growing where they are not wanted. Usually, they are wild plants. Sometimes they are cultivated ones which cannot be kept in bounds. The beautiful Kentucky blue grass is a weed when it grows in a hayfieid; it is not tall enough for hay, and it crowds out other grasses that are. Weeds are riot altogether useless or harmful; they shade the land, they supply humus, and they remind farmers that it is time to tiU their crops. Some farmers do not consider the benefits of tillage, and think it is necessary to cultivate a crop only often enough to keep weeds in check. Agricultural Plants. — Our agricultural plants have been se- lected from among wild plants for some useful quality, and brought into field, orchard, or garden. They have been cared for so long that they have, to a great extent, lost ability to care for themselves. Most of their vigor is spent in storing up the products for which they are cultivated. They are cotton-bearers, grain-growers, fruit- producers. Harm done by Weeds. — Weeds, on the other hand, are used to shifting for themselves, and are generally stronger and quicker- growing than agricultural plants. They rob crops of food, mois- ture, and light. They lessen the quantity, and often injure the 191 192 AGRICULTURE quality of the yield. Wheat is damaged by cockle, wool is injured by burs, the flavor of milk and butter is affected by wild onions. Water hemlock and some other plants are poisonous to man and beast. How to destroy Weeds. — The good farmer tries to destroy weeds while young, before they injure the crop. They are then easily killed by shal- low hoeing with a hand or horse hoe or a cultivator with small teeth. If weeds are cut off too near the sur- face, their roots live and send forth new growth; if they are cut off too deep down, they are only trans- planted and grow more vigorously. Weed Seed Sowing. — But how do weeds come in the fields where they are not planted? Ah ! that is a matter to which they at- tend. The farmer is fortunate if he gets his field crops sowed as thoroughly as those weeds. In the first place, they usually produce an enormous number of seeds. A single plant will sometimes ma- ture a hundred thousand seeds one season. To spread these abroad, weeds make use of many messengers, — wind, water, birds, beasts, — yes, and people, too. Every time you pull off one of the hooked burs which COCKLEBUR Broom Sedge Seed carried by wind CROP ENEMIES AND FRIENDS 193 has caught fast in your clothing, and throw it down on the ground, you are carrying out the cocklebur's plan of seed sowing. If you do not wish to reap burs, do not sow them; burn them instead. Weed Travelers. — Weeds are such great travelers that they are called the ' tramps of the vegetable world.' They do not travel only in slow, old-fashioned ways, helped by wind and wave and animal. They travel with all the conveniences of the age, — by rail and boat. Their seeds are often carried from one country to another in hides, in fleeces, in hay, and mixed in other seed, such as grass or grain. Native and Foreign Weeds. — Few of our native weeds are trouble- some in the crop field. They have been used to contfending only with other native plants, and have not, as it seems, adapted them- selves to the struggle with man and his agricultural tools. They retire to the forest and untilled land. Our most troublesome weeds have been imported from Europe. For centuries they have been struggling for existence there, and they are bold, hardy, and persistent. Weedless China. — There is one country almost entirely free from weeds. That is China. It is an old country, so thickly peopled and so occupied with crops that weeds are crowded out. This is the only way they are ever destroyed, — by careful tillage and by occupying all the land with crops. How to keep Weeds in Check. — As it will probably be several thousand years before our country is as densely populated as China, American farmers must work to keep weeds in check. They can do so by good tillage, rotation of crops, occupying the land with crops, protecting the insect and bird enemies of weeds, and destroy- ing troublesome weeds. A farmer who does not fight weeds both out and in his crops is 194 AGRICULTURE apt to have an infested farm. He lets the daisies go to seed in his pasture and they take possession of it. He leaves the thistle in the fence corner, the cocklebur and burdock by the brook, and they sow thousands of seeds. Perhaps he does not practice rotation of crops; certain weeds take advantage of the habits of certain agri- cultural plants, and become established with them. He leaves land out to 'rest,' and a weed crop grows on the grain stubble. A 'resting' field is a weed nursery which raises hosts to occupy that and other fields next year. When the farmer plows imder their ripened seeds, he plants a crop as surely as when he plows under wheat or oats. The production of a crop of weeds is as great a tax on soil fertility as an agricultural crop, such as cowpeas, which benefits the farm and the farrner. Knowledge Needed. — The farmer must understand the nature and habits of his crop plants in order to grow them successfully. He must understand those of weeds if he is to carry on successful war against them. Annuals. — There are many troublesome annuals. As a rule, they are not so persistent of growth nor so deep of root as longer- lived plants, and thus are easier to destroy. They usually produce seed very freely. Among annual weeds are charlock, chess, corn cockle, dog fennel, pigeon grass, bur grass, cocklebur, horse weed, wild lettuce, ragweed, and Russian thistle. Ragweed. — The ragweed is one of our few troublesome native annuals. It has many local names, — bitterweed, hogweed, little ragweed, rich weed, Roman wormwood; its botanical name is Am bro'si a ar te mi' si ae jo li a. As plants have so many local names, it is a good plan to learn the botanical name, which is the same everywhere. Ragweed is found in almost all states east of the Rocky Mountains. It branches freely and its leaves are much divided. The greenish stamen-bearing and pistil-bearing flowers CROP ENEMIES AND FRIENDS 195 are borne in different places on the same plant. It infests culti- vated fields, and often grows as thick in grain stubble as if it had been sowed there. Ragweed can be de- stroyed by late cultivation in hoed crops, and by plowing grain land and sowing on it such crops as cowpeas or clover. Stray ragweed plants along fences and streams should be cut down before they scatter abroad their hosts of seeds. How to destroy Annuals. — Most annuals are easily destroyed by clean culti- vation of crops, especially by late cultivation. As far as possible, seeding should be prevented. The plants should be mowed before they flower, or burned before the seed mature. Biennials. — Among our most troublesome biennial weeds are the bull or pas- ture thistle, -burdock or great dock, arid wild carrot Four Common Weeds a, amaranth ; b, crab grass ; t;, ragweed ; d, pigeon grass None 196 AGRICULTURE of these are native Americans; all have been brought from the Old World. Wild Carrot. — The wild carrot {Dau'cus caro'ta), called also bird's nest, devil's plague, or Queen Anne's lace, is a troublesome biennial, the original of our garden carrot. It grows from New England southward to Georgia and westward to Ohio. It is so troublesome in some states that laws have been passed against letting it go to seed. The wild carrot has a pretty white blossom and graceful, finely-cut foliage. It thrives on almost any soil and takes posses- sion of waste places. The best way to destroy it is to pull the young plants up by the roots, or to cut them before they mature seed. How to destroy Biennials. — Bien- nials are more difficult to get rid of than annuals. When young, they can be destroyed by cutting or pulling them up. When they are several months old, they can be removed only by deep cutting with a grubbing hoe, or with a spud, which is a sharp, narrow spade. Any plant which escapes the hoe should be cut before it blooms. Weeds, especially biennials and peren- nials, should never be allowed to mature seed. Perennials. — The most troublesome of all weeds are the perennials. Most of these long-lived plants are reproduced both by seeds and by running roots, and their destruction is difficult. Among perennial weeds are the bindweed or morning-glory, Wild Carrot CROP ENEMIES AND FRIENDS 197 Canada thistle, dandelion, horse nettle or sand brier, nut grass, oxeye or white daisy, rib grass or English plantain, sorrel or sour weed, and wild onion or field garlic. Nearly all of these have been imported in grass or grain seed from Europe. Many of our native poisonous plants are perennials. Daisy. — The white-and- yellow daisy (Chry san'the mum leu can'the mum)js a cousin of our much-prized chrysan- themum. It has a pretty flower, but is one of our most troublesome perennial weeds. Throughout the eastern part of the United States, from Maine to North Carolina, farmers regard it as an enemy. It is not difficult to destroy in culti- vated crops, but it spreads so rapidly in meadows and pastures that it soon crowds out the grasses. It. can be killed by hoed crops, or checked in hay fields by mowing early before it ma- tures seed. Loco Weed. — The woolly loco weed and the stemless loco weed are pecuhar poisonous perennials of the Great Plains region. They are found both on the prairies and on the foothills and moun- tain sides. They are called 'crazy weeds' because their effect on stock is like that of alcohol or morphine on human beings. Cattle, sheep, and horses that eat these weeds are said to be 'lo- coed'; they are affected with mania, refuse all other food, and finally die. Loco causes an immense loss every year to the live- stock owners of the West. Daisy igS AGRICULTURE Stemless Loco Weed One third natural size How to destroy Perennials. — Perennial weeds have to be fought in different ways. Some yield to clean cultivation of crops. Others are so persistent in clean crops that they are more easily destroyed by a ' smother ' crop, — a sowed crop which makes rapid, dense growth, and deprives the weeds of light and air. Cowpeas and other quick- growing legumes are excellent for this pur- pose. EXERCISE 1. We have mentioned here only a few of the many weeds troublesome to farmers in the United States. Make as complete a collection as you can of the weeds of your locality. Get the whole plant, — root, stem, branches, and blossoms. Collect weed seeds also. 2. Write an account of the most troublesome weeds with which you are familiar. Are they annuals, biemiials, or perennials ? How do their seeds travel? In what other ways are they reproduced ? In what crops are they especially troublesome? What are the best and most economical ways of getting rid of them? FUNGOUS DISEASES Advantages of Commerce. — The railroad and the steamship have bound together all parts of the world. People are fed on fruit, vegetables, grain, and meat produced in other states, other countries, other continents. This interchange of produce is in many ways a great advantage. It enlarges markets, it lessens CROP ENEMIES AND FRIENDS 199 suffering from crop shortages and failures. If the wheat crop of the United States be small, the surplus of Russia furnishes us bread. If Anierica has a bountiful crop, it goes to supply food for Europe. Disadvantages. — But this intercourse has its disadvantages. As you learned, many troublesome Old World weeds have been brought to us in one way and another. Other and more deadly crop enemies have been imported. Diseases and insects, once confined to localities, have spread over the world. Fungous Diseases. — Old farmers remember when fungous diseases of crops were almost or entirely unknown. Fruit ripened, vegetables grew, grain matured, without any serious injury. Now there is hardly a farmer who does not lose by these diseases every year. Usually, he loses heavily unless he uses preventive measures. Fungi. — A fungous disease is one caused by fungi, — plants which live on other plants or animals and take nourishment from them. One such plant is called a fiin'gus. Some fungi, such as mushrooms, are large ; others, such as blight, are very small, so small that they are invisible to the naked eye. Some, such as the yeasts, are useful; others, such as the smuts, are harmful. Some cause deadly diseases; without others, man would die, because it would be im- possible to raise any food crop. Three well-known classes of fungi are mold, yeast, and bacteria. Fungi are the lowest forms of living things. They lack the chlorophyl by means of which, as you have learned, higher plants feed on the elements of the air. Instead of being green, they are usually white, pink, yellow, blue, i=di Mold Greatly magnified 200 AGRICULTURE or brown. Instead of seeds, they produce spores, minute bodies which bud or break off from the fungi. These reproduce with wonderful rapidity. One plant may produce several millions within twenty-four hours. Spores are so small and light that they are borne far and wide in the air. Some fungi perish under unfavorable conditions. Others es- tablish a colony on a h5st, as the plant or animal on which they fasten themselves is called. A very unwilling host it is, we may be sure, which is deprived by its guest of tissue or juices or even of life. The fungi penetrate the cell walls of their host, devour the protoplasm which, ,as you have learned, is the hving principle; they destroy cell after cell, and weaken or kill the host plant. Bacteria are so small that they have to be magnified before we can perceive them at all. Under the microscope, they are seen to have one of three forms ; they are ' shaped like balls, pencils, or corkscrews.' You have learned that some bacteria help the farmer by chang- ing nitrogen into forms which plants can use, and others harm him by consuming soil nitrogen. There are other fungi which harm him by feeding on his crop plants, producing such diseases as rot, rust, smut, mildew, blight, scab, and wilt. » It is important for the farmer to learii something about fungi. He is then better able to get the aid of the helpful ones and to check the ravages of the harmful ones. Fire Blight. —The bacteria which cause fire blight of fruit trees are carried by insects at blossoming time. Thus they spread from tree to tree, from neighborhood to neighborhood. The bacteria use the food prepared in the leaves for the tree, and kill leaves, twigs, branches, often the tree itself. The disease is called fire blight because the leaves affected look as if they had been scorched by fire. CROP ENEMIES AND FRIENDS 20I When these withered, blackened leaves are seen, the twig bear- ing them should be cut off some distance below the darkened place which shows how far the disease extends. These twigs should be burned in order to destroy the bacteria. The knife should be dis- infected after each cutting, so as to keep from infecting healthy wood. Courtf y f C liC tirut \^r\ iltiiral stati n MusKMELON Vine with Blight Rust. — There are many forms of rust which affect different plants. The rust of the apple is an interesting example of a fungus which has two hosts, one affording it a summer home, the other giving it winter quarters. The winter home of the fungus is the red cedar, on which it forms what is called the cedar apple. In wet spring weather these cedar apples are covered with jelly-like tissue, which is a 202 AGRICULTURE mass of spores that are cast off in enormous numbers. They float through the air to find a home on the apple foliage. The}- pene- trate the tissue, forming orange-colored spots which injure and often destroy the foliage. On the under side of the spots are small cup-shaped bodies which bear the spores. Later, these spores float back and infest the leaves of the cedar. The fungus cannot hve if deprived of either of its host plants. It is most easily kept in check in an apple orchard that has no cedar trees near it. Rot. — iMost kinds of fruit rot are very contagious, and sound fruit is rapidly infected by diseased. One day there may be onlv two or three de- caying peaches on a tree; a week later it may be impos- sible to find a sound one. As an experiment, a knife blade was inserted first in a speck of bitter rot on an apple and then in a sound apple, which was put in a basket of healthy fruit. The ajiplcs were attacked bv bitter rot, and in a few da\'s every one in the basket was destroyed. Smut. — There are rlifferent kinds of smut that infest cereals. The smut grows with and on the pkants. lis spores, tliousands and thousands together, resemble a black powder in the heads of Apples infected with bitier rot from " mummy ' of last year's fruit Grapes from a Vineyard affected with Black Rot The upper bunches were on a vine that was sprayed with Bordeaux mixture; the lower ones were on an unsprayed vine. ChKRRV with BRinVN ROT, SHOWING THE PROGRESS OF THE DISEASE 204 AGRICULTURE grain, such as Avhcat or oats. When the grain is threshed, these spores adhere to the grains and are planted with them. They develop and attack the voung plants. The farmer does not wish to raise a crop of smut to feed upon his grain and lessen its yield. Therefore he should kill the smut spores on infected grain by the use of for'ma lin, as described on page 307 in the appendix. Wilt. — Wilt is a disease which attacks c9tton, flax, tobacco, cowpcas, and other crops. It is caused by bacteria in the soil, irt ^ t N r(l I 1 1 L\| n i t St ti i ToiiAcco, suowiNi; Different Stages of Wilt which enter the plant, probably through the root hairs, and spread up into the stem. There they grow, and choke the passages so that the flow of sap from root to foliage is lessened or stopped. As their supply of vi'ater is evaporated, the leaves wilt and wither. Later, the stem blackens and rots. Sometimes onlv a few plants in a field are affected, sometimes all are attacked. Care must be taken not to sjjread the disease by carrying infested plants off the field where they grew. They should, if possible, be collected and burned there. CROP ENEMIES AND FRIENDS 205 As the fungi persists in the soil often as long as eight years, the same crop should not be planted on that field for several years. Instead, there should be planted crops, such as corn, that are not' subject to wilt diseases. Wilt-resistant varieties of cowpeas, cotton, flax, and other plants have been bred by selection, but rota- tion of crops should never be neglected, even when these varieties are used. Preventives for Fungous Diseases. — The damage of fungous diseases in fields, orchards, and gardens amounts every year to millions of dollars. Is there no way to prevent this loss? Yes, there are remedies for most of these diseases, remedies both cheap and effective. The farmer should know and use them. He should bear in mind the fact that most fungous diseases are contagious, and that they spread by means of spores which increase very rapidly. He should know and guard against the various host-plants of a fungus, and should know at what season it attacks its hosts. How to destroy Fungi. — A farmer ought to destroy the fungi in and on the soil as far as possible. He can do this in two ways. First: He should burn diseased plants. Diseased vegetable matter, such as twigs affected with blight, tobacco and cotton which die from wilt, apples shriveled with bitter rot, should be collected and burned. Usually this should be done on the field where they are gathered, so as not to spread disease. Second : The fungi in the soil should be destroyed by starving them. Host plants should not be grown for several years on a field where they have been attacked by soil fungi, — tobacco with wilt, sweet potatoes with rot. The farmer should protect his crops against common diseases by planting and by breeding resistant varieties. There are rust- proof varieties of oats, and wilt-proof varieties of many plants sub- ject to this disease. Our native gooseberries resist mildew better 2o6 AGRICULTURE Healthy Potato Potato with Scab than the English ones. Oriental pears are not so subject to blight as European varieties. Fruit and grain should be stored dr}- and in good condition. Fungi require food in a moist state, and are apt to attack fruit and grain when they are put away damp. Spores should be removed from seeds to which they ad- here. Grain affected Vv'ith smut, and po- tatoes with scab, should be treated with formalin just before planting. The preparation is inexpensive and easily applied. Usually, fungi feed in and on the tissue, and are protected by the thickened outer skin of the host plant. The fungi already established in a plant cannot be killed except by treatment which would destro}' the host also. Therefore, treatment for fungous diseases must be largely pre\'entive, destroying the spores before the\' enter the plant cells. Fungicides. — Fungi, unlike higher plants, are made up of ab- sorpti\'e tissue. This tissue will absorb flowers of sulphur or salts of copper, cither of which is destructi\-e to it. Sulphur is usually applied as a dust-spray to the plants to be protected. Copper sulphate, or bluestone, is the cheapest and most effecti\-c form of the salts of copper. The copper sulphate, dissolved and diluted in water, is used on bark, limbs, and unopened buds. But it should not be used on foliage which its acid will burn and injure. Without affecting its \-alue as a fun'gi fide, or fungus-destroyer, the copper sulphate may have its acid neutralized by an alkah, such as lime. Two thirds of a pound of unslaked lime will neutralize the acid in one pound of copper sulphate. A mixture CROP ENEMIES AND FRIENDS 207 of lime and copper sulphate in water, called Bor deaux'(d6) mix- ture, is generally used for fungous diseases affecting foliage and fruit. It should be applied tlioroughly as a fine mist. The for^ Cuurti.sy(j{ \rw Vf.,,k Agncultiiral Stati u Sprayed and Unsprayed Potato Vines in a Field affecteh with Blight mula for Bordeaux mixture and directions for its preparation are given in the appendix on page 307. EXERCISE 1. Keep a piece of bread several days in a damp, warm place. Ex- amine under a microscope the mold which forms on it. 2. Cut a sound apple with a clean knife and seal it in a clean, dry jar. Cut another sound apple with a knife that has been inserted in a rotten one ; then seal the Sound and rotten apples in a jar together. What are the results ? 208 AGRICULTURE 3. Take two potatoes affected with scab. Wash one in the for- maUn preparation described in the appendix on page 307. Plant both. WTiat is the difference in the appearance of the crop from each? 4. Examine plants affected with fungous diseases. What are the most troublesome fungous diseases of your locaUty? What crops do they attack, and what remedies are used? INSECT ENEMIES Injuries from Insects. — Of all the creatures of the animal world, which inflict most injury on man? You think first of the beasts of the field, — fierce lions and man-eating tigers. But man has worse foes than these. You name the serpents, — ■ venomous rattlesnakes and deadly cobras. Yet it is not they that inflict most injury on the human race. More harm and ruin and death have been caused by insects than by all other creatures of the animal world. Indeed, we are only beginning to realize the extent of their injuries, — as, for in- stance, that they convey germs of diseases, such as malaria and yellow fever. But though their work as messengers of disease is just being made known, their work as messengers of want and famine is an old story. Since Pharaoh ruled in Egypt, thousands of years ago, history has been recording plagues of insects. They come on foot in hosts such as no human army ever gathered; they come on wings so that the face of the earth is darkened. They find fair fields and bountiful crops and leave behind — not one green twig nor blade of grass. By skill and labor man has learned to some extent to control them and to prevent their ravages. Yet every year in the United States insects destroy at least one tenth of the agricultural crops. CROP ENEMIES AND FRIENDS 209 They cause the fanners of the coun- try an annual loss of not less than five hundred million dollars. At least two thirds of this loss might be prevented by proper methods and remedies. Is it not the part of wisdom for every farm- er to know and practice these? Canker Worms on Apple In order to use them, he must laiow leaves the insects most apt to injure his crops, their- different forms in different stages, their habits of feeding, and when and how they can be most easily and economically destroyed. An Insect. — An insect is a small animal which breathes air through its body, has six legs, and a body divided into three parts — head, tho'rax, and ab do'men. On the head are the mouth, the an ten'n^e or feelers, and the eyes.- The thorax is in three parts, on each of which is a pair of legs. Some insects are wingless, but most adult insects have one or two pairs of wings on the thorax. On the abdomen are tubes, called spir'a cles, through which the insect breathes. Ants, flies, bugs, beetles, grasshoppers, moths, and but- terflies are insects. Spiders, which are often called insects, have eight legs, and belong to a different class of animals of the same group. Insects usually pass through four stages, — egg, lar'va, pu'pa, i ma' go. Larva. — The insect comes from th6 tiny egg as a larva, a worm-like creature very unlike the parent. The larvae are greedy feeders. They eat, literally and truly, all that their skin wiU hold. When the skin cannot stretch any more 2IO AGRICULTURE they molt, or cast, that skin and grow a new one. They repeat this process several times until they are full-grown. Pupa. — The insect next enters the pupa state. The larva ceases to eat ; it does not move. You would think it dead. But it is only asleep, and in its sleep a wonderful change takes place. The creeping, crawling worm changes to an imago, a winged creature. Imago. — It waves its wings to and fro, and flutters from flower to flower. Who would ever guess that it was once a dull worm, that fed on the leaves of plants ? Instead of feeding greedily on A Full-grown Grasshopper leaves, it sips nectar from flowers. It lays its eggs in a protected place where its young can find suitable food. Soon after it lays its eggs, it dies. This is the life history of a perfect winged insect, such as the butterfly. Moths resemble butterflies in appearance, but fly abroad chiefly at night, or in the dusk, instead .of by day, as do butterflies. Nymphs. — Every insect does not pass through all these stages. Some, such as bugs and locusts, or grasshoppers, have only three stages, — egg, nymph, and a dult'. The nymphs resemble the adults, and attain their groWth by molting, without entering the pupa state. Larvae. — It is as larvse that insects are usually most injurious to crops, but it is often easier to kill them in other stages. If we CROP ENEMIES AND FRIENDS 211 know that a destructive worm will issue from the harmless-looking pupa, we will crush it. If we realize that the moth flitting about our yard will lay hundreds and thousands of eggs that bring forth in- jurious caterpillars, we will give her swift and painless death. Moths. — The worms and caterpillars most destructive to crops are the larvie of moths. Among these are the canker worm, the army worm, the tent caterpillar, the cabbage, tobacco, and currant worms, the cotton boll worm, the cutworm, and the larva: of the cod- ling moth and gypsy moth. Codling Moth.— The cod- ling moth is one of our im- ported pests. It lays its eggs on young apples just after the blossoms fall. An egg hatches into a larva which burrows into the fruit and feeds on it. This causes the apple to fall before it is ripe. The full-grown larva leaves the apple and crawls up the tree trunk, enters the pupa state, and issues as a moth. The easiest way to deal with this pest is to trap the moths by bands of cloth wrapped around the tree trunk. The moths collect under these and can be destroyed. The tree should be sprayed or dusted with poison as soon as the blossoms fall. It is useless to spray against the larvae after the blossom-end turns downward, as they are then protected by the position of the fruit. An apple injured by the larva of the codling moth, which is shown on the apple; above, is shown the moth. 212 AGRICULTURE A Tobacco Cut- worm If unchecked, they often destroy from one fourth to three fourths of the apple crop. It costs miUions of dollars every year to spray fruit trees in order to protect them against this pest. There is a fly, described later, which helps the farmer by de- stroying the larvEC of the codling moth. Cutworms. — Cutworms are the enemies of almost all garden plants and of many field crops. The name is applied to the larvae of different moths, which are so similar in appearance and habits that they may be described together. The adult moths have dark fore wings and lighter hind wings. They lay their eggs about midsummer. The larvas soon hatch and begin to feed, but on the abundant summer foliage their ravage is hardly noticed. In the fall they hollow out cells in the earth, where they gleep through the winter. In the spring they come out and feed greedily on the tender young plants. They cut these off at the surface and eat the stem and leaves. Like the parent moths, they usually feed only at night ; but when food is scarce they feed in the day. When full-grown, cutworms are dull brown, gray, or greenish in color. They enter the earth and remain there in the pupa state tiU summer, and then come out as moths. The best way to destroy cut- worms is by thorough cultiva- tion and by poison. Weeds and grass in fields about to be cultivated may be sprayed with Paris green, or the poison can be applied to bunches of clover or grass scattered where cutworms are troublesome. The Moth of the Tobacco Cutworm This Twig, from wiiicit the Petals havf, ji'st fali.kn, is ready FCIR SI'RAVIX'"; against THE COULING MOTII. Cuiirri-_v '■! X. butter : during that time she gained 139 lb. in weight Improving ' Scrub ' Cattle. — Common or ' scrub ' cattle, as a rule, mature slowly and give less flesh and milk for the same amount of food than do improved breeds. The quickest and most economical way to imiirove a herd of common cattle is to put at the head a bull of the type desired. It is often and truly said, "the sire is half the herd." Some breeds, such as the Shorthorn, transmit their good qualities with especial strength and certaintv. Dairy Products. — Dairy products are milk, cream, butter, and DOMESTIC ANIMALS 249 cheese; the by-products are skim milk, buttermilk, and whey. Milk is a fluid formed in the glands of the cow's udder. It is an, ideal food, containing in readily digestible form water for thirst, ash to make bones, protein to form flesh and muscle, and fat and sugar to supply heat and energy. The globules of fat are light and rise to the surface, forming cream. These globules vary in size. They are large in the ^ 0^0 o^oO ° ; ^ o v.>5 ^''"^ o^D'oO"'." 0°-" -o.- -^i.o- "•„!- O o°°o O Op -Q.Oo ^, Pure Milk, and B, Impure Milk, as seen under the Microscope A shows fat globules ; B shows globules and also many forms of bacteria. B stood sev- eral hours in a warm room in a dirty dish. milk of the butter breeds and small in that of the cheese breeds. Bacteria, always present in the air, grow in milk and change its sugar to an acid which gives it a sour taste. Where strict cleanliness is observed, there are fewer bacteria and milk does not sour so quickly. Souring, or turning, of milk is retarded also by keeping it cool, as bacteria thrive in warmth. Cooling milk does not destroy the germs but only checks their action. Skim milk and buttermilk, from which fat has been removed, and whey, left from the manufacture of cheese, are wholesome and 2 so AGRICULTURE nourishing foods for human beings and for live stock, especially pigs, calves, and poultry. The profitableness of a dairy cow depends on the quality and quantity, of her milk. The amount of butter fat in milk can be determined exactly by the Babcock milk tester, a simple machine invented by Dr. S. M. Babcock of Wisconsin, which is used by dairymen all over the country. On dairy farms the cream is taken from the milk by a machine called a separator which does the work better and more quickly than it can be done by hand. The cost of separators often pre- vents their being used on small farms, and there the milk is set in pans for the cream to rise. After the cream ripens or sours, it is churned, to collect the butter fat in compact shape. The proper temperature for cream for churning is from 58° to 62". If it is too warm, ice or cold water should be added to bring it to the proper temperature ; if it is too cold, it should be warmed by placing the can containing it in a larger vessel containing hot water. The butter must be washed with cold water to harden it, and then salted with fine dairy salt. The process of making good butter ends with churning, but it begins with the care of the cow, milk, and cream. The cow's food affects the color, flavor, and texture of the butter. Most qf the bacteria are destroyed in butter, probably by the salt. Some remain, and it is the action of these which makes it become rancid with age. The production of cheese is much more complicated than that of butter. It is attended to chiefly in cheese factories. Care of the Cow. — The cow should have an abundance of pure water, salt always in reach, and- plenty of good wholesome food. Like all other animals, she needs a balanced ration. An average DOMESTIC ANIMALS 25 1 COW should have six times as much carbohydrates as protein. This is usually expressed in the form of a ratio, one to six, or i : 6, called the 'nii'tritive ratio.' As a cow's stomach is large, she needs much bulky food, about twenty-seven pounds of dry matter in a ration. In winter she should have good hay, and in summer soiling or pasturage should provide green forage. Turnips and other root crops should be fed chopped or sliced. They should be given directly after milk- ing so as not to injure the flavor of the milk. Filth injures the quality of all dairy products. Cleanliness, fresh air, dryness, and sunshine kill bacteria which injure the health of the cow and affect her products. The stable should be clean, comfortable, and well ventilated. The cow's udder and the body near it should be washed, and milking should be done with clean dry hands. Milk should never be left standing in a stable or milkroom, where the air is impure. It readily absorbs flavors and should not be kept near cabbage, onions, or any other highly- flavored foods. All vessels used about milk should be washed in cold water and then scalded with boiling water. They should often be sunned and aired. ' Cleanliness should be the watchword of the dairy.' The cow should be fed and milked at regular hours and always treated with kindness. She is a nervous animal, and tests show that the quality and quantity of her milk are injured by rough, harsh treatment. Diseases. Tuberculosis. — The most common and dangerous dis- ease of dairy cattle is tu ber cu lo'sis. It is caused by bacteria in the affected part of the body ; these form tubercles, swollen masses of tissue, which finally break down into a cheesy mass. Some scientists say that the disease can be communicated to human beings from the milk and the flesh of diseased animals. By boiling 252 AGRICULTURE the milk or flesh, the harmful bacteria are destroyed. The ten- dency to tuberculosis is increased by anything that weakens the general health of the animal, such as overcrowding in foul, badly- aired stables, feeding bad food, and overproduction of milk and young. The disease is contagious, and animals affected with it Shorthorn Steers The sleers in this car-load lot averaged 1544 lb. in weight; they were prize winners at a Texas Fat Stock Show, should never be kept in a stable or herd with healthy ones. Badly diseased cattle should be killed. Tick Fever. — Tick, or Texas, fever, pre^'ails south of ^Maryland from the Atlantic to the Pacific. It is caused by a parasite, con- veyed by cattle ticks, which arc parasites of the southern United States. A tick cannot mature except on an animal. It fixes itself on the skin of cattle at pasture; when full-grown, it drops oiT and lays its eggs — fifteen to twenty-five hundred — on the grass. If the young ticks which hatch out fail to fix themselves on animals, they die in a few months. DOMESTIC ANIMALS 253 Southern cattle are rendered im mune', or not subject to the disease, by being exposed when young; but the fever kills during the first summer most of the mature cattle carried from northern to southern states. It is communicated by ticks dropped from southern cattle carried north in the summer. Healthy herds sicken and die if driven across the trail where infested herds passed one, two, or three months before. Tick fever is a serious drawback to introducing improved breeds in the South and has caused strict laws to be passed about the summer marketing of southern cattle. The fever can be pre- vented by cleaning cattle and pastures of ticks. They can be removed from cattle by the use of kerosene and other oils. Pas- tures can be cleaned by keeping cattle off an infected field for several months, usually from the first of April till the first of September. Cattle are inoculated against tick fever, just as people are against smallpox. EXERCISE 1. Are the cattle of your locality chiefly beef or dairy breeds ? Name three points in proof of your statement. What breeds are most profit- able in your section? Why? 2. Make a balanced ration for a dairy cow, using corn, fodder, alfalfa, and cotton-seed meal. 3. A farmer raises corn and timothy hay. What should he sell and what buy in order to furnish balanced rations for dairy cattle ? 4. Take two milk bottles; wash and scald one and cool it with pure water; rinse the other out with sour milk. Put sweet milk in both and seal them. Open and examine at regular intervals. In which bottle does milk sour first ? Why ? 254 AGRICULTURE HORSES History. — Our horses arc descended from wild horses, such as are found to-day in many parts of the work). They ha\'e been improved by care, food, and selection for o\'er three thousand years, and have been trained to artificial f^^aits, such as the trot and Baron Doune, a Plike-i^red Clyuksdale A good type of draft liorse, wcigfiing about 2000 lb. pace. Their natural gaits are the walk and the gallop. Horses are not natives of America. Our wild ones are descended from those brought over by the Spanish and French discoverers. • Classes. — There are many breeds of horses, but they may be roughly divided into two classes : draft horses, the heavy horses used for farm work and hauling ; and light horses, or roadsters, used for riding and driving. DOMESTIC ANIMALS 255 Drajl Horses. — Draft horses are large, usually weighing from fifteen hundred to two thousand pounds. They have broad backs, short legs, and upright shoulders that give an easy support to the collar. The best breeds of draft horses ha\'e been developed in Belgium, France, England, and Scotland. Two well-known Orname.n't, a Kentucky Tiiokouuiibked Selected by Kentucky horsemen as a type of the breed breeds are the Percheron from France, and the Clydesdale from Scotland. Light Horses. — Light horses, or roadsters, are much smaller than draft horses. They are light of bone and muscle, have long legs, long thin necks, and slojjing shoulders. Thoroughbreds, the English running horses, arc descended from the Arabian steeds which are noted for speed, courage, endurance, and intelligence. The trotting horse developed in America is not recognized as a 256 AGRICULTURE distinct breed, but is better known than most pure breeds. The saddle horses of Kentucky and Virginia are well known. Among the best carriage or coach horses are the Cleveland Bay, the French . Coach, and the English Hackney. Hackneys are large, active, and stylish, adapted to both road and farm work. Small horses are not adapted to the deep plowing, hard pulling, and heavy hauling of the farm. Pure-bred sires improve common stock. It is profitable to breed and use good grades. Ponies-. — Ponies are breeds of smallhorses. The gentle, shaggy, little Shetland ponies from the Shetland Islands off the west coast of Scotland are favorites with children. The Indian ponies and mustangs of the West, North, and South are descended from the horses brought to this country from Spain and France. They are active, hardy, and much prized as saddle horses. Mules. — Mules, a cross between the horse and the ass, are noted for strength, endurance, and hardiness. They are valuable for farm purposes and for heavy hauling. Food. — Grass is the natural food of the horse, but an entire diet of it makes a horse 'soft' and unfit for hard work. The best foods are good hay, oats, and corn. A horse needs about twenty pounds of dry matter daily; half of the food should be a concen- trated feed, such as corn, and half a bulky food, such as hay. A horse needs about eight gallons of water a day and should be watered three times a day, before meals. At work in warm weather, horses, like people, need water oftener, but are apt to be injured by drinking much cold water when they are very warm. Care. — The horse should be given clean, comfortable quar- ters, gentle, firm management, and good feed. Good treatment will do much to give horses a good disposition. They are nervous animals, an^ rough, harsh treatment makes them vicious and DOMESTIC ANIMALS 257 unreliable. Good grooming keeps the pores of the skin open and the hair glossy and in good condition. Probably no animal suffers so much from the cruelty, neglect, and ignorance of its owner as does the horse. It is often driven, worked, and fed with little judgment, its health injured, and its period of usefulness is lessened or cut short by neglect and mis- management. Bad treatment does not stop here. It is often subjected to mutilation which injures it permanently. Shoeing. — Probably the most frequent and serious injury comes from bad shoeing. There is an old saying, "No foot no horse." The general purpose of shoeing is to preserve the exposed hoof from wear. Farm horses and horses not compelled to do heavy work on hard roads would be better off if never shod at all. When they are shod, the hoof loses its natural moisture. The horse is apt to go lame if the shoes are removed, unless it is kept in pas- ture until the hoof regains its natural condition. The frog is a natural cushion of gristle to lessen the shock of travel. It should never be trimmed nor touched with the knife. The horny wall should be interfered with as little as possible. The outside is covered with a natural varnish which should never be cut nor rasped off. Only the portion of the wall and sole on which the shoe rests should be touched. From this should be trimmed or rasped the portion which the. shoe prevents from wearing off as it would naturally do on the unshod hoof. The hoof should be lev- elled carefully and the shoe made to fit the foot, not, as is too often done by ignorant blacksmiths, the foot made to fit the shoe. Checkrein. — A checkrein is a discomfort and disadvantage to a horse. Think how uncomfortable it would be for you to have your head fastened up in the same position for hours at a time ! The checkrein deprives the horse of the power of throwing its 258 AGRICULTURE weight forward to pull a load. If a checkrein be used at all, it should not be tight, and it should be let down in pulling a heavy load or going uphill. Docking. -^ The horse's tail should never be docked. This is its fly brush and protection against enemies. When it is docked/ the horse is made 'a life pasture for annoying insects.' EXERCISE 1. Have you read "Black Beauty"? If not, do so. It is an in- teresting story of horse life, giving valuable suggestions as to care and treatment. 2. Compare the best draft horse with the best light horse that you know. Make a list of the points of difference. Name three occasions on which you would prefer the light horse. Why? Name three on which you would prefer the draft horse. Why? 3. From the table on page 309 in the appendix make a balanced ration for a work horse weighing fifteen hundred pounds. SHEEP History. — There are many wild species of sheep in Asia, Africa, Europe, and on the western mountain ranges of America. The sheep was probably the first animal domesticated by man. A European species, the Merino, was brought by the Spaniards to the New World soon after its discovery. From this Spanish breed is descended most of the flocks of Mexico, New Mexico, and Texas. Sheep are natives of mountainous countries and do best on hilly land. They never by choice seek Level, open land, swampy country, nor dense forests. Uses. — The animal is useful in many ways. Its flesh fur- nishes food, its fleece clothing, its skin leather, its bones fertilizers. Sheep Raising. — Sheep are docile and easily managed, require little care and attention, and need less grain than other kinds of DOMESTIC ANIMALS 259 live stock. Sheep feed chiefly on pasture, largely on weeds, and they improve the land on which they feed. They increase rapidly and mature carl}-. They cost less to raise than cattle, and their flesh brings a higher price, and the fleece is clear profit. There Cuurtu^\ (jt Luuisiiiria AsricuUural Statina Grade Lamb and Scrub Lamb These two lambs are the same age ; they were raised together, and given the same ' ■ treatment and food. is always ready sale for lamb, mutton, and wool, and the price varies less than that of most other farm products. Every year there are imported into the United States half a mil- lion dollars' worth of mutton and from twcnty-iive to thirty million dollars' worth of wool, all of which might be produced at home. American farmers would not only reap the profits which now go abroad, but their land would be improved. No farm product makes so little demand on soil fertility as does 26o AGRICULTURE Merino Sheei' — a Wool Tvee Grand champion of St. Louis World's Fair, 1904. wool. The sale of a thousand dohars' worth of corn takes about tlirec hundred dollars' worth of fertility from the land, the sale of an equal value of mutton takes about fifty dollars from the land, and of wool only three or four dollars. Breeds. — While all breeds furnish both wool and mut- ton, sheep are usually divided into wool breeds and mutton breeds, according to their chief purpose. Wool Breed.— The best- known wool iDreed is the Me- rino sheep. It is a nati\e of Spain, is hardy, well adapted to warm climates, and is the only breed which is not subject to disease when kept in large flocks. The flocks of the southwestern states are de- scended from them. More than half the sheep of the United States are raised in the section west of the one hundredth meridian, kno\\n as 'tlie Range,' where the}' flourish on native grasses. Million Breeds. — The sheep raised in the eastern states are chiefly English mutton breeds. The most hardv and prolitic of these and the most popular in the United States are Leicester Siieei' — a Mutiu.x 'I'yi'E Grand champion ol St. Lotiis World's Fair, 1904; ^veigllt, 420 Ih. ; fleece record, 26 lb. DOMESTIC ANIMALS 261 what are called the 'down' breeds, the Southdown, Shropshire, Hampshire, and Oxfordshire. They have wool of medium fine- ness. The Southdown is more extensively raised in the United States than any other breed except the Merino. It is smaller, but hardier and more prolific than the other ' down ' breeds. The Dorset is valued chiefly for the production of early lambs. The long-wooled mutton breeds are the Leicester, Lincoln, and Cotswold. Care of Sheep. — Where there are cheap lands, natural grasses, and open mild winters, sheep can be raised without costing their owner anything except for an occasional salting and the shearing. It is not, however, a good plan to raise any animal to see how much neglect it will bear. It should be given conditions and care to pro- duce best results. Sheep should be protected against dogs. They should have shelter, such as well-littered sheds on sunny slopes, protected from cold, wind, and rain. Sheep cannot bear close confinement or crowding. They need well-drained pasture; on marshy land they are subject to disease. They should have pure water, and be salted regularly. It is well to keep in a shed to which they have access a trough containing pulverized charcoal, ashes, salt, and sulphur. By nature sheep are timid and nervous. They need quiet handling and gentle treatment. A rough, harsh, careless, or im- patient master rarely reaps profit from them.- Diseases. Fly. — The diseases to which they are most subject are fly, foot rot, and scab. The first is caused by a fly, the mag- gots of which should be killed before they eat their way into the body. The sheep should be smeared with tar or a carbolic acid ointment. Foot rot. — Foot rot is caused by a parasite which must be cut out; to the wound should be applied carbolic acid ointment. 262 AGRICULTURE Scab. — Scab is a contagious disease caused by a parasite which gets under the skin. It causes the wool to fall and not only ruins the fleece but often weakens and kills the sheep. The parasite is killed by dipping the sheep in a wash containing sulphur, to- bacco, or lime and sulphur. Sheep should be dipped at least once a year to keep their skins clean and healthy. EXERCISE 1. Do the farmers in your locality raise sheep? Do you think it would be a profitable business ? Give reasons for your opinion. 2. Why do sheep especially need protection against wet weather? 3. At what season are they sheared and why ? GOATS Goat Raising. — Goat raising is a new and growing branch of stock raising in the United States. There are now about two million goats in the country. Every year about twenty million goat skins — worth about twenty-five million dollars — are imported into the United States from India, China, Russia, and other coun- tries. The leather is used for making gloves, shoes, and other articles. Breeds. — The Malta goats are especially prized for their milk; it is richer, more nourishing, and more wholesome than cow's milk. From goat's milk some of our best cheese is made. The goat most favoired by American farmers is the Angora. Its native place is the province of ^^ngora in Turkey. Some peculiar property of the atmosphere there makes the coats of animals, such as cats, dogs, and goats, especially beautiful, long, soft, and silky. The fleece of the Angora goat, called mohair, is used in the manu- facture of fine, fabrics. DOMESTIC ANIMALS 263 Habits. — Goats are browsers b)' nature, and live on weeds and brush where most other animals would starve. They pass by grass and clover to feed on thistles, briers, and thorns, which other stock will not touch. They kill weeds and brush, and give native grasses a chance to spread, fertilized by their manure. H ■pn H ^^BIH^ ^^i3 Wf^%i: ^w ^»r^ -' ^'^^^H ^Ht . '., » ^H ^'^>0 %i ._^ig MSHngBH^k^Y -'•' '■-'--■ -''^, "^^^vw-T' - - -^ "_>! 'H^^HH I^Hr - A^. -. — . J — — -^ .snUUMBinE^.^ - _. Angora Goats Food and Care. — Except in winter, when they should be given a little sheaf oats, corn fodder, or good hay, goats find their own food. They should have salt once a week the year round. Their heavy fleece should be sheared early in spring. Goats are hardy, easily managed, and free from disease except when confined to low, marshy places. They are as profitable as sheep and less expensive, being also free from most diseases to which sheep are subject. EXERCISE Name three points in favor of goat keeping. Can you think of any objections to it ? 264 AGRICULTURE HOGS History. — Our domesticated hogs are descended from the wild swine native to Europe, Asia, and Africa. These wild beasts are lean and scraggy, active and fierce. They live in swamps, jungles, and forests, and feed on vegetable and animal food. The wild hog was probably first domes- ticated in China. Through thou- sands of years of care, various breeds have been developed there which arc "bladders of lard and fat." Hogs are now raised in almost every region outside the Arctic Circle. American and English Breeds. — Several breeds have been developed in the United States, which, like those of China, have much fat and little lean. The best-known Amer- ican breeds are the Chester White, Poland China, and Duroc Jersey or Jersey Red. The English impro\-ed breeds are descended from the native old English hog with foreign crosses. They are what are called bacon breeds, ha\ing longer bodies and legs and gi\ing a larger proportion of lean meat than the Chinese and American hogs. Among the best-known English breeds are the Yorkshire, Berk- shire, Tamworth, and Essex. l@ SCRUIi llOG At two years old, it weighs 50 lb, it pay to raise such stock ? Does DOMESTIC ANIMALS 265 Hog Feeding. — In the United States liogs are raised largely in the corn belt from Ohio to Kansas. There they are called ' mortgage lifters' because farmers who became poor raising corn for market got out of debt and prospered when they fed the cheap and alum- dant corn to hogs and sold meat instead of grain. Corn-fed hogs are fat and lardy, and are often disposed to disease. Hogs grow faster and arc healthier when carried through the summer on green food, such as grass, clover, pea vines, and alfalfa, BilRksuire Hogs A prize-winning herd of four, weigfring 2700 lb. with a small ration of grain, and then are fattened largely on ce- reals, such as oats and corn. Recent feeding experiments show that they make larger and cheaper gains in winter when fed some bulky food, such as clover or alfalfa hay, in addition to their grain ration. For some unknown reason, cotton-seed meal, on which cattle thrive, is usually fatal to pigs, if fed any length of time. It is often profitable to plant lots in sweet potatoes, peanuts, and other crops to be harvested 1:iy the hogs themselves. Hogs are gross feeders, and are more jjrolific than any other domesticated animal, except the rabbit. Hog flesh can be more 266 AGRICULTURE cheaply produced than any other meat. Hogs gain a pound in weight for four or five pounds of dry food, sheep gain one for nine, and cattle one for twelve. Disease. — Hogs are easy to keep well and are hard to cure when sick. If kept in dry, clean, well-ventilated quarters, supplied with plcntv of pure water, and properly fed, they are apt to be healthy. Hogs hurdled on Cowpeas By use of hurdles, or movable fences, this field is grazed a part at a time. The most serious, and fatal disease to which they are subject is cholera. This is contagious, and the bacteria which cause it may be carried by persons, animals, and streams. A stream which has its source outside the hog lot is a constant sotirce of danger and a frequent so.urce of infection. Few hogs recover from cholera and the treatment must be largely preventive. A mixture of salt, sulphur, and hardwood ashes should be kept in a trough in a shed to which hogs ha\c access. Well and sick animals should be kept DOMESTIC ANIMALS 267 '^ — 2-0 — — — A i — if 1 III 1 1 m\ 1 ;| 111 u> il !ii ■■' :| i I 1 p-,^J- J u^ pt^^ H^ -l— T. -^-^i? U--^ !s=s= ^-^ \m^y b^s^ It is separate, and all pens should be disinfected with lime and car- bolic acid washes. Profitable Breeds. — The most profitable breeds for the farmer are those which are prolific, vigorous, and of good disposition, which mature early, and thrive on feeds easily available. Black hogs are generally preferred in the South as they are thought to bear heat better. Earliness of maturity is one of the advan- tages of good breeds. It takes two years to get a 'scrub' or common hog to the weight to which an improved breed can be brought in nine months on the same feed. It must always be remembered, however, that breeds improved by care need care to keep up their good points. They cannot shift for themselves, like the 'razor back'- and the prairie ranger. There is more profit in spring pigs pushed and killed in the fall than in those kept through the winter. It takes more food to keep and fatten hogs in cold weather. Moreover, with age and size the cost of keeping increases more rapidly than flesh. It is most profitable to sell a hog at two hundred or two hundred and fifty "pounds, as each additional hundred pounds takes about twenty- four per cent more food. A section of a hurdle, showing how it is fitted together, made of stout lumber and wire fencing. EXERCISE I. Why is it usually profitable to keep hogs on a farm? Can you think of ways in which the business may be managed so as to make it unprofitable ? 268 AGRICULTURE 2. Name three points in favor of improved breeds; one in favor of 'scrubs.' 3. Consult the table- on page 309 and make up a balanced ration for fattening hogs, using feeds that can be grown in your locality. White Leghorns — an Egg Breed POULTRY Poultry. — Poultry includes all fowls domesticated for meat and for eggs and feathers, such as hens, turkeys, guinea fowls, peafowls, ducks, geese, and pigeons. Hens. — Our domesticated hens are descended from the wild jungle fowls of India. They have been improved by centuries of care and selection so as to bring out the desired traits. The yearly value of their products is enormous'. The American wheat crop in 1905 was worth five hundred and twenty-five million dollars ; Ameri- can poultry products that year were worth over five hundred mil- lion dollars. Pure breeds are usually more profitable than common breeds which eat as much and pro- duce less. There are two great classes, — the Mediterranean, or egg-producing breeds, and the Asiatic, or meat breeds. Egg Breeds. — The chief egg breeds are the Leghorns, Houdans, Minorcas, and Spanish. Barred PLYMonxH Rocks — a General-purpose Breed DOMESTIC ANIMALS 269 WHITE BRAHMAS — A MEAT BREED Meat Breeds. — Of the large meat breeds, the most popular are the Brahmas from India, the Cochins and Langshafis from China, and the Games. These are all poor or fair layers, and good sitters. The light Brahmas are the largest; a hen of that breed weighs nine and a half pounds, a cock, twelve pounds. General-Purpose Breeds. — The Orpingtons, the Plymouth Rocks, the Wyandottes, and the Rhode Island Reds are general-purpose fowls. They are good layers, good sitters, and supply abundance of good meat. The Plymouth Rocks, Barred, White, and Buff, are the breeds most widely raised in America. Ducks. — Ducks mature early and furnish good meat. They are freer from disease than hens and grow faster. The Pekin duck is the most popular. Ducks are as greedy eaters as hogs, and they should not be fed with other fowls. They are not good mothers; if eggs are not hatched in an incubator, itis best to hatch them under a hen and let her mother the ducklings till they are, old enough to, care for themselves. Contrary to the usual opinion, ducks do not need water except to drink, and can easily be raised without access to a pond or stream. Turkeys. — Our domestic turkeys are descended from the wild ones native to America. The Bronze is the largest and most popular breed; its gobblers weigh about thirty-six pounds and its hens about twenty pounds. The White Holland is a handsome and popular breed. 2/0 AGRICULTURE White Emisden Geese Turkeys have been so recently domesticated that they are wilder and of more roving disposition than any other barnyard fowl. They seek out-of-the-way places for nests, and thrive best when allowed free range and outdoor roosts. The meat of the turkey is es- pecially prized, and is a favorite for Thanksgiving and Christmas din- ners. Geese. — Geese are vigorous and hardy and live on food that other poultry would reject. They do not mature till they are three years old, and they often live to be twenty- five or thirty years old. Guinea Fowls. — Guinea fowls are easily raised. They are industrious worm and bug destroyers. Their flesh is dark, but excellent in flavor. Peafowls. — Peafowls, formerly ■ bred for table use, are now raised almost entirely as an ornamental breed and for their feathers. Food. — Fowls need a balanced ration just as much as do horses and cOws. The nutritive ratio for fowls is i -.4. They require a larger proportion of protein than most other animals. Where they have free range, they usually find seeds, grass, and insects that furnish a balanced ration to enable them to make meat and pro- duce eggs. Fowls kept in a poultry yard must have these needs supplied. Many good poultry-raisers feed their adult fowls three times a day, giving grain for breakfast, green food, such as clover and lettuce, for dinner, and mash containing meal or meat scraps for supper. DOMESTIC ANIMALS 271 A Good Drikking-trough for Fowls Starchy foods, such as sweet potatoes, are beneficial in small quantities; when they are fed too freely, fowls fatten and stop laying. Corn, also, is a fattening food which should be sparingly used. Wheat is good for fowls, and oats is better still. It is well to scatter grain in straw or litter so that the fowls are com- pelled to scratch for it. The more exercise they take the more .eggs they lay. "If you wish hens to pay their board, make them work for it." They should be fed, but not overfed, a variety of wholesome food. To produce eggs, in winter, fowls must have jgreen food and warm houses. Fowls should always be supplied with gritty substances, such as coarse sand or crushed oyster shells. These aid digestion and furnish material for bones and eggshells. Water. — Fowls should always be provided with pure water. It should be arranged so that they have free access to it but can- not foul it. For this purpose it is well to use a long pan with a cover of slats two inches apart. Quarters. — To keep poultry healthy, they must have clean, well-drained quarters. The nests should be arranged so as to be easily moved and A Small Hekhouse, with Scratching-shed attached 272 AGRICULTURE Pkumct VEAR-IILI' HKN cleaned. Perches, also, should be movable; they should be low, not more than two and a half or three feet from the ground if large breeds are raised. In cold sections espe- cially, there should be a scratching-shed at- tached to the house. It should open to the south so as to give sun- shine, and the floor should be covered with straw. The house and shed should be kept free from lice and mites. Lice live on fowls. Fowls should be [jrotccted against them by insect powder dusted under their fcatliers, and by having access to dust boxes filled with dust or fine, loose earth. Mites arc blood-sucking para- sites that ]i\'e in the house and attack the fowls at night. They can be destroyed by spraying and washing the inside of the house, the nests, and perches, often and thoroughly, with ker- osene, kerosene emulsion, or whitewash containing carbolic acid. Diseases. — Filth and dampness are directly or indirectly the cause of most poultry diseases. Cholera, the most fatal and con- PkODl^cr OF A IWO-YKAK-OLl) HEN DOMESTIC AiNIMALS 273 Product k a 1 hree-vear-ulu Hen tagious of these diseases, is often the result of bad food, impure water, or overcrowding in a dirty house. It is caused by bac- teria which are taken in through the mouth. Feeding and watering places should be disinfected and kept clean. Sick fowls should be killed and burned or buried deep. Care. — It must always be re- membered that good breeds are not enough. Good food and good care are needed. Improved breeds given j^, proper care yield the largest profits in meat and eggs. But when they are neglected and left to scratch for a living, the common fowls that are used to shifting for themselves do as well or better than i m p r o \' e d breeds. In any case, it is the young fowls that are profit- An Incubator and Brooder able. A hcn three years old is usually past her usefulness as an egg pro- ducer. 274 AGRICULTURE Incubators and Brooders. -, — When fowls are raised on a large scale, it is convenient and economical to use incubators and brood- ers. In the incubators the eggs are hatched by artificial heat, and the brooders furnish homes for the little chickens. The brooders must be kept at the proper temperature, and the chickens must be fed often and little at a time. Raising chickens requires con- stant attention to details which is gained by experience. EXERCISE Would you not like to raise some fowls ? They require little room, but should have proper care. You can begin with one hen. If she is kept alone, her eggs will be infertile and will not hatch. What will you feed her in summer ? What food and care will you give her in winter so as to keep her laying? BEES Breeds, t— There is as much difference in breeds of bees as in breeds of cattle or sheep. A colony of the common East India bees produces about ten or twelve pounds of honey a season; a single colony of Cyprian bees has been known to produce a thou- sand pounds. Colonies, or swarms, of our native brown or black bees make their homes in hollow trees. These bees are often kept on farms; they are spiteful, less able to protect themselves against insect ene- mies than some other breeds, and produce less honey. Cyprian bees are industrious but cross. The Italians are good workers and less spiteful. The Comiolans are gentle, hardy, and industrious. The Caucasians, a breed recently introduced into this country by the Department of Agriculture, bid fair to become popular. They are gentle and are excellent honey-gatherers. Beekeeping. — Beekeeping is most profitable in localities where blossoms are abundant. Buckwheat, asters, and mints. DOMESTIC ANIMALS 27s Queen clovers, alfalfa, and other legumes, the linden, tulip, or poplar, and fruit trees are favorites with bees. Fruit trees shov.ld net be sprayed in blossom time for fear of poisoning the insect visitors. Even when a fruit grower is not a beekeeper, he should protect bees on .account of their service as pollen carriers. There are many successful beekeepers in large cities. Their colonies find abundant food in the flowers, shrubs, and trees of gardens, parks, and streets. Beekeeping is hght and profitable work, and pleasant also when one is freed from the fear and danger of stings. If bees are dealt with gently and smoked properly, they are easily managed. Bee Colony. — The life of a bee family, or colony, is very interesting. In spring there are three kinds of bees in each colony. There is one queen, several hun- dred drones, and about thirty-five or forty thousand workers. Queen. — The queen bee lays all the eggs — sometimes as many as four thousand in twenty- four hours — and leads the colony when it. swarms. Drones. — The drones, or males, gather no honey and have no sting. Workers. — The worker bee is the smallest, but on it falls all the labor of making comb, beebread, and honey, and of caring for the larvae, or undeveloped bees. It has a sting to protect itself and to attack its enemies. In the fall the workers drive Drone Worker CoRNioLAN Bees 276 AGRICULTURE out the drones, leaving them to stan-e or stmging them to death if they tn- to return. It takes about twenty-one days for eggs to become perfect bees. Young workers begin life as nurses for the lar\-ae. When about ten days old, they trj- their wings; in a few days they are busy with field work, making honey. Swarms. — As soon as the oldest queen's cell is sealed, the old queen leaves the hive, followed by many bees. This is called a swarm. It gathers in a mass about the queen on a branch of a tree or elsewhere. The beekeeper cuts off this branch or shakes the bees into a basket or on a cloth and puts them into an empty hive. Hives. — Good hives with movable frames should be used, so that filled combs may be taken out at will. In order to let the bees devote their time to honey making, artificial combs are sometimes used, or natural combs have the honey removed in a machine called a honey extractor and are put back to be refilled. A tin-hned entrance to the hive protects the bees against their enemies, mice. An anti-robbing entrance guards against robber bees which are apt to steal honey from weak hives. Winter Care. — The beekeeper should be careful not to deprive his colony of winter food. 'When the honey is taken in late fall, a thick sirup made of sugar should be put where the bees have access to it. They soon store this up for winter food. In severe chmates the hives should be kept through the winter in a dry, weU-venti- lated, moderately warm place, such as a good cellar. EXERCISE 1. What flowers have you seen visited by bees? At what season do bees make most honey and why? 2. Have you ever seen a queen bee? Can you distinguish a drone from a worker? OUTLINE OF CHAPTER SEVEN MISCELLANEOUS Trees: Uses of trees: Productive : Wood for fuel Timber for building Pulp for paper Yield fruit, nuts, spices Supply sugar, tar, pitch, turpentine, gums Protective : Regulate vi^ater supply Temper climate Serve as wind breaks Forest enemies: Fungi, insects, wind, grazing and browsing animals, fire, man Forestry and destructive lumbering Tree planting Farm Tools: Advantages : Save labor Save time Do work better Requirements: Proper use and adjustment Repair and care Good Roads: Advantages : Lessen cost of hauling Increase ease of intercourse 277 278 MISCELLANEOUS Requirements: Proper grade Good drainage Well-prepared surface: Steel, stone, gravel, earth Care and repair The Help of Science: General United States Department of Agriculture State Agricultural Experiment Stations School Gardens: Suggestions School grounds Landscape gardening CHAPTER SEVEN MISCELLANEOUS TREES Tree in Winter. — What a beautiful, wonderful, useful thing is a tree ! Look at one as it stands outlined against the winter sk\-. How substantial are its trunk and branches ! It is hard to realize that this solid bod}' i.-^ built up from the in\-isible air, vet so it is. <3nly one part in one hundred of dry wood is derived from the soil; the other ninetv-nine parts are derived from the air. Half of the >ubstance i~ carbon; the remainder is chief!}- oxygen and hydrogen with a little nitrogen. Tree in Summer. — Consider the tree in summer. There are hundred; and thousands of lea\x'S, busv in a factor\' very unlike the noi^y ones of man. What a ^^-onder- ful amount of work they do ! Grow- ing, they prepare food for tlic tree, and make a >hade grateful to man and beast; fallen, the}- ser\-e as a blan- ket to keep the earth warm and moist, and form mold and humus to enrich the r-oil. With all lii; sciences, man cannot unrler.-tand exactl}- the pro- cesses of their work nor the power by which sap mounts to the topmost leaf on the tree fifty or a hundred or three hundred fee*- from the ground. 279 A Sm:amiikf Trie in Si mmi-:r AND IN Winter 28o AGRICULTURE Tree Products. — Orchard and nut-bearing trees are valued for their fruits. The sap of some trees furnishes useful products — the maple yields sugar; the pine supplies tar, pitch, and turpentine; the camphor produces gum. Millions of trees are cut every year to supply pulp for paper making. Tens and hundreds of millions are cut to furnish wood for fuel and timber for building purposes, from a matchbox to a house. Lumbering. — Lumbering, or cutting trees for market, ranks fourth among the great industries of the United States. It oc- cupies many men in the eastern states and along the Gulf Coast. It is the chief industry in the Northwest, in the states of \\'ashing- ton, Oregon, Idaho, and ^Montana, where there are original forests of fir, spruce, hemlock, and cedar. From sunrise to sunset the year round, ax and saw are busy, harvesting the great crop which it has taken centuries to grow. — Suppose we could do without the product of trees — fruits, nuts, resins, gums, material for fuel and building. We might use iron and steel for fences and ships ; cement and stone for building purposes ; coal, oil, gas, and elec- tricity for fuel. Still we should Ijc unable to do without trees. Their indirect benefits are greater than their direct ones. Forests, which are trees in masses, regu- late the water supply, tem]KT tlie extremes of heat and cold, and break the force of wind and storm. Effect on Water Supply. — You have learned how important to agriculture is the sup])ly of water. Now let us see how this is Indirect Benefits of Trees. An Oak Tree, growinc in the C)r>EN MISCELLANEOUS 281 affected by trees. Examine some wood mold, as we call the soil of the forest. It is loose and damp, made up of decayed and decaying leaves and twigs. The wood mold and tree roots form a vast sponge to catch and hold the rainfall. They give it out gradu- ally and regularly by capillarity and evaporation and through streams. They protect the land against surface washing and, to a great extent, against loss of water by evaporation. With the wood mold compare the hard compact earth on a barren hillside. Instead of sinking in this, much water runs off, leaving it hard and dry. It is subject to floods and to droughts which affect the forest but little. If you consult a map of the United States, you find that the head waters of its great rivers are in the mountains. Nature has cov- ered the mountain sides with forests, which store up floods and supply the waters gradually to the streams. What will happen if these forests be cut ? The mountains will be changed from reservoirs to mere watersheds. Down their steep slopes floods ^\'ill rush to the valleys arid plains below, destroying and bearing away crops, plantations, . villages. More than one third of the seaward-going water of the United States makes its way through the Mississippi. How important it is to have forest reservoirs on its head waters, and to use and dis- tribute the water along its course as evenly as possible ! If this be not done, the fertile valley will finally be destroyed. It has been neglected so far, and every year the levees are piled higher, every year the flood-mark rises. It is necessary to preserve forests not only to regulate the flow of streams, but to give a regular supply of water for irrigation. Irri- gation is needed in nearly one third of the United States. Without forests, it is impossible. National Forests. — Since 1891 the United States government 282 AGRICULTURE has set apart sixtv-onc forest reservations, containing over sixty-one million acres, at the head waters of streams and on high land in the West. Forest Enemies. — What are the chief enemies of the forest which is so useful, so necessary to man? They are fungi, wind, insects, grazing and browsing animals, fire, and man himself. Fungi. — Like other plants of the higher orders, trees have fungous pests that cause decay and death. Wind. — Windstorms often uproot trees and in certain sections injure and destroy miles of forests. Insects. — Insects frequently kill trees Fungi on an Oak Tree i i i r » c i, and even whole forests, some, such as ants and borers, burrow into the wood until it is honeycombed. Others, such as the larva; of sawllies and moths, kill the trees by destroying the foliage. Grazing. — Wild and domestic animals do harm in various ways. Pasturing in moderation i.^ not harmful; but large herds and flocks injure forest soil by trampling and close grazing, and they bruise and break young trees. Sheep and goats which browse on the foliage are most injurious. Fire. — Next to man, the great enemy of the forest is lire. It often sweeps over miles of land, killing young trees and injuring old ones. In the decax'ing wood, worms finish the work of destruc- tion Ijcgun b}' fire. E\-en the soil is destroyed by being deprived of Irumus. Man. — Man, directly or indirectly, is the most destructive of all the enemies of the forest. He fells trees in vast quantities, and by carelessness and bad methods he increases the harm done. He MISCELLANEOUS 283 Starts forest fire?; he clU> wood so as to expose the forest to the damage of wind, insects, and fungi; he infhcts injury b}' over- grazing, especially with sheep and goat.-,. Too often he treats his friend, the forest, as if it were a deadly enemy that he is lient on destrovinL;. Thi~ attitude i- the natural result of the earl\- r-tate Forest Land in AhNNKSDTA laiu waste ijv Llimhering ani> Fike of affairs in this countr\-. When settlers first came to the New World, it Ava^ necessary to make clearings and cut forests. Thus it came about that, "In the olrl [jioneer days the American had but one thought about a tree and that was to cut it down." But condition- ha\-e changed. For the sake of farming and other interests, we need to preser\'c forests. This does not mean that trees should never be cut. As other crops should be har\'e-ted, 284 AGRICULTURE SO should that of the woods. The old trees should be cut so as to spare and benefit the young ones and thus renew the forest. It is truly said that a forest is more than a storehouse of wood; it is a factory for wood and a reservoir for water. Destructive Lumbering. — Suppose a lumberman who feels no interest in forest preservation has a hundred thousand acres of land in original forest, containing six hundred million feet of lumber. He puts in a big plant so as to cut a hundred million feet a year. He cuts everything large enough to saw, and injures and destroys the young growth. Fungi, insects, and fire are given opportunity for their deadly work. At the end of six years the lumberman has the money for his six hundred million feet of lumber, but he has destroyed the forest. Forestry. ■^- Suppose a similar tract of land comes into the pos- session of a forester, a man who wishes to sell lumber and also to preserve the forest. He puts in a smaller plant, cuts the mature trees, and leaves the thrifty young ones to develop. At the end of six years he has taken in less money than the lumberman, but he has property which is paying profits and increasing in value. With the old trees out of the way, the young ones have more room, air, sunshine, and plant food, and so grow faster. Do not the two instances remind you of the old story of the man with the goose that laid golden eggs? The wasteful lum- berman kills his goose, the forester keeps his to lay golden eggs. The economical care of woodland is the duty not only of the men who control vast areas, but also of the farmer. It is im- portant for him to take care of his wood lot, though it be only a few acres. By cutting old trees and sparing growing ones, he can pre- serve and increase its usefulness. Rough land and hillsides are more valuable in forest than for farming purposes. It is often profitable to plant trees on such land. MISCELLANEOUS 2S5 Tree Planting. — Thu pkinting of trees is mo>t im])ortanl on prairie land, wliere f]ie_\" are needed for wind Ijreaks anrl fcjr wood \iKGi.N biAMi OF Southern Vklijjw Pine and fuel. These vast, treeless plains roll their >ca of verdure from the Mih-ouri Ri\er westward to the foothill- of the Roek^• i\Ioun- tains. 286 AGRICULTURE In the prairie state of Nebraska, Arbor Day was originated in 1872 by Mr. Morton, who afterward became Secretary of Agricul- ture. Arbor Day, set apart for the planting of trees, is now ob- served in nearly every state of the Union and in many countries of Europe. It is important to plant trees properly and to give them proper care. Their culture is simple, consisting of keeping the soil mellow and free from weeds for three or four years till they so shade the ground as to make this unnecessary. Animals should not be per- mitted to bruise the young trees nor to browse on the tender shoots. The kinds of trees to be planted depend on locality and condi- tions; like other plants, trees have certain requirements as to moisture and climate. The European larch thrives on rough rocky soils and on wet undrained ones. It is hardy and of rapid growth, and its timber is durable. The catalpa is a beautiful tree that bears large clusters of fragrant white blossoms. It grows rapidly and its durable wood is valuable especially for fence posts and railroad ties. EXERCISE 1. Make a list of the orchard and the nut-bearing trees of your section. Name ten useful tree products. 2. Get a specimen of wood mold and one of soil from a barren hill- side. Compare the two. 3. Do you not know some spot that would be improved by having a tree grow there? Select a sapling of the kind that you think likely to thrive in that location and set it out. ■ Remember that it is better to have one tree well set and cared for than a dozen carelessly set and neglected. Follow carefully the rules for transplanting on pages 63 and 172. 4. Does your school observe Arbor Day ? If it has not done so in the past, it will be well to begin this year. MISCELLAXEUUS 287 FAI^I TOOLS Use of Tools. — Agriculture, }-ou know, cannot be carried on without tool-. The poorest farmer has hi? hoe and plow and grain blade. On the be-t farms there i- an arra^■ of tools — plows and harrows to prepare >oil ; planters, flrills, and transplanters to put in crops; cultivators, horse hoes, and weeders to till them; diggers, mowers, reapers, harvesters, buskers, shredders, threshers to harvest •-TSST- IlIPLEMENTS U5KI1 I.N PKODUCING J III; I." jf Corn illustk.ated on P.\c;e 142 products and prepare them for use. ]Many of the^^e are recent in- ventions; mo-t of them have been made or perfected by .\mcricans. The Plow. — The first agricultural tools Avere fe\\' in number and simple in form. Consider, for in.-tance, the plow which is the oldest of all. It was made first of the crooked branch of a tree, pointed and hardened b_\- tire. Tlii- wa^ dravn b_\- hand. Then it was adapted to draft animals, -uch as oxen and horses. By degrees it took it.-, pre.-^ent shape, but it was still made of wood. Then the wooden parts were jirotected by wrought iron. About the end of the eighteenth centur}-, a cast-iron plow- share, or point, wa.-, in\-ented. At fir-l American farmer- would 288 AGKICULTL'RE .■■■''';T;*'''--5»*-~''""'!^ji-i_^-'-' "^ .^ i^. ' i '■- .- J Working a Ckot with Hand Hoes Vi.0^ .*'* lloKSii Hoe, ok Hokino Maouink This machine dues as much work as several hand bocs, and does il bellcr. MISCELLANEOUS 289 not use it. Seeing tliat weeds as well as crop ]jlants resjionded to the better culti\'ation, the_\' said that it poisoned the land and made weeds grow. Gradually, howe\'er, it came into use, onlv to give wa}- in turn to the share made of chilled steel. Now there are steel gang plows that cut ten or more furrows at a time. Run by :'?2S««ac L'c.lK.V Pla.\ter This implement drills fuitilizer and drops and covers the grain. Formerly three men were required to do this work. steam or electric power, they do the work of ten men and thirty or forty hor~e-. Profits from Use of Good Tools. — Bu\ing good tools suitable for the culti\'ation of his cro[)s is one of the best in\'estments a farmer can make. They sa\'e labor and (ime and do the work better than it could otherwise be done. Tools save Labor. — Good tools save labor by enabling one man or one team to do the work of two or more. It would take several men to stir as much soil and destroy as many weeds in one day as does the horse hoe or cultivator, or to cut as much ha\' or grain as 290 AGRICULTURE does the mower or reaper. The cost of wages and board for extra farm hands is thus saved. Thousands of dollars are paid in wages every year for work that could be done with less expense and trouble by the use of machinery. Moreover, the farmer who has his laborer in the shed is sure of getting it in the field when it is needed. This is not always the case when he has to depend on hiring workmen. Tools save Time. — Good tools do work more rapidly than it can be done by hand. Thus they save time, and nowhere is it truer than on the farm that time is money. Work done at the right time is the work that pays. The soil needs to be stirred when A Useful Harrow made of Heavy it is in proper condition; in a few P^'*^'^')^ days or hours, it may be too wet or too dry. Crops need to be cultivated and harvested and housed at the right time; if this be not done, they may be injured or lost. With the tools in use in 1830 it took a man ten hours and twenty- five minutes to plow, harrow, and sow with wheat one acre of land ; with the combined steam gang-plow, harrow, and seeder now in use, it takes forty-five minutes to do the same work. In 1830 to reap that acre of wheat with the cradle and thresh it with the flail took a man twenty-three hours and twenty minutes; with the steam har- vester seven men can in nine minutes cut and thresh the same amount of grain and put it in bags ready for the mill. Tools save Money. — By saving labor and time, improved tools reduce the cost of producing a crop. The farmers of the West have taken advantage of this fact. With little labor and at the least possible cost, they raise large crops of grain. Their level land, free from stumps and stones, is well adapted to the use of ma- MISCELLANEOUS 291 chincry. On rock\-, hilly land machinery cannot be used to so great ad\-antage. Tools do Good }York. — Improved tools often do work better than it Avas done by old methods. Modern plows and harrows break the soil deeper and fine it better than the old wooden plows. Cuurt..-_v ul i.uui^iaua .-VL^ricuUuriil btatiuii Shredding Corn Tliis machine takes the ears from the stalks, luisks the ears, and shreds the stalks, blades, and husks The grain drill sows seed more e\-enl}- than it can be distributed by hand. The steam thresher separates grain from the straw and chaff better than does the old-fashioned flail. A cutting or shred- ding machine is ncederl to make cornstalks into good fodder. Weight of Machinery. — ;\Iuth of the impro\-ed machinery is heavy and require,^ large strong horses and mules or steam power to work it. A machine, like a man, needs weight and strength in order to do a sreat deal of work. 292 AGRICULTURE Tools to Use. — Every farmer should know and use the tools which give the best results for his land and his crops. The shape of a plow, for instance, should be adapted to the soil and to the pur- pose for which it is to be used. Every plow should, as farmers say, 'swim free,' requiring little pressure on the handles to guide it. It should ' enter the ground easily, run steadily, and clean itself well.' Care of Tools. — Good tools, as has been said, are a good in- vestment for the farmer. But he loses the profit on his investment if by misuse or neglect he changes good tools into bad ones. Every year farm machinery worth millions of dollars is injured and lost by lack of care. Tools should be kept clean and well oiled, the burs tight, with all parts properly adjusted. A machine is no stronger than its weakest part. Its usefulness ends when this is broken by careless use, or worn out by friction caused by improper adjustment, dirt, and lack of oil. Replacement of old parts by new ones is expensive. A good machine may have its life so shortened by misuse and neglect as to be a source of loss instead of profit to its owner. Tools should be protected against exposure to weather. The rust of metal and the weathering of woodwork during a winter's exposure injures tools more than does a season's use. When plows and other tools are laid by, even for a few weeks, they should be cleaned, wiped dry, and protected agaihst rust. Needed repairs should then be made so as to have them ready for use next time. On every farm there is needed a shed or house for tools. This should be so arranged that heavy machinery can be driven in at one door and out at another. Outbuildings. — Outbuildings should be arranged as conveniently as possible, at the back of the house. They should be connected with the house by walks of gravel, cinders, sand, plank, or ce- ment. The stable should not be on the windward side of the MISCELLANEOUS 293 house. The outbuildings should not be arranged so that it is necessary to go through the stable yard in order to reach the stable, crib, or silo. The silo should be near the barn, and should be strong and air-tight and smooth inside. EXERCISE 1. Name and des"cribe three necessary farm tools. Describe one improved tool and tell the advantages of its use. 2. Suppose a farmer buys a corn planter for sixteen dollars that saves him every year three dollars and a half in labor. How long must it last to repay cost ? If repairs every year cost ninety cents, hovf much longer must it last to repay cost? 3. Examine and compare the tools used by different farmers of your neighborhood. Compare cost and work, and estimate their value to the farmer. GOOD ROADS Disadvantages of Bad Roads. — Roads are of importance to many people, but most of all to those who live on farms and have to haul all their produce over them and pass over them for all communication with the outside world. Bad roads interfere with both the social and the business life of the farm. They increase greatly the labor and expense of marketing a crop. In many cases they render it impossible to market perishable crops, such as melons, fruits, and vegetables. It is so disagreeable to travel on bad roads, that they lessen church and school attendance and neighborly visiting. As soon as farmers want good roads enough to insist upon having them, every bad road in our country will be replaced by a good one. The millions of dollars which are now wasted every year on bad roads will be used to maintain good ones. Instead of 294 AGRICULTURE having the worst roads of any ci\'ilizcd country in the world, the United States will have the best. What makes Roads Bad. — What makes a road bad ? If you ride a bicycle, _\ou have learned some things from experience. You know how tiresome it i^ to climb hills; you go far out of the way to ^ If^ri fl i^^'V J ■ ■■ ""k: \ "^ P» '^' 'iS p^'^.' pfc^^^^pw ^m The CiiNi'iTiiiN OF this Road is pvk to Lack of Propek Gkaoix(-, and Drainage avoid one that is long and steep. It is unpleasant to ride on a road rough with stones, roots, ruts, and mudholes. It is more difficult to tra\'el on a soft yielding surface than on a hard firm one. These things, whicli make a road bad for }ou, make it bad for a horse and determine how heavy a load he can j.)ull. Let us consider these points separately. Grade. — The grade, or ascent, is a matter of prime impor- tance. This requires more careful consideration in laying out a MISCELLANEOUS 29s road than any other point, and yet it is often left to chance. A footpath up hills and across swamps becomes a bridle path, then a neighborhood road, then a public highway. Often it is impossible to make a good road along such a route. Money and labor spent on it are wasted. A public road, especially in a hilly country, should be laid out by a good road engineer. It should go around hills or along their sides instead of across them. It is much more important to have grades gradual than roads Increased ease of travel more than makes up for in- straight Sketch showing the Number of Horses required to haul the Same Load OVER Different Grades creased distance. A horse that can pull two thousand pounds on a level road can pull only four fifths as much, or sixteen hundred pounds, when the grade is two feet to the hundred; when the grade is ten feet to the hundred he can pull only five hundred pounds, or one fourth as much as on a level road. A public road should, of course, be as straight as good grading will allow, but the grade should not be more than three feet in a hundred. For practical purposes, a road is no better than its worst part. Take, for instance, the case of a road almost level except for one hill that has- a ten per cent grade. A farmer who has to haul produce along the road can put on his team no heavier load than it can pull up that hill. He would gladly travel a longer road that 296 AGRICULTURE avoids the steep grade and enables him to carry his produce at one load instead of two. Drainage. — Drainage is another important point. Water is the great road destroyer. It makes mudholes on level land, gullies on hills, and ruts everywhere. The only way to protect a road against injury from surplus water is to have on each side ditches below the level of the roadbed. The roadbed should be highest in the middle and slope to each side, having a fall of one inch to each two or three or four feet. Surface ditches should never cross the road; there should be Cross Section of a Good Road and a Bad Road The good road slopes to the sides ; the bad one, indicated by dotted line, slopes to the middle. -J underdrains for this purpose. There should be underdrains in low wet places also. These should be either tile drains or ditches filled with stones and brush as described on page 88. Surface. — Another matter of importance is the road surface. A hard smooth surface is best. On a steel road one horse can pull as much as twenty on a common dirt road. The best roadbed is steel; next to that is stone. A good durable road is made by putting a layer of hard, broken stone on a good foundation, then a layer of smaller stones, crushed and rolled so as to obtain a hard, smooth surface. The first cost of steel or stone roads is large, but they are so durable and recjuire so few repairs that they are cheap in the long run. On an old road in New Jersey twenty- five baskets of produce was considered a load; the dirt road was replaced by a well-graded stpne one, and on this a hundred or a hundred and twenty-five baskets of produce are carried at a load. MISCELLAXE(3US 297 Well-packed gravel on a good l<_nindation makes a good road. Ordinary earth roads can be greatl)- impro\x'd b)- j)roper grad- ing and drainage, and 1j_\' fre(pient rolling and dragging, so as to keep the surface smooth and hard. The system jiraeticed by A Gqi >d Ro.\n A 3'ear ago two horses could liaiil onl\' two balfs of cotton over tliis load; after improve- ment the same horses haul twelve bales. Air. King, of ^Missouri, has been adopted by thousands of farmers throughout the country' and has impro\'ed thousands of miles of roads. The road is draggetl after each rain or thaw Avith a split- log drag so hitched that the earth is drawn toward the center of the road. This drag is drawn down one side of the road and 298 AGRICULTURE back the other. It distributes the moist earth evenly and pre- pares a smooth hard surface from which rain runs off. Care of Roads. — No matter how well built a road is, it becomes bad if it is not given proper care. Drains should be kept open ; depressions should be filled with the material of the roadbed before they become mudholes. It is easier and less costly to keep a road good than to repair a bad one. EXERCISE Compare the best road or street with the worst one that you know. What are the chief points of difference? How could the bad one be improved ? THE HELP OF SCIENCE Work of Fanners. — Year after year, century after century, farmers learned facts by observation and developed methods by experiments. These facts and methods were handed down from father to son and grandson. They were accepted and practiced with little knowledge of the underlying principles. Studies of Scientists. — Instead of investigating and explaining these principles, students devoted themselves chiefly to pure science. Chemists, for instance, gave farmers little more aid than did astronomers. The last sixty years, however, has witnessed a great change. Scientists have turned their attention more and more to practical subjects. Chemists have analyzed soils, learned what elements plants need for food and in what forms these must be supplied; they have found out which of these available elements are sometimes lacking, and how they may be supplied by chemicals. The result of these investigations is the production and use of mil- lions of dollars' worth of fertilizers and a vast increase in the pro- ductive power of land. MISCELLANEOUS 299 As you learned in connection with stock feeding, scientists have studied animal foods and food values. The application of the principles discovered by them has made stock feeding less costly and more profitable. United States Department of Agriculture. — Our government, through the -work of practical scientists in the Department of Agri- culture, does much to develop the great industry which every year produces over half of the wealth of the country. The benefits of The New Building of the Department of Agriculture the Department of Agriculture extend over all the country. The Department is divided into parts, called Bureaus, each having a special line of work. State Experiment Stations. — There is in each state an Agricul- tural Experiment Station supported by government and state funds. These stations carry on scientific agriculture along lines adapted to the special industries and conditions of the states. The work of the Illinois Station in corn breeding has been worth mil- lions of dollars to farmers in corn-growing sections. The Tennessee Station, through careful selection, has developed strains of wheat and barley that make good crops in the South where other varie- ties do not thrive. _ The North Dakota Station originated the ;oo AGRICULTURE use of formalin to destroy smut on grain — making an annual saving in that state alone of three million dollars. Every station is doing interesting and helpful work for the farmers. Department and State Publications. — The results of the work of the Department of Agrieulture and of State Stations are published in pamphlets, called bulletins. The Year Book published annually by the Department of Agri- culture is sent free on request. Direct your ajiplication to the con- Barm amj I HE \'|RG1XL\ .\..R1. H RAL EXIKRIMKNT ST.\T|i"L\ gressman of \'our district or to either of the United States senators of \'our stale. The Farmers' liullctins published ]:>^' the Department of Ag- riculture are sent free on rec|uest. Direct your application to your congressman or to one of your senators or to the Secretary of Agriculture, Washington, D.C. Tlic Bulletins of the State Experiment Stations arc sent free on refjuest to any person in the state. Write to the Director of the Agricultural Exjjerimcnt Station of }'our state for the bulletins you wish, or ask to ]ia\e )'our name ])iit on the permanent mailing list to recei\-e all its bulletins. On ref|uest to the directors, valualde bulletins can often be obtained from other State Stations at little or no cost. A list of State Experiment Stations is gi\'cn on page 312. MISCELLANEOUS 301 SCHOOL GARDENS School Gardens. — There are over a hundred thousand school gardens in Europe, and thousands have been cstabhshed in the United States within the last few years. In the grounds of the De- partment of Agriculture in Washington cit}- there is a model gar- den. In a general garden are raised our agricultural stajdes, — tobacco, cereals, grasses, and fiber plants, such as cotton and tlax. In his or her in- dividual plot each pupil raises vcgc- tables and flowers. Work in the.-;e gardens trains habits of observation and gi\"e5 practical knowledge of our garden, orchard, and held crops and their care. Size and Arrangement. — The size of a school garden, and whether there are general or individual beds, depend upon the grounds available for the pur- pose. There should be plots, if only large enough to contain a few plants, for the staple crops of the section and for common vegetables and flowers. A large garden should be jdowcfl ; a small one should be spaded. Walk.i shoukl be laid ofl" between the beds. It is well to ha\'e the rows run north anrl south, as tlie plants thus get more sunshine. Tall-growing plants should be put on the north side. Suggestions. — For vegetables choose common, easily-grown ones, such as lettuce, radishes, onions, tomatoes, beans, beets, and corn. A Young Gardener 302 AGRICULTURE For flowers select hardy ones, such as phlox, pansies, verbenas, and California poppies. Test seeds for purity and vitality, and plant them in soil made firm and mellow. Do not crowd the rows or plants. Cul- tivate the garden well and keep it free from weeds. Keep the walks smooth and clean. If possible, continue the work in vacation and have an exhibition of the best fruits and vegetables. Plants for trans- planting may be raised from slips set in a box of sand, kept damp. A City Child's Window Garden Three Broken Eggshells Flat, or Tray, for starting Plants for Transplanting Tomato, cabbage, lettuce, and other plants may be raised from seed in a hotbed. The schoolroom is made more attractive by a window garden, in which grow gera- niums and other plants. Ferns flourish in a northern exposure. The Chinese sacred lily will grow and blossom if the bulb be put in a pan of water with sand and pebbles at the bottom. The Same, iMtROVED by the Planxiwg of Tkees and Vines 304 AGRICULTURE School Grounds. — Young gardeners may do much to make school grounds attracti\'e. Of course, a playground is needed, and it should not be encumbered with shrubs and flower beds. But the schoolhouse may be shaded with trees, bare corners may be beautified with shrubs and flowers, and outbuildings may be screened with \-ines. Flowers should be planted in beds and borders, and trees and shrubs should be set in" groups, with the larger ones at the back. Among desirable trees, shrubs, and vines are the elm, linden, oak, and maple, dogwood, lilac, and snowball, ivy, Virginia creeper, and morning-glory. Landscape Gardening. — Study attractive and unattractive grounds, and try to understand the reasons for the difference in appearance. " Two trees and six shrubs, a scrap of lawn, and a dozen plants may form either a beautiful little picture or a huddled disarray" of forms and colors. Landscape gardening is an art that makes pictures with grass and trees and other natural objects instead of with pencil and brush. If we wish to secure good results, we must have a plan, the simpler the better, and . a picture in our minds of the result we wish to obtain. We must be sure to plant the right things in the right place and in the right way. APPENDIX MIXING FERTILIZERS All the ' machinery ' necessary is a tight floor or a smooth hard place on the ground, scales, a shovel or hoe, an iron rake, and a sand screen. Lumpy materials should be pulverized and run through the screen before they are added to fine ones. The most bulky material should be spread on the floor in a layer about six inches deep, then the next material should be spread on top of this, and so on till all are added in layers to the pile. The pile should then be shoveled and raked over from top to bottom so as to mix the materials well. This process should be repeated three or four times and then the mixture passed through the screen. It is then ready for use. Acid phosphate is the cheapest and one of the best sources of phosphoric acid. Various grades are sold, ranging from 7 to i8 per cent available phosphoric acid. The higher grades are the more economical. Nitrate of soda is 15J to 16 per cent nitrogen; sulphate of ammonia 19 to 20} per cent; dried blood 12 to 14 per cent; tankage 5 to 12J per cent; and cotton- seed meal 6| to 7J per cent. Nitrate substitutes may be made on the foUovring basis : for one pound of nitrate of soda use one pound of high grade dried blood, or two pounds of cotton-seed meal. Muriate of potash, which is 50 per cent potash, is the cheapest form of potash for crops such as corn, peas, and cotton; but the salt in the muriate or in kainit, which is 12 or 12J per cent potash, injures the quality of some crops, such as tobacco and potatoes. For these it is better to use sulphate of potash, 18 to 52 per cent potash, or hard-wood ashes, 2 to 8 per cent potash. Ashes should never be mixed with acid phosphate unless both are perfectly dry, and neither ashes nor lime should be mixed with stable manure. Potash substitutes may be made on the following basis: for each one pound of muriate of potash use one pound of high-grade sulphate of potash or four pounds bf kainit or ten pounds of dry unleached hard-wood ashes. Fertilizer formulas should give the per cent of available phosphoric acid, nitrogen, and potash. Often instead of the per cent of nitrogen there is given the per cent of ammonia which is \^ nitrogen, and the per cent of sulphate of potash which is about 50 per cent potash. The fertilizer which claims 8 per cent sulphate of potash is therefore equal to one which claims 4 per cent potash, and one which claims 4.5 per cent acomonia is equal to one claiming 3.8 nitrogen. 305 306 APPENDIX SOME FERTILIZER FORMULAS I. For Corn Acid phosphate, 14% 950 lb. Cotton-seed meal . . . ■,.. ■ ■ • • 1000 lb- Muriate of potash . . . ..i . . . . 50 lt>' Apply so as to get 100 to 200 lb. of acid phosphate to the acre. II. For Cotton Acid phosphate, 14% . ■ 1250 lb. Dried blood, 13% nitrogen 600 lb. Muriate of potash . ■ 1501b. Apply so as to get 200 to 400 lb. of acid phosphate to the acre. III. For Tobacco Acid phosphate, 14% 1065 lb. High-grade dried blood, 13% nitrogen .... 5001b. Nitrate of soda . ■ 1251b. Sulphate of potash, 50% potash ..... 3101b. IV. For Legumes When seed is inoculated so that the legumes caii collect their own nitrogen. Acid phosphate, 14% 1800 lb. Muriate of potash ........ 200 lb. Apply so as to get 200 to 300 lb. of acid phosphate to the acre. On poor land legumes do better when a small amount of nitrogen is supplied by the fertilizer. FORMULAS FOR SPRAYING PREPARATIONS FUNGICIDES I. Copper Sulphate For wintering spores Copper sulphate . . . . . . . . I lb. Water . .... ... 15 gal. For peaches and nectarines use 25 gallons of water. Use on tree trunks and branches before buds open. APPENDIX 307 II. Bordeaux Mixture For blight, mold, rot, scab, and all other fungous diseases of plants in foliage. Copper sulphate . . . . . . . . 6 lb. Unslacked lime . .... . 4 lb. Water . .... 50 gal. For peaches, plums, and cherries double the quantity of water. Dissolve the copper sulphate in hot water in an earthen or wooden vessel, and then dilute it to 25 gallons. Slack the lime in a wooden vessel with boiling water, slowly and care- fully so as toform a smooth paste. Dilate it to 25 gallons. When cool, mix with the copper-sulphate solution, stirring thoroughly. III. Ammuniacal Copper Carbonate For fungous diseases of ripening fruit Copper carbonate ..... 5 oz. Ammonia, 26% .... . 3 pt. Water .... . -5° g^l- This mixture tfoes not stain nor roughen ripening fruit. Make the copper carbon- ate into a paste with ij pints of water. Dilute the ammonia with ij gallons of water and dissolve the paste in it. This stock solution can be kept in glass-stoppered bottles and diluted as wanted, by adding 6 gallons of water to each quart of the solution. IV. Forma:,in For smut and scab Formalin ...... . . . i pt. Water for scab' ........ 30 gal. Water for smut ........ 50 gal. Mix and moisten thoroughly the grain and potatoes to be used for seed, just be- fore planting. Put the potatoes in a bag and soak for two hours in the preparation. Graih should be soaked twenty minutes and then spread so as to dry without heating. INSECTICIDES I. Paris Greex For chewing insects on plants, such as codling-moth larvEe, potato beetles, etc. Paris green . . . . r lb. Water . 150 to 300 gal For use on trees in foliage, especially fruit trees, add : lb. of unslacked lime. Paris green is a poison, and should be used ^\■ith care. It should be mixed^ to-a 'thin paste with water, diluted to the required amount, and kept well stirred. A dry preparation -is made by mixing one pound of Paris green with from 20 to 50 lb. of flour gypsum, or air-slacked lima. This should be mixed thoroughly and dusted on plants, preferably while they are wet with rain or dew. 308 APPENDIX II. Kerosene Emulsion For sucking insects, such as aphides, or plant lice. Hard soap . ....... ^ lb. Boiling water ....... i gal. Kerosene ... ..... 2 gal. Dissolve the soap in the boiling water. Add the kerosene and churn with a pump from five to ten minutes. Dilute with from 8 to 50 gallons of water, using the strong solution for scale insects. III. Bisulphide of Carbon For grain moths, weevils, and all insects affecting stored food and seed. One teaspoonful to each cubic foot of space. Pour into a saucer or shallow pan and set on the top of the grain in a tightly closed bin. The bisulphide is very inflammable, and should be kept from light and fire. IV. Cobalt Sirup For poisoning tobacco flies and other flies and moths. Cobalt . . . . . . . . . . I oz. Molasses . . . . . . . . . . J pt. Water i pt. Insert in the blossom of the Jamestown weed by means of a quill. FUNGICIDES AND INSECTICIDES I. Bordeaux Paris Green Bordeaux mixture ........ 50 gal. Paris green . . 4 oz. II. Lime, Salt, Sulphur Wash For winter application for San Jose scale Lime 15 lb. Sulphur 15 lb. Salt .... 5 lb. Water 50 gal. Heat 4 or 5 gallons of water in a twenty-gallon iron kettle. Put in 15 lb. of lime; while it is slacking, add 15 lb. of sulphur and add boiling water to make a thick paste. Add more water so as to make about 10 or 15 gallons. Keep the mixture well stirred, and boil thirty or forty minutes. Strain, add the salt, and dilute to 50 gallons. APPENDIX 309 AVERAGE DIGESTIBLE NUTRIENTS IN AMERICAN FEEDING STUFFS Feeding Stuffs Digestible Nutrients in 100 Pounds Protein Carbohydrates Fat Alfalfa hay . . Corn stover, field cured Cowpea hay .... Red clover hay . Timothy hay Cow's milk . Skimmed milk Buttermilk .... Barley Corn Kafir corn Rice . . Rye . Wheat . . . Cotton seed . Cotton seed meal Cotton seed hulls Cowpeas . . . . II.O '•7 10.8 6.8 2.8 3-6 31 3-9 8.7 7-9 7.8 4.8 9.9 10.2 12.5 37-2 0-3 18.3 39-6 32.4 38.6 35-8 43-4 4-9 4-7 4.0 65.6 66.7 57-1 72.2 67.6 69.2 30.0 16.9 33- 1 54.2 1.2 0.7 i.i 1-7 1.4 3-7 0.8 I.I 1.6 4-3 2.7 0-3 I.I 1-7 17-3 12.2 1-7 I.I FEEDING STANDARDS Pounds, per day, per 1000 lb. live weight. Kind of Animal Protein Carbo- hydrates Fats N. itritive ^atio Horse, at light work 1.5 9-5 0.40 1 7.0 Horse, at hard work 2.8 13-4 0.80 I 5-5 Oxen, at rest . . . 0.7 8.0 0.15 I 12.0 Oxen, at hard work . 2.4 13.2 0.50 I 6.0 Fattening oxen . . 3-0 14.8 0.70 I 5-5 Milch cows . . . 2.5 12.5 0.40 I 5-4 Wool-producing sheep 1.2 10.3 0.20 I 9.0 Fattening sheep . . 3-5 14.4 0.60 I 4-5 Fattening swine .... 4.0 24.0 6.0 Growing Cattle Age, months Average weight, per head 2- 3 .... 150 lb 4.0 13-8 2.0 I 4-7 3- 6 . . . . 300 lb 3-2 I3-S I.O I 5.0 6-12 .... 500 lb. . 2-5 13-5 0.6 I 6.0 12-18 .... 700 lb. 2.0 13.0 0.4 I 7.0 18-24 . . . • 850 lb 1.6 12.0 0.3 I 8.0 3IO APPENDIX LIST OF FARMERS' BULLETINS FOR SUPPLEMEXTARY READING The following Farmers' Bulletins, issued by the Department of Agriculture, con- tain practical, scientific information on the subjects treated in this book. Copies are sent free on application to a Senator or Representative in Congress or to the Secre- tary of Agriculture. Write to your State Agricultural Experiment Station also for copies -of its bul- letins. These bulletins furnish excellent material for supplementary reading and study along I desired lines, liy their use work can be adapted to different grades and to special local conditions. ClIArTER I 88. Alkali Lands. Chapter II III. Farmers' Interest in Good Seed. 260. Seed of Red Clover and Its Im- purities. 157. The Propagation of Plants. Chapter III 245. Renovation of Worn-out Soils. 257. Soil Fertility. 150. Clearing New Land. 187. Drainage of Ij'arm Lands. 46. Irrigation in Humid Climates. 138. Irrigation in Field and Garden. 263. Practical Information for Be- ginners in Irrigation. 266. Management of Soils to con- serve Moisture. Chapter IV 62. Marketing Farm Produce. 242. An Example of Model Farming. 272. A Successful I^og and Seed- corn Farm. 66. 102. 147. 215. 81. 199. 229. 48. 217. 274. 60. 82. 83- 52. 154. 161. 181. 208. II3- Meadows and Pastures. Southern Forage Plants. Winter Forage Crops for the South. Alfalfa Growing. Corn Culture in the South. Corn Growing. The Production of Good Seed Corn. Rice Culture in the United States. The Manuring of Cotton. Essential Steps in securing an Early Crop of Cotton. Flax Culture. Methods of Curing Tobacco. The Culture of Tobacco. Tobacco Soils. The Sugar Beet. The Home Fruit Garden : Prep- aration and Care. Practical Suggestions for Fruit Growers. Pruning. Varieties of Fruits recom- mended for Planting. Tiie Apple and How to grow It. APPENDIX 311 255. The Home Vegetable Garrlen. 35. Potato Culture. 39. Onion Culture. 129. Sweet Potatoes. 220. Tomatoes. 156. The Plome Vineyard. ■198. Strawberries. 213. Raspberries. 195. Annual Flowering Plants. Chapter V 28. Weeds : And How to Kill Them. 86. Thirty Poisonous Plants. 188. Weeds used in Medicine. 146. Insecticides and Fungicides. 243. Fungicides and their Use in Preventing Diseases of Fruits. 127. Important Insecticides. 155. How Insects affect Health in Rural Districts. 47. Insects Affecting the Cotton Plant. 70. Insect Enemies of the Grape. 99. Insect Enemies of Shade Trees. 120. Insects Affecting Tobacco. 132. Insect Enemies of Growing Wheat. 216. The Control of the Boll Weevil. 223. Miscellaneous Cotton Insects in Texas. 247. The Control of the Codling Moth and Apple Scab. 275. The Gypsy Moth and How to control It. Chapter VI 22. The Feeding of Farm Animals. 32. Silos and Silage. 42. Facts about Milk. 55. The Dairy Herd. 63. Care of Milk on the Farm. 71. Essentials in Beef Production. 72. Cattle Ranges of the Southwest. 106. "Breeds of Dairy Cattle. 143. The Conformation of Beef and Dairy Cattle. 151. Dairying in the South. 241. Butter Making on the Farm. 258. Texas or 'Tick Fever and its Prevention. 261. The Cattle Tick. 170. Principles of Horse Feeding. 179. Horseshoeing. 49. Sheep Feeding. 96. Raising Sheep for Mutton. 137. The Angor& Goat. 24. Hog Cholera and S\a ine Plague. 100. Hog Raising in the South. 41. Fowls: Care and Feeding. 5 1 . Standard Varieties of Chickens. 64. Ducks and Geese. 141. Poultry Raising on the Farm. 200. Turkeys. 236. Incubation and Incubators. 59. Beekeeping. Chapter VII 134. Tree Planting in Rural School Grounds. 173. Primer of Forestry. 228. Forest Planting and Farm Management. 95. Good Roads for Farmers. 136. Earth Roads. 185. Beautifying the Home Grounds. 218. The School Garden. 312 APPENDIX STATE AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATIONS Alabama — College Station ; Auburn. Canebrake Station : Uniontown. Tuskegee Station :■ Tuskegee. Arizona — Tucson. Arkansas — Fayetleville. California — Berkeley. Colorado — Fort Collins. Connecticut — State Station : New Haven. Storrs Station : Starrs. Delaware — Newark. Florida — Lake City. Georgia — Experiment. Idaho — Moscow. Illinois — Urbana. Indiana — Lafayette. Iowa — Ames. Kansas — Manhattan. Kentucky — Lexington. Louisiana — Sugar Station: New Orleans, State Station : Baton Rouge. North Station : Calhoun. Maine — Orono. Maryland — College Park. Massachusetts — Amherst. Michigan — Agricultural College. Minnesota — St. Anthony Park, St. Paul. Mississippi — Agricultural College. Missouri — College Station: Columbia. Fruit Station : Mountain Grove. Montana — Bozeman. Nebraska — Lincoln. Nevada — Reno. New Hampshire — Durham. New Jersey — State Station : New Brunswick. College Station : New Brunswick. New Mexico — Mesilla Park. New York — State Station : Geneva. Cornell Station: Ithaca. North Carolina — Raleigh. North Dakota — Agricultural College. Ohio — Wooster. Oklahoma — Stillwater. Oregon — Corvallis. Pennsylvania • — State College. Rhode Island — Kingston. South Carolina — Clemson College. South Dakota — Brookings. Tennessee — Knoxville. Texas — College Station. Utah — Logan. Vermont — Btirlington. Virginia — Blacksburg. Washington — Pullman. West Virginia — Morgantown. Wisconsin — Madison. Wyoming — Laram ie. INDEX [A word-list with definitions is not considered necessary for this book. The pronunciation and definition of unusual and technical words are given in the text when first used ; when it is desired to refer to any of these, they may be found by means of the index.] acid phosphate . • 3°5 beetle . . 214 air in soil ... 23, 27. 70, 87, 93 Colorado potato 214 alcohol, commercial . . . . 141 ground . 222 alfalfa . . . 108, 120, 136, 138 ladybird . 222 alkali lands 20, 85, 86 tiger 222 alluvial soil 14, 16 Bermuda grass 134, 135 aluminium . . . . 30. 31 biennials . 44, 47> 195, 196 ambrosia artemisiae folia 194 birds 224 animals, domestic 23s food of 224 breeds of 237 harmful 229 care of . 236 useful 22s feeding . . ■ 243 blackberry . . 182 annuals 44, i85, 194 blackbird, red-winged 228 antennas 209 blight . 199 200, 205 anther 43 bluebird 227 apple . 167 bluegrass 56, 134 Arbor Day 286 bluestone 206 arid region • 90 bobolink 228 soil ■ 92 Bordeaux mixture 207, 307 ashes 118, 133.305 botanical names 194 asparagus 180 breeders, plant 74 atmosphere . . . 10 breeding wheat breeds . 15° 237 Babcock milk -tester . . . 250 of bees 274 bacteria, 31, 41, S5> 83, 87, no, 200, 249, of cattle . 245 25^ of goats . 262 balanced ration ■ 242, 243 of hens 268, 273 Baltimore oriole . . 227 of hogs 264, 267 barley . . 151, 299 of horses 255. 256 beans . . 70, 138, 180 of sheep 260 bee 221, 274 brooder • 274 breeds 274 budding ... bud reproduction . bug, chinch . 60, 169, 170 hives . ... 276 58 , 218, 219 beef breeds . . . . 247 216 beekeeping 275 bulb ..... • 5°. 178, 187 313 314 INDEX Burbank, Luther .... 75, 185 bush fruits ' . . ... 182 business methods ... 131 butter . .... . 250 breeds . . 247 making ... .... 250 butterfly 210 by-products 117, 133 cabbage 49, 180 calcium 3°, 32, up California poppy . 185 calyx .... . . . 42 cambium 41, 48 capillarity . . 23, 24, 38 capillary attraction .-23 carbohydrates 238, 240, 241, 242, 244 carbon 31, 40, 54 dioxide . 27, 31, 39 carbonaceous foods . . . 240, 243 carrot, wild 196 catbird . 228 caterpillar .211 cattle 245 beef breeds 247 care of . . . . . 250 dairy breeds 247 food 250 general-purpose breeds . . 248 'scrub' breeds . . . 248 celery . 179 cells . . . . . . 41, 200 cereals .... . . 48, 140 checkrein 257 cherry . ^168 chickadee 227 China . . ... 193 chinch bug 216, 2r8, 219 chlorine . 30, 32 chlorophyl . 39, 40, 45, 49, 50, 199 cholera, chicken 272 hog ' 266 chrysanthemum leucanthemum . 197 churning ... 250 • citrange . 168 citrus family ... . . 167 clay, 17, 18, 19, 23, 24, 27, 56, 84, 87 climate . . 28, 129 clover . . 105, 107, 108, no, 137 crimson . . . 103, ni, 136, 137 clover, red 136, 138 codling moth .... . 211, 223 Colorado potato beetle . 214 commercial fertilizers ; see fertilizers compostmg manure copper sulphate corn . . 4 cultivation of fertilizing . . forage . . . seed selection sweet corolla . cotton . . as one crop . . in rotation . . . range and cultivation sea island seed selection upland . . 114 . . 206, 306 , 50, 66, 71, 13s, 140 . 142 ■ 143 141, 142 145 35. 44, 5°. loi. 180 42 153 lOI 102 • 154 . 156 • 157 156 153 157 157 106, 108 uses of weevil . . wilt .... cover crop . . . cow; see cattle cowpeas . . 66, 102, 105, 108, 136, 137 cream . .... 249 crop plants, families of . . 126, 127 raising 127 rotation 100, 116, 144, 149, 156, 163, . 177, 193. 219 examples of .... 107 principles of 104 crops, green 108 cross . . . . 74 crow ... 229 cuckoo . . 225 cultivation, purposes of ... . 97 deep and shallow . . 98 effects of ... . 74 flat and ridge .... .98 time of 98 see corn, cotton, tillage, tobacco, wheat cultural methods 218 curculib . 220 cuttings 59 dormant .... -59 green ... 60 cutworms 212, 219 INDEX 31S dairy breeds products daisy damsel fly daucus carota . . . Department of Agriculture publications of ditches hiUside . docking dormant cuttings . . draft horses dragon fly drainage . benefits of methods of drains .... drift soil . drone ducks 247 248 197 222 196 299 300 . 258 59 254, 255 222, 223 25, 86, 90 87 87 . 88 14, 16 27s . . 269 egg breeds 268 elements 29, 32, 37, 39, 54, 55, 56, 115 available forms for plants, 31, 115 compound . . . . 31 forms unavailable for plants 56 metallic, of soil 30 necessary to plants . . 54 non-metallic, of soil . . 30 evaporation . 24, 25, 94, 98 families of crop plants . farm tools . . . care of . . . profits from use of fats . feeding standards . . stock, rules for feeds . . nutrients in . . fermentation . . fertility . . fertilization, plant . . fertilizers . ... analysis of . . cost of ... . mixing . . . rules for use . . testing . . fiber materials . . . . 126 238. 242, , 127 287 292 289 240 , 3°9 243 241 309 114 6, 81 43 115 121 121 ', 3°5 116 120 ^S3 filament .... fire blight .... flax ... flower, parts of annual . . garden perennial . . perfect and imperfect fly, damsel dragon ichneumon . tachina . food assimilation kinds of plant ; see plant food uses of . foot rot . . . forage 133, 140, crops . , . . . uses of forest, benefits of . enemies of forestry forests, national > formalin fowls, care of . . diseases of fruit trees ; see budding, grafting fungi . . . 12, 199, 200, how to destroy fungicides fungous diseases how to prevent fungus .... 204, garden, flower school vegetable geese . . germ food . girdling glacier goats breeds of food of grade stock grafting grain 60, 43 200 157 42 186 184 187 50 222 222, 223 222, 223 222 . 238 . 241 ■ 238 261 141, 241 83. 133 • 133 . 280 . 282 . 284 . 281 208, 307 • 273 . 272 orchard 205, 206 205, 206 . 206 198, 207 • 205 199, 201 . 1S4 • 3°i . 176 . 270 • 36 36, 53 14 . 262 262 . 263 ■ 237 169, 170 . 169 . 140 3i6 INDEX grapes . 182 insects, injuries from . . 208 grass, Bermuda . . . ■ 134, 135 life, stages of . .209, 210 blue .... 56, 134 parts of . . 209 family . . . 126, 127 pollination by 51, 221 grasses . . ... 134 sucking 220 gravity . .... 23 iron 30, 32, 39 guano . . .... 116 irrigation . . 25, 9° guinea fowls . . 270 kainit . II 8,121,305 hand pollination . . 51. 150 kerosene emulsion . 308 harrow . . 97 King road system . 297 hay . . 133. 134 curing . . . 139 labor .129, 130 heating 114 ladybird beetles . 222 hens . . . . . 268 landscape gardening 304 egg breeds of 268 larva 209 general-purpose breeds of 269 larvae 210 meat breeds of 269 layering 58 herbs 180 leaf . 39, 40, 49 heredity 73, 74 legumes 55, 83, 105, 108, 117 128, 136, hogs 264 i8o American breeds of . 264 lemon . . 168 diseases of . . 266 lime . . . 83 , 119, 120 English breeds of 264 limestone soil . . 19, 56 feeding 26s loam ... . . 19, 57, 85 horses • 254 loco weed . . . . ■ 197 care of • 256 lumbering . 280, 284 docking . . 258 draft 254, 255 machinery . . . . 291 feeding . . . • • 256 see tools light or roadsters . . ■"254, 255 magnesium 30 shoeing . . 257 manures • 105 host 200 , 201, 205 green . 108 hotbed . . 112, 184 stable . . . . 112 humus i8, 56, 82, 83, 84, loi, 108 market . . 129 hurdle .266, 267 crops . . . . 104, 129 hybrid 74 gardening 177 hybridizing .... 74 meat breeds . . . . . 269 hydrogen .... 3°, 31,39,54 melon family .... . . 180 Mexican cotton boll weevil . 215 ichneumon fly ... . 222, 223 milk . . . . .249, 251 imago .... . . 2og, 210 milk vessels, care of . • 251 incubator .... 274 moisture requirements of crops . 129 inoculation against tick fever 253 molt . . 210 of soil .... no moth . ... . . 211 insecticides .... . 219 codling . . 211 insects, chewing . . . . 219 mulch . . 64 cultural methods against 218 soil . . 25, 27 92, 93, 97, 98 enemies 106 , 208, 221 mules • • 256 friends ... . 221 muriate of potash . . . II 3,121,305 INDEX 317 nitrates . . 55, 83, 117, 305 nitrogen 30, 31, 32, 39, 55, 83, 105, no, 114, 115, 117, 122 pure culture of in nitrogen-gathering crops . 105, no nutrients . 309 nutritive ratio . .251, 270 nymphs . . 210 oats okra one-crop system onion orange orchard cultivation fertilizing location pruning selection of varieties for spraying . . thinning fruit in oriole, Baltimore osmosis outbuildings ovary ovules oxygen . 25, 27, 30, 31, Paris green pasture grasses pasturing cattle . peach peafowls peanuts pear peas .... Canada field cow 66, percolation perennials perfect flowers petal phosphoric acid 83,115, phosphorus . pistil .... plant breeding . . . diseases families 102, 105, I 71. 151 180 . 100, loi .178, 179 168 . 166 172 173 170 174 171 173 174 227 38 292 43 43 39. 40, 54 ■ 214, 307 134 - 244 . 167, 170 270 138 170 no . 138 136, 137 24 187, 196 50 42 118, 122, 305 30, 32, 83 ■ • 43, 5° ■ • 74 ... 199 . . 126, 127 ■ 167, 44, plant food 30,31,32,37, 39, 40, 54, 83, loS, "5 air-derived . . . 39, 54 necessary elements of 54 soil-derived 37, 55 plant improvement . 73,75 methods of . 74 reproduction from buds 58 reproduction from seeds . 65 planting, depth of . 70 soil, conditions for 70 time of • ■ 71 plants, girdling 48 parts of . 46 strong-feeding . . 48 weak-feeding 48 plow 94, 287 pan . 96 plowing ... . . 94, 219 conditions of soil for 95 depth of 89, 90, 95 for drainage 88 subsoil 96 time of 94 plum 168 plumcot • 75 poisons, fungicides . . .206, 306 insecticides . . .219, 307 pollen . . 43, 74, 146 pollen bearing 5° by hand 51, 150 by insects SI, 221, 275 by wind . 5° poUination 51, 150 ponies 256 potash . 83, 118, 122, 173, 3°5 potassium . • 3°, 32, 83 potato, sweet . 63, 65, 160, 177, 178 white 60, 127, 160, 177, 178 poultry 268 care of 271 , 272, 273 diseases 272 food . 270 products 268 primus berry . • 75 protein . . 238, 240, 241, 242, 243 protoplasm 41, 200 pruning . . ... ■ 174 publications of Department of Agriculture . . . • • 3°o 3i8 INDEX publications of State Agricultural Experiment Stations . 300 pupa . 2og, 210, 212, 216 pure bred . • 237 purity of seeds quartz queen -bee . ragweed . . rape .... raspberry . . ration . balanced unbalanced rice .... ricebird . . roads . . . bad . care of drainage . grade surface . robin roller . . . root crops . . root hairs . rootlets . 242, 243; 67 17 275 . 194 • 136 . 181 242 244, 245 243. 245 26, 151 228 293 293 298 296 294 296 228 97 • 107. 177 37. 38. 204 37 roots, 37, 38, 46, 49, 62, 63, 64, 87, 93 fibrous . . . . 47, 56, 105 tap 37, 46, 105 rose family . . .. .126, 128 roses 187 rot ... . 202 rotation of crops; see crop rotation rust 201 rye 151 salt 118, 305 sand 17, 18 San Jose scale 217 sandy soil 19, 23, 27, 56, 84, 87, 106, 112 sap 38, 39. 40 scab .... 262 scale, San Jose 217 school garden ... ... 301 grounds 304 house .... ... 304 science, its help to farmers . . . 298 scion .... . . 169 ' scrub ' cattle 248 hog . . 267 season for planting 71, 130 sedentary soil . .... 12, 16 seed 3S. 36. 43. 6s cleaning . . 67 home-grown . . . . 69 impure 69 planting ... ... 70 plots 68 purchasing . . 68 purity . .... 67 selection . 74, 75, 144, 150, 157,163 in field . . 66 sowing . .... 52, 192 testing 70, 71 vitality . . . . -67 seedlings 65, 168, 169 selection 74 see seed sepal .... 42 sheep ... . . 258 care of . . . . 258, 261 diseases of . _. 261 mutton breeds . '. 260 wool breeds . . 200 silage . . . . . 133, 2ii silicon ... ... .^o silo 133. 293 small fruits 181 smut 202 sodium 30 soil 9, 129, 160 classes of 12 composition of ... . 29 deepening 96 drainage 25, 86, 96 fertile -■ 31, 82 ferruizing 115 formation of 9 ideal 82 improvement 81 inoculation no irrigation 25, 90 manuring 112 moisture mulch . . sterile . . swamp . temperature 25. 27. 92. 93, 97, 31 .85 28 INDEX 319 soil, texture .... ■ • 18,56,83 tillage, benefits of • • 93 tillage .... 0^ see cultivdiion ventilation . . 27 tobacco . . 65 , 69, 104, 160 water . . 23 cultivation of . . . . 161 soiling crops .... • 133 fertilizing . . • • 163 system . • 244 range of . . . . . 160 sorghum ■ i35> 165 seed selection . . ■ 163 soy bean ... • 107. 138 tomato ... . . 179 sparrow, English 229 tools ... ... 287 sparrows . . . 226 care of ... . . . . 292 spiracle .... . 209, 220 profits from use of 289 spores . . . 200, 202, 205, 206 transpiration 24 spraying . . . 173, 206, 220- transplanting . . . 62, 169, 172 formulas 306 rules f or . . . 63, 172 stable manure . 112 transported soil . . . . . 12 benefits of . . . . 112 trap crop 219 composting ... 114 tree planting . . . 285 sources of loss • 113 products . . ... 280 value of ... 112 trees • 279 stamen y12. CD benefits of 280 State Agricultural Experiment Sta- see forests tions . . 299 truck farming . . . .177 stems, prostrate . 48 tubercle . ... 55, no upright . . 48 tuberculosis .... • 251 stigma .... 43 turkeys . . . 269 stock . 169 stock raising . 23 s variation . . . . • ■ • 73 profits in . . . 236 vegetable garden . . 176 strawberry .... so, 182 cultivation of .176 style .... • • ■ ■ 43 location of . . . ... 176 subsoil . . . p, 82, 87, 92, 96 value of ... . ... 176 subsoiling . . 96 ventilation of soil . . .• .27 sugar beets . . . .... 165 vitality . ... ... 67 cane . . 164 producing plants . . . . 164 water as soil maker . . . . . 10 sulphate of potash . • • • 118, 305 transporter . . . . . . ■ . 13 sulphur 30 table . ... ■ • • • 23 sulphuric acid .... 118 uses of ... . . . . 22, 40 . 94, 106, 191 surplus products . . .... 177 weeds swarm 276 annual .... . ... 194 . ... 195 . . . . ^ j\j biennial .... tachina fly .... . . . . 222 foreign .... harm done by . ... 193 ... 191 taproots '.".... ■ • 37. 46, 105 terraces .... 8g how to destroy native .... • ■ 192, 193 . ... 193 . . . 196 tester, seed .... 70. 71 thorax .... . . . . 209 perennial . . . thoroughbred horse • • • • 25s seed, sowing of . . . . 192 tick or Texas fever .... 252 weevil ... . . . 106 tile drains .... .... 88 Mexican cotton boll ■ • • 215 tillage • • 93> -^91 wheat .... 7] , 107, 130, 146 320 INDEX wheat breeding ... . • • 15° cultivation of i47 fertilizing ^4^ seed selection IS° varieties ...... I49 wild carrot ■ • ^9^' wilt i°6; 2°4, 205 vpind as soil transporter . . • 13 window garden 3°^ wood ashes .... 118, 133, 3°S woodpeckers 226 worker bees • 275 wren 227