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Show 494 BEPOET OF FUPEEINTENDENT OF INDIAN SCHOOLS. is made more porous and open. These processes, however, are very expensive and not often of any practical value to the Indian farmer. 'Pillage.-Under this head are included pluwing, hamwing, rolling, cultivating, etc., the ends of which are: . 1. To break up the soil and make i t mellow, so that the roots of the plants may more easily penetrate it. 2. To admit air. 3. To hasten decomposition of the soil and the resulting formation of plant food. 4. To kill weeds. 5. To regulate the supply of moisture. 6. To afford special treatment for particular crops. Teach the meaning of what is known as "capillary attraction" aqd its relation to moistnre in the soil. Io addition to retainmg moisture, the chlef benefits ,of cultivation are the admission of air to the roots and the destruction of weeds. Show the pupils that weeds are among the greatest obstacles to good crops with which the farmer has to contend; that they prevent the sunlight from reaching the plants, withdraw from the ground the moisture which the crops need, and exhawt the plant food in the soil. They should be destroyed by cnltivation when young and before injury is done to the crop. Plowing.-Franklin's Injunction to "plow deep" is one to be kept in mind by every Indian farmer, but it must be applied intelligently. The advantages of deep plowing are too generally overlooked by the average farmer. Just in pro-portion as the depth of cultivated soil is increased do you increase the available plant food, and consequently the productive capacity. Not only that, hut deep plmng lessens the tendency to extremes in the supply of moisture. In wet sewons it aids drainage by providing more space for the absorption of surplus water, and in making it easier for the water to pass off,and in times of drought deeply plowed soil has a larger supply of moisture stored away for the use of the pLrot, and beyond the reach of the sun's rays. The roots of the plant are also enabled to spread over a greater area and sink deep into the ground, where they reach sources of supply which are oamparatively unaffected by the sun in times &.drought. But the farmer must be careful to show that while deep plowing is desirable in nearly all caaes, itmust not be attempted all in one season if the ground has been accustomed to comparatively shallow plowing. In this matter the safest advice is, plow as deep as you can without tnrning up too much of the subsoil. Bring np from half an inch to an inch each year, and thus gradually deepen your soil. Take the boys to the field and illustrate this rule. Plow one or two furrows deeply, turning up much yellow dirt, and show the pupils how injurious this would be to the crops until it beoame properly assimilated. After the soil has been dee ened sn5ciently the subsoil should only be disturbed by means of the subofi ptw. Teach that the best method of plowing is that which exposes the largest mil m a c e to the action of the air. Deep, narrow fnrrom teown on edge do this best. Subsoil 2owil~g.-By this is meant the breaking upof the subsoilwithont hring-ing it to tEe surface, and is usually done by a specially constructed plow follow-ing in the furrow of the ordinary plow. Wha toplm.-Teach how very important it is to every farmer to know whether to plow in the fall or spring. The answer depends on the climate, the character of the soil, and the crop to be raised. In mild, rainy climates the washing of the rain makes fall lowing unprofitable to loose, sandy soils, but it is otherwise as to clayey soils. fn cold climates plowing in the fall is of great benefit to thelaud through the crumbling, disintegrating, and loosening effects of frost and cold and the resulting deatructian of weed roots, and also through the long exposureof the land to the action of the atmosphere. Land thus plowed in the fall mnst be left in the rough, unharrowed state in order to give free acceas to the elements. Harrowing.-The only rule to be given in regard to harrowing is that it bedone tborougbly, for proper harrowing will make much less fertilizer necessarg to obtain the same result.. Show that its object is to level and pulverize the ground and prepare it for the seed and to cover the seed after planting. It should be done ae shortly before planting as possible. Rolling.-Rolling is beneficial to lm'e andlumpy ~ i l s : It -shes the lumps and presses the 8011 more closely about the seed thus bnngng mo~stnreto the sur-fa- and hastening germination. Also, by smoothing the ground it retards evap* ration, first, by lessening the amount of surface exposed; second, by creating a mating which better retains the moisture, and third, by offering less friction to the sweep of drying winds. |