The First Book of Farming

by C. L. Goodrich

CONTENTS

PART I

General Principles Underlying Plant Culture

Chapter		Page
[I.]	Introduction to Plants	3
[II.]	Roots	9
	Uses of roots to plants	9
	Habit of growth of roots	11
	Conditions necessary for root growth	20
[III.]	Soils	23
	Relation of soil to plants	23
	Classification of soils	26
	How were soils made?	30
	Soil texture	37
[IV.]	Relation of Soils to Water	39
	Importance of water to plants	39
	Sources of soil water	40
	Attitude of soils toward water:
	Percolation
	Absorption from below
	Power to hold water	40
	The effect of working soils when wet	45
[V.]	Forms of Soil Water	48
	Free water	48
	Capillary water	49
	Film water	50
[VI.]	Loss of Soil Water
	By surface wash
	By percolation and leaching
	By evaporation
	By transpiration
	How to check these losses	53
[VII.]	Soil Temperature	57
	How soils are warmed	58
	How soils lose heat
	How to check loss of heat	59
	Conditions which influence soil temperature	60
	Value of organic matter	61
[VIII.]	Plant Food in the Soil	63
[IX.]	Seeds	70
	Conditions necessary for sprouting	70
	Seed testing	75
	How the seeds come up	77
	Use of cotyledons and endosperm	79
[X.]	Seed Planting	81
	Depth of planting:
	Operation of planting
	Planting machines	81
	Seed classification	85
	Transplanting	87
[XI.]	Spading and Plowing	90
	Spading the soil	90
	Plowing	91
	Why we spade and plow	91
	Parts of a plow	92
	Characteristics of a good plow	95
	The furrow slice	96
	How deep to plow	96
	"Breaking out the middles"	97
	Ridging the land	98
	Time to plow	98
	Bare fallow	100
[XII.]	Harrowing and Rolling	101
	Harrowing:
	Why we harrow
	Time to harrow	101
	Types of harrows	102
	Rolling	106
[XIII.]	Leaves	108
	Facts about leaves	108
	The uses of leaves to plants:
	Transpiration
	Starch making
	Digestion of food
	Conditions necessary for leaf work	109
	How the work of leaves is interfered with	115
[XIV.]	Stems	120
	What are stems for?	120
	How the work of the stem may be interfered with	126
[XV.]	Flowers	128
	Function of flowers	128
	Parts of flowers	129
	Functions of the parts:
	Cross pollination	130
	Value of a knowledge of the flowers	134
	Fruit	136

PART II

Soil Fertility As Affected By Farm Operations And Farm Practices

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

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