Manual of agriculture for the common schools of Illinois

Front matter

, -■ MANUAL OF

• AGRICULTURE

FOR THE COMMON SCHOOLS OF ILLINOIS

PART I.— STUDIES WITH THE SOIL What Agriculture Means 5

What Are the Essentials in Growing Crops? ... 5

How Is THE Soil Necessary to Growing Plants? ... 5

The Soil Is the Natural Home of the Plant ... 6

What Is a Soil? ^

Exercise I. — ^What Constitutes a Soil? 6

Exercise II.— Of What Are Soils Composed? .... 8

Exercise III.— How Soil Particles Look When Magnified , 9

Exercise IV.— Helps in Classifying Soils 10

Exercise V.— A Study of the Weight of .Soils . . . .10 Exercise VI.— How a Part of the Water Is Held by the Soil . 11 Exercise VII. — To Determine the Differences in the Water- Holding Powers of Different Soils 12

Exercise VIIL— Will Compact Soils Hold More Water than

Loose Soils? 13

Exercise IX. — How Does Organic Matter in a Soil Affect Its

Water-Holding Powers? 13

Exercise X.— The Capillary Action of Different Soils . . 14

Water 1^

The Demands That Crops Make upon the Water Supply in the

Soil 1^

Saving the Soil Water l'

Exercise XL— How to Check Evaporation of Water from

Soils • • 17

The Effect of Color on the Temperature of Soils . .18

Exercise XI I. —Dark Soils Are Warmer than Light Soils . 19

Exercise XIIL— A Wet Soil Is Colder than a Dry Soil . . 19

V vi CONTENTS

Part Ii.— Studies In Growing Crops Page

The Plant 21

Essentials in Crop Production 21

The Seed 22

Exercise XIV. — Essentials for Seed Germination ... 22

The Testing of Seed 24

Exercise XV.— How to Test Seed 24

Importance of Fine Tilth 25

Exercise XVI. — Why a Good Seed-Bed is Necessary . . 25 Exercise XVII.— Heavy Soils Should Not Be Cultivated

When Wet 26

Exercise XVIIL— The Color of the Soil Influences Plant

Growth 26

Seed Planting 27

Exercise XIX.— How Deep Should Seeds Be Planted? . . 28

What is the Effect of Light on Germination? 28 Exercise XX. — The Young Plant Depends on the Food Stored

in the Seed 29

Exercise XXI. — The Young Bean Plant Brings Its Supply of

Food above Ground with Its Stem 29

Exercise XXII.— Light Is an Essential of Plant Growth 29 Exercise XXIII. — To Show How Rapidly Plants Transpire

Water 30

Exercise XXIV. — How Weeds May Rob the Soil of Moisture 31

Exercise XXV.— What Proportion of a Green Plant Is Water? 31

Roots 32

Exercise XXVI.— How Roots Search for Water ... 33 Exercise XXVII. — How Do Roots Know Where to Look for

Food? ' 33

Exercise XXVIII. — How Plants Use the Reserve Food

Stored in Their Roots 34

Root Tubercles 35

Exercise XXIX. — How Leguminous Crops Increase Soil

Nitrogen 37

Exercise XXX.— Inoculating the Soil with Bacteria . . 39

Inoculating the Soil for Alfalfa 41

Plot Experiments 41

Purpose of the Experiments in Soil Fertility ... 42

CONTENTS

How THE Necessary Fertilizers Can Be Obtained

Exercise XXXI. — A Test in Plant Food Requirements

How Plant Food is Applied

Kinds of Crops for Plot Experiments

Suggestions for Planting

Local Conditions Vary

The Practical Lesson .

Care of Plot Experiments in Vacation

Studies in Corn

Exercise XXXH. — Identification of Leading Varieties of Corn Exercise XXXIII. — Questions of General Information about

Corn

Exercise XXXIV. — Shrinkage of Corn 46

Exercise XXXV. — Number of Hills of Com and the Yields

per Acre 47

Exercise XXXVI. — Corn Studies in the Field .... 47 Exercise XXXVII. — Relation between the Tassel and the

Silk 47

Pollination 48

Cross-Pollination Preferred 48

Exercise XXXVIII, — Pollination Necessary to Production . 49 References 51

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MANUAL OF AGRICULTURE FOR

THE COMMON SCHOOLS

OF ILLINOIS