OCR Text |
Show AVOID ESCAPE OF MOISTURE Harrowing Makes Excellent Dust Mulch Preventing Evaporation Rsnsw After Hard Rainfall. No Implement la so patent to prevent pre-vent the escape of moisture from the soli aa the harrow. The ways In which It may be used to effect this end are many. Harrowing makea a dust mulch. This mulch of fine earth dries out to the extent of one or two Inches. When moisture ascends from below, aa it alwaya does, on the principle of capillarity. capil-larity. It cannot pasa thla dust mulch. Hut when rain falls In sufficient quantities quan-tities It passes down through this dust mulch to the moist soil below and destroys Ita effectiveness. In order or-der to again be effective It must be renewed, and In order to renew It the harrow must be again used. The best 1 time to use It Is as soon aa the har- i row can be used on the aoll without the earth adhering to It if It Is not then run over the ground the surface 1 soli will contract In drying, with the result that numerous cracks or fissure fis-sure will appear In It and through ; these the moisture will at once begin i to escape from below. I)y harrowing at such a time the dust mulch will be renewed. Bucb renewal must be given i after each rain of sufficient volume i to destroy the dust mulch. Western ; Farmer. |