o from 300 to 500 times their dry
weight. Weeds require just as much water and some of them probably
more than the cultivated plants. This water is largely absorbed by the
roots and sent up to the leaves where it is transpired into the air
and is lost from the soil, and therefore is unavailable to the growing
crop until it again falls onto the soil.

In some parts of the country, particularly the semi-arid West, the
rainfall is not sufficient to supply the soil with enough water to
grow such crops as it could otherwise produce. In the moister regions
the rainfall is not evenly distributed throughout the growing season,
and there are longer or shorter intervals between rains when the loss
of water through evaporation and weeds is apt to be greater than the
rainfall. For these reasons it is best to check these losses and save
the water in the soil for the use of the crops.

SAVING THE WATER

This can be done by:

Preventing the growth of weeds and by checking losses by evaporation
with a soil mulch.

TIME TO CULTIVATE

A seedling plant is easiest killed just as it has started into growth.
The best time to kill a plant starting from an underground stem or a
root is just as soon as it appears above the surface in active growth.

The best time to cultivate, then, to kill weeds is as soon as the
weeds appear. At this time large numbers can be killed with the least
of effort. Do not let them get to be a week or two old before getting
after them.

In planting some crops the ground between the rows becomes trampled
and compact. This results in active capillarity which brings water to
the surface and it is lost by evaporation.

Every rainfall tends to beat the soil particles together and form a
crust which enables the capillary water to climb to the surface and
escape into the air. This loss by evaporation should be constantly
watched for and the soil should be stirred and a mulch formed whenever
it becomes compact or a crust is formed.

The proper time to cultivate, then, to save water is as soon as weeds
appear or as soon as the surface of the soil becomes compact or
crusted by trampling, by the beating of rain or from any other cause,
whether the crop is up or not. The cultivation should start as soon
after a rain as the soil is dry enough to work safely.

The surface soil should always be kept loose and open. The efficacy
of the soil mulch depends on the thoroughness and frequency of the
operation. It is pa