Produced by Steven Giacomelli and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images produced by Core Historical Literature in Agriculture (CHLA), Cornell University) Transcriber's Note: Minor typographical errors have been corrected without note. Dialect spellings, contractions and discrepancies have been retained. CROPS AND METHODS FOR SOIL IMPROVEMENT THE MACMILLAN COMPANY NEW YORK . BOSTON . CHICAGO DALLAS . SAN FRANCISCO MACMILLAN & CO., Limited LONDON . BOMBAY . CALCUTTA MELBOURNE THE MACMILLAN CO. OF CANADA, Ltd. TORONTO [Illustration: Alfalfa and Corn in Indiana.] CROPS AND METHODS FOR SOIL IMPROVEMENT By ALVA AGEE, M.S. HEAD OF DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURAL EXTENSION ACTING DEAN AND DIRECTOR OF THE SCHOOL OF AGRICULTURE AND EXPERIMENT STATION OF THE PENNSYLVANIA STATE COLLEGE _ILLUSTRATED_ New York THE MACMILLAN COMPANY 1912 _All rights reserved_ Copyright, 1912, By THE MACMILLAN COMPANY. Set up and electrotyped. Published November, 1912. Norwood Press J. S. Cushing Co.--Berwick & Smith Co. Norwood, Mass., U.S.A. CONTENTS CHAPTER I PAGES INTRODUCTION 1-11 In lieu of preface 1 Natural strength of land 2 Plant constituents 2 Organic matter 4 Drainage 6 Lime 7 Crop-rotation 8 Fertilizers 9 Tillage 10 Control of soil moisture 11 CHAPTER II THE NEED OF LIME 12-22 The unproductive farm 12 Soil acidity 13 The rational use of lime 14 Where clover is not wanted 16 Determining lime requirement 17 The litmus-paper test 19 A practical test 20 Duration of effect 21 CHAPTER III