Nevada County picayune., 1886-09-15
AGRICULTURAL.
Three Essentials.

 results in farInins these three es. sentlals are necessary: Good soil we'll prepared; good seed sown or planted in the right time and in the right manner. and thorough culti- vation from the start. Each is im- portant and each dependent upon the other, and a failure to give either will cause consequent pro- portionate decrease in the crops.
 Good soil is necessary in order that the plants can obtain a sulta- ble amount of plant food. If the soil is not naturally rich it can be made so by applying fertilizers. These, of conrse, to enrich the soil must be app jed in condition to be thoroughly incorporated with the soil if immediate benefits are expected.
 Then the soil must be well pre- pared so that the soluble portions of the soil, available for plant food can be readily reached by the fee d. ing roots of the plants and the soil must be made fine and mellow so that the feeding roots can readily penetrate in any direction and se- cure a supply of food necessary to secure and maintain a strong growth. In addition to aiding the plants to grow thorough prepara- ton aids in making the planting and covering much easier and also saves considerable time m cultiva- ton. With cultivated crops have found it paid, aud paid well to take considerable pains to press all the land before sowing the seed and get it in as good condition as possible, as it saves sufficient labor in cultivating to make the work profitable. Then the seed will ger minate quicker, insuring a strong CT plant which will make a faster and better growth than if the seed is sown or planted in ill.prepared soil.
 Good seed is necessary because good plants cannot be secured without it. Like produces like to a very considerable extent in the vegetable kingdom as we'll as the animal. And although in very favorble season in good soil, well prepared, carefully planted and cultivated, poor seed may yield a profitable crop, yet this is hardly a sufficient argument or reason to prove that if seed of a better quail ty had been planted a larger crop would not have been raised with the same preparation and cuItlva- ton. Not only is the quantity or yield of the crop effected by the seed but also the quality. So that in order to secure the largest and best yield and have il of the finest quality, only the best should , be used. for seed of good vitality will often remain in the ground for some time without germlnatlng when the conditions are unfavOr- able, yet there is more or less loss of vatility which will affect to some extent. Of course, some varieties of seed gcrminate quicker than others.
 But seed should germinate we'll under favorable conditions and il of good vitality and carefully planted and covered will send a , good, strong, thrifty plant. We might have all the conditions for securing a profitable crop, the rich soil furnishing a sufficient supply of available plant food, which the thorough preparation has placed i'll condition to be reached and taken up by the feeding roots of
 
 the plants, good thrifty plants se- cured ny sowing good seed at the right time and in the right manner, yet in order to secure the best re- suits the plants must be kept grow ing. A failure to do this will re- suit in failure to secure as much r of d crop as coul'l be done.
 A good strong growth IS neces- sary to secure a large yield. as on ly strong, thrifty plants will pro- duce the best yields. Cultivation keeps down the weeds and keeps the soil mellow, makes the soil 2 more suitable for strong plant growth by securing a more ayaila' blc plant food, moisture and heat, in and around the roots, so that a