The Middlebury register. [volume] (Middlebury, Vt.) 1850-1882, 1851-10-01
NUMBER %.

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f stiff clay land, as it Is thsl description which
suffers most both from vel and drouth. In
: an undrained state the wator which falls in
! rain or snow remains so long on the surface
iha, il forms the soil into mortar; it perco,
, atos slowly into the earth, i'm many in-
S stances passing OF chiefly by evaporation
: AS soon, therefore, as tho wrter is fairly gone
; the soil packs, and if dry weather continues,
it becomes liko a sun-bnrnt brick. Now
: suppose a crop, whcn. for instance, is planted
, in this soil, it cannot thrivo, unless the
} weather is Of a remarkably favorable ohar'
, actcr-such as scoms, in common phraseolo.
gy TO have been made on purpose for it
light rains, but frequent. Ordinarily, tho
) plant suffers tho greatest extremes Of condi-
; tion-at ono timo in the mud, choked with
stagnant water-at another time with he
roots encased in hard mass which they can
not penetrate and from which they can c1-
tract no food. The plant cannot bo healthy
in either Of these corIi,,vt.s, end tho tr.nsi-
tons soon produce disease which prevents
its perfection. If the surface is wet at that
season Of the year when the nights and days
are alternately ihawing and freezing, tho
wheat plant is destroyed in consequence
" winter-killcd," as il is called. This result
Is produced by the expansion which takos
place by the freezing Of the soil while snr-
charged with wafer. This raises = portion
of the soil and in connection with il the
plan,,-many Of tho roots OF the latter being
broken BY tho operation. When the soil
thaws, i's greater specific gravity causes il
10 fall sooner than tho plant roots, leaving
them partially exposed above the surface.
This process being successfully repeated do
stroys tho plan,s. OF course the destruction
is greater under frequent changes of tenn
pernturc, CT alternate ;hawing and freezing.
Suppose, now, this Same soil is drained,
and put to tho same kind Of crops. 1t should
be provided, and always understood, howov-
or, that deep or subsOa ploWing, in eonneo-
uon with draining. is essential 10 tho full
development Of its advantages. As soon 90
the action Of tho drains has fully taken Of.
feet, the water docs rot a, before, remain on
the surface, bit passo, directly and at once
into the earth and is carried off through tho
tiles. Thus the first injurious situation in
which the plant wa, placed is avoided.
From tho immediate descent Of tho wafer,
the surface of the earth rernsin. compsrs
lively open, it is not run together, and does
not bake as before. This obviates tho
second extreme in which the plant wss
placed The two evils which it before en-
dured. and which proved the death of it, aro
done away. The circumstances in which n
is placed Gre adaptod 10 its nature-the soil
afford, dua docre- Of moisture at all times,
and its mechanical relations are such that
the roots Of the plant readily avail themselves
Of their srr. opria.e food-the food, at the
same time, being formed, or developed in in
creased qualities. BY this improved eondS
ton OF the soil. 81.
This will, il is beloved, give some idea of
the manner in which drains proteci plants
from both wet and drontb. But there arc
some other points in this connection which
deserve notice. The friAbilily OF the soil,
produced by drainage, preserves an equi-
librium Of moisture. In wei time, the
surplus water filters through and runs of
in dry time the moisture is readily exhaled
from the subsoil, and readily absorbed from
tho atmosphere. The texture Of tho soil 10
completely changed. Tho difference in its
present and former condition, uuder dry
weather, may be understood by noticing tho
difference as TO moisture between pile Of
fresh clay and 3 pilo e fine sand, such g, 10
used by irou-founders for moulding. Undsr
the same exposure, the former will become
so dry that 10 moisture is percepIible in IT,
while the latter will be quite damp. Tho
finer division Of the SOIL and its constant
permeabty, increase its absorptiyo pow
ers, and moisture is taken from the air and
also drawn by attraction from tho undcs
strata Of earth.
The soils on which drainage has been
most beneficial in this country are in general
OF stiff clsycy nature. 1t is evident, how.
ever, that where there is stagnant or sur
plus water, vegetation would DO benefited
by taking it away, and there is scarcely O
farm, whatever the soil, on which there
are not spots, Of greater or less extent, which
should be drained.
There are many collateral Advantage
belonging to draining. which arc of groas
Importance. 1t is impossible to speak fully
Of all of them at the present lime. One Of
tho most important is tho chemical change
which in many instances takes place in the
soil. When the soil and subsoil arc surs
changed with water, noxious compounds are
frequently forued,--a hard-pan, caused by
deposit Of iron, is then made. These com,
pounds are poisonous 70 vegotation-any'
one can see that most plants do not grow
when their roots como in contact with them.
After the soil is drained, and thoroughly ,
plowed and SUBSIDIZED, the rains, in. eOnneca
ton with the action of the air, dissolve ou,
this poison, in passing through the scil-ihe
acids are dissipated, the soil sweetened, and
the soluble food Of plants is greatly int
creased.
; The soil on whioh the draining operations
in Seneca county have been made is mostly
! tenacious, and does not, probably. differ ve-
ry widely in composition from large portion
of the soil of your section. But perhaps /,
! will be said that this section formerly pro,