The Wyandot pioneer. (Upper Sandusky, Ohio) 1853-1868, 1853-11-10


depth beyond that of a single furrow.-
But we soon find that the pulverization of
the sub-soil, thus attained, has no per-
manent effect; that the water that teaches
down to it settles it into a compact, solid
mass, which the roots cannot perforate;
and all our sub-soilling needs to be done
over again. The remedy that readily
suggests itself is the freeing of the sub
soil from water by drains sunk below it,
three to six rods apart. and filled half way
up with pebbles, with flat stone forming
a sort of culvert, or, still better, laid with
draining tile or hollow brick, placed end
to end, land forming continuous channel
from the highest part of any slope Or
grade to the brook which drains it. And
now the subsoil, supposing the drains
well made and the drainageway sufficient,
is readily freed from any water settlingin-
to it, and long retains the porous and per-
meable character communicated to it by
ueCP PlO"iHS. -.. 5 -
Of course, this does not exhaust the
good effects of draining. The sub-soil,
thus loosened and freed from excessive
moisture, becomes source of food as well
as brink to the plants growing above it;
for that it is capable of feeding plants, no
one, who has observed the rank vegeta-
ton growing out Of the earth thrown up
by draining or digging, can doubt. In
stead of being like slough in wet wealth
er and like brick in dry, the sub-soil re-
tains sufficient moistureto to cheer the plants
but too little to indurate itself And the
mean temperature of thesoil, hitherto low
cred by the constant evaporation of the
water contained in the sub-soil, is raised
several degrees by the suns rays, no
longer counteracted by the evaporating
process least, not to any such extent
as before-so that the plants grow more
luxuriantly, mature more rapidly, and so
are earlier out of danger from frost. And
beside this, the constant passage of cur
rents of air through that portion of the
drain not occupied by water,-and each
drain should have an opening at its head
as well as its mouths an additional
source of fertility through the chemical
combination it insures. 1t would be diff
fcult to overstate the value, the irnpor-
tance, the profit of draining.
Many are accustomed to say, "This
land needs no "draining;;" means that it
is not habitually to wet. But draining
proves as useful, if it is not as impera-
lively necessary, on dry soils as on wet
On dry lands it is required that the sub
soil, once broken up and pulverized, shall
not, Ly the settling of moisture therein du
ring the wet season, be hardened and rem
dered impervious again; these lands need
to be rendered porous and penetra
BILE by roots to greater depth because of
their dryness; they need to be shielded
from the pernicious of constant evapora
ton in cooling the soil, and thus retarding
the growth of its plants. There is very
much land not worth tilling; but there is
none that will justify tillage which would
not reward draining.
Of Irrigation, we in this country
know very little by experience; but we
are destined soon to know more, and to
be profted by our knowledge. True,
there are lands that may be readily drain
cd and ub-soiled that cannot SO readily
be irrigated, owing to their elevation and
a defcientsupply of water. Iapprehend
however, that those lands are not to be
found in Indiana, nor in any other Prairie
State, whose first peculiarities that strike
a stranger are superabundance of water
in the rairy season and scarcity thereof
in the dry. The time is at hand when
you here require extensive and powerful
pumping apparatus, if only to raise wa
ter for your heavy stocks of cattle and con-
vey it to the pastures wherein they will be
confined; and why not raise enough of
the grateful fluid TO refresh pastures and
cattle alike?
But even though this assured and am
pie resource were non existent, maintain
that water enough fails on your fields eve
~ year. ito keep them luxurlant through
the summer, if it were saved and not
wasted. But most of it falls during the
seasons when least is wanted, and
is suffered to run off to the rivers
and the ocean, carry very much of the
best juices of the soil along with it, when
it should be retained in ponds and reser-
voirs to be pumped into barn yards or
drawn off to irrigate the fields during the
fervid heats of summer. The apparent
difficulty of doing this would vanish and
the presumed expense be materially less
ened on careful consideration.
know not that have traversed any
country with more lively interest than
beautiful, bountiful, picturesque Lombar-
dy. The dark pail of Austrian despotism
enveloping it did not suffice to dim its ma
tural loveliness and luxuriance, SO great
lv improved by the labor and genius of