The Perrysburg journal. [volume] (Perrysburg, Ohio) 1853-1861, 1857-08-20
A G R | C j L T U-R A |.
Uudcr,Irainiug,

uufy nov SuHiWcT may appear 10 some peO-
pie as inapposite as to congratulate the in
mate Of an iron dwelling house on his pos
session Of ire-escape. So prevalent is the
belief that undertaking is useful solely for
che purpose of letting out water from the soil,
that comparatively few practical farmers look
for any advantage except in a wet season;
not that they are ignorant of other uses of
drainage besides letting off surplus saturatng
water no farmer worthy of the name, would
wish to conduct iain-water off his land by
surface grips, or have recourse TO underdrain-
ing simply to tap the soaking subteranean
springs We know better than to seek mere
ly the drying up of our fields: we eagerly
catch the fetilizing rain, and filter it through
our soil. and have even got as far as " oera-
ton" 1t is clear that by sending down the
rainfall through the soil in quick and unob
stucted percoating streams, instead of suffer-
ing it to stagnate and saturste, and slowly
md an escape by evaporation, and be pass
ing away in barren surface outflow, great
number Of successive charges Of atmospher-
ic air are introduced into the interstices and
this air contains fertilizing gases, and pre-
psres inert mineral ingredients for the use of
plants. besides operating mechanically in,,im-
proving the texture of the soil. Every drop
Of water sinking through creyice expels
the used-up or spent air thCr, present. and
draws in aftei it another charge of fresh
very small quantities of water thus reflling
the cracks and channels of the earth with
large quantities of air-iust as a small guam
tity Of liquid flowing through a pipe, drives
out the volume of air, occupying the whole
length of the ppe and is followed by anoth-
er volume equally large.
But what action can the existence of I'M
derdrains create or facilitate, at periods when
there is no water to penetrate and pass
through the ground Why, soil that has
been permaa,rd with assures and crevices by
repeated wettng and drying, and the agency
of currents of water and air consequent up
on drainage, is actually damper in hot, dry. |
summer weather, than lsnl which has not .
been made thus porous. UNDERTAKING land |
not only dries, warns, and enriches it in wet .
weather, but also moistcns i! in time of |
drought
The sun's rays heating the surface of the
earth, produce an upward current of air
through the soil, just as cert inly as the bl T.
ing chandelier Of a theatre, rarifyinI the air
n the roJs, causes current TO ascend to it
fre4 the building below. Each crack or
Eorg,- hsls in the ground acts as chimney,
anly that raSq ascending draugnt is occa-
stoned by fra above instead Of beneath
But air is also drawn upward in another way;
the evaporation of Iosture at the surface,
aud, the absorption Of il by the roots of
growing crop, suck up water from r2low by
capillary attraction and air follows the sue
,essive drops and tricklets Of water up
through the pores and tubes between shc
PARTICLES Of earth. A sufficient number of
lsu. opsn underdrains thus provides free {
'--ulatoa OF ar. and this will not only rise /
,,or,n '"s sod Immediately above the drains, f
ut vii spread OF on either side, as the up 0
,.rd current is produ;ad as every point of k
he surface. and 80 draws the air from the a
rains latterly as well as vertically. Well, b
ut will not this admission of warm summer ID
ir into the soil tend rather to dry it still fur o.
ner than to moisten it No; atmospheric d
ir always contains some invisible watery p
opor, which will be condensed upon body Of
older than the air itself. The surface of a fl
imblor of cold water ia covered with damp ty
ess on dry, hot day, owing TO this con- 7
ensation. Nov, as the soil (except just at e,
10 surface) is always colder than the air on ell
warm day, the air passing into thu drains W
Id up through the soil. gives up its watery 7
spor to the cooler soil in the same way that in
does to the cold glass. And SO important g,
this e -ial conveyance of moisture to sup OF
" crops during drought, that system Of fe
r-drainage, or the laying down of hollow di
rains in such manner as to facilitate the tv
PRODUCTION of air aong their entire course, CT
"a been advocated and largely carried into m
Iecution. al
Besides this actual subterranean watering fr
the ground by the agency Of warm, hu- IN
id air, of course there are other advantages at
und iu dry weather from well-drained su
,il The ameliorated condition of the ground tn
" several feet in depth, renders it more alb Ia
,rbent and retentve of moisture dropped by ID
ews and acquired from the atmospheric Sc
.ud again as the roots of plants penetrate 1T
,uch deeper aud spread wider in deeper e'
than in an imperfectly drained soil, te
tey are, as it were. out Of the reach of CT
rought. and from their greater extent OBJ IL
ain larger amount of moisture and nutri- p
nent; so that in consequence of good drain
ge, our crops are in many ways supported
nd preserved through dry times" and p
requent occurrences Of shot Wednesdays" ly
Let the undrained. shallow ploughing far o
aer watch with apprehension his backward !
nsngolds. his scorching peas, and dricdup
wheat but those of us who have obtained II
deeper acquaintance with the soil, and bur-
owed more profoundly into the resources of p
,ur planet, may welcome fervid sun with o
,ut dismay, and smile at the complaint of Il
,ur thirsty neighbors, who bave neglected to
naks a cistern Of their soil and a spring Of +
he atmosphere-Nark Lane Express. S
FATAL ACCIDENT IN SPRINGFIELD.-Oa Tues
lay morning as Mr ThomaS Porter was requluling =