Knoxville journal. [volume] (Knoxville, Iowa) 1874-1986, 1875-02-11
What Frost Does for Agriculture.

The Ice King now rules the land with
undisputed sway; and as nightly we
hurry homewa-d through the sharp, bit
ing air with blue nose, benumbed fin.
gers and tingling ears, we feel disposed TO
rebel against him and TO consign him to
his hyperborean dominions, never to re.
turn. But when we reach home we be-
come placable; our resentment melts
away before the cheerful CRATE, and we
forgive the old fellow for the good he
does to agriculture. Hoary old Winter,
backed by his prime ministers, Ice and
Snow, Sleet and Rain, performs a great
work In the economy Of nature for which
the farmer and the gardener should alike
be grateful. BY general consent, frost is
regarded as one of the best of cultivators.
Stubborn clays, which almost defy the
efforts of the farmer and the gardener
with all the appliances of improved i'm
plements, yield to the cleaving influences
of frost or its other extreme, heat, with
the docility Of "A child in the hands of
strong man. A clod, which the human
clod who walks on the soil may try for
days and weeks or months to reduce to
a fine filth without effect, Is no sooner
grasped by frost or sunshine, and pierced
quite through, than by the first change
of westber--let the first genial shower
fall--and it is disintegratcd and falls TO
pieces like so much lime or sand. Hence
the philosophy of fall blowing for stiff
soils. A winters exposure Of stiff lands
so treated is equivalent to dressing OF
manure, and their after cultivation
through the next season Is greatly facili-
tated.
To understand the action of snow and
ice in the economy Of nature II Is neces-
sary to understand their constituent
parts Snow Is the condensed vapor OF
the earth precipitated to the earth In q
frozen form. Snow, then, Is the effect of
frost acting on the vapor in the air. On
the other hand, ice is frozen water, and
when the temperature of the air Is re.
duced to thirty-two degrees water will
no longer remain in a fluid state. When
the frost lays hold Of newly broken soil,
for instance, the water that Is absorbed
by IL during warm, moist weather ex.
pands by the action Of the frost; the par
ticles of the earth are thereby thrust
apart from each other, leaving vacuum
between them. These openings in the
soil let In air, dew, rain and many gases
favorable TO vegetation, and more or less
Of rertilizing deposits being thus made,
the soil becomes inyigorated and en-
riched, and strength is impaired 10 the
young crops subsequently. Nor Is this
all, for when thaw sets In and the ice
OF the clouds dissolyes, the particles OF
the earth thrust apart by the action OF
the frost, being left unsupported, tumble
into minute parts as soon as the binding
cement Of ice is dissolved Thus dis
migrating process Is wrought, and the
beneficial influence of this on heavy, stiff
soils cannot be overestimated. The fall
ing rain can more readily penetrate the
soil, and the peculiar composition
of water makes 1t a very i'm.
poriant circumstance TO vegetable life.
IL consists Of oxygen and hydrogen. and
all the solid parts OF animals and plants
contain these same elements In large
proportion. In the dry wood OF the tree,
Tor example, and in the dry flesh and
bouesof the animal, both are present.
Now, asytne plant and animal increase In
size oxygen and hydrogen are required
for the formation Of their growing parts
and water is everywhere at hand TO sup
ply these necessary ingredients. This IS
chemical duty which no other liquid
but water could equally perform. Water,
In discharging this duty, Is not merely
the drink, as we usually call it, but Is
really part Of the food both Of animals
and plants. Besides the oxygen and
hydrogen in the .Water, other substances
are found in the air; among them Is
nitric acid, and II consists OF nitrogen
and oxygen only. Every dash OF light.