Knoxville daily chronicle. [volume] (Knoxville, Tenn.) 1870-1882, 1880-07-28
WEEKLY CHRONICLE.
Care of Crops in Dry Weather.
Massachusetts Plowman.

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Will the severe drought Of the pres
ent season arouse the farmers to &C
ton and cause them to investigate,
so far as to be able when the next
drought comes to guard against it to
q degree that will secure crops from
destruction? If so. then the lesson,
though to some dear one, will not
be lost but there are some who cling
to the cd methods with such tenacity
that the loss of a dozen crops would
not induce them to change their ways;
so to-day there are hundreds of acres
Of early crops that have been nearly
lost by old methods of cultivation,
that might have been saved by right
management. By the old drilling FRO.
cess, many thousands Of bushels of
potatoes have been lost that, by level
culture, could have been saved. If
farmers will only take the trouble to
examine fields that have been kept
level, and compare them with those
that have been drilled, they can not
fail to see that the drilling process
is ruiDous, even to-the potato crop.
There is another old idea that has
come down to US from our grandfath-
ers, which the intelligence of this age
ought to rise above that is, keeping
the surface of the ground hard, and
not stirring it during dry weather.
Because the firm Of soil in the spring
will sprout the seed and bring it up
better, out fathers thought hard sur
face made wet one, and 80 were
careful net to stir the soil in dry
weather. It is to be regretted that go
many of their children are following
the same erroneous practice and are
teaching it to still another genera
ton.
Because the firming Of the soil will
sprout the seed and bring it Up quick
er, it isno evidence that stirring the
soil after the plant is up is injurious,
or will dry it up, 1t is trde, on the sur
face, without thoughtful, intelligent
investigation, it looks so; when we in
vestigat', and make ourselves better
acquainted with the action of nature,
we can better understand why it is
best to firm the soil to cause the seed
to germinate, and to stir it to cause
the plant to grow.
Scientific investigations have demon
strated that the soil is giving off large
quantities of water, and that the dews,
which were formerly supposed TO
come from the air, come from the
earth that the old theory that the
ground dew water from the air on the
same principle that the pitcher Of ice
water does is false, and eau not be
correct, because the ground is the
hottest, consequently the air takes
the place OF the ice-pitcher, and gath
ers the moisture from the earth. This
fact once thoroughly demonstrated, we
seek for cheap and easy remedy to
prevent too rapid evaporation of water
from the soil.
1t has been found, by careful tests,
that when the the soil is exposed tC
the direct rave of the n.and to the
falling rains, unless frequently stirred
a crust forms, and in very dry weather
IN many soils, becomes hard severa
inches deep. Observation also teaches
crust thus formed will become very
dry, and that while land by the side
Of it, which has an inch of the tor
kept we'll pulverized, will frequently
be covered with moisture in the morn
ing, that with hard crust will b
perfectly dry. Why? Probably be-
cause the soil with hard crust hal
during the day become heated to sucl
a degree that it retains through thu
night sufficient to keep it much warm
er than the air, TINS enabling the ali
tc absorb the moisture as fast as i
reaches the surface; while the sol
that. has covering of thoroughly-pui
verlZed earth, which acts as a non
conductor, prevents the soil from be-
coming hotter than the air, and by
thus keeping nearly the same temper
allure as the air, itretains a large poT
ton of its moisture.