The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1881-01-20
,avs a sepsible elevation Of the temper

ways 8 sensible elevation or the temper
ature of the atmosphere, due to the ev-
olution of latent heat. In. winter the
efectis more conspicuous and noticeable
than in summer, for reasons which we
cannot in this place discuss. The cold,
clear days-of-winter- recall
ttem Il Now, let, us, appl y.this doctrine
to the 'subject.in hand. When aqueous
.vapor is condensed as de& upon a plant
its latent heat is thrown out and warns
up the air Immediately over Che plant,
so that the plant, to- get dew, must
be chilled. and in, getting dew is
warmed In {; this ,,W&y,; the period
of growth and ripening is protrac-
ted to later period in the fall than
would otherwise bs possible, aud the
farmer Is sohly almonished of the ap-
proaching advent Of. winter.
Consider the tobacco field-the broad,
bending leaves ripening in the mild Sep.
temher.r Those, leaves, Ito become, heavy
and oily, demand dew. To get dew,
they must be chilled but if chilled too
5much, they are ruined: HAs aeeah deAg.
lied SRA H evolyed;upo4 hs4.ss ! Mhat
ia WahaESus plan ! s "a ~ ~
The deposits of dew are most abundant
exactly when it is most needed by yege.
tation. We have copious dew in April
and May, September and October, and
but little in July and August. In April
and May, the seeds are justsprouting. or
! the roots at most are butaf inch or two
below the surface. A few hot, windy
days would dry the soiE to the roots; and
below, and hence the young plants would
die from lack of moisture. Every night,
then, nature furnishes. the baby plants
with pap in the form of dew. The same
reasoning applies exactly to September
and October, when wheat and other veg
citation, that are to live through the win.
ter, are.trying to get hold AND become
securely sa1ehored beforeacoidA weather
sets in. But, in July and August, the
roots, have struck down six, twelve, eigh-
teen inches, to the the region Of perma-
nent moisture. They can live and thrive
for weeks nov without rain; for moisture
is stored away in the earth for their use
between the rains, and they ARE, to
large extent. independent, of the dew.
They get but little dew; they need but
Little. ffc Il: 81 Ic iiA
The philosophy of dew-formation ex-
plains clearly why dew is nnost;abupdant
exactly whenit is most needed! Sin May
or September, the days are shorter and
cooler than in July. The earth at
sunset in these two months, is many de-
grees cooler than at sunset in midsutf-
Liner. TO sink to the deW.point, there.
fore, it has to radiate into space less heat
and has, in. the comparatively long night,
more time to do it in We have, there
t fore, the heaviest deposits of dew in the
spring and fall, when it is most needed
because then less work is necessary to
produce the deposit and more time is al.
lowed in; the long nights for doing the
work.
Can we, to any extent, control the de.
p,sit of dew? Unquestionably, We can.
When land is deeply plowed, the air,
striking down as far as the soil is loosen.
ed, comes into contact with earth cool
enough to condense aqueous vapor. Thus
dew may be copiously deposited deep
down among tue rootlsts Of plants, where
it is most needed, though none may be
seen ON the surface of the earth. The
earth is avery, fesble conductor of heat,
and hence is;much cooler, in summer,
ten or twelve inces below than al the
surface. The more deeply land is plowed,
therefore, the more freely is air admitted
into the deep soil, where its aqueous va.
pnr is condensed among the rootlets, and
left behind in the form of dew.-Reli-
o;ous Herald