The Weekly Kansas chief., 1881-10-27
for the farmer.
BENEFITS OF SUMMER DRoUTH.
r,..,,e uaiut1iniBg the Essential In ngredienfs
in sell for Growing Crops.

y.,ions nortinus Of the country have suffered
or or less for want Of rain during the past sIiIn-
,ner In some sections the corn and potatoes
hay. been materially cut short from this eanse'
,,ototoes have made but seanty return, whie
.nr, will hardly exceed half crop. But not
,vithstaudine the immense excess of rain that
had fallen throughout tine country during the
las: winter and spring, the drouth has not been
"a General as il was anticipated in the earlier
naTt of the season. but favorable and timely
showers have visited many portions of the eouii-
,ry. and have brought forward the sumsnee and
fall crops to a full average. The greatest deh-
cheney of rain has been experienced IN ONO,
Indiana aud Kentucky; and portions Of Illinois,
and even over these states the degree of drouth
hos been unite variable. In seasons of extreme
drorth. when the summer crops witler and die
for want of the ''early and late raiIis, when the
entire country seems parched and blighted, and
threatening famine almost inevitable, we are apt
10 regard this withholding of a due proportion
of refreshing rain as u kind of Judgment sent
upon MS by an offended l'royidenee-when, if we
properly understand the operations of drou:h,
We should rather regard il a. blessing in dis
,uisa. The least observing aul1ng us may be
able to call to mind the fact that crops the sue
eeedinc wear after excessive dronth, came
forth with remarkable luxuriance, and the har-
vest proved abundautly productive.
Observation and experience, confirmed by
chemical research. have long since taught us
that there is a limit TO the supply of the morgan
ic or mineral constituents of even the most fer
tile soils within the roots of growing crops, and
that the perfection of farming consists in that
course of management that Is best calculated to
husband and increase these fertlizing ingre-
dicuts But where cultivation is continued for
series of years without due regard to proper ruta
tion of crops or of careful manuTing, each crop
as il is removed from the sOil carries with 10
portion of the elements of production; and this,
together with what is carried off by washing
rains speedily impOyerishcs the land. Bat ma
ture ever trne to herself is constantly laboring
10 supply these deficiencies. Besides the supply
of mineral ingredients derived from the slow
disntegratOn of rocks by the action of the air
and rains, more abundant and immediate sup
supply is brought up from the depths of the soil
during these much dreaded seasons of drouth.
The manner in which this beautiful provision of
nature is carried ont is an interesting and profit
able subject for consideration. In seasons of ex-
cessive wet, or long continued rain, the water
that falls upon the earth is carried from the sur
face in streams, eyapoTated in the air, or passes
of through the soil down to the springs below.
In heavy clay and loIlny soils, the waste of the
fcr;ilizing materials of crops 10y these processes
is iseomparatiyely slow; but on loose sandy soils it
is more speedy. 1t is difference in the extreme
texture of the soils that constitutes the chief diff
ference in their degrees Of fertility while the te-
naciOus loamy soil retains the mineral and or
ganic ingredients of crops the pOrons sandy soil
parts readily with these by the washing and
teaching of rains.
During the dry, hot weather of summer an i'm
| mense amount Of moisture is carried from the
soil by evaporation; and rs the draft is made
from the surface, the deficiency in some degree is
made up from the depths of the soil below, by
the process Of capillary attraction, just as the
water will rise from the lower point of piece of
moistened sponge when held in contact with VIA
| ter-or by a more apt illustration, as piece Of
/ sugar will bring un n body of water when placed
in contact with it. This supply of the draft of
moisture made from above is continaed from the
| depths below, so long as the earth remains in
| the condition favorable To this upward circnla-
ton of the moisture that has been stored up from
previous rains; and that will be so long as tho
drouth continues. With this continued rise OF
the moisture from below, there is a corresponding
proportion of the inorganic or mineral constitu-
| ents of plants, brought up in solution with IT,
and thus left within the reach Of the roots of the
present orfuture crops. The benefits of this kind
of circulation are generally increased in times OF
drouth by keeping the surface loose and mellow
| by repeated cultivation. We have frequently
| urged this infallible remedy against the effects
| of drouth, and il would seem that one who
| has ever fully tested the benefits derived from it
| in seasons of drOuth, when using proper imple-
ments for cultivation, eouid hardly be prevented
| from employing such means, however pressing
| other labOrs lnight be upon the farm. by Keep
| ing the surface constantly mellow by repeated
| civilizations in times of drouth, more vigorous
and lively cultivation of the remaining moisture
in the soil is maintained, and with this increased
moisture there is also increase of the mineral
food of plants brought up for the present as well
as future crops.
| We know of some experienced cultivators in
constant motion during seasons of drouth; and
one unacquainted with the benefits of this ope
ration, ON visiting these grounds, wonll be led
to suppose that they had been favored beyond
their neighbOrs with repeated showers.
Numerous experiments have been made by sci
entifc cultivators, which have afforded abun-
| dant proof that the moisture which rises from
| the earth below, caused by the evaporation from
the surface brings with it. in solution, lime il
| its various forms-magnesia, potash, soda, and
| whatever the subsoil may contain of this kind.
| This is a wonderful and wise provision of ma
| tuTe for maintaining in the soil all these essen
| tial ingredients for growing crops-a provision
not always considered by the complaining far
meT.-Edlley Farmer.