Belmont chronicle. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1855-1973, 1883-01-04

tiraining is poor. Cold clay soils that
1 Gave been badly farmsd cannot be made
fertile by draining alone. The draining
Of such soils makes it possible to produce
heavy crops because it makes them easy
10 farm-we can work in them at the
proper time aud manure can be applied
with telling effect Manure applied on
vet soil does very little good. 1t leaks
out and escapes during the heavy rains,
Besides plant standing with its feet OF
roots in cold water becomes consumpt-
ed. Sickness and death is sure to follow.
The greatest advantagesin draining Sis
the 8ration of the soil. Says John W.
Draper, Atmospheric air is the grand
receptacle from which all things spring,
and to which they will return. 1t is the
cradle Of vegetable and the coffin of ami.
NAL life" 1t is estimated that plants
receive nine parts Of their sustenance
from the air and one from the soil. A
| willow tree weighing five pounds was
once planted in box containing 200
pounds of soil which had been carefully
dried and weighed. The soil was kept
moist and the box was pierced with
holes so as to allow free circulation of
| air. In few years the tree was taken
| out and the soil Was carefully collected,
dried and weighed. The tree had gained
81 pounds and the soil had lost eight
ounces. A drained soil is about ten de-
| grees warmer than an undrained soil.
This is due to atmospheric circulation
| in the soil. 1t warns up sooner in the
spring and grass will start earlier. We
can often go to work on drained fields
two or three weeks earlier than il they
| we're net drained. A drained soil is dry
er in wet weather and damper in dry
| weather. In wet weather the surplus
water sOaks down through the soil and
escapes through the drains. In dry
weather when the soil is porous and fri
able 1t is dampened in the same manner
that dew forms. When the morning sun
comes up the dew on the surface is evap-
GRATED, but the soil remains permanent
| ly cooler. and furnishes a constant sup
ply of moisture for the-grOwth of crop.
Apart from all theories there are thou
sands of farmers who can testify that
drainage was of great benefit to their
| crop in the drouth of 1881. The wet
land will bake and become hard and
dry. and the crop 10 sure to burn out in
a dry season. Especially is this the
case on clay soils if they are plowsd or
| worked when wet. Drainage has been
known to change the character of SOME
soils entirely. A stiff, tenacious clay
soil will become porous and fri
able if drained and msnured. Air
is about four-ifths nitrogen. We
have all-of late years-come te
understand the value of Aitrogenous
manures. Atmospheric circulation in
the soil is highly beneficial in this re-
spect. After heavy rains the atmosphere
close to the earth is found to be heavily
charged with carbonic acid. This has
been washed down by the rain, uDd il
the soil is porous it is carried to the
roots OF plants. Plants assimilate food
in liquid or gaseous form. The way
some men apply manure we would sup
pose that they expected the crop to de-
your it with organs Of mastication.
One of the incest points in farming is
to keep the soil in condition to get the
full benefit of the atmosphere. We
must drain our wet land before we can
do this. 10 is estimated that there is
room between the PARTICLES of soil when
we drain four feet deep for one-fourth
its bulk of water. MThis will be more
water than ever fell in any one month.
| Ordinary rains will be Immediately ab-
sorbed by the soil. Heavy dashing
rains may fall faster than the soil is ca
pable of receiving it, but we will be sur
prised to see how soon the water settles
away and the field is in condition to
| work. About the first of September,
1878, we had just finished blowing II
acres of drained bottom land-which we
intended to put in wheat-when there
came one of the heaviest rains ever
known in our locality. The whole val
ley was flooded, and the water was two
| feet deep all over the field. We all
| thought it would be impossible to
put the wheat in st all. But in
just five days after the Hood we com
menced narrowing and drilling the
wheat. We might have commenced a
day sooner, and the ground would have
been in good condition. As soon as the
| water began to go down it commenced
20 pour out of the drains, and the creek
was only within its banks few hours
until there was no water to be seen on
the field. We had u bushels of wheat
per acre on the bottom that year. We
| had the same field in wheat last year,
and had % bushels per acre. The crop
was badly damaged by the late freezs
last spring. Few people appreciate the
value of few days work on crop at
the right time. We have all seen when
a day or two in planting time, or corn
working. made the crop good one in
stead of poor one. Drainage enables US
to get at our work earlier in the spring,
sooner after rains, and when the soil is
in proper condition otherwise, it is ne
1 IL h. CT
dence. The drained soil is warmer in
cool weather, ard on the other hand il
is cooler in extreme hot weather This,
of course, follows as a natural cOnSe
Iquence, since we have shown that the
drained soil retains moisture better
than the undrained. We are never sure
of crop on lands that needs draining
If the season is wet, or the season is
very dry or frost early in the fall, or the
spring late, we miss a crop. Drainage
often secures US a fair crop under any
or all of the above disadvantages. The
roots of corn, wheat and clover, and
many other crops, penetrate TO a great
depth il not checked by an excess OF
cold water to within few inches of the
surface, there can be no circulation OF
air among its particles. Draw off the
water and the air circulates in the
space formerly occupied 10y the water
The mineral ingredients of the soil are
exposed to the action of the air, and con-
verted into plant food.
In a great deal of our land the water.
line. or the line of saturation, is within
a few inches of the surface for the
greater part of the year. Now, an inch
of soil on an acre weighs one hundred
TONS Drain this land, ami hundred of
tons of excellent soil is made available
on every acre. About 25 per cent of the
annual rainfall will percolate through a
drained soil. An inch OF water on an
acre is 27,l54 gallons. The annual rain
fail in our State is about A inches.
Twenty-Five per cent Of.this will be 29S,-
694 gallons of surplus water on each