St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1886-09-11
DRAINAGE AND DROUGHT.
How Underdrains Secure Moisture 70
Soils During Very Dry Weather.


How Underdrains Secure Moisture for
Soils During Very Dry Weather.
That the placing of drain-tile several
feet below the surface of land naturally
low and generally moist is of great
value in carrying off the water will be
readily admitted. 1t is reasonable to
presume that such land will be greatly
benefited by providing an outlet for the
water that would otherwise be retained
by the soil till it could be carried off by
the slow process of evaporation. Low
lands are generally much richer than
those that are elevated, as they receive
by the constant flow of water through
and over the soil vegetable and mineral
substances that produce fertility. They
are the last portions of a farm that are
ordinarily cultivated, as the cost of
draining them is greater than the new
settler can meet Not only in the New
England and Middle States, but in most
OF the Western States and Territories.
the high lands are first cultivated.
There are more days in the wear that
the pillow can be used on high land than
on low, and the farmer who is inn
proving new place desires to have rs
many acres in crop as he can manage.
That underdrains are of great add
vantage TO moderately high land in
wet season is obvious. The tile carry
Off most of the water Immediately after
heavy rain and leave the soil in
condition to be worked by the plow.
Land that is tile-drained can be plowed
earlier in the spring than that which is
not provided with artificial passages
for the water, and the success of small
grains largely depends on early sowing.
Tile drainage is also highly beneficial
to crops that are to be cultivated during
a rainy season. Corn is more likely TO
suffer from an excess than from def
cheney of moisture in the soil. The
hoe, pillow and cultivator can not be
used to advantage when the soil con-
tains much water. Tile drains carry
off the water from a cultivated field and
and allow implements to be used among
growing crops. They insure the growth
of vegetation that would otherwise
suffer from excess of moisture. They
q are of especial advantage to corn. where
rapid growth is promoted by soil that
is fairly dry and quite warm. Under
drains, during wet season, not only
keep the soil sufficiently dry to allow
corn to make rapid growth, but they
have the effect of raising its tempera-
ture.
That underdrains are highly bene-
fetal during seasons of protracted
drought many persons who have never
had an opportunity to watch their oper-
atoms are Inclined to doubt. Still all
who have seen corn on drained fields
and have compared its condition with
that planted on land that was not pro-
vided with tile are prepared to give
evidence in favor of drainage for pro-
tracted drought. The prospect is that
the largest crops of corn, wheat, rye
and oats in the West this season, will
be harvested from land that is under
drained. They are not suffering from
drought like crops that We're planted
on undrained land. The auctioneer
who declared that the clothes he
offered for sale would keep the wearer
warm in winter and cool in summer,
obviously claimed too much for them.
But it Is no exaggeration TO say that
under-drains serve to keep the soil dry
in wet season and to keep it moist
during the prevalence of a drought
''Seeing is believing in this as in other
matters. A visit to any portion of the
West will convince one that under
drains supply moisture to plants dur.
ing very dry weather.
During very warm weather the air
contains vast amount of invisible
nf ha
condensed by causing it to come in con-
tact with some cold substance, as the
outer surface of a pitcher filled with
ice. Underdrains cause currents of air
to circulate through them and to pass
upward through them into the soil. As
the soil is much cooler than the air
that passes between its particles much
of the invisible vapor it contains is
condensed i'm the form of dew, and is
made available for plant growth. This
condensed vapor is deposited deep in
the soil, where if will not be evaporated
as it would be if it was on the surface
of the ground. 1t is within easy reach
of the roots of the plants that are in
need of moisture. The plants are wa
tered from below and not from above.
They are constantly receiving the ben
eft of an under ground watering.
Most persons have noticed that the
walls of cellars through which there is
free circulation of air are moist dur
ing very dry seasons. The vapor is
condensed on them because they are
comparatively cold. The same thing
takes place when air passes through
drains and the soil that is above them.
-Chicago Times.