The Grenada gazette. (Grenada, Miss.) 1885-18??, 1886-10-09
o MULCHING.
An Indifferent and Unsatisfactory substf.
tute for FILLING the Soil.

nm AANAhCTSht anu SubStIAIaGtOfy SuD0Ilo
tute for TiIlIng the Soil.
How a the temporary advantages
OF mulching be otherwise attained per-
manentlyp A little thoughtful exam
nation will indicate the answer. Care
fh investigation Of the condition and
mechanical effect of heat and soil upon
moisture will develop the fact that, ex.
cept when the rains are replenishing
the earth, moisture is continually as.
cending in the soil by the process of
capillary attraction. and is absorbed at
the surface by the air with which it
comes in contact. In a well-cultivated
field not more than from one-cighth to
one-tenth of the rain that falls upon the
soil finally passes of by percolation;
the remainder is drawn to the surface
and ev%aporated by the process de-
scribed. Any thing that breaks up the
uniform continuity of the texture of
tire soil, by which atom after atom of
water is brought to the surface, will
accomplish the first step in retaining the
natural moisture of the soil within it.
Now, mulching does not do this at
all; it only checks or moderates tho
approach of the atmosphere to tho
moistened surface of the soil, and
therefore rctards evaporation to that
extent; but the reason why there is al
ways so much moisture beneath the
mulch is because the capillary action
of the soil keeps on pumping up the
water faster than it can cvaporate.
The natural tendency of earthly mat.
ter to thus raise water is not generally
appreciated, but can be readily seen
when so dry and porous a material as
coal ashes are deposited upon a
slightly damp surface. Although the
heap be quite large, yetin short time I
have observed the dampness to have
penetrated through the entire mass,
from below.
Any thing that is a good conductor
Of heat, and is of loose texture, applied
to the surface of the ground, retards
the movement of the air and prevents
absorption. Spent tanbark meets this
requirement better than any other ma
terial that can be applied to the land.
1t is light and porous, and therefore
retains a cushion of confined air,
which is one of the best non-conductors
in nature. The gentle showers which
simply moisten the earth pass through
it readily, as do the heavier rains,
which are absorbed by it and largely
retained.
Dry soil is an excellent n%on-conduc.
tor, made doubly so by being loosened
and ~pulverized and thus intermingled
with air. This is precisely the condi'
ton of the soil after a thorough cult
walton. When thus rendered fine and
light the surface becomes truly a cush'
ion of air and dry earth, the continuity
of the insensible process of convection
of the water of the soil is broken, the
point at which the upward passage O.
the water of the soil ceases is removed
to the depth of the cultivation, the free
access of the air to the continuously
moist surface is hindered, and you have
accomplished all of the beneficial ct
fects of mulching in a cheaper, NOR
intelligent and scientific manner.
There are times when mulching
around ncwly-planted trees or wiki
some small fruits may be satisfactory,
but generally mulching is an indiffer
emit substitute for tilling the soil, and
an industrious man with the rake o.
cultivator will obtain vastly more salts
factory results by their diligent USE
Colonel Henry w. Wilson before tn
Massachusetts horticultural Society.