Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1886-02-25
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SOIL MOISTURE.

i lit son. MOISTURE.
P1ant-Economy In Dry Times. and frs-
ss5 syentive Applications.
A soil is made up of solid particles Of
different sizes, ranging from pebbles
down to the finest dust; being Irregular
in shape these particles do not anywhere
fit close together, like sardines in asboxI
of course, however, all of them Eaust
touch one another. in many places, 50
that those above are supported upon
those below, and those below can moi
get from under their burden because
hedged in closely on all sides by their
neighbors. There are spaces around
these particles of solid matter, between
the many points where they touch one
another, which also vary much IN size
from such as are no wider than the
thickness Of goldleaf to such as are
large enough to thrust ones finger into.
These spaces are occupied by air OF
by the other. If always filled with water,
the soil is no better than a bog; if al
ways filled with air, it is only barren
desert. Water that falls on the surface
of the soil and can find its way from one
to another of the larger spaces will run
down till it reaches the level of the
standing water in the ground; Just as
water poured into pipe in a well does
not stop till it reaches the level of the i
standing water in the well. But water
that gets into the smaller places may be
held there, many feet above the level OF
the standing water; as if, having filled
the upper part of the well with sponges,
we should then pour water in, we know
that much OF it, being taken up in the
very fine capillary tubes Of the sponges.
will never reach the bottom; it will stay
in them till it dries out by evaporation
into the air. gsss47ss.y stgYf- sss4f3,e
The best condition of the soil il
thought, by those who have studied its
relations to water and vegetation, to be
that in which not only all the spaces too
large to hold the water up contain moth
ing but air, but where large part OF
the small spaces are also empty. Our
upland crops do not thrive in soils so
situated that all these smaller spaces
near the surface are full of water. Veg.
citation is constantly taking up this
small residue of water that is left in the
soil after all the surplus of rain has
drained off and dissipating it into the
atmosphere; and when the supply OF
water is not sufficient to meet this de.
mand, at least to reasonable extent,
the plant willis, or, as in the case of In.
dian corn, it's leaves curl up. How the
supply is replenfhed when the rains are
few and far between is somewhat puz-
cling question. Too much credit is
given to the power that the, soil is sup
posed to have of absorbing moisture
from the atmosphere; the amount so alb
sorbed is of small account except when
the air is very damp, which is not its
usual condition at such times when rain
is scarce. The power residing in the
plant itself of reducing its consumption
of water is of much more account for
saving it from death by drouth than any
power which the soil has of supplying
it with water by simple absorption from
the air. Some plants can, if necessary.
lower the rate at which they take up
water by their roots and give It off into
the air to one-tenth of The usual rate,
without showing, at least for a time,
any signs of suffering; and when the
supply of water at the roots is more
liberal they pump away again as fast as
ever. J4 }
DOIQ0 SuDSudLCeS duU0u 6Ilo SOlk
check very much the rate of exhaustion
of the water by vegetation; salt acts
thus, and plaster appears to be particu-
larly effectual. Thus the opinion COM
mon among farmers may be accounted
for, that plaster lessons the danger of
bad effects from scarcity of water; they
say it absorbs water; but this is out of
the question; all the ground plaster that
is sold has been exposed to the air for q
long time before the farmer buys it, and
it has had ample time and opportunity
to absorb all the moisture it can from
that source. But if it serves 10 lower
the rate of evaporation of the saltwater
into the air through the vegetation grow
ing on the soil, it is plain that it may to
some extent serve the same purpose as
if it did actually absorb water from the
air to be handed over to the plant crops
according to their needs; it husbands
the scanty stock of water in the soil, and
forces the plants to be more economical
in the use thereof. Some experiments
with salt have shown that the soil of q
grass plot to which this substance had
been applied contained ten days after a
rain had fallen twice as much water as
did an adjoining plot which had received
no salt; and the plants on the former
plot were growing vigorously after
those on the other, plot had begun to
show signs of suffering for want OF wa
ter.-Dr. g. c.. CaIdsoeU, in N. 2. Iribs
U71e. .tz ft