Thomas County cat., 1886-08-26
ABOUT oaA,NAnGits

9lG ABOUT osA,NAnEip ri
A Few words on the Theory sa1 Rrssascs
of Drainage.
i Water is Indispensable to tie growth
of plants, Green vegetation contain.
from eighty TO ninety per cent. oi
water, ard 40 far as this is concerned
the water is actual plant food and me-:
essaxy. aatriment But plants n dire
far greater supply than this. Tor al
every part Of theRoiid matter of plants
= only taken into tke roots in ISOLATION
an wafer, = vast quantity is required to
matare a crop. Thus for every pound
of wheat produced in an experimental
crop grown for the purpose of invest.
gatiag this question. no less than 1888
pounds of water were evaporated BY
the plants, and consequently passed
through them. entering by the roots
and escaping through the leaves. This
quantity was used BY the wheat which
produced the least. viz: less than one
pound of grain. but when ten pounds
was produced the consumption OF water
was 1902 pounds; showing that the
larger the quanty of water used by the
crop the greater was the product This
result, however, only goes to a GER
tain extent, and when the maxi
man result is reached and the
water is in excess of the require
mcnts of the crop harm is done and
the plant does not grow, for the water
used by plants must be active and not
stagnant, and must have a tain guam
tity of atmospheric air contained in it.
Tho water must in fact be passing
through the soil, just as the air breathed
by an animal must be in motion and
constantly renewed or it can not sustain
life. Hence when the water in the soil
is in excess and becomes stagnant the
plants Immediately begin to suffer, and
this from two causes, one that the
water in contact with the roots is ex-
hausted of the needful soluble matter
for the food of the plants and the neces-
sary supply of air is withheld. There
is no motion, no circulation of vivifying
air in the soil. and there can be no life.
Then the plants cease to grow, they
sicken. turn yellow, and soon die, and
a useless and pernicious vegetation
takes their place.
This is the well-known experience
of farmers whose land has an inn
pervious subsoil which holds the water,
and to provide means for preventing
the fatal stagnatiOn of it in the soil.
When the drains are made and the
water passes freely through the soil,
of air is at once established,
and the more water which falls upon
the land the more vigorous and abund-
ant are the growth and yield of the
crops. But where these fatal condi-
tons do not exist and the water can
lind its way naturally through the SUBJ
soil the costly drainage is not required,
and the expense of draining such land
is simply money thrown away and
wasted for no purpose. Many Il
tarmer, misled by the prevailing
''bOom" in regard to tile drainage,
has been seriously embarrassed and
because the promised in
crease of crops by which he expected
% be repaid for his outlay has not been
realized.
In practice, drainage is only re-
luired when the conditions above men,
toned arc existing. When in blowing
he land in the spring. or in digging /
lown into it at any other time when
.ain has fallen abupdantly the water
S found near the surface, then drains
IRE required to carry it off. In the one
Ease the work is interfercd with and
he timely preparation of the soil for
:rops Is prevented, and i'm the other
he growing crops suffer and become
diseased or perish, or weeds abound.
,r the needed cultivation of the fields
S prevented But when no surplus
water is found in the soil at seasons
when it would be injurious or incon-
-enient, and when the accumulation
rom the winters rains pass off early
n the spring, enabling work to be
lone in good time, and when no water
'an be found in digging down three
Get at any time in the growing season,
Ira mage IS not required, for its sole
Useful purpose is to carry off surplus
vater. and any other claim for it. such
IS useful aeration of the land or of add
ng fertility to it, is wholly baseless.
Drains should be placed three feet
lecp in the ground. The distance be-
ween them should vary, as the soil is
more or less charged with water; for
he more water in the soil to be re.
moved the more outlets will be needed.
'ixty-six feet is common distance
part and is not too much under Ordi-
larv circumstances. The porositv of
he soil always acts to retain some
Vater, just as sponge will hold it and
aise it above the level of its source, SO
hat the further apart the drains are
he higher will be the level of the
rater on the line between them. The
iagram below illustrates this:
GROUND SURFACE.
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