The Portland daily press., 1895-05-04
iRRleATlNa WITS THE PEoW.
How to Hold Moisture In the Soil-Wfrone
Methods In Cultivation.

How to Hold Moisture In the Soil-Wrone
Methods In Cultivation.
There is soaroely season when the
northern states do not have more than
y inches Of rainfall between the going
Of frost and July - SO, if we save this
from running OFF OF evaporating, we
may expect to carry nearly all our crops
to maturity. To- save the water Of the
spring showers it is only necessary to
have the ground in q receptive state
that is, mellow and spongy. Gravelly
Or sandy soils Naturally take all the wa
ter that falls, provided they are not
packed or sohaiAed sQa top. { Clay soils,
however, must be ! thoroughly loosened
as deep as it is desirable. To do this,
some berry growers are using a subsoil
plow. One uses purchased implement
with a sole like a pumpkin seed, that
disturbs and Lifts pretty nearly all the
bottom of the fu1row so that with
heavy team on both plow and subsoiler
he is able to loosen the ground to a
depth Of 16 inches II such soil is
thoroughly supplied with hunus by
growing clover Or plowing under green
crops, it plows up loose and lies two or
three inches higher after plowing than
before, and its capacity for holding
greater quantity of water is increased
at the same time that it parts with it
more slowly from its spongelike nature
It is safe to say that somewhat re-
tentive SOIL prepared in this way, Ell
ther late in the fall Or early in the
spring, would easily take all the water
that fell in the spring months. 1t may
also be said that such soil, with prop
er management, will suffer less in peri
DDS Of drought than sandy soils. Thus
writes a correspondent of Rural New
Yorker, who says:
"a field with 16 inch mellow top
soil filled with water would, with the
data from which I started, be able to
produce fair crops Of almost any sum-
mer grain or vegetable or fruit without
rain after July If the moisture could
be kept in the ground" :" This CORE
spondent explains as follows:
Water is brought to the surface by cap
Hilary attraction, and if this is not ar
rested at the surface it feeds evapora-
tion, according to the dryness Of the at
mosphere, until all available moisture
is taken from the soil Or the supply is
renewed from the clouds. It has been
proved that breaking up the surface
crust arrests capillary action; hence the
best farmers start a smoothing harrow
day OF two after the planting of crop,
repeating the process after every rain.
Berry growers are adopting the same
methods, and the more advanced Guilt
vate with many toothed light cult
vator, some cultivating in the afternoon
what was planted in the forenoon. III
strawberry planting especially there is
much trampling Of the ground, and il
some rows at least half the surface will
be covered with tracks, each track Civ.
ing free scope to the most active capil-
larry pumping.
In this matter Of conserving moisture
there is another source Of moisture that
we often cut off temporarily by wrong
methods Of preparing Or manuring the
ground Capillary action is not limited
to the surface soil, but is in operation
as far down as the soil reaches, provided
the particles of soil are close enough to
permit it's action, but if we break it off
by plowing under some coarse substance
or by leaving huge airholes between
Jumps Or sods, then we fail to get the
benefit Of this silent ally in pumping up
moisture night and day.