The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1902-07-21

The Importance Of a regular water
supply to growing crops is due to two
facts. First, plants secure little mois-
ture directly from the air, and yet wa
ter is the life, the blood of the plant
Practically the entire supply must be
obtained from the soil through the ac-
ton of the roots. Second, all soil food
enters the plant in solution, the plant
always drinks, never eats, and water
is the indispensa BILE solvent.
Most of the water thus entering the
plant is evaporated from the leaves,
the quantity being enormous. crop
of corn requires about thirty-six times
it's weight in water during it's growing
period and an acre of cabbage will
evaporate five million pounds in the
same time. So indispensable is the
sufficient supply of water to the plant
that slight deficiency is noted by
whiting and if the demand is not made
good or the whiting continues wither-
ing and death follow
Not only do crops exhale enormous
quantities of water, but evapora ton
from the surface of the soil goes on
constantly wherever the air is dryer
than the soil, which is practically at
all times except during rains.
In all soils there is at some depth
a permanent and inexhaustible supply
of water. This water constantly rises
to the surface by capillary action and
is then not only adequate but avail
able
To protect the crop from drouth all
that lis necessary is to prevent the
waste of this water supply by stopping
ITS escape into the air. Mulching eff
fectively does this, but it is not prac-
ticable over large areas.
The principle or law controlling the
movement of soil waters, however,
furnishes the means for accomplishing
the desired end, namely, checking
evaporation
The upward movement of water de-
Ponds upon the compactness of the
soil-the closeness together of its par
tlcles. The closer the particles the
more rapidly and quickly water moves
from one to the other till the surface
of the soil is reached. The greater the
distance between soil particles the
greater difficulty of the movement and
the smaller the quantity of water
moving.
Therefore in times of drouth when
water is needed and the supply in the
soil should be husbanded, the pillow and
all implements stirring the lower
arabic SOIL or bringing it to the sur
lace where 1t dries should be sedulous-
ly kept from the field
Not only this, but since through pull
Verlzatlon of the surface soils renders
the same more porous and the particles
farther apart so that the movement of
the water is checked, frequent shall
low surface cultivation with the weed
er. cultiVator or sweep should be prac-
uced, and the result will be to stop
evaporation of soil water and the hold
ing of the same beneath the fine dust
blanket produced on the surface.
through which the water cannot pass
and escape into the air and be lost to
the crop.
The amount of water thus shown to
be daily saved to an acre of soil by
shallow cultivation has in careful ex-
perlments Appropriated 1870 barrels.
was there ever a drouth so severe
that this amount of water given to the
crop daily would not have rendered
a good harvest certain? The method
requires no new tools, but simply the
reversal of common practice. 1t is
universally followed by thousands of
successful farmers, but 1t is too fire.
quently neglected where the idea of
the use of the pillow has decended from
generations of cotton growers to whom
1t was chiefly a weapon for fighting
Srass.-N. +. Stockbridge.