The Fargo forum and daily republican. [volume] (Fargo, N.D.) 1894-1957, 1906-01-19
DRAINAGE DAY AT
TRI- ST ATE MEETING
Question Of Draining the Red River Valley Was Dis
Il cussed at Last Days Session Of
the Big Convention.


with the water and prepare the sap and
build up the plants above hut this gran
limited condition of the soil performs an
other very important office In the econ
eny' of plant life by its mechanical con.
strnctfon. 1t is well known that capillary
attraction cannot overcome the force OF
gravity and draw liquids upwards unless
1t has "A proper ladder on which the IL
guilds can climb. In the Kerosene lamp
the lamp wick Is the ladder used. Sub
stitute d strip of coarsely woven gunny
cloth for the closely woven fabric. of the
lamp wick and yeu get a very feeble light.
The same rule holds with the soil. II 1t
Is compact, with no, air spaces, the water
climbs up very fast through it by capil-
larity; but II 1t Is loose, open and porous,
It's upward progress Is arrested. as air is
too thin to form the ladder over which
the capillary force can carry It's load. As
the soil granulates only as 1t comes in
contact with the air the grannlation Is
most perfect at the surface and becomes
more feeble MS we go down. This condi-
tiOn allows the upward flow Of the ground
water during q period of drouth until 1t
reaches the bottom of the, cultivated. and
consequently granulated soil, where the
feeding roots of the plants are most abun-
dant; but from there on to the surface 1t
meets with constantly increasing obstruc-
tions on account of the constantly increas-
ing size and number of air spaces between
the soil grains. The water is therefore
freely admitted to the place where 1t Is
most needed, but there 1t finds all doors
locked and barred to prevent Its escape
to the surface to be carried Off by sun and
wind. And as we have already seen that
the same doors that are shut to prevent
Its escape swing wide open to receive the
.ulated condition Of the soil is the ideal one
for plant growth. 1t also prevents the
soil from forming hard Jumps and clods
as 1t dries, but each soil grain readily sep
and the harrow and cultivator leave it
in a nicely pulverized condition. and we
say it is in fine tilth, suitable for growing
crops. ."@ !
porous and spongy, 50 as to admit water
and air, the brick maker and potter wants
just the opposite condition. The soil he
uses must be as nearly water tight and air
tight as 1t is possible to make 1t. So
he selects clay, which is only the finest
snechanical subdivision of the SOIL. and
puts 1t into circular vat, in fact d
huge churn, and pours in water and then
the whole mass until it is .'puddled,' that
is. until its granular structure is COM
pletely broken up and each individual
particle of clay is separated from the
others which formerly was united to form
one soil grain. 1t now settles closely to-
8getler and forms one solid compact mass
5and becomes practically Impervious to
.2ssater and air, which Is the ideal condition
thing Is done In the west where they dig
irrigation canals, often many miles long,
and 1t is necessary to make the bottom
water tight. They dig the canal and turn
fences on both sides and then turn in
stock, either horses cattle or sheep, and
drive them back and forth through the
mud until the whole bottom ls 'p9ddled",;
and pack it down. and when SO treated
the bottom becomes so tight that compare
lively little water is lost by seepage.
The same mechanical effect Is produced
on fhp N 10 yybn ia rpd