The Ordway new era., 1906-12-07
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,mpsrtsnt part Il pssys II Msklao
Plant eeea Avsllsbss-


There IL . soil atmosphere - o.
talnly ~ there II an atmosphere above
the surface Of the soil. This u nol
generally understood. It is imagined
that NO air penetrates tho soil bo.
cause u person could be smothered
| In the soil. 1t is not that there Is NO
air in the soil that person smotheSs.
but because that air Ia not In mo
ton sufiicient to supply the lungs
with the large amount OF oxygen re-
quired every minute. The soil OF the
earth Is full OF air as certainly as the
waters OF the ocean are full OF air.
which Is breathed by the living things
In the sea by means OF appliances es-
pecially adapted to that purpose. the
insects and worms deep In the ground
breathe air and live by so doing
Everything Is full OF air down to the
solid rock. II is this soil atmosphere
that supplies nitrogen TO the minute
plants on the roots of other plants.
that Il may be made over into q kind
OF nitrogen that the plants can feHd
upon. The amount of air In the soil
Is surprising In Its quantity. says the
Farmers Review. IL Is not small. rs
might be supposed. but very large.
One-half of a cubic foot of soil is air
space. The soil particles in foot OF
earth OF average texture have n sur
face of over three acres. We see.
then. how II is that the soil warns mp
quickly II 1t Is well drained. The air
in the soil readily transmits the heat
rays That air should be in the soil
Is very necessary. J. and its presence
should be encouraged by draining the
soil so as to keep out water. The
presence OF water In the soil Is the
greatest detriment to the presence OF
air. as the amount of air in water is
very small compared with the proper.
ton OF air in the soil. In which the
only water is the film water surround.
ing the soil particles. Most plants
that are useful on the farm cannot
grow with as little air as they can get
out OF water. but there are some that
eau. Such. however. are the marsh
grasses and forms OF vegetation that
we call semi.aquatic. Even the aquatic |
grasses use air. but only In small |
quantities, which they are prepared
to draw from the water. We under |
stand but little as yet about the use |
of air plants and what plants require |
more and what less air. or what |
plants are adapted to get their air |
from the water and what from the |
land. We merely say that this plant |
or that plant is injured by the wet. II
n man is devoting his farm to the
growing of plants that need much air
in their feeding operations. he must
see TO II that the soil is so free from |
water that the roots OF the plants can
find free air and can take their water |
only in the form of the film that sur
the soil particles. This con-
sideration should lead to much more |
perfect drainage than we now have on |
most farms. II the drainage is only |
fair the water will remain about the |
roots of the growing plants for days. |
and during that time the growth OF
the plants will be at n standstill. Too |
much water will therefore sometimes |
extend the growing season of the corn |
plant till 1t is caught by the frost, be-
cause the plant has lost time and had |
to stand still for days in its develop. |
ment.