56 



THE PEOPLE'S FARM AND STOCK CYCLOPEDIA. 



soil in this condition no cultivated plant can long grow. Fig. 3 



shows the condition of a drained soil ; 

 you will notice that while the pores 

 in the particles are filled with moist- 

 ure, the spaces between them are 

 filled with air, and this is the best 

 condition for plant growth, for the 

 roots have access to both air and 

 moisture, 

 and these 



FIG. 2. WET SOIL. 



are neces- 



sary to produce the chemical changes 

 in the soil which prepare the food 

 for the plant. Soils vary greatly in 

 the amount of water they will hold 

 by absorption, and a well drained soil 

 is not necessarily a dry one. Careful 

 experiment has shown that one hun- 

 dred pounds of soil would retain the following weight of water 

 which would not flow off by drainage. 



FIG. 3. DRAINED SOIL. 



Sand, . 

 Loamy soil, 

 Clay loam, . 

 Pure clay, 

 Garden mould, 



251bs. 

 40 " 

 50 " 

 70 " 

 89 " 



Having seen why a drained soil furnishes the most favor- 

 able conditions of plant growth, let us look in detail at the 

 points of advantage claimed for it. 



Drainage deepens the soil by allowing sun and air to pene- 

 trate it, and thus chemical action is induced. Every intelligent 

 farmer knows that a crude and unproductive subsoil, when 

 brought to the surface, is soon changed in color and texture by 

 atmospheric action, and, although at first nearly barren, will 

 finally become fertile. An excellent illustration is furnished by 

 the brick-yards of my locality, where the subsoil is a stiff, red- 

 dish clay. I have known all the soil removed, and a field to lie 

 barren for a few years, but finally to become productive from 



