IRRIGATION AND DRAINAGE 77 



of soil not as a place for root-activity, but rather as a reservoir of 

 moisture and a storehouse of plant food which shall come to them 

 dissolved in the upward movement of abundant water. Conse- 

 quently these plants do not require the degree of soil dryness which 

 best ministers to maturing processes nor do they need such deep 

 penetration of air as is needed to make subsoils hospitable for deep- 

 rooting plants. They are plants, too, which need the maximum per- 

 centages of moisture within reach to secure the quick growth and 

 succulence which makes them delicious and profitable. For all these 

 reasons, the view of underdrainage here presented is somewhat at 

 variance with orthodox drainage tenets held in humid climates and 

 is also widely diverse from views which the writer holds with refer- 

 ence to the drainage requirements of fruit trees. 



