CHAPTER X. 



DRAINAGE. 



WET soggy soil will not produce, and all lands 

 on which farming or truck gardening is con- 

 templated must first be thoroughly drained of 

 all surplus water to a sufficient depth to allow 

 a free circulation of air, and ample room for the 

 natural development of the roots, allowing them 

 to penetrate the subsoil in quest of moisture 

 and other necessary ingredients. A well drained 

 soil not only offers a firm, deep foothold for all kinds of trees 

 and plants, but allows the rain to percolate and in turn admits the 

 air sufficiently to start the millions of minute yeast-like organisms, 

 called microbes or bacteria, to start decomposition or nitrification 

 of the soil. Neither these bacteria nor plant roots can exist for 

 any length of time in earth saturated with water, as this unfavor- 

 able condition produces an acidity which rapidly either renders 

 them dormant or destroys them entirely. 



Soil containing the proper amount of moisture is in a con- 

 stant state of intensive activity, every square inch being filled 

 with millions of these useful germs, whose office it is to digest 

 or make available the ingredients necessary to produce plant 

 growth. 



Air is just as necessary for the development of plants as it is 

 for animals. It must be present in sufficient quantities to oxidize 

 the various plant foods, making them soluble and ready for 

 absorption by the feeding rootlets. Drainage, therefore, is neces- 

 sary not alone to remove surplus water, but also to encourage the 

 development of these organisms, without which successful agri- 

 culture would be impossible. A rich deeply plowed soil that is 

 well drained will hold moisture much longer than if plowed 



