64 MASSACHUSETTS AGRICULTURE. 



be readily given. It is known, however, from chemical investi- 

 gation, that water contains some of the most important constit- 

 uents of plant food — as carbonic acid and ammonia. It is 

 known, too, that the soil has the power of absorbing these sub- 

 stances, and this explains in part, at least, why irrigated lands 

 grow richer. An important reason, therefore, in favor of irri- 

 gation, is that all the benefit derived 'from it is clear gain — 

 nobody, nothing, is the poorer or the worse for it — the result is 

 obtained through an agent which would otherwise have remained 

 idle and unproductive. 



In hilly sections, where springs and streams abound, irrigation 

 may be practiced with comparative ease and cheapness. In 

 sections where water is not at all times available, reservoirs 

 might be constructed in which water from rain and snow might 

 be collected at certain seasons, and from which it might be con- 

 ducted to crops in some cases simply by gravitation. In other 

 cases machinery might be required for its distribution. 



A word in regard to land suitable for irrigation may not be 

 out of place in this connection. The remark is sometimes made 

 that such and such land does not need irrigation, because " it 

 is wet enough now." The soil and subsoil may abound in water 

 wliich is stagnant, or so nearly stagnant, that plants derive no 

 benefit from it, and it may even be the means of poisoning- the 

 soil by causing a deposit of noxious substances, as compounds 

 of iron and various acids. Drain this soil, so that water will 

 readily pass through it, and irrigation will produce excellent 

 etfects. It must be remembered that it is only a portion of the 

 constituents of water that plants feed on, and tliat when they 

 have taken this portion the remainder, unless it is removed, 

 obstructs the economy of the plant by clogging its feeding 

 organs, so that it is unable to take in congenial food, and finally 

 deranges its functions and produces disease. All these diffi- 

 culties are obviated at once by proper drainage, which permits 

 the water to pass through the soil with such a degree of motion, 

 that while the plant is able to draw from it its appropriate food, 

 the unwholesome substances in the soil are carried away. Hence, 

 drainage and irrigation must in some instances go together, the 

 former being necessary to the full benefits of the latter. 



Such, Mr. President, are, as it seems to me, some of the most 

 prominent points to which the attention of the owners and occu- 



