330 QUARTERLY JOURNAL. 



How TO AFFORD THE NECESSARY SUPPLY OF AIR TO THE ROOTS OF 



PLANTS. 



BY MR. J. MAINE, BROMPTON. 



The breaking up, or turning the surface of cultivated land, either 

 by the plow, spade, or hoe, for the reception of seeds or plants, is a 

 process so universally practised and indispensable for the well-being 

 of the crops intended to be raised thereon, that it may be deemed 

 incredible that such a common and simple affair should not be uni- 

 versally understood. And yet it cannot be denied that many and fre- 

 quent mistakes are commilled in this matter, and these must proceed 

 either from indolence or ignorance. 



As the surface of the earth is the natural station for the generality 

 of plants, and where they obtain the necessary elemental food requi- 

 site for their developement and maturation, certain conditions of the 

 said surface are absolutely necessary. Humidity, heat, and air, in 

 due proportions, are indispensable, both to the fibrous roots which 

 are extended in the earth, and to the head which is expanded in the 

 air. There is more danger, however, from an excess of moisture 

 than from the extremes of either heat or air ; because, when the soil 

 is saturated with water, the access of the genial air and its gaseous 

 properties is excluded, and the delicate fibres, imprisoned and 

 choked, it may be said for want of breath, must, in such a case, 

 necessarily languish. That a porous soil is requisite for the free 

 growth of every plant is an axiom in cultivation, and on this axiom 

 all our operations of ploughing, trenching, digging, etc. are founded; 

 and, that no excess of water should at any time remain to chill, 

 sodden, and consolidate the staple, draining in all its branches and 

 modifications is had recourse to. 



Soils are various in quality, and particularly in texture and con- 

 sistency. The success of crops appears to depend as much on the 

 texture of the land as upon any other property. For, where air and 

 rain can permeate freely, a constant supply of both aqueous and 

 gaseous nourishment is afforded, independently altogether of the 

 richness of the soil, whether natural or artificial. While, on ihe other 

 hand, if the soil be compact, baked hard by drouth, in consequence 

 of its having been previously labored or stirred when too wet, no 

 plant can possibly flourish. The conclusion, therefore, is, that the 

 soil for any kind of crop should never be impervious to air from 

 being saturated with water, nor impervious to both air and water 

 from its dry adhesiveness. 



Sandy soils, upon a gravelly or chalky sub-soil, are never liable 

 to be drenched with water but only for a very short time after heavy 

 rain, or sudden thaw when snow is on the ground. All the water 

 absorbed by such a soil sinks deep into the sub-soil, and far below 

 the roots of corn or any agricultural plant on the surface. Such a 

 soil needs neither draining nor sub-soil plowing. Neither does it 

 ever require to be exposed to the frosts of winter, or any kind of 

 treatment by implements to produce amelioration. It is almost al- 



