THE FARMERS' REGISTER. 



479 



in Ihc maniipr we make a pen, the more readily 

 to let the quicksilver into the quill. 



As to the Palmer woruis, I know nolhins^ ol 

 ihem ; he made no complaints ol' them. IT they 

 are a worm which always follow (lie other, ihcy 

 misiht have been equally aHeciei). It seems tl\e 

 quicksilv.)r mi^hl have been diti'used by the sap 

 to the very extremes of all the ramifications ol' 

 the trees. • 



! should think it mavnoi yet be too late to try 

 the experiment, thouuh I should prefer the latter 

 end of January or bejrimiini; ol' February, ftr 

 insertiriiT the quicksilver. Perhaps credit miu;hl 

 be tjiven to the effect of such an experiment, by 

 reasoning from the effect which mercury has upon 

 the human body. But I leave that province to 

 oihers, whose professions, and abilities are more 

 adequate to the underiakinur ; ever preferring lact.-- 

 lo theory, and that humble track to the labyrinths 

 of fancy and imagination. At any rate, facts 

 and successful experiments are most encouraging 

 to the farmer, who ought to be led by a certainty 

 of success or gain, as too many can illy bear un- 

 successfullabor or expense. I have heard of an 

 attempt ol' the like kind as the foregoing, made 

 without success ; but this was attributed to an im- 

 proper time of inserting the quicksilver, viz. in 

 June. Henry Marchant. 



OF THE MOISTURE OF THE SOIL. — WATERING. 



From Lindley's Horticulture. 



It has already been shown that water is one of 

 the most imponant elements in the food of plants, 

 partly li-om their havinff the power of decompos- 

 ing it, and partly because it is the vehicle through 

 which the soluble matters found in the earth are 

 conveyed into the general system of vegetation. 

 Its importance depends, however essentially upon 

 its quantity. 



We know, on the one hand, that plants will not 

 live in soil which, without beuig chemically dry, 

 contains so little moisture as to appear dry ; and 

 on the other hand, an excessive quantify of niois- 

 lure is, in many cases, equally prejudicial. The 

 great points to deteridne are, the amount which 

 is most congenial to a given species under given 

 circumstances, and the periods of growth when 

 water should be applied or withheld. 



When a plant is at rest, that is to say, in the 

 winter of northern countries and the dry season ol 

 the tropics, but a small supply of water is required 

 by the soil, because at that time the stems lose 

 but little by perspiration, and consequently the 

 roots demand but little food ; nevertheless, some 

 terrestrial moisture is required by plants with 

 perennial stems, even in their season of rest, be- 

 cause it is necessary that their system should, at 

 that time, be replenished with food against the 

 renewal of active vegetation : hence, when trees 

 are taken out of the earth in autumn, and allowed 

 to remain exposed to a dry air all the winter, they 

 either perish, or are greatly enleebled. li', on 

 the other hand, the soil in which they stand is 

 filled with moisture, their system is disiended with 

 aqueous matter at a time when it cannot be de- 

 composed or thrown off, and the plant either be- 

 comes unnaturally susceptible of the influence of 

 cold in rigorous climates, or is driven prematurely 



into (;rowlh, when its new parts perish from the 

 iinfiivorable state of tiie air in which ihc.y are then 

 developed. The most suitable condiiiun of the 

 soil, at the period of vegetable rest, seems to be 

 that in which no more aqueous matter is contain- 

 ed than results from the capillary attraction of the 

 earthy pariiclcs. 



.^ evertheless, there are exceptions to this, in 

 the case of aquatic and mar^h plants, whose 

 [)eculiar constitution enables them to bear with 

 impunity, during their winter, an immersion in 

 water ; and in that of many kinds of bulbs, which, 

 durinir, their season of rest, are exposed to ex- 

 cps.-;ive heat. The latter plants are, however, 

 constructed in a peculiar manner ; their roots are 

 amiual, and perish at the same time as the leaves, 

 when the absorbent organs are all lost, so that the 

 bulb cannot be supposed to require any supply of 

 moisture, inasmuch as it possesses no means of 

 taking it up, even if it existed in the soil. This 

 will be again adverted to in a future chapter. 



It is when plants are in a state of growth that 

 an abundant supply of moisture is required in the 

 earth. As soon as young leaves sprout forth, 

 perspiration commences and a powerful absorption 

 must take place by the roots ; the younger the 

 leaves are, the more rapid their perspiratory ac- 

 tion ; their whole epidermis must, at that time, 

 be highly sensible to the stimulating power of 

 light; but as they grow older their cuticle hard- 

 ens, the stomaies become the only apertures 

 through which vapor can fly off, and by de- 

 grees even these apertures are either choked 

 up, or have a diminished irritability. As a gene- 

 ral rule, therefore, we are auihorized to conclude 

 ihat the ground should be abundantly supplied 

 wiih moisiure when plants first begin to grow, 

 and that the quantity should be diminished as the 

 organization of a plant becomes completed. There 

 are, however, some especial cases which appear 

 to be exceptional, in consequence of the unnatu- 

 ral statejien'vhich we require plants to be preserv- 

 ed for C. Iiivn peculiar purposes. One of the 

 effects of K aiojKtensive supply of moisture is to 

 keep all th^i'iy-vly formed parts of a plant tender 

 and succulent 'J therefore such a constant sup- 

 ply is desirab'e when 'he leaves of plants are to 

 be sent to table, as in the case of spinach, lettuces, 

 and other oleraceous annuals. Another effect is, 

 to render ail parts naturally disposed to be succu- 

 lent much more so ttian they otherwise would 

 be ; thus we find market-gardeners deluging their 

 strawberry plants with water while the Iruit is 

 swelling, in order to assist in that, to them, impor- 

 tant operation. While, however, in ihis case, the 

 size of the fruit is increased by a copious supply of 

 water lo the earth, its flavor is, in proportion, 

 diminished ; lor, in consequence of the rapidity 

 with which the strawberry ripens, and, perhaps, 

 the obstruction of light by its leaves, the excess of 

 aqueous matter taken into ihe system cannot be 

 decomposed, and Ibrmed into those products which 

 ifive flavor to fruit ; but it must necessarily re- 

 main in an unaltered condition. 



It is lor the reason just given, that the quantity 

 of water in the soil should be diminished when 

 succulent fruit is ripening ; we see this happen in 

 nature, all over the world, and there can be no 

 doubt of its being of great importance. Not only 

 is the quality of such li-uit impaired by a wet soil, 

 as has just been shown, but because of its low 



