270 



Drainage of Wet Soils. — On Idleness. 



Vol. VI. 



water, and produce the many pood results 

 with which its employment is accompnnied ? 

 tlie answer is selt-evident. — Dr;iiniL'c effect.-; 

 all its good by atliirdirijj a ready outlpt f()r all 

 excess of water, hy preventing stai^^nation, 

 and thus rpmovingr the source of evil. The 

 bad efiects produced by an excess of water — 

 all which are of course removed by draining 

 — are these : 



1st. One erreat evil produced by it is, the 

 consequent diminution in the quaiiiity of air 

 within it; which air we have proved to be 

 of the greatest consequence, not only in pro- 

 moting the chemical changes requisite for 

 the preparatifm of the food for plants, but 

 likewise to the roots themselves; for Sassure 

 and Sir H. Davy have proved that oxygen 

 and carbonic acid are absorbed by the roots, 

 which gases, however, especially the former, 

 can be conveyed to them only by the air. 



2d. Excess of water injures soil by dimin- 

 ishing its temperature in summer and in- 

 creasing it in winter — a transposition of na- 

 ture most hurtful to perennials, because the 

 vigour of a plant in spring depends greatly 

 upon the lowness of temperature to which it 

 has been subjected during winter (within cer- 

 tain limits of course), as the ditference of 

 temperature between winter and spring is the 

 excitincr cause of the ascent of the sap. 



3rl. The presence of a large quantity of 

 water in the soil alters the result of putre- 

 faction, by which some substances are formed 

 which are, inal! probability, useless (o plants; 

 Fuch, for example, as carburetted hydrogen 

 — and diminishes the proportion of more use- 

 ful ingredients — as uluric acid. 



4th. An increase in the proportion of fluid 

 in soils has a most powerful effect upon its 

 saline constituents, by which m.any changes 

 are produced diametrically opposite to those 

 that take place in soil where the v/ater is 

 much less in quantity; and in this way the 

 good efl^octs of many valuable constituents 

 are greatly diminished, as, for instance, the 

 action of carbonate of ammonia upon humus, 

 and gypsum upon carbonate of ammonia. 



5th. The directions of tlie currents which 

 occur in wet soils are entirely altered by 

 drainage ; for whereas in undrained soil, the 

 currents are altogether trom below upwards 

 — being produced by the force of evaporation 

 at the surface — consequently the .tpongioles 

 of the plants are supplied with exlwusted sub- 

 soil water; but when land is drained, the 

 currents are from the surface to the drains 

 and the roots are, consequently, supplied with 

 fresh aerated water. 



6th. An excess of water in soil produces a 

 constant dampness of the atrnospliere, which 

 has been shown to be injurious to plants: — 

 1. By diminishing evaporation, and thus ren- 

 dering the process of assimilation slower. 



2. By diminishing the absorption of carbonic 

 acid, and thus lessening the atmospheric sup- 

 ply of food. 3. By creating a tendency in 

 the plant tn produce leaves possessing a dif- 

 ferent structure from those which the same 

 plant produces in dry situations. 



Thus we have six distinct methods in 

 which an excess of water in soil has been 

 proved to be greatly injurious to the plants 

 cultivated by the farmer; and it hence fol- 

 lows that the adoption of any method capable 

 of aflbrding a certain and ready means of es- 

 cape for the superabundant moisture, must 

 be accompanied by the most beneficial re- 

 sults. That Drai.naoe has this power, the 

 experience of many years has abundantly tes- 

 tified. Dr. Madde.n. 



Ou Idleness. 



Up and be doing, my friends ! up and be 

 doing! Idleness is a sad thing. What! 

 have we feet, and shall we not walk 1 Have 

 we hands, and shall we not work ? We have 

 more to do than we shall ever accomplish if 

 we are ind7if:trioics ; how, then, shall we get 

 through it if wo are idle "? Every bird build- 

 ing her nest, every .spider weaving her web, 

 every ant laying up for the winter, is a re- 

 proach to an idle man. Up and be doing, 1 

 say ; and do not expect the pot to boil while 

 you let the fire go out. We must climb the 

 hill to view the prospect; we must sow the 

 .seed to reap the harvest; we must crack the 

 nut to get at the kernel. I cannot bear your 

 tattlinrr, talking, interfering, busy-bodies, at- 

 tending to the affairs of others, and leaving 

 their own duties undone; but yet, it is a sad 

 ' failing to go to sleep when we ouoht to be 

 \ wide awake ; to be creeping and crawling 

 I like snails, when we ought to be bounding 

 i forward like greyhounds. It is a sad thing, 

 I say, and we oufjht to be ashamed of it. I 

 have known blind men and lame men, who, 

 without an eye to see with, or a foot to stand 

 upon, have done more for the good of their 

 neighlwurs, than many of us who have the 

 use of all our faculties. Then, up and be do- 

 ing, and let not the grass grow under your 

 feet ! Though the flesh be weak, if the spi- 

 rit bo willing you will not be happy in stand- 

 ing still. If you cannot hew wood, you may 

 draw water. If you cannot preach in public, 

 you can pray in private, and be striving to 

 enter in, rather than waiting to be carried 

 through, the strait gate that leadeth unto life. 

 Let us not complain of poverty, with a mine 

 of gold under our feet ; let us not die of thirst, 

 with a tbuutain of living waters within our. 

 reach. If we have health and strength, let 

 us work for the bread that perishes; and hav- 

 ing the means of grace, let us be diligent to 

 obtain that bread that is eternal. — Selected, 



