252 



THE GENESEE FARMER. 



low temperature of the soil. The leaves of a tree 

 give off a large quantity of water. They maintain 

 a kind of perpetual sucking action upon the stem, 

 which is communicated to the spongelets at the 

 extremity of the roots. If the roots are in a soil 

 much colder than the air, they are unable to absorb 

 sufficient water to supply that given ofi" by the 

 leaves ; the consequence is, that the leaves curl up 

 and die, and the fruit falls oflE;— or it will "shank," 

 as grapes do when the house is much warmer than 

 the external border. 



Evaporation produces cold. Every pound of 

 water evaporated from the soil abstracts a definite 

 amount of heat. Plants growing in a soil evapo- 

 rate much more water than would the naked soil. 

 To cultivate other crops among fruit trees, there- 

 fore, not only robs the trees of nourishment, but 

 reduces the temperature of the soil. But the great 

 reason why soil is colder than the air, is owing to 

 an excess of moisture. Heat cannot be transmit- 

 ted dmmiward through water. The remedy is evi-' 

 dent. Remove the excess of water, by means of 

 underdraine. It has been found by repeated trials 

 that a well underdrained soil is usually about 10° 

 warmer than one that is undrained. Prof. Schitb- 

 LER has proved that the loss of heat caused by 

 evaporation, in undrained lands, amounts to 11J° 

 to 13p. In draining the Red Moss, near Bolton- 

 le-Moors, Mr. Paekes found the thermometer in 

 the drained land rose in June to 66°, while in that 

 which was not dramed it would never rise above 

 47°— a gain of 19°. Simpson says he has "fre- 

 quently found the soil of a field higher in tempera- 

 ture from 10° to 15° than that of another field 

 which had not been di-ained, though in every other 

 respect the soils were similar." A writer in the Quar- 

 terly Review states that one pound of water evapo- 

 rated from one thousand pounds of soil, will depress 

 the temperature of the whole mass ten degrees. 



A careful observer near this city, informs us that 

 his soil this season was quite cold till about the 

 middle of June, whereas, quite early in the spring, 

 we had remarkably warm weather. Under such 

 cireumstances, the equilibrium between the supply 

 of food from the roots, and the demand of the rapid 

 growing leaves and branches, was destroyed,— the 

 growth was unhealthy, and the trees were rendered 

 weak and unable to resist the subsequent cold 

 weather, and disease, loss of fruit and foliage, and, 

 in many cases, death, ensued. 



This is an extreme case, and the best means that 

 could be employed might have been found ineftec- 

 tual, but it is evident that the injury would have 

 been less severe if the temperature of the soil had 



been higher. Unlike animals, plants do not gener- 

 ate heat ; they are dependent on the soil, and it is 

 evident that a tree absorbing sap ten or fifteen de- 

 grees warmer than another, would be far less sus- 

 ceptible to sudden depressions of atmospheric tem- 

 perature. During cold nights, evaporation from 

 the leaves is nearly suspended ; there would conse- 

 quently be little loss of heat, and in a warm soil 

 the temperature of the tree might be much higher 

 than the surrounding atmosphere. While, there- 

 fore, the atmospheric changes are beyond the con- 

 trol of the cultivator, he may do much to mitigate 

 their injurious eiFects, by raising the temperature 

 of the soil, — and this he is enabled to do by thor- 

 ough underdraining, and keeping the land loose and 

 free from weeds, grass, &c. 



"But why," we are asked, "cannot peaches be 

 raised as easily now as when the country was 

 new ?" Because the dense forests aflforded shelter 

 from the severe v/inds, and, like large bodies of 

 water, served somewhat to equalize the tempera- 

 ture. Then roots, remaining in the ground for 

 some years after the trees were cut down, assisted 

 drainage. The forests and the roots are now gone, 

 and we must resort to artificial drainage, which It 

 is well known not only increases the temperature 

 of the soil, but when extensively practiced has also 

 an equalizing effect on the temperature of the air. 

 Severe winters, and excessively dry, hot summers, 

 are far less frequent now in England, than before 

 the introduction of thorough drainage. 



Tliis whole subject is forcing itself upon the at- 

 fention of fruit growers, and we trust these crude 

 and hasty remarks may induce our readers to favor 

 us with their views and experience. 



Hale's experiments show that a sunflower, T)ulh 

 for iulJi, imbibes and perspires seventeen times more 

 fresh liquor than a man, every twenty-four hours. 

 Lawes' experiments "on the amount of water 

 given off by plants during their growth," show 

 that the clover on an acre that would aftbrd two 

 tons of hay, absorbs from the soil and gives off 

 from its leaves 430 tons of water in 101 days, or 

 eight thousand six hundred pounds per day. Those 

 who allow clover, grass, weeds, or any other plants, 

 to grow among their fruit trees or any cultivated 

 crop, should not complain of drought. 



Frttit in New Jersey. — An experienced horti- 

 culturist in Newark, N. J., writes us : — " The fruit 

 ci-op here is rather a failure. I never observed 

 Raspberries turn out so bad ; they promised at one 

 time a fair crop, but soon decayed. I tried Pea- 

 body's Strawberry, and found it a splendid fruit, 

 large, and of fine color. However, I think Wil- 

 son's Seedling will excel all as a bearer. The Law- 

 ton Blackberry is quite an acquisition to our fruits." 



