224 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 



agent in decay and in the new creation, and we do not know 

 which to admire the most, the analysis or the synthesis. The 

 elements of all matter are indestructible. The plants of to-day 

 are built up of the same atoms of which plants were composed 

 millions of years gone by. And the same is true of animals. 

 Every particle of matter in our organization has done service 

 over and over again, sometimes in the form of a mushroom, 

 sometimes in the waving grain, again in the stout frame of the 

 ox, and anon in the nobler form of a man. And all these 

 changes have been effected by sunlight. Surely we ought to 

 study the laws by which this great agent works, through which 

 life comes out of death. Certainly we ought to cherish this 

 agent in our homes, in our barns, and on our farms. Were the 

 world deprived of the sun for one hour, universal death would 

 be the consequence, past all hope of resuscitation. All the art- 

 ificial light and heat we enjoy are but the reproduction of sun- 

 light and sun-heat treasured up in some form of carbon ; but 

 how inadequate is this reproduction for heating and lighting 

 the earth. 



Not only must a sunny spot be selected for a home, but the 

 soil must also be considered. This leads us to say that a sandy 

 loam will be from a week to a fortnight earlier than a stiff clay 

 loam in its vegetation. In the same latitude and elevation we 

 have seen in one place winter lingering in the lap of spring, 

 with large snow-drifts for her pillow, while in another a few 

 miles remote, the grass was green, the dust flying, and the boys 

 playing ball. We need not add that this difference of climate 

 was occasioned by the soil in the one place being of a cold clay, 

 and in the other of a warm sandy loam. Which is the preferable 

 soil for cultivation, and which is the preferable climate for health 

 and comfort, we leave for every farmer to decide. 



We cannot, however, all live on the most easily tilled land 

 nor in the most favorable climate. The Creator in his infinite 

 wisdom has made every variety of soil, so that man's ingenuity 

 might be taxed to the utmost and his manhood thus developed ; 

 . and we propose, in order to make this essay as practical as pos- 

 sible, to notice the effect that drainage has on the temperature 

 of the soil, and consequently upon the climate of a country. 

 Experiments upon these points have not been as extensive or 

 accurate as we could wish, but some seven years since the Mar- 



