WHAT DOES DRAINAGE DO? 27 



a very narrow compass; and will resolve itself simply 

 into the matter of drainage and clearing of heavy 

 natural herbage. 



If the land in question is dry, i.e., naturally dry, and 

 free from heavy herbage, no preparation whatever is 

 needed. If, however, the land is wet, it must be 

 drained. This is a sine qua non. No tree will grow 

 on wet land. By wet land, we mean land containing 

 stagnant water, or land which does not permit of 

 sufficiently rapid percolation. 



What does drainage do ? may be asked by the 

 novice. There is a great deal of ignorance upon 

 this all-important operation. It is known by most 

 that the act of draining relieves the land of its super- 

 fluous water, and here, too often, the knowledge stops. 

 What besides does it do? It gives a depth of soil 

 capable of storing up plant food. It allows, as the 

 water percolates, the free circulation of warm air, 

 which assists in the oxidation of the ingredients in 

 the soil. It increases the capacity for the storage of 

 heat, by enabling land to absorb the sun's rays, 

 thereby enabling the soil to maintain tree life and 

 vigour well into the winter, which allows of the ripen- 

 ing of the young wood before the frosts set in a fact 

 too important to lose sight of or pass by. 



Compare this state of the soil with the same in an 

 undrained state. The soil is water-logged, which is 

 equivalent to saying that it contains no air. Plants 

 cannot live without water, but they need air too, and 

 can only thrive where both can be obtained. Full 

 and complete drainage does not render land too dry,, 

 for the deeper and more thorough the drainage the 



