BY DRAINING. ^o5 



long course of tillage, and is due to the fact that the miner- 

 als are all decomposed by the action of growing plants, and, 

 without decomposable minerals in the soil, no plants grown 

 upon it will come to maturity. Such lands, therefore, re- 

 quire gravel, sand or loam, and as in the cases above mention- 

 ed, the latter has been found to produce the best effect, while 

 theory at least would lead to the opinion that the former 

 would be most durable. 



The general theory relative to these modes of improve- 

 ment is, first to improve the texture and consistency and 

 equalize the electrical state of the soil, and secondly to fur- 

 nish those decomposable minerals which plants must have 

 in order to mature their seeds. 



There is a limit, however, to these methods, while time 

 and expense are required to carry out a system sufficiently 

 rigorous to produce the highest effect; but if the farmer will 

 have patience, coupled with perseverance, he may have the 

 satisfaction of seeing his soils gradually but surely approach- 

 ing to the best possible texture, and to the most favorable pro- 

 portions of all the mineral ingredients. 



Sect. 2. Improvement of the Soil hy Draining and Irri- 

 gation. 

 Wet soils originate from two causes. 1. When the water, 

 which falls upon the surface, is retained by a retentive sub- 

 soil, as is often the case with level lands on clay bottoms. 2. 

 When the water, which passes beneath the surface along the 

 water-hearing strata, meets with dikes, or strata, which have 

 been broken off, and incline in different directions. In the 

 latter case, if the land is much inclined, there will be springs 

 formed at the out-cropping of these strata, and, if the surface 

 is level, the pressure of the water, from the surrounding high 

 lands, will force it up to the surface, and produce a swamp, 

 or too great a degree of moisture. In both cases the soil is 

 rendered cold and unfruitful, hence fertility can be restored 

 only by removing the cause of barrenness. 



