26'2 IMPROVEMENT OF THE SOIL 



perfluous water to filter away freely, such a precaution is in- 

 dispensable." Hence the 



Utility of draining must be evident to every farmer. For 

 a system of draining, rightly conducted, will not only remedy 

 the evils above described, but will save much time and labor 

 in the cultivation of the crop ; two weeks, at least, will be 

 gained in the getting in and ripening of it. The product 

 will be one third greater, and one third of the labor saved 

 in the tillage. " An outlay of 15 or 20 dollars per acre," 

 says Judge Buel, " has often repaid, by extra product of the 

 reclaimed land, in two or three seasons." In addition to 

 these advantages, large portions of barren land, in many 

 (portions of the country, may, by this method, be reclaimed 

 ;and rendered productive. We know, from actual observa- 

 tion, that some of the most valuable lands in Massachusetts, 

 now lie entirely waste, in the form of peat-meadows and 

 •swamps, to the cultivation of which it is for the highest inter- 

 est of every farmer to devote his immediate efforts. 



II. Irrigation. Water, as we have seen p. 93, is essen- 

 tial to the growth of plants, both because it furnishes them 

 food, and because it is the vehicle through which soluble 

 matters are conveyed into the vegetable organs. 



We know that plants will not flourish in a soil which is 

 saturated with water ; and we also know, on the other hand, 

 that when the soil, without being chemically dry, contains so 

 little moisture as to appear dry, vegetables will wither and 

 die. The question to decide is, what amount is most con- 

 genial to the same species at different periods of their growth ? 



1. It may be taken as a general rule, that the proper time 

 to water, is when the soil is deprived of moisture to such a 

 depth, that the plants begin to languish and lose their leaves. 

 The juices then become thickened, and the transpiration is 

 nearly suspended ; hence the plant will hasten to perfect its 

 ilowers and fruit, which will be incomplete and poor. The 



