4. To permit the minute food and water-gathering roots to pass 

 between and to particles of soil. 



5. To provide a storehouse for plant food and moisture. 



Benefits of Drainage 



All plants require water and will perish without it. Excepting water 

 plants, it must be supplied in the form of a film adhering to the .ree 

 surface of soil particles. Plant roots, unless they be of the aquatic 

 variety, will soon die if submerged in water; hence, it is necessary to 

 keep the water table or standing water at a distance far enough from 

 the surface to permit the roots to freely develop. Underlain drain tile 

 tend to carry off surplus water after the soil below the tile is filled. The 

 tile in no way interfere with water stored below them, but simply 

 carry away the superfluous amount above it, leaving all that will adhere 

 to the particles of soil to be used by plants, and as it is consumed, more 

 is furnished from below by capillary attraction. 



During the early spring, at a time when seeds are planted and rapid 

 germination is very necessary, the soil is usually surcharged with snow 

 and ice water. Evaporation is necessarily very slow, and, as a conse- 

 quence, the soil is cold, soggy and lifeless at a time when the plant 

 should be making its most rapid growth. If the land is drained, 'the 

 cold water is removed from below, the upper stratum of soil is warmed 

 by spring rains and air thereby causes a rapid germination and root 

 development. 



Plant Roots Require Air 



If the spaces between the soil particles are filled with water, air cannot 

 circulate, a condition which causes the roots to rot or cease to develop. 



Drain Tile Warm the Seed-Bed 



During the spring, air is warmer than the soil and spring rains 

 warmer than snow water. If both ends of the drain are open, or man- 

 holes are placed along the line of tile, warm air enters and finds its way 

 through the soil, and warm rains are freely absorbed, thereby materially 

 affecting the temperature of the soil. 



If the farmer will test a drained and an undrained soil at early seeding 

 time, he will find the drained land from six to twelve degrees warmer 

 than that which is not drained. In view of the fact that seed will not 

 germinate in soil below 42 degrees Fahrenheit, it is very evident that if 

 the temperature can be raised from six to twelve degrees, by placing 

 drain tile, the early growth gained on account of the warmth of the 

 seed-bed would be worth considering. 



Drainage Prevents Loss from Drouths 

 This statement may seem strange, but it nevertheless is true. If in 

 the spring when seeds are planted the soil is surcharged with water. 



