300 now CROPS FEED. 



such to the eye, and free to obey the laws of gravity and 

 motion. T\Tien the soil is saturated by rains, melting 

 snows, or by overflow of streams, its pores contain liy- 

 drost;itic water, whicli sooner or later sinks away into the 

 subsoil or escapes into drains, streams, or lower situations. 



Bottom Water is permanent hydrostatic water ^ reached 

 nearly always in excavating deep soils. The surface of 

 water in a well corresponds with, or is somewhat below, the 

 upper limit of bottom water. It usually fluctuates in 

 level, rising nearer tlie surface of the soil in wet seasons, 

 and receding during drought. In general, agricultural 

 plants are injured if their roots be immersed for any length 

 of time in hydrostatic water; and soils in which bottom 

 water is found at a little depth during the season of 

 growth are unprofitable for culture. 



If this depth be but a few inches, we have a bog, 

 swamp, or sw\ale. If it is one and a half to three feet, 

 and the surface soil be light, gravelly, or open, so as to 

 admit of rapid evaporation, some plants, especially grasses, 

 may flourish. If at a constant depth of four to eight feet 

 under a gravelly or light loamy soil, it is favorable to 

 crops as an abundant source of water. 



Heavy clays, which retain hydrostatic water for a long 

 time, being but little permeable, are for the same reasons 

 unfavorable to most crops, unless artificial provision be 

 made for removing the excess. 



Rice, as we have seen, (H. C. G., p. 252), is a plant 

 which grows well with its roots situated in water. Hen- 

 rici's experiment with the raspberry (H. C. G., p. 254), 

 and the frequent finding of roots of clover, turnips, etc., 

 in cisterns or drain pipes, indicate that many or all 

 agricultural plants may send down roots into the bottom 

 water for the purpose of gathering a sufficient supply of 

 this necessary liquid. 



Capillary Water is that which is held in the fine pores 

 of the soil by the surface attraction of its particles, as oil 



