No. 144. 1 299 



water did. As soon as the plant ceases to receive water from 

 the soil its fluids are dried up, and of course it perishes. 



There is no truth so well understood as that which asserts that 

 not an atom of matter is ever lost, but that there is frequent 

 change of locality and form; and we know that the water which 

 escapes from the plant and soil exists in the atmosphere. This is 

 proved by the exposure of a cold surface to a warm atmosphere, 

 as in the case of the water jar already alluded tr>, where the sur- 

 face of the jar, pitcher, glass, stone, &C.J becomes covered with 

 beads of dew. In short, we know that water exists in the atmos- 

 phere, and our present inquiry is : " How shall we get it back in 

 the soil, where it is most needed ?" Do we not all know that the 

 interior surfaces of the walls of a stone house are always damp 

 in summer, from the depositif^n of water from the atmosphere 

 circulating through it ? Imitate this condition in the soil. In- 

 troduce the heated air into the ^oil at such depths that it will de- 

 posit its moisture on the colder surfaces of the particles com- 

 posing it. If thorough underdraiiiing be performed, the current 

 of heated air entering at the lower point of the drain will rise 

 up through the soil, and not only deposit its moisture, but all of 

 the fertilizing gases suspended in it. Deep and subsoil plowing 

 promote this action, and may be thus explained : If you seize a 

 handful of minute glass tubes, insert the lower ends in a vessel 

 of water, and pass a rapid stream of air over their upper ends, 

 the water will be seen to rise rapidly. As soon as the blowing 

 ceases the water recedes, and new portions of air occupy its 

 place. Now, the soil may be viewed as a mass of such tubes, and 

 the more thoroughly and deeply it is stirred, the greater the 

 length and number of tubes, and the more rapid their action. 

 Every breeze which blows over the surface of the earth dis- 

 charges the air in part from the pores of the soil, allows water to 

 rise up from below, and by such continued changes new quanti- 

 ties of air are introduced, and thus from the two sources water is 

 supplied in sufl&cient quantity to meet the demands of vegetation. 



Soils properly charged with carbon and alumina (charcoal and 

 clay) are more retentive than sandy ones, although it is true that 

 clayey soils bake readily and suffer from drought. During the 



