150 



THE NEW GENESEE FARMER, 



Vol. 2. 



Ou the Moisture of the Soil. --Watering. 



We presume tbat almost every cuUivntor of the soil 

 in this country, hns, during the past season, felt the 

 need of more knowledge respecting the operation nnd 

 effects of moisture on vegetation. It is a subject 

 •which every farmer and gardener should fully under- 

 stand ; we therefore bring it before the minds of our 

 readers while they realize its importance. The fol- 

 lowing article is from "Lindley's Theoryof Horticul- 

 ture, with notes bvA. J. UowningandDr. Gray" — It 

 is not long — read it carefully. 



It has already been shown that water is one of the 

 most important elein«nta in the food of plants, partly 

 from their having the power of decomposing it, and 

 partly because it is the vehicle. through which the sol- 

 uble matters found in (ho cnnh are conveyed into the 

 general spstem of vegetation. Its impcrtance depends 

 however, essentially upon its quantity. 



We know, on the one hand, that plants will not 

 live in soil which, without being' chemically dry, coir- 

 tains so little moisture as to appear dry; snd on the 

 other hand an excess of moisture is, in many cases, 

 equally prejudicial. The great points to delcrtmne 

 ore, the amount which is most congenial to a given 

 species under given circumstances, and the periods of 

 growth when water should be applied or withheld. 



When a plant is at rest, that is to any, in the win- 

 ter of northern countries and the, dry season of the 

 tropics, but a small supply of v/ater is required by the 

 soil, because at tiiat time the stems loee btit little by 

 perspiration, and consequently the roots demand but 

 little food: nevertheless, some terrestritl moisture is 

 required^ plants with perrenial stems, even in their 

 season of rest, because it IS necessary that their sys- 

 tem should, at that time, he replenished with fiiod 

 against the renewal of active vegetation: hence, when 

 trees are taken out oi the earth in autumn, and allow- 

 ed to remain e.\po£ed to a dry air all the winter, they 

 either perish cr are gready enfeebled. If, on the 

 other hand, the soil on which they stand is filled with 

 moisture, their system is distended with aqueous mat- 

 ter at a time when it cannot be decomposed or thrown 

 off, and the plant either becomes unnaturally suscep. 

 tible of the influence of cold in rigorous climates, oris 

 driven prematurely into growth, when its new parts 

 perish worn the vnfavorable stale of the air in which 

 they ate then developed. The most suitable condi- 

 tion of the soilj at the period of vegetable rest, seems 

 to be that in which no more aqueoas matter is con- 

 tained than results from the caiallaryattrtictioa of the 

 eartby particles. 



Nevertheles!!, there me exceptiona to this, in the 

 case of aquatic and marsh plants, whose peculiar con- 

 stitution enables them to bear with impunity, during 

 their winter, an immersion in water; and in that cri 

 many kinds of bulLs, v/hich, during their season of 

 rest, are exposed to eicessive heat. The latter plants 

 are, however, constructed in a peculiar manner; their 

 roots are annual, and perish at the same time as the 

 leaves, when the absorbent organs are all lost, so that 

 the bulb cannot be supposed to require any supply of 

 moisture, inasmuch as it possesses no means of taking 

 it up, even if it existed in the soil. This will be again 

 adverted to in a future chapter. 



It is when plants are in a slate of growth that an 

 abundant supply of moisture is required in the earth. 

 As soon 88 young leaves sprout forth, perspiration 

 commences and a powerful absorption must take 

 place by the roots, the younger the leaves are 

 the more rapid the perspiratory action ; their whole 

 epidermis must, at that time, be highly sensible 

 to the stimulating power of light ; but as they 

 grow older their cuticle hardens, the stomatcs he- 

 flome the only apertures through which vapor can 

 fly off, and by degrees even these apertures are either 

 choked up, or have a diminished irritability. As a 

 general rule, therefore, wears authorized to conclude 

 that the ground should be abundantly supplied with 

 moisture when plants first begin to grow, and 

 that the quantity should bo diminished as the organ- 

 ization of^ a plant becomes completed. There arc, 

 however, some especial cases which appear to be ex- 

 ceptional, in consequence of the unnatural state in 

 which we require plants to be preserved for our own 

 peculiar purposes. One of the effects of an exten- 

 sive supply of moisture is to keep all the newly form- 

 ed parts of a plant tender and succulent, and therefore 

 such a constant supply is desirable when the leaves of 

 plants are to be sent to table, as in the case of spin- 

 noh, lettuces, and other oleracoous annuals. Another 

 effect is, to render all parts naturally disposed to be 

 eucculent much more so than they otherwise would 



be; thus wu find market gardeners deluging their 

 strawberry pknts with water while the fruit is swel- 

 ling, in order to assist in that, to them, important 

 operation. While, however, in this case, the size of 

 the fruit is increased by a copious supply of w-ater 

 to the earth, its flavor is, in proportion diminiehed; 

 for, in consequence of the rapidity with which the 

 strawberry ripens, and perhaps the obstruction of 

 light by its leaves, the excess of aqueous matter 

 taken into the system cannot be decomposed, and 

 formed into those products which give flavor to fruit; 

 but it must necessarily remain in an unaltered con- 

 dition. 



It is for the reason just given, that the quantity of 

 water in the soil should be diminished when succu- 

 lent fruit is ripening; we see this happen in nature, 

 all over the world, and there can be no doubt of its 

 being of great importance. Not only is the quality ot 

 such fruit impaired by a wet soil, as has just been 

 shown, but because of its low perspiratory power the 

 Iruit will burst from excess of moisture, as occurs to 

 the plum and grape in wet seasons. The melon, 

 although an apparent exception to this rule, is not 

 really so; that fruit acquires its highest excellence in 

 countries where the roots are always immersed in 

 water, as in the floating islands of Ciibhmcie, the ir- 

 rigated fields of Persia, and the springy river beds of 

 India. But it is to be remembered that the leaves of 

 this plant liave an enormous respiratory power, aris- 

 ing partly from their large surface, and partly from 

 the thinness and consequent permeability of their tis- 

 sue, so that they require a greater supply of fluid than 

 most others; and, in the next place, the heat and 

 bright light of such countries are capable of decom- 

 posing and altering the fluids of the fruit with a de- 

 gree of rapidity and force to which we here con have 

 no parallel. In this country the melon does not suc- 

 ceed if its roots are immersed in water, as I ascer- 

 tained some years ago in the garden of the Horticul 

 tural Society, by repeated exjierinients. Melons 

 were planted in earth placed on a tank of water, into 

 which their roots quickly made their way; they grew 

 in a curvilinear iron hot-house, and were trained near 

 to the gloss, and consequently were exposed to all the 

 light and heat that can be obtained in this country. — 

 They grew vigorously and produced their fruit, but it 

 was not of such good quality as it w'ould have been 

 had the supply of water to the roots been less copious. 

 Thus, in the tropics the quantity of rain that falls in 

 a short time is enormous: and plants are forced by it 

 into a rapid and poweiful vegetation, which is acted 

 upon by a light and temperature bright aid high in 

 proportion, the result of which is ibi most perfect 

 oiganization of which the plants are susceptible: 

 but, if the same quantity nf waier were given to the 

 same plants at similar periods in this country, a dis- 

 organization of their tissue would be the resolt, in 

 consequence of the absence of solar light in sufficient 

 qunlity. 



The elTect of continuing to make plants grow in 

 a soil more wet than suits them is well known to be 

 not only a production of leaves and ill-formed shoots, 

 instead of flowers and fruit, but if the water is in 

 great excess, of a general yellownes of appearance, 

 owing, as some chemists think, to the destruction by 

 the water, of a blue matter which, by its mixture 

 with yellow, forms the ordinary verdure of vegitation. 

 If this condition is prolonged, the vegitable tissue 

 enters into a state of decomposiiion, and death ensues. 

 In somecases the jointsof the stem separate, in others 

 the plant rots off at the ground, and all such results 

 are increased in proiwition to the weakness of light, 

 and the lowiiess of temperature. De Condolle consid- 

 ers that the collection of stagnant water about the 

 neck of plants prevents the free access of the oxygen 

 of the air to the roots; but it seems to me that much 

 more mischief is produced by the coldness of the soil 

 in which water is allowed to accumulate. It seems 

 also probable that the extrication of carburetted hydro- 

 gen gas is one cause of tho injury sustained by plants 

 whose roots are surrounded by stagnant water ; but 

 upon this point we want much more satisfactory evi- 

 dence than we yet possess. 



It is because ol the danger of allowing any accumula- 

 tion of water about the roots of plants that drainage is so 

 very important. In very bibulous soils this contrivance 

 is unnecessary; but in.all those which are tenacious, or 

 which, from their low situation, do not permit su- 

 perfluous water to filter av/ay freely, such a precau- 

 tion is indispensable. No person has ever seen good 

 fruit produced by trees growing in lands imperfectly 

 drained ; and all experienced gardeners must be ac- 

 quainted with caecs where wet unproductive borders 

 have been rendered fruitfn! by contrivances which are 

 only valuable because of their efficieney in regulating 

 the htimidity of the soil. Mr. Hiver (Garrf, Mng. v. 



Ill*' 



CO) speaks of the utilily of mixing stones in greal 

 quantities with the soil, " as they prevent the accumu 

 lotion of water in very wet weather, and retain sufliW"" 

 cicnt moisiure for the purpose of the plant in dry sea'. 

 sons;" and; when we hear of such precautions ai 

 are detailed in tlie follow ing good account of pieporins 

 a vino border we only learn how important it is t^l* 

 provide eflcctually for the removal of supeifluou. — — , .^ 

 "ter from around the roots, and how useless a waste o ™"^ 

 money is that which is expended in forming deep rici "f 

 beds of earth. 



" In preparing vine border," says Mr. Grifiin^ . 

 of Woodhall, a successful grower of grapes, " oni «»"« 

 foot in depth of the mould from ihe survace is clearei il*'^ 

 out from the whole space ; a main drain is ihen Eunlc| *"' 

 parallel to the house, nt the extremity of the horder,ik|i«" 

 one foot lower than the bottom of the border ; inti 



this, smaller drains are tarried diagonally/roiii tb^'JjJ 



house across the border. The drains are filled with 

 stone. The cross drains keep the whole botlom quiti 

 dry ; but if the subsoil be gravel, chalk, or stone, 

 ihey will not be necessary. The droinageheing comj|if 

 plete, the whole bottom is covered with brick, stonej 

 or lime rubbish, about six inches thick, and on tbij 

 is laid the compost for the vines." (^Hori. Tram 

 lUO.) 



ieJii 



olnn 



The piactice of placing large quantities of potsberdi 

 or broken tiles at the bottom of tubs, or pots or othei 

 vetsels in which jilanls are rooted, is only another ex- 

 emplification of the great necessity of attending to th< I 

 due humidity of the soil, and the prevention of stag; i ' 

 rant water collectmg about the roots; and the injurj » 

 committed by worms, upon the roots of plants in pots' «"'■ 

 is chiefly produced by these creatures reducing thi ' 

 earth to a plastic state, and dragging it among th^J^j' 

 potsherds so as to stop up the postage between the 

 and destroy the drainage.* , 



One ef the means of guarding the earth agionst aiB 

 access on the one hand, and a loss on the other, of too^ 

 much water, is by paving the ground with tiles OH 

 stones ; and the advantage of this method have beer 

 much insisted upon. But it is certain that, m col 

 summers at least, such a paiiement prevents the soil 

 from acquiring the necessary amount of bottom heoti) 

 and it is probable that, what with this efieet, and thdl ml« 

 obstruction of a free communicntion between the af 

 mosphere and the roots of a plant, the practice is dii 

 advantageous rather thon the reverse. 



More°commonly reeourse is had to the operation on 

 „.mple watering, for the purpose of maintaining thr" 

 earth at a due state of humidity, and to render plontM 

 more vigorous thnn they otherwise would be ; an in^ 

 dispensable operaiion in hot houses, but of less mo-i 

 ment in the open air. It is indeed doubtful whetherji 

 in the latter case, it is not often more productive oH 

 disadvantage than of real service to plants. Whcivi 

 plants are watered naturally, the whole air is satuiaied 

 with humidity at the same time us the soil is penetra- 

 ted by the rain ; and in this case the aqueous particlcf 

 minMed with the earth are very gradually introduce! 

 into the circulating system ; for the mosture of th( 

 air preAcnts a rapid prespiration, This operation ii 

 usually perfiirmed in hot dry weather, and must neces 

 sarily be very limited in its eflects ; it can have litdi 

 if any influence upon the atmospbe.-e : then, thij ;'' 

 parched air robs the leaves rapidly of their moisture^ »! 

 so long 08 the latter is abundant; the roots are sudt 

 denly and violently excited, and after a short time thi 

 e.xcitinf cause is suddenly withdyiwn by the momen- 

 tary su'pply of water being cut ofl' by evaporation 

 and by filtration through the bibulous substances o 

 which soil usually consists. Then again, the rnpu 

 evaporation from the soil in dry weather has the eflcc 

 of lowering the temperature of the earth, and thii 

 has been bel'ore shown to be injurious (p. 113 ;) sue! 

 a lowering, from such a cause, does not take placi 

 when plants are refreshed by showers, because at tha 

 time the dampness of the air prevents evaporotiol 

 from the soil, just as it prevents prespirolion from thi 

 leaves. Moreover, in stiff soils the dashing of wa- 

 ter upon the surface has after a litde while the eifec. 

 of "puddling" the ground and rendering it impervi* 

 ous, so that the descent of water to the roots is impe< 

 ded, whither it is communicated artificially or by thia 

 loll 'of rain.* It is, therefore, doubtful whether arti-nlfe. 



•I aiaicd flower-pots are totnlly unfit for most pliiiits, ext *>■ 

 cept with tlie most eureful ivttfUtion lo drninagc, aad even "' 

 Ihen tliey .ire much inferior to common unglazed ones. 1 n«e"' 

 laaer permit the excess of water to esc-ape through their 

 pnroua sides, which is inipossiWe in the glazed pet; ir 

 which. If the upcrture at the bottom heionie stO|M c". tn< 

 c.-irili is sodden with water, the plant suffers and soon per- 

 ishes. A.J.I).] 



1 1 No eiroris more common in this country than .'"r/oce 

 i^tmig- newly transplanted nres ; and wc do not hesilati 

 to : ffinu that lull one half the failiir.s, in our dry s nn.iiiCis 

 arife from tills injudicious practice. By pouring w.ifer dail] 



», 



