DRAINAGE 



and run away, speedily a great change takes 

 place. The land that was sour and soggy 

 because always saturated with water, soon 

 becomes workable, and, after a little it will 

 grow good crops. Why this change ? The 

 explanation is very simple : Water, which had 

 been retained until it had made the soil unfit 

 for use, passes off, and air enters to fill the 

 vacancy left by the water, and the cold, heavy, 

 sour soil is warmer, lightened, and sweetened. 

 "Reclaiming the land" is the term the farmer 

 uses for this process, and it is a good one, 

 for really the land which was wholly useless 

 because it had been neglected is reclaimed 

 and often made more valuable than other 

 portions of the farm. 



Now drainage in plant-growing is to plants 

 in pots precisely what under-draining is to 

 the swampy places on the farm. By it all 

 excess water is allowed to settle to the bottom 

 of the pot from the soil above, only enough 

 being retained by it to meet the immediate 

 needs of the plant growing in it. A soil so 

 drained will remain sweet and in a healthy 

 condition indefinitely, and plants will flourish 

 in it as satisfactorily as in the garden beds. 

 But stop up the hole in the bottom of the pot, 



28 



