I860.] 



THE SOUTHERN PLANTER. 



461 



dried, the partings open, and probably can- 

 not be closed again by being made wet. 

 Along the perpendicular banks of the 

 Alabama river, between Montgomery and 

 Selma, where they expose the upper part 

 of this bed, the layers of solid marl-rock 

 are so regular in thickness, and exact in 

 parallelism, and the joints between the hori- 

 zontal layers so distinct, that the appear- 

 ance is often more like a perpendicular 

 wall of artificial and very perfectly laid 

 masonry, than a natural formation. All of 

 these regular joints are nearly horizontal. 

 Very few, and these irregular, are fissures 

 breaking through the layers of marl. And 

 deep under the earth, where never dry, all 

 these joints must be extremely close. There- 

 fore, though some water may pass through 

 them, it must be very slowly, and that in a 

 lateral direction, following the slight dip of 

 the layers. 



With the few exceptions of the low and 

 flat bottoms, subject to be more or less cov- 

 ered by rain-floods making swollen streams, 

 the land of this region may be said to suf- 

 fer from no water but the rain which falls 

 immediately on it, and which rain, for much 

 the greater part, always, and in most times 

 entirely, is absorbed by the earth on which 

 it falls. Therefore, according to the usu- 

 ally received opinions, here and elsewhere 

 also, such lands need no draining — -and 

 there is none attempted, other than to open 

 a ditch along a " slue'' or narrow bottom, 

 to allow the excess of rain-water, which 

 flows off" because the earth can hold no 

 more, to escape to a neighbouring creek, or 

 perhaps to flow over some other lower and 

 more absorbent ground. But I have never 

 seen any lands, not aff"ected by springs or 

 floods, that so much needed draining as 

 these — or would so richly reward the la- 

 bour of thorough and covered drainage. 

 Eoth these propositions are founded upon 

 the peculiarities of these soils, and under- 

 beds in their texture, and relations to mois- 

 ture — or to the readiness of the soil to ab- 

 sorb water, and the inability to let it pass 

 through by filtration. No diff"erently con- 

 stituted soil and subsoil could retain so 

 much water, or could discharge so little. 

 Further — there is no soil, known to me, in 

 which "thorough draining," as practised 

 in England, could be executed so perfectly, 

 or would be more durable. The firm, clay 

 soil, or the firm marl when that was reach- 

 ed^ would enable the very narrow ditches to 



be opened by the suitable utensils used in 

 England. The conduit at bottom, of two 

 or three inches width only, might be cover- 

 ed by the lumps of firm marl, dug else- 

 where in the same ditch, or otherwise 

 found close by. This rock, if again thus 

 buried while moist, to construct and to 

 cover the conduit, soon after being excava- 

 ted, I suppose would be no more liable to 

 be disintegrated than when in its original 

 place. And so long as the rock remained 

 firm, the passage beneath would keep open, 

 and the drainage continue to be effectual. 

 Such covered drains being made parallel to 

 each other, and 60 feet apart, and 4i to 5 

 feet deep, (according to the principles and 

 plan advocated by Parkes,) would permit the 

 vsoil to become dry generally to the depth 

 of 82 to 4 feet. Numerous minute cracks 

 would form in such a clayey soil to the 

 depth of the dried and shrunken earth. 

 Such cracks, once formed in dry weather, 

 will never again be perfectly closed, but will 

 serve to pass superfluous water at all times 

 to the lower neighbouring open conduits. 



With covered drains thus operating, the 

 land never would suffer with wetness. But 

 this is not all. The future protection from 

 drought would be as great as from wetness. 

 No lands suffer so much from drought, when 

 dry, as those which most suffer for want of 

 draining at other seasons. A clay soil or 

 sub-soil soaked in water through winter, 

 and drying in summer, becomes almost as 

 hard as brick, and is then almost incapable 

 of absorbing moisture from the atmosphere, 

 or of supporting plants. The same soil, 

 if thoroughly drained, and so kept free 

 from superfluous water through winter, will 

 be subsequently fissured and pulverized 

 t' roughout, and kept in the best condition 

 for attracting and retaining a proper degree 

 of moisture, as well as for passing off" great 

 and hurtful quantities. A soil thus drain- 

 ed, and more especially if constituted like 

 these cane-brake soils, could absorb and re- 

 tain more water without damage — would 

 more strongly retain small supplies, would 

 absorb more moisture from the air, in 

 droughts, than any soil of different con- 

 stitution and character, even if as well 

 drained. And, generally, it may be truly 

 said that such thorough and covered drain- 

 ing would enable these lands and their 

 crops to profit fully by every remarkable 

 good quality of the soil — as depth and 

 richness of soil; abundance of lime, absorbent 



4 



