472 



THE SOUTHEKN PLANTER. 



[August 



that time, there were annual inundations of 

 many feet and long periods of submergence 

 of almost all the bottom lands, from the 

 bluffs on one side of the. river bottom to 

 those on the other side. Such lands were 

 at that period accounted valueless, and to 

 such a degree that but little or no hopes 

 were entertained of the practicability of 

 their redemption by any artificial means — 

 that is, on any general scale ; but such has 

 been the diminution in the annual quantity 

 of water discharged from the valley, that 

 those lands have been progressively and 

 rapidly redeemed from overflow, until very 

 great portions of them are now in the high- 

 est state of cultivation, and with but slight 

 assistance from art in the way ot embank- 

 ments, and these such as could not have 

 been at all available against the overwhelm- 

 ing effects of floods and the length of time 

 of their continuance ; for then there were 

 annual inundations, both deep and expan- 

 sive, of the waters, over almost all the bot- 

 tom lands, but now the river seldom rises to 

 the same elevation as formerly, and when it 

 does, it is of much shorter duration, and the 

 waters are almost exclusively confined to the 

 channel of the river, in place of being 

 spread over almost all the bottom lands the 

 whole spring and early part of the summer.'' 

 Such changes are progressing, generally 

 unsuspected and overlooked, but not the 

 less sure. 



The art of producing large crops by 

 means of artificial supplies of water has 

 been practised from remote ages in the 

 warm countries of the world. * * * * 

 Virgil tells how to bring down the waters 

 of a rivulet upon the sown corn, and, when 

 Sujffering from heat, to convey the vivifying 

 liquid from the crown of the declivity, in 

 channels, to the roots of the plants. Colu- 

 mella, Pliny, Cato, Varro, &c., all dwell up- 

 on the importance of irrigation. It is found 

 profitable in England to irrigate plantations 

 of willows and other semi-aquatic trees upon 

 dry soils. The efiiciency of irrigation is 

 dependent upon many considerations; one 

 of the principal is the nature of the subsoil. 

 When it is a tenacious clay, the preparation 

 consists in suitable under-draining, that 

 would be useless where the subsoil is sand 

 or open gravel. 



Some waters are injurious. Certain salts 

 of iron are known to be unfavorable to vege- 

 tation. Waters issuing from factories im- 

 pregnated with animal and vegetable sub- 



stances, such as the waters of distilleries, 

 breweries, slaughter-houses, &c., are highly 

 fertilizing; others issuing from chemical 

 establishments, calico printing factories, &c., 

 injurious. Salt water in small quantities are 

 may be found useful upon certain plants, 

 such as the grasses, asparagus, &c., v/hile 

 they are positively injurious to such plants 

 as rice. The salt marshes of France are 

 known to produce a superior quality of 

 mutton, which commands a high price, and 

 is known in the French market under the 

 name of " pres sale." 



Waters impregnated with carbonate and 

 sulphate of lime are very fertilizing. In 

 certain parts of Germany, a weak solution 

 of sulphuric acid has been employed for 

 irrigating grass lands with great advantage. 

 Those which hold in suspe-nsion mud and 

 other detritus, are highly useful, particular- 

 ly on sandy soils; the fine mud settles in 

 the pores, and gives consistency, but any 

 soil would be benefited by holding mud iii 

 suspension, and that, of course, in propor- 

 tion to the amount of organic and saline 

 matter in the mud. 



Sir Humphrey Davy thought that the 

 protection of grasses from frost during the 

 winter season was of great importance, for 

 a meadow irrigated in winter is preserved 

 from sudden alterations, and from the effect 

 of the roots being thrown out of the ground 

 by alternate freezings and thawings. The 

 water immediately in contact with the roots 

 of the grass is rarely below 40° Fahrenheit. 

 In the month of March, in a meadow near 

 Hungerford, the air was, at 7 o'clock A. M., 

 at 29°. The water was frozen above the 

 grass, and the temperature of the soil below 

 the water in which the roots were growing- 

 was 43° While the temperature is thus 

 prevented from falling during the winter, it 

 is kept cool during the summer. 



Irrigation supposes water in motion; if 

 it be allowed to stand and stagnate, its 

 effects would destroy the objects sought to 

 be accomplished. Instead of fine grasses 

 we would have a growth of carices, junci, 

 and other coarse plants of no value. 



Sir John Sinclair says that the advan.> 

 tages of meadow irrigation are chiefly as 

 follows : 



First. — With the exception of warping, 

 it is by far the easiest, cheapest and most 

 certain mode of improving poor land, par- 

 ticularly if it is of a dry and gravelly 

 nature. 



