134 
The Ohio Naturalist. 
[Vol. XIII, No. 7, 
of the state, just as essential and permanent an asset as the soil 
itself. Unquestionably a large amount of service is derived 
from this body of water. It is, I believe, equally certain that 
an immense amount of this resource is going annually to waste, 
and that by its proper utilization the wealth of the state could be 
very greatly increased. 
While it is not my purpose to go into detail regarding all 
phases of this problem, T may call attention to the service of 
water in connection with agriculture, where we have a large 
amount of utilization, and where there is perhaps less of necessity 
for changes in method of operation. For sendee in production 
of crops it is necessary that the annual rain-fall be absorbed in 
the soil, that a certain amount be retained for support of plant 
life during intermittent periods of dryness, and to a large extent 
this is met in the ordinary methods of culture, especially in con¬ 
nection with systems of tile drainage which are now largely in 
vogue. The practical necessities in preservation of soils is ad¬ 
mirably stated by Professor Chamberlain in a recent article in 
Popular Science Monthly,* which I take the liberty to quote: 
“The key to the problem lies in due control of the water which falls on 
each acre. This water is. an asset of great possible value. It should be the 
habit of every acre-owner to compute it as a possible value, saved if turned 
where it will do good, lost if permitted to run away, doubly lost if it carries 
also soil values and does destructive work below. Let us repeat the story of 
its productive paths. A due portion of the rainfall should go through the 
soil to its bottom to promote soil-formation there; a due portion of this 
should go on into the under-drainage, carrying harmful matter; a due por¬ 
tion should go again up to the surface carrying solutions needed by the 
plants; a due portion should obviously go into the plants to nourish them; 
while still another portion should run off the surface, carrying away a little 
of the leached soil matter. There are a multitude of important details in 
this complex of actions, but they must be passed by; the great features are 
clear and imperative.” 
It may be noted in passing that this service of water by no 
means affects its further service in other ways, but that the mere 
complete the retention of the soil, the more equal the distribution 
of the flow, the more perfect is its availibility for other purposes. 
My understanding of the effect of tile drainage is that it provides 
for the greater absorptive power of the soil, so that a larger portion 
of the rainfall goes into the soil, reducing the surface wash, pro¬ 
viding for the retention of organic matter, and regulating the 
outflow. 
With regard to the utilization of the waters of the state fer 
power, it appears that there is opportunity for an immense de¬ 
velopment. There arc hundreds of sites where some considerable 
amount of water could readily be impounded, and power for 
electric-lighting and running of machinery be developed on a large 
‘July, 1908, Vol. LXIII, p. 5. 
