16 
THE CTTLTIVATOK. 
agement, and thorough draining, have made wonder¬ 
ful advances toward the entire subjugation of the 
strongest clays that are ever cultivated. 
It is not only on these stiff clays that a surplus of 
rain water is injurious. There are many soils in 
which—though dry at the surface, and to the ordinary 
depth of the plow, water always stands below a cer¬ 
tain limit ; this results either from the presence of a 
close retentive subsoil, or from the peculiar formation 
of the-ground. Below this level, wherever it may be, 
there is no circulation; air caniiot penetrate, and the 
same, stagnation ensues of which I have before spoken, 
accompanied by the same hurtful effects. When the 
roots of the plant, pushing downward in search of food, 
come to this level, they stop; the instinct of nature 
forbids them to proceed in a direction where no proper 
nourishment is to be obtained; only a few inches of 
the surface therefore are available for their support, 
and unless that surface is very rich, the crops cannot 
attain to any great luxuriance. In time of drouth, 
when this scanty surface soil becomes dry, the roots 
are forced to descend lower; but the substances which 
they unwillingly receive and convey into the circula¬ 
tion of the plant, are destructive to vegetable life, and 
if the drouth continues long are fatal to the crop. 
The summer of 1845, was extremely dry in many 
parts of Scotland; it was then found that in all ordi¬ 
nary cases, drained land withstands drougth better 
than that which is undrained, because of the greater 
depth of soil available for the plant. During the sea¬ 
son two neighboring fields of oats, near Inverness) were 
alike in all things except that the soil of the one re¬ 
mained undrained. The crop upon the drained field, 
continued fresh and green, though it did not of course 
yield so well as it would have done in a more favora¬ 
ble season. In the*|gndrained field a large portion of 
the plants withered and died; this took place particu¬ 
larly in the hollows between the ridges, where they 
reached the subsoil first. The quality of the grain 
which did come to maturity was poor, and a subse¬ 
quent comparison of analyses made upon samples taken 
from the two fields, showed a decided inferiority in that 
which was undrained. It is now a proposition regar¬ 
ded among the best English and Scotch farmers as 
completely established—that drained land is not only 
better in wet seasons, but in dry seasons also. 
There are sections, where it is necessary to intro¬ 
duce drains, even when no excess of water is present. 
In some parts of England and Scotland, a deposit or 
band, of iron ochre and other injurious substances, is 
formed at various depths from the surface. This de¬ 
posit is sometimes very hard, and of great thickness: 
it is of course, even when forming a layer of not more 
than an inch, an impenetrable barrier to the roots of 
plants. When broken up by the plow, it forms again 
at a somewhat lower level in a short space of time. 
The only method which has been found effectual, is to 
put in drains at the usual distances, as if to free the 
land from surplus water, and afterward to break up 
the land with a subsoil or other plow. The rains then 
filter through the soil into the drain, dissolving the 
broken fragments, and carrying away gradually the 
whole deposit. This action is more or less beneficial 
on all soils. Where a field has been long in cultiva¬ 
tion, a hard layer usually forms immediately under the 
limit to which the plow reaches ; this gradually be¬ 
comes nearly impervious to the roots, but when once 
effectually broken up after the completion of drains, 
soon disappears. The depth of workable and profita¬ 
ble soil, is nearly as great as that of the drains them¬ 
selves, and the farmer by increasing this available 
depth, increases his capital; for he augments the ca¬ 
pacity of his land to bear good crops without exhaus¬ 
tion. The manures which are applied upon the sur¬ 
face, are also much less likely to seek beyond the reach 
of the roots; even those parts soluble in water are al- 
most all appropriated by the plant, or enter into some 
chemical combination in the subsoil ,*in passing through 
so greatly increased a distance before; they escape. 
When undrained land, on the contrary, becomes satu- 
rated by the falling rain, the water still increasing, at 
last runs away along the surface, carrying manure and 
valuable soluble portions of the soil into'the roads, or 
upon adjoining fields,. The richest part of the land, 
the surface, is thus robbed of what constitutes a large 
portion of its value. 
Before leaving this part of my subject, I may men¬ 
tion, as proving the efficacy of drains in carrying away 
soluble deleterious ingredients, an instance which fell 
under my observation on the estate of Ballochmyle, 
near Paisley, in Scotland. The proportion of iron 
present in the soil was so considerable, as to be a seri¬ 
ous injury. When drains were introduced, the quantity 
carried away was very great. In the soil it existed 
largely In a state called Protoxide of Iron; in this state 
it is soluble in water, but when it comes in contact 
with air, it immediately absorbs oxygen, (a species of 
gas,) and becomes Peroxide, (or common iron rust;) 
in this state it is no longer soluble in water. When, 
therefore, the water from the soil charged with Pro¬ 
toxide of Iron, entered the drain, and came in contact 
with air, the Peroxide was formed', and immediately 
settled down to the bottom as a red powder ; it was so- 
abundant in this case, that the drains soon became ob¬ 
structed by it, and the proprietor was obliged to make 
openings at the upper end of each, for the purpose of 
introducing a powerful stream of water : this washed 
out the Peroxide of Iron in large clots. It was ne¬ 
cessary to repeat such an operation occasionally, as 
fresh quantities soon accumulated. 
This is not the place to enter into many chemical 
details respecting the action of air and water upon the 
soil; the combinations which are broken up and entered 
into, would be too complicated, even in the present 
imperfect state of our knowledge respecting them, and’ 
too purely scientific for a mixed audience. I will there¬ 
fore at once proceed to- give some information as to the 
manner in which drains should be made, of what ma¬ 
terials, and how far apart they should be placed. 
In many parts of New England, stones are so abun¬ 
dant, that even the resource of walls, almost unexam¬ 
pled in magnitude, proves insufficient for their entire 
disposal. In such cases it may be advisable to em¬ 
ploy stones for drains, even where other materials can 
be obtained at cheaper rates. Stone drains, when: 
properly constructed, are as durable as any others* 
Smith, of Deanston, the great originator of the present 
system of thorough draining, says that the stones 
should be sinall, none much above the size - of a hen’s 
egg. The bottom of the drain should be about six 
inches across; and from six to eight inches in depth 
of these small stones, should be thrown in. Turfs cut 
thin and very carefully, so as exactly to fit, should be 
laid on the top, overlapping each other, and the earth 
rammed down hard , as the object is to prevent entirely 
the access of water from above; it should all filter in 
at the sides, for if it finds an. entrance at the top, sand 
and small stones will wash down, and eventually choker 
the drain. On most farms in this section, a sufficient 
number of small stones may be found on the surface 
of the fields. If large stones are employed, the sides 
are much more liable to breaking, and such drains also 
become the resort of rats and mice, whose holes greatly 
increase the danger of obstruction. The water from 
a well made stone drain, should run nearly or quite 
clear even after heavy rains. 
Mr. Smith stated, that he has them which have been? 
in operation for twenty years, and have required, dur- 
