20 
SOILS AND ALKALI. 
It was neutral to test paper, and did not effervesce with 
acids. The analyses show but little difference The sam¬ 
ple analyzed by the Department at Washington was a sul¬ 
phate of soda, while the alkali here was both a chloride 
and a sulphate of soda. The question that the farmer is in¬ 
terested in is, How can he best reclaim his land? Where 
the alkali is in small quantities, deep tillage will help it. 
Where deep tillage will not accomplish the purpose, as in 
cases where the alkali is very abundant, then resort must 
be had to underdrains , where the alkali water is carried off 
before it comes to the surface. The roots of the plants ^ 
where it is underdrained, will go deeper for what moisture 
they require, with no injury to the crop ; and a small 
quantity of water, when applied at the proper time, will 
carry off the alkali from the surface soil. To my mind, 
the question of the drainage of the alkali has been prac¬ 
tically settled by the experiment of Prof Cassidy, on the 
College farm. Before it was drained, the ground was cov¬ 
ered with a white incrustation of alkali, and the field 
looked as though it was covered with snow. Now there is 
not a particle of alkali to be seen. Drain tiles were laid 
thirty feet apart and three and one-half feet under ground, 
and they emptied into an open ditch. 
The question has often been asked, “ Is there 
any thing, or substance, that can be put upon the 
soil that will kill the alkali ? ” Neutral alkaline 
salts, like those found in the alkali, are not 
very injurious except when present in large quantities, 
and in our alkali they must be washed out by some means. 
If the composition of the alkali was mainly earthy and 
metallic sulphates and chlorides, such as chloride of cal¬ 
cium, alum, copperas and the like, the cheapest and most 
practical antidote would be lime. Alkaline carbonates, 
like those found in Southern California, are from ten to 
twenty times as injurious to vegetation as the same amount 
