4 QUEENSLAND AGRICULTURAL JOURNAL. [1 Jan., 1902. 
to you in Lessons 3, 6, and 7 of the First Book. I there gave you the simplest 
example of drainage, by showing you the use of the hole in a flower pot. Well, 
the drainage of big fields is only the same thing on a larger scale. Next, by 
lowering the water-level, you give more plant-food. How? All soils have 
what you know is called a swbsozl. Now, in stiff or very flat lands, the surplus 
water rests on this subsoil, and renders it like wet mortar in wet weather, and 
like brick in dry weather. In neither case can the roots of the plant thrive in 
it. But carry away the water by means of drains. What happensthen? The 
surplus moisture sinks into them; the soil they have been drawn from becomes 
aerated and friable ; hence the roots can go down into it in search of nourish- 
ment, and, after a time, the soil suited for a crop is deepened right down to the 
depth of the drains, the water-level having been lowered to this extent. 
Again, drainage retains moisture in the soil. This is shown clearly during 
a drought. The soil being deepened and warmed by the removal of the cold, 
stagnant water, this deepened and warmed soil will retain a certain amount of 
moisture in a dry season. Jn sucha season and on sucha drained soil, the 
roots go down, and can stand long-continued dry weather. 
I will give you a proof of this. A sugar-planter in North Queensland 
drained a large area of land, and when he had finished the work, which cost 
him a great deal of money, there came a drought, and his neighbours laughed, 
and said he had foolishly wasted his money ; but, as the growing season went 
on, it was seen, to everyone’s surprise, that this planter’s cane grew beautifully, 
whilst on the undrained land the cane was very poor. Now, here is a clear 
proof that drainage is a good thing, whether the season be wet or dry. The 
depth of the soil is so much greater that the roots can penetrate, and conse- 
quently the plants have more mouths and a longer reach to suck up moisture 
and plant food from the aerated and consequently sweetened subsoil. 
The influence of drainage in aerating and warming the soil is now acknow- 
ledged by all good farmers, and it has over and over again been proved that a. 
drained soil will be ready for cropping at least a fortnight sooner than an 
undrained one, because the under soil is warmed. I think I have already 
shown you how rain carries whatever fertilising material it meets with into the 
soil. Now, you can quite understand how, if the water-level is near the 
surface, these materials cannot be retained in the soil. They are either 
wasted away or are evaporated by the succeeding hot sun, because they remain 
so near the surface. 
There is not the slightest danger of making the land too dry by drainage if 
it is done in the right way. In our first lesson in the First Book, I showed you 
a little experiment with a lump of loaf sugar, and explained to you that the 
water rose right through the dry part which you held in your hand, because the 
sugar was full of little passages through which the water crept up till the whole 
piece was wet. This occurs through what is called CAPILLARY ATTRACTION. 
What does that mean? you ask. It means the power to suck up and carry to 
the surface either moisture or plant food in solution. The soil is full of little 
passages, just like your hair, which, perhaps you know, is hollow. Hence the 
term capillary, from the Latin capiilus,a hair.. The finer you make the soil, the 
greater number of these passages, and the stronger the attraction. As the 
water evaporates from the surface, the water below rises up to take its place 
and carries with it much fertilising matter in solution, which. is left in the soil 
as the water evaporates, for the benefit of the crop. You can easily prove this 
by making a solution of salt and water. Put this into a dish, and cover it with 
a bit of tin full of holes. On the tin place a quantity of dry earth, and set it 
out in the sun. The water will be evaporated through the soil, and the salt will 
remain in it, and some will appear lying on the surface of the soil. 
There is one point I want you to particularly notice. The smaller the little 
tubes are in diameter, the higher the water will rise through them. Therefore, 
if you want Nature to help you to make your soil fertile, thoroughly cultivate it 
till it is as fine as you can possibly make it. 3 oa 
In a future lesson, I will explain to you how draining should be done. 
