Newspapers / The Arator (Raleigh, N.C.) / Jan. 1, 1856, edition 1 / Page 5
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Vf ' TUB AIUTQIL Deep Tillage. Deep ploughing turns the 'drought itself 4o good account, and renders mulching and ir rigation comparatively needless, or, if used, more, efficacious. During a dry spell and in trenched ground, roots 'strike deeper in search of food and moisture, bccomo more extensively ramified, and iiiiiii'i aiiiiii i i i ii'ii i r i ii in 1 in 'i ii ii T-a i n i nnii i ii it inn ucepiy.Trxui.tne sou. Ihc learning process, as it is called, is reversed, and takes place upwards more limn at any other time, or, in some scientific phrase, capillary attraction is increased. As each particle of moisture is evaporated from the surface, it is suc ceeded by'another, and the whole soil is fillod with the ascending moisture and gasscs, which" are ap- propriated by the numerous rootlets as the' have need. ' V-:"v.. ' The wet season is also a blessing to the dccji cul tivatortThc. more rain, the more heat, ammonia, carbohic'acid and other, organic elements arc left in this soil as k descends. As each drop filters through, t 13 succeeded by another, or by air, both essential to vegetation ; aid to dissolve, act on of combine witli the inorcranle elements nf thft snll. A tin' water draips olT air is sure to follow, and this is the proper mode of its circulation. Each is also gener ally at a higher 'temperature than the undrained land, and the warmth of the under soil is therefore relatively 7 inenfased. The .farmer oftwf objects to this Waste of water, arid would retain it for a dry time. Tub ? trenched and pbrbu3 soil holds water lfke a sponge, notwithstanding the drainage. It re tains or can command enough for the wants of veg etatton. Hut let us" see the operation on the un drained land. , ' The farmer often speaks of his 'cold, wet land, N variety of .soil, in any location, is of itself colder than another. The very water, which trenching, draining, &c, allows to pass off, alter imparting Us virtues to the soil, if retained on or near tin surface m l " by hard, impervious subsoil, becomes itself by its change, the source of the coldness complained of.- Instead of running off it evaporates, and by this practice abstracts a great quantity of heat from the soil and surrounding atmosphere. The evaporation of a pound of water requires, about 1,000 degrees Vf heat, some authors stating it nt less and others more, or it reduces one hundred pounds of air 45 degrees. This is reversing the experiment of Professor John - son, in Uspy's " Book of Sfortns," where he says, u a pound of vapof," condensed to water, "would heat 100 pounds of air about 55 degrees." The ground to a considerable depth, is warmer by many degrees, where the rain ls drained off, instead of being al- lowed-to' accumulate and evaporate, flcircc this enormous low' of uu invaluable stimulus 4o reg ulation. . . ' The chilling and deadly proccss.of evaporation Is going on to excess from tho time frost comes out of the ground in the spring, till freezing a.gain occur. At this period, the undrained land having the most water to freeze, becomes the warmest, say In Decem ber, when of no value in vegetation, but rather an injury. For once, forsooth, the undrained land is wanner than the drained 1 But for this excess of heat in the winter, this kind of land roust pay dear ly in early spring. How is all this! inquires the farmer. Simply because water, in congealing to ei ther ice or snow, has its capacity for heat lessened about one-ninth, and this excess is given ofTtour roundingibodies : or, in other words, its latent heat is set free. : On the other hand, ice or frost, as it is called In the ground, in melting, demands back this same beat, at the. rate of from- one-eighth to onc ntnlh of 1 ,000 degrees for every pound melted ; and .under the surface it does not obtain all this directly from the sun, but through the.soil ; therefore, tho more water the colder and longer cold will be tUc laml in spring. Xow, let "the agriculturist go to work and raafie this " cold, wet, heavy land " of his, the very best he has for any product, trees, vegeta ble j grains, or grasses. Dr. Kdley. . G lmxo for IssxcTS. X correspondent of tho Horticulturist says : '.." Sometime last summer, while budding some young peaches, I found that ants had taken posses, siou of gome ten feet in one row. They very ear nestly resisted my attempts to inoculate the trees inflicting many unpleasant wounds on my hands and arms. In order to disperse the warlike littlo nation, I sprinkled near a pint of fine guano along the little" ridges. This threw them into immediate consternation. I noticed little collections of winged ants huddled close together and seeming to be quiet while those without wings ran ubout in great agita tion. The folio wine day not a single insect could be found where the day previous they appeared to be innumerable." To which we add the following from an unknown 'Source : " We had a very fine melon patch which was Veil high destroyed by the striped bug. Tho vines had commenced running, and in two or thrtto K ft days the bugs Imd stripped nearly every leaf. As a desperate remedy, we applied a handful of guano on the top of the hill 03 far as the vines had ran, tak ing care that it did not fall on the leaf. In twenty four hours not a bug was to be seen ; the vines had assumed a healthy and vigorous growth, and arb now loaded with fruit The experiment was not on one vino only, but hundreds." Wetffrn Jgricullu- rift, Oct. VJ. '
The Arator (Raleigh, N.C.)
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Jan. 1, 1856, edition 1
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