THE RAIN.

Dominion, Volume 2, Issue 322, 8 October 1908, Page 5

THE RAIN.

A GENEROUS FALL. ' A POINT ABOUT SURFACE TILLAGE. . The. rainfall of the twenty-four, hours up • to yesterday morning gave a depth of just over 1J inches of rain over the areas around Wellington. Possibly farther afield the fall was even more generous.- A layer of water 1J inches deep gives 125.t0ns of water per acre—a very welcomo-gift to dry soils. And truly' the" soils were dry.. Probably the precarious, state of some of the farm .lands in regard to moisture had not been quito fully realised .by those, whose' interests were aiffectcd. The total rainfall since last summer's drought has been very light, and the 'amount of moisture held by tho subsoils in reserve for the crops by and by' must certainly have been very limited. Every point of rain that may reasonably bo expected this month will be of value. Tho large areas of land in arable culture' this, season will have been well fitted to retain the rain without'loss, ; 'and the seeds already in the ground will benefit. But the heavy ( rain has, "b'attfl?Bd"'tho siii-Mce,'ali(T it ; will be an important point 'for.' farmers.' to consider' whether it is not wisdom to run the harrow lightly', over the seeded lands .this week-end, , to break up the crust so soon as tho land is dry'enough to bear liorso. traffic. In many cases, even >after the crop, is some distance " above ground, this harrowing can be dono without loss, ' and the subsequent gain through the' retention of moisture will, be • considerable. The rate at. which moistureevaporates from a firm surface can be tested ■iir a most' , simple manner by every farmer. Take a hoe, or a spade; or a penknife, and at a _;spot where the soil surface is . firm, chip is slightly. If it is a sunny, windy day tho shipped fragments of soil will, in about a quarter of an hour's time, be found to have lost all.their moisture, and have becomo dry-looking. If the loose soil had previously contained, a ' pint .of water more than c . it now contains, it is obvious that tho cvap- . oration is at the rate of a pint every quarter of an hour over that small surface of land, or twelve gallons per day. As fast as evaporation goes on at the surface of subsoil, -Water rises to .take its place and evaporato also. Hoeing, however, prevents the risftig of the subsoil moisture, and it is'retained' below,'where tho foots are. This fact contains tho'keynote of the value of constant surface tillage. It is a form of irrigation, and the best form known.'