RECENT UTTERANCES OF MR. MECH I.

Waikato Times, Volume I, Issue 50, 24 August 1872, Page 3

RECENT UTTERANCES OF MR. MECH I.

((■ON'nNt'KI).) t FuJap Ifi'tlni'iji', of Subsoil. Fanners, as a rule;, have ii'> faith in the subsoil, but on tho contrary, rather fear it, believing that there is something unwholesome under the cultivated crust, ami that the- interior of the pic is of the wrong sort. The fact in, that it is raw and uncooked, because it has m:\er, like tl'r:; tops >il, been stirred and exposed to the ameliorating and fertilising influences of the atmosphere, ami in too manv instances, for tlie want of drainage, air is completely , excluded by tlie presence f»f stagnant water. The good elh-cta of cultivate g the .surface soil should have taught us how bene .ei.d would be a disturb* •nice of t'h'; subsoil. 11..: re let me draw a distinction between ploughing and cultivating : great injury may arise from suddenly upturning the raw subsoil and burying the friaMo top soil, much good will result from breaking and lo)scni'ig the subsoil,

thus permitting some of the top soil and manure to fall into, and gradually intermix with it. Some subsoils may be safely brought to the surface, but this is not generally the case ; a trial of the subsoil in some (lower-pots will soon enable you to judge. i A'//'v.'/« of DreJin'tjt' on Di'cpA'alhtrc. Some '!.) years ago I dr.iined all my land, and over every drain for more th in '1) years there was a visible advantage to the plants immediately'over the disturbed space. This arose from free circulation of air and water, and from the diminished obstruction to the passage of root fibres. The same pro- ' fitable result will take place o\;er the whole surface of our laud when it is disturbed by steam cultivators to the depth of 2to 4 feet. But also the laud will be drier and Marnier, aad we all known how important is warmth to the soil, especially ito the subsoil, for it is by bottom heat that gardeners succeed in growing their magnilicent specimens of luscioiu grapes and other fruits. They ; km w fiat mere sin face or outside heat cannot pn - (luce such results ; the earth to some depth becomes gradually warmer as the days lengthen, and loses that heat gradually in an f umn a,.id winter. The he-ite I soil promotes the ea ly mulimplication of root lihies. The earth has an e.spjcial attraction for the : sun's heating rays, so much so that its surface teuii peiature in sunshine is many degrees-warmer than j the air above it. Sometimes as much as 'M degs. to ;40 dogs. When walking over fallow on a bright j spring day, although the air was nearly frosty, I : have felt tkc heat through the thin soles of my shoes. ! I have observed over fallowed ground, during sun-

. ; shine, a trembling waving of the air ; this is pro- ; dueed i>y tlu; lower stratum of.air in immediate con--11 I tact with the earth becoming heated and expan- " | sively lightened, when .it immediately struggles to - rise through the cooler and heavier atmosphere. I . ] have noticed the same waving, struggling, upward , ! movement in the air over and around boated stovea,. or pipes." "We.have all observed how vapid is the ' ! growth of plants after a heavy thunder shower, ■,' Jailing on the heated anil. This is because wate* is ! the great carrier'of heat downwards ; falling on the superheated topst'il, it robs it of some of its heat i (just as cold watSr from-a shower-bath robs our ; warm boiliesTof their heat), and in passing down to i j the drains is itself deprived of heat by the colder i I subsoil, for at four feet deep the subsoil is generally as low as about'4(> degs., while the surface may be ■ at 100 degs. to I.HO degs And now becomes obvious ! the- advantage of- deep cultivation and drainage, ' ' which ]>ermic the heated water to circulate freely in 1 the soil and subsoil, and, if in excess, to pass away | through the deep drains, deprived' of its heat and : valuable fewd constituents. When our stiff clays ; crack abundantly, and often to the depth of "4 feet, : the wheat cro}) is sure to prosper, the warm air , having access to the cold subsoil by the cracks. I have several copious deep spring drains, running summer and winter, the temperature of the water . being always about 40 degs... to 48 degs. .(which I ; believe is the temperature of the soil at four feet), i so that the parts of the pond into which it enters : never freezes, while in the summer it feels almost as

j cold as ice. It is most important, therefore, that spring or-bottom-w? tor drains should he placed very | j deep, to prevent the cold water from rising by capil- j ! larity or the surface, and by its chilling ! ! influence retard the growth of plants, for none can i prosper, excepting bog-moss, where spring water ' rises to the surface. Subsoils, well broken into and ; rendered friable are accessible to atmospheric cmi braces which arc always fructifying. When thesj j dense compact subsoils thus become more friable I and capillary, we might tlien almost compare them ' with a piece of loaf-sugar,. while, previous to this I disturbance, they were like a lump of lead or putty j ; —the .one with, and the other without, those capil- j lary powers which are so valuable. j