The Pear succeeds generally upon such a soil as that described for the apple; but at the same time it should be porous, that the roots may roam freely. The labors of amateurs have resulted, however, in the production of varieties adapted to almost all soils; and in the table which follows will be shown, as nearly as it is possible to do in a new undertaking, the soils on which particular varieties succeed. Let it not be surmised that they grow only on such lands, for in other soils they may flourish with more or less success; yet those below enumerated are the soils which experience has proved to be best suited to them:

The Plum seems to succeed best upon a stiff clay; but many cultivators have been very successful with it on quite light soils.

The Quince has few large roots; these are mostly fibrous, and extend but a little distance from the trunk. It delights in a rich, deep, peaty, or loamy clay or lime soil.

The Raspberry and the Strawberry require a deep loamy clay, but for immediate and early production they are often planted upon sharp sands. The soil should be retentive of moisture for the general crop, as these little plants drink freely during the growth of their fruit.

We have now considered the origin of the soil, its properties, and its adaptation to the various species and varieties of fruits. In the succeeding three chapters we shall notice the improvement in them resulting from cultivation.

8*

CHAPTER IV.

DRAINING THE SOIL.

METHOD BY WHICH THE SOIL IS SUPPLIED WITH MOISTURE: RAIN, SPRINGS DESCRIPTION OF DIFFERENT STRATA CAPILLARY ATTRACTION. METHODS BY WHICH WATER IS REMOVED: RUNNING OFF ITS SURFACE — EVAPORATION -PERCOLATING THROUGH ITS SUBSTANCE. WHAT LANDS REQUIRE DRAINAGE -THE DIRECTION OF THE DRAINS -THE DISTANCE THE DEPTH THE MATERIAL TO BE USED-NUMBER OF TILE TO THE ACRE MANNER OF OPERATION. THE EFFECTS OF DRAINAGE PROMOTING PULVERIZATION-PREVENTION OF INJURY BY DROUGHT INCREASE OF THE ABSORPTION OF MOISTURE-VENTILATION PERMITTING THE WARM SPRING SHOWERS TO ENTER THE SOIL FREEZING THE LAND DEEPER -DEEPENING THE SOIL-DESTROYING WEEDS CAUSING A MORE HARDY GROWTH-PRODUCTION BECOMES MORE CERTAIN.

AS food enters plants through the medium of

water, the proper regulation of it is of paramount importance. Rain-water is not only a powerful solvent, but it extracts ammonia from the atmosphere, which increases and elaborates those elements of fertility in the soil on which vegetation depends for health and fruitfulness. There are three methods by which the earth is supplied with moisture.

1. By rain. The average annual quantity which falls throughout the United States is between thirty and forty inches. It is a source of great wealth, and

contains one-half more oxygen, and four times the amount of carbonic acid which is found in the atmosphere through which it falls. The Cyclopedia of Agriculture remarks: "Rain-water always contains in solution air, carbonic acid, and ammonia. The first two ingredients are among the most powerful disintegrators of a soil.

"The oxygen of the air and the carbonic acid, being both in a highly condensed form by being dissolved, possess very strong affinities for the ingredients of the soil. The oxygen attacks and oxidizes the iron; the carbonic acid, seizing the lime and potash, and other alkaline ingredients of the soil, produces a further disintegration, and renders available the locked-up resources of this magazine of nutriment.

"Before these can be used by plants, they must be rendered soluble; and this is only effected by the free and frequent access of rain and air. The ready passage of both of these, therefore, enables the soil to yield up its concealed treasures."

The amount of ammonia contained in the rain-fall of a year upon a single acre is equivalent to the amount found in from one to two hundred weight of Peruvian guano. To retain this in the soil, it is obvious that the water in which it is contained must percolate through its particles. This it cannot do if the land is already overcharged with moisture, as is the case in most of our soils. When it cannot

filter through the earth, it is either lost by evaporation, or is washed into the valleys to create unhealthy swamps.

2. The soil is supplied with moisture by springs. To illustrate this we quote at length from Mr. French's useful book upon "Land Drainage," which should be in the hands of every enterprising farmer and fruit-grower. "Usually we find the crust of the earth in our cultivated fields in strata or layers. First, a surface-soil of a few inches, of a loamy nature, in which clay or sand predominates; then, it may be, a layer of sand or gravel which freely admits the passage of water; and perhaps next, and within two or three feet of the surface, a stratum of clay, through which water passes very slowly, or not at all. These strata are sometimes regular, extending at an equal depth over large tracts, and having a uniform dip or inclination. More frequently, however, in hilly regions especially, they are quite irregular, — the impervious stratum often having depressions of greater or less extent, and holding water like a bowl. Not unfrequently, as we cut a ditch upon a declivity, we find that the dip of the strata below has no correspondence with the visible surface of the field, but that different strata lie nearly level, or are much broken, while the surface has a regular inclination.

"Underlying all soils, at a greater or less depth, but usually only a few feet below the surface, is