. Annual report of the Agricultural Experiment Station. Cornell University. Agricultural Experiment Station; Agriculture -- New York (State). ash bank, however well it might be watered. If there is a potted plant at hand which is of no value, we might remove some of the soil, add considerable wood ashes, water well, and await the result. Try it ; or give it a lump of nitrate of soda. II. The soil water is a very dilute solution.—In Reading-Les- son No. 2 the different kinds of water in the soil were men- tioned ; and it was stated that the water which is valuable to the plant is not the free w
. Annual report of the Agricultural Experiment Station. Cornell University. Agricultural Experiment Station; Agriculture -- New York (State). ash bank, however well it might be watered. If there is a potted plant at hand which is of no value, we might remove some of the soil, add considerable wood ashes, water well, and await the result. Try it ; or give it a lump of nitrate of soda. II. The soil water is a very dilute solution.—In Reading-Les- son No. 2 the different kinds of water in the soil were men- tioned ; and it was stated that the water which is valuable to the plant is not the free water, but the thin film of moisture which , adheres to each little particle of soil. Any one X^V/' <_«!i^<^ who has drunk w^ater from a tile drain knows that at least the free water w^hich has soaked from the soil must contain relatively very little plant-food, else our delicate taste would detect it. Perhaps the film moisture contains a little more plant-food than the free water, but the quantity of substances in solution is generally extreme!}' minute, so that the soil water is readih' absorbed by the plant. 12. Root absorptio7i may continue in a soil that seems to be dry.—Not only is free water unnecessar}' for ordinary land plants, but the amount of film moisture present does not need to be very great. It is remarkable how^ dr}' a soil may feel to the fingers, and yet afford sufficient water to maintain the plant. This may be readih' studied with a potted plant, or observed in the field. 13. The roots need air.—Corn on a piece of land w^hich has been flooded b}^ the heavy rains looses its green color and turns yellow. Besides diluting plant-food, the water drives the air out of the soil, and this suffocation of the roots is ver}' soon felt in the general health of the plant. The film moisture alone (hj'groscopic water) is best to insure proper aera- tion. The value of tillage for aeration purposes has already been mentioned in Reading-Lesson No. 2. Water-plants
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