1211. Pulverisation contributes to the increase of vegetable food. Water is known to be a condenser and solvent of carbonic acid gas, which, when the land is open, can be immediately carried to the roots of vegetables, and contribute to their growth; but if the land be close, and the water lie on or near its surface, then the carbonic acid gas, which always exists in the atmosphere and is carried down by rains, will soon be dissipated. An open soil is also most suitable for effecting those changes in the manure itself, which are equally necessary to the preparation of such food. Animal and vegetable substances, exposed to the alternate action of heat, moisture, light, and air, undergo spontaneous decompositions, which would not otherwise take place.
