p.7

#7

The roots of grasses are annually
renewed, and the growth of previous years
by decay restores to the soil elements which
may have been exhausted by former crops
of roots or grain. The roots also by
[denseness?] of growth become so interlocked
and matted together as to form a thick
sod or turf which acts mechanically
upon the soil, by equalizing the
quantity of heat and moisture.
It will be found that a soil covered
by a thick sod neither gets so wet
in the spring nor so dry in the [summer] autumn
as if naked; nor does it become so
cold in winter or warm in the summer.
This uniformity in the condition of the
soil covered with sod conduces to the growth
of the grasses, and renders them in a
great degree permanent.—