SUMMING UP. 315 



timber forthwith, kept clear of cattle, and devoted to 

 tree-growing evermore. 



8. I do not know that all lands may be profitably 

 imderdrained. Wooded uplands, I know, could not 

 be. Fields which slope considerably, and so regu- 

 larly that water never stagnates upon or near their 

 surface, do very well without. Light, leachy sands, 

 like those of Long Island, Southern Jersey, Eastern 

 Maryland, and the Carolinas, seem to do fairly with- 

 out. Yet my conviction is strong that nearly all 

 land which is to ~be persistently cultivated will in 

 time be underdrained. I would urge no farmer to 

 plunge up to his neck into debt in order to under- 

 draln his farm. But I would press every one who 

 has no experience on this head to select his wettest 

 field, or the wettest part of such field, and, having 

 carefully read and digested "VVaring's, French's, or 

 some other approved work on the subject, procure 

 tile and proceed next Fall to drain that field or part 

 of a field thoroughly, taking especial precautions 

 against back-water, and watch the eifect until satis- 

 fied that it will or will not pay to drain further. 1 

 think few have drained one acre thoroughly, and at 

 no unnecessary cost, without being impelled by the 

 result to drain more and faster until they had tiled at 

 least half their respective farms. 



9. As to Irrigation, I doubt that there is a farm in 

 the United States where something might not be 

 profitably done forthwith to secure advantage from 

 the artificial retention and application of water. 



