32 WILL COUNTY, ILLINOIS. 



lire to run on in Summer, wliere the pigs have access to pure 

 spring water. With such treatment I have escaped disease. 



COST or PRODUCTION. 



Without particularizing, I would say that I use on the 

 farm all the modern improved agricultural tools. I find this 

 investment a very heavy item of expense. My system being 

 mixed husbandr}-, where the produce is nearly all consumed 

 on the farm, it is difficult to give an estimate of the cost of pro- 

 duction, but, would give it as my opinion that less than forty 

 cents per bushel for corn, and four dollars a hundred for pork, 

 is an unprofitable business to those who have to hire the labor 

 to produce it. 



HAY. 



My hay is cut from forty acres of meadow. It consists 

 of timothy and clover, and is cut and cured as follows : The 

 grass is cut one day with a mower, and by the use of the 

 American hay tedder is invariably put into the barn the next, 

 unless prevented by unfavorable weather. Hay cut and cured 

 in, this manner retains its color and nutritious qualities, which 

 is a very important item to those who consume it upon the farm. 

 I would estimate the value of hay thus cured at twice that 

 which is exposed to the sun for several days before it is put 

 in the mow. 



DKAINAGE. 



Were I asked to name the first and most important improve- 

 ment to be made on a new farm, I would say thorough 

 drainage, as both labor and manure are nearly lost on wet, 

 undrained land. Not only are the wet spots a dead loss, but 

 their influence is a decided injury for a considerable area around 

 them. No expenditure will pay the farmer better than the drain- 

 ing of every slough and low place upon his farm, if judiciously 

 and properly done. Ditching and tile draining is a business of 

 itself. It requires judgment and experience to understand the 

 amount of fall, the size of tile necessary to take the water from 

 a low spot in time to save the crop during heavy freshets. 

 The writer has had considerable experience in draining both 



