1837] 



FARMERS' REGISTER. 



ifthe contingv'-ncy ol'the dam's brcalung and mill's 

 washing away, be taken into ar-coiiiit, the balance 

 ot'ex|ien.«e will be loiuid on tlie side ot'tlic dam. 



When a mill dam brealvs in a ti'esht^l, every dam 

 below it on (ho siuni? stream, s^hare.s the same litle, 

 and very freqiieally ihe, mill liouse is wa.-Iied awiiy. 

 J)arinij:ihe last year, in a nein;hl»()rinii:eounty, three 

 mills were washed away on the same stream irom 

 the broakinu of the hii^hest pond dani. 



There is one disadvantage necessarily altendani 

 upon a canal, (nnless (he whole stream is taken ni,) 

 tJiat is, however, ol" small consequence, compared 

 with the snnilar bad erfects of a lariije darn. The 

 stay, which is ordinarily two or three, feet high, has 

 the cdect ol' slightly '-Robbing''- (or soaking with 

 moisture) the land above, as tiir us eddy water ex- 

 tends: but nolarther. Some sup])0se that the ex- 

 treme point ot' back water ti-om a stay is greater in 

 high water than at conunou tide; but this opinion 

 is certainly erroneous. A given obsiacle, say a 

 slay of twenty leet s([uare, can neversto])a lari^er 

 section of the stream than one with that unitbrm 

 base (twenty feet square) whose height is the ex- 

 treme point of back water. W hen 1 he wuter rises 

 above common tide, the surplus flows over liie 

 dam. 



I will here make a remark, which though perhaps 

 out of place, yet { think cannot be too much insisted 

 upon. All mill ponds should bs effectually drain- 

 ed. No reasonable expense should be spared to 

 eH'ect this object. It is idle to expect profitable 

 crops on reclaimed pond land without it. And no 

 land produces as well as this kind, wlien a thorough 

 draining is effected. The soil of some reclaimed 

 ponds is man}' feet deep, of the mostli^rtile kind of 

 vegetable mould. And, doubtless, in many in- 

 stances, the value of the land, if thoroughly re- 

 claimed, would exceed the value of the mill. 



You will perceive, Mr. Editor, in the promiscu- 

 ous remarks I have thrown tof>-ether, tlvat I have 

 confined myself to a few mill seats on Wurdsfbrk, 

 not because they illustrate the superiority of the 

 canal plan, over the pond, better than others in the 

 county, but sim[)ly because they were convenient to 

 inspection. There are others, that upon one point 

 particularly, show the superiority of the canal more 

 fully than any of those already mentioned. 1 al- 

 lude to the increase of fkll and consequent en- 

 largement of the diameter of the waier wheel. 

 Every person with whom 1 have conversed who 

 has made the exchange from a pond to a canal, 

 considers his mill as improved. If the above re- 

 marks have no other efiect than cansing an inquiry 

 into some of the facts aud conclusions above stated, 

 I shall flatter myself that some little good is ef- 

 fected; for an investigation of this subject, I am 

 well convinced, will lead mill owners to the game 

 conclusions as are here expressed. 



E. 



PLAN OP A DRAINED MILL POND, ON WARDS- 

 FORK CREEK. — HILL SIDE DITCHES. — MA- 

 KING MANURE. 



To the Editor of tlie Farmers' Register. 



In accordance with j^our request, made some- 

 time since, I now proceed to give you a plain des- 

 cription of an enibankment, or dike, surroundiui!; a 

 portion of low grounds, consisting of about thirty 

 acres. 



The land in question, is situated extremely low, 

 and, in its naiural state, about one-iburth of it was 

 covered with water, and nearly all the remainder, 

 badly " water-sobbed" or saturated, and unfit for 

 cultivaiion. Ft is now l(M-tile, and has borne re- 

 peated and heavy crops of tobacco and corn with- 

 out assistance. It has been in cultivation five or 

 six years, and the toltacco crops averaged from 

 three to lour plants to the pound, the first corn 

 crop, about twelve barrels to the acre, and the 

 last, not so nmch, on account of the extreme wet- 

 ness of the season. It is now laid down in wheat, 

 and intended to be sown in herds grass. It is en- 

 tirely surrounded by an embankment, the base of 

 whiidi is twenty feet wide, gradually slo[)ed from 

 bottom, to two and a half feet at io[). The annex- 

 ed drawing represents the form ol"the land, and tho 

 dike and ditches by which it is reclaimed. 



The dotted lines, passing between a and j, and 

 by to k, represent the former bed of the stream 

 oi" Wardslbrk creek, li-om which the water is novr 

 diverted by the dam, or stop, l.j, into the canal, 

 /, m, 71, which was made to supply Watkins' mill, 

 instead of the pond which formerly covered all this 

 low land. 



North. 



^ 



South. 



The broadest surrounding line, passing through 

 the letters, a. b, c, d, represents the dike, and gives 

 the form of the land reclaimed. It is graduated by 

 a level, and is about eight feet high. 



The straight line from e is a reclaiming ditch, 



