Si)C JTar.iU-v't'; iH;>*it;;{iJ iKyUur. 



ibj 



er frrtiss feed.-', usually, in wheat roimtiics, smvn 

 witli (his (Toil. So iiiarlied is tlie iiillueiice it 

 exerts iir tliis rcs|i('ct, tliar plasicr, clover, and 

 wheat, aie ulwa/s associalcd in the; iiiiiid of iIik 

 most siieresslid wheat jirowers ; and ils use is 

 the most extensive in the hesi wheat j;nn\ iufr 

 distiicts of our coiiiury. In the niiiids of many, 

 a senseless prejudice has existed ai;aiiist plaster, 

 on the firoinid that it the more speedily exhausts 

 the soil, aiui tlial the heavy crops at first ohtaiiied 

 were the prii-o of ruined iarms. It is douhtless 

 true that tiie man who uses plaster (Ui his liu'lii, 

 who takes Trom his soils all he can gel, and re- 

 tiuiis nothinij; to them, will soon fiiul his soils 

 worthless enouf;li. lie who intends lo farm it in 

 this way, should avoiil plaster; hut let any I'armcr 

 alternate wheat ami clover; hiishand and apply 

 his muiunes ; feed off his clov(n' in his fields, or 

 to his stock ill their stalls; let liini not spare his 

 grass seeds in seeding, or his plaster in dressing, 

 mill his fiirm will never run ilown. Such men 

 need not fear plaster. — GitijloriTs Essaj. 



From the iM. E. Farmer. 

 Laud Draining. 



The business of nclainiing suamps, meadow 

 lands ami hugs, hy di ainim,' and other means is 

 now under good headway in many sections of 

 New Eiiglaud, and it is not uncommon, when we 

 visit a liii'in, for ihe proprietor to say of this or 

 that field, with ils heavy hnrdeii of grass or oth- 

 er crops, that it h.is heen recdaimed lioin tm un- 

 productive vva^te. It is a creation of his own, as 

 it were, and no wonder he feels proud to point 

 out to his visitor an improvement of so much 

 iinporiiince. It is the hest iiiveslment a farmer 

 can make, thus to suhdue and hriiig into cullivu- 

 tion these wjiste places, \'. hose chief products are 

 rushes, lirakes, hushes and frogs, and whose ex- 

 halatioiis eugi'uder pestileiici> and death. The 

 outlay, to lie sure, is great, if done at once, and 

 it is nut within the means of every laudhulder to 

 carry on an im|irovemeiit ol' tliis sort, independ- 

 ent of his ordinary lUimiiig operations: hut he 

 can do it hy degrees, as he has leisure from the 

 more urgent business of the seasons. There are 

 tliousands of acres either already reclaimetl, or 

 in the process of reclaiming in this State, and we 

 may salely assert that there are tens of thoiisaiids 

 more whose value would he increased an hund- 

 red fold liy a judicious jn'ocess of iiraining. 



The.se unproductive waste portions are not all 

 eirihractd in the low lands and meadow swamps, 

 but there is much high land cold and wet, cover- 

 ed witli hard-hack and other bushes, denoting 

 the presence of stagnant water — a sure prevent- 

 ive of idl pidtitalile im|);-ov.?ii I'lit, until the hid- 

 den evil is ecadicated. 



An Knglish writer well r. marks, "that until 

 the soil is laid d.'"v, agricnilure lannnt he sncess- 

 I'ully pursued. Wilhout a sutficieut supply of 

 moisture, gradual moisture, I shall call it — not 

 stagnant water — I admit that vegetation will not 

 proc-'ed ; hut wlierevera superabundance exists, 

 it is bauefnl in the ratio ol' that excess, lo the life, 

 to the healili of the plant. Draining, therefore, 

 where such operation is necessary, is the basis, 

 and it ought also to he the forerunner — the pre- 

 luile — wherever a snhstaiilial, well-executed im- 

 provement is cxpectPil or intended. For until 

 the snperflnons moisture is withdrawn, yon can- 

 not bring your soil into that sliiSe of jinlveriza- 

 tion, anil expel the vicious principles it may have 

 imbibed from ils long contact with water. Nor 

 liiilil it is hi'ought into sn<-h a slate of pulveriza- 

 tion, can it accept — inhale, as it were — the pnri- 

 Aing, the IVuclilying influence of the atnios[dier- 

 ic air. 



"iMamire applied to lauds in a wet state, is, in 

 H gretit measure tbroun away: it is in fact, like 

 tossing your bread upon the waters, but yon shall 

 not find it again after many days,' no, nor until 

 the superfluous water is uithdiawn,andyour soil 

 lironghl into a slate of pulverization — into that 

 state of garden-like culture, in w Inch alone it can 

 exert its best energies, expaiul its virtues to full 

 effect, in the perfect production of those sorts of 

 plants which generally constitute the food of 

 man." 



There is perhaps no operation in rnral econo- 

 my, of such vital imporlaiice lo the well being of 

 agriculture, as that of draining, in some locations 

 and sections of our country. The modes of do- 

 ing this, with the expense, are subjects worthy o( 

 serious consideration. In England, the art of 



draining is receiving that alteniion which ils ini- 

 purtaiice demands, and llieie are peixuis whose 

 sole business it is to make snivels, plans and es- 

 tinialB.i, so that the liirm.'r may go uiiderslandiitg- 

 ly to uorU. It is here lieipiBUtl> done at bap-ha- 

 zard, anil oftentimes in a very iujuihi'ious man- 

 ner, and much money is .somelimes spent without 

 producing the desired eKecl. We have, however, 

 ollen vviiuessed tin pleasing result of a thorough 

 and efl'eclual draining of wet, unpniductive lands, 

 which wlieii well dune, are invariably the most 

 li'itile of any in tlie cinmtry, ihe prairies of the 

 West not excepted. 



The lion. 15. V. French, of Braintree, has heen 

 experimenting upon bis liinn by the way of drain- 

 ing a poriiou of it, whii-li, no doubt will produce 

 the eft'ect aimed at. The larm of this gemleman 

 was visited by the writer live years since, and a- 

 gain the past month. During this interval of lime, 

 there appears lo have heen a contiuned scries ol 

 solid, pel iiianent improvements in progression, 

 and among oibers, and not the least in interest, 

 are his experiiuenis in draining. 



A portion of his firm, from what we saw five 

 ye.-us since, and hy the appearance of some of 

 the adjiilumg lauds, wiisoi' the mo=t unpromising 

 cbaiacier— wet, cold, rockv, and covered with 

 hard-hack and other bushes, the conmion occu- 

 pants of such soils. To guess what disposition 

 could be made with such an abundance of stones, 

 would have puzzled even a Yankee. This land, 

 originally so uiiinvitiiig, has been converted by 

 ibe present proprietor into beamiliil smooth fields, 

 vvilliout a stone to mar their snrfice. 



The first object of Mr. French was, to dig out 

 and dispone ol the stones. To do this, he (iivid- 

 ed a tract, we suppose, of 18 or 20 acres, into 

 small lots of two to three acres each, and dug a 

 ditcli to the depth of 2^ liiet or more, lor the foun- 

 dation of the dividing walls : into this he lum- 

 hled stones, upon which he erecietl most substan- 

 tial walls, S lo ai feet high : these serve Itir Ihe 

 double purpose of walls and drains. He also 

 dug other trenches of greater width, as a means 

 of gelling rid of the stones, and at the same time 

 10 drain ihe land ; but alter all, it was found that 

 in some portions of these gfciuuds, there was still 

 too much moisture, as the occasional appearance 

 of ruslies would testily. He therefore determin- 

 ed to make tliorough work with one of fiie small 

 lots of about two acres, directly in rear of his 

 bniklings. He has dug arain.^'^I leet apart, across 

 the breadth of the pioce. These drains weie 

 three feel wide at the surface, '.?.; i'nel deep, and 

 the width of the spade at the bottom. 



The manner of laying the stones to form the 

 drain is, lo select such as are nearly wedge-shap- 

 ed or triangular; these are placed opposite to 

 each other, in the botlom of the trench, with the 

 small ends down — thus forming a passage-way 

 lor the water, in the sliape of a rude goibicarch. 

 Thi.s, as it will be perceived can be done very ra- 

 piilly. A little care is necessary that ihe stones 

 be laid in such a maimer that they will not lidl 

 in. This course being coniideted, stout chest- 

 inits rails are laid leiigtlnva\s in the centre. A- 

 nother course of stones are then laid upon each 

 side, resting upon ihe rail and the lower course, 

 and thus (inuiing three openings for the water to 

 pass. Sin. ill stones are then tliiowu in to within 

 a foot of the surface ; the trench is then filled 

 with the soil. 



These drains all discliarge themselves into a 

 larger one, which runs lengthways at the bottom 

 of the piece, and from thence into an adjoining 

 pasture. Tlie field has considerable ileclivily. 

 The large dr.-.in is made similar to ihe small ones, 

 excepting that it is broadiir, and has two rails laiil 

 lengthways instead of one, thus giiing ample 

 room for a free discharge of water. This section 

 of Mr. French's tiirni is somewhat elevated, in a 

 moderate swell, which gives every chance for 

 thorouuh draining. He sluted that the expense 

 of draining ibis lot, was at the rate of $30 per a- 

 cre. It should lie remembered that the stones 

 were all handy. 



Mr. French has used the subsoil plough very ex- 

 tensively on these grounds, to much advantage — 

 of which, and his many experiments vvilli iiian- 

 iire, we hope, with his leave, to speak at some 

 future lime. 



A writer upon the subject of draining s.iys:"! 

 shall call him a d(dt, who, with the means of re- 

 clamation in his power, whether from narrowness 

 of mind or sluggisii apathy of soul, robs the lu- 



borer of his hire, and Ihe nation of its bread, by 

 allowing his acre.-i, lo lie comparatively sterile, 

 drowned wiih water and covered wiih weeds, 

 .scattering iufectii'ii over the land with every 

 wind thai hlo\is. To say the least of it, he is 

 neillier a friend to hliiiself, his race, or bis coun- 

 try. The fact is, you may send ship aliersbipon 

 the ocean, yon may aild bouse lo house on ihe 

 land — yon have plenty (d' elbow-room, but \on 

 cannot stretch out the map of your country, and 

 plant additional liuins ihereoii." 



Remarks of tiif I'ditou of tiif Visitor. — 

 The lesiimoiiy of our li iend Beck and the ex- 

 ample which he presents in fiivin' of land drain- 

 ing, confirms fully what the Fanner's Monthly 

 Visitor lias repealed in nearly eveiy paper for the 

 last two years. We know Ibe paliiniii- individu- 

 al well, Hon. B. V. French, who is bringing up his 

 liirm in Braintree at the expense o( .'S30 an acre 

 by nnderdraiiiiiig : he is iiiiidligenl and practical 

 in his profession, and wonld be Ihe last man in 

 MasMichiiselis to throw away his money by cov- 

 ering il under ground. 



Our hilly rocky grounds in New-England are 

 generally of the laud lliat has Inriied out beller 

 lo the first settlers lliau any other lands P:;\iiig 

 perhaps the comparatively small tracts of river 

 alluvion. Farmers who made llieir pitch on 

 these lands on ihe suiiiiy side of hills with the 

 right slope that naturally drained ibeinsi Ives, and 

 who thus have found their lands of permeable 

 deep and warming soils, have been able to keep 

 lip the character of theirs as good firms; but 

 much of the lands which at fn-st turned nut great 

 crops have flattened down and become both cold 

 and sterile. 'J'liere are bnuineds and thousands 

 of acres of land long mowed, and pasture grounds 

 coveied with moss and barfl-back, ibat now seein'i 

 to be vvorlb a mere ti ille either for llie crop gath- 

 ered or led. Much of this land will not pay the 

 taxes and ihe interest of any iiotninal sum put 

 down as its eslini:iled value. 



The simr cold land south of I!oston in Norfolk 

 and Plymouth counties, (that part of Massachu- 

 setts in wliich Mr. French resides) is much of it 

 even harder to reclaim than the more billy count- 

 ry further in the interior : if he can disjoint the 

 siiperabuiulant rocks and dispose of them in 

 drains at the expense of tliiily dirllars the acre,' 

 we should say that much of the cold hard lands 

 among Ihe higiier hills iif Middlesex and Wor- 

 cester in Massachusetts, and Hillslviroiigh, Mer- 

 rimack, Cheshire and Ci.dinn in New-Hampshire 

 might be cleared, say for menty dollars the acre. 

 Indeed we know of no way more convenient or 

 less expensive for disposing of snperabimdaiit 

 rocks than digging trenches which sliall cut off 

 the cold springs in hard-hack pastures and in 

 side bill basins wiiere the ^ild meadow grasses 

 only grow in meagre ()i:antitips. The rocks are 

 put out of Ihe way of the cultivator forever, and 

 will always be performing ii useful service as a 

 drain bed for the surplus water that, wl,:i ; lying 

 near the surface, is of serious detriment to tlw 

 growth of all n.'sefnl vegetation (d' the surround- 

 ing land. V 



The main drains should be constructed with 

 great care so as to leave space for the running of 

 water: this is very easily done. If the ground 

 \»; porous and soli, a board laid along .at the bot- 

 tom will prevent ils gullying; and a little care 

 will be iiece.ssary lo place ihe stones in a posiiion 

 so lliere shall he no caving. Tlie rocks may af- 

 terwards be laid in promiscuously until within 

 about a fool of the surface, when shavings, straw, 

 or if nothiiig more convenient, turned-over soda 

 will prevent the din from falling into the crevi- 

 ces so as to clog or pnweiit the passage of the 

 water. Where the ground is near a level, there 

 must be more Ii eipient ditches and passages made 

 for the water. The main passages should be com- 

 pleted ill the first iust.Tiice; and if ihe smaller 

 passages shall not be sntficient to effectually 

 drain the land, then other subsidiary drains may 

 be very convenient to dispose of the additional 

 rocks that shall be brought upon the surface by 

 the deeper ploughing. 



It will be linind, upon all these heavy lands, 

 that the most valuable part for cnllivaiion will be 

 over the cnveretl ditches. The inoisinre of the 

 covered rocks furnishes proieciion at all limes a- 

 gainsl drought ; ami the influence of the sun and 

 atmosphere imparls that genial warmth so neces- 

 sary for the free growth of vegetation. 



