No. 3. 



Draining. — Lightning Rods. 



105 



depth of two feet and more, and these have 

 been filled to near the surface, with brush- 

 wood, cut from willows and other aquatic 

 trees, and have been found to run and answer 

 the purpose as well as the most expensively 

 constructed drains for that time, and some- 

 times even longer. Another mode, which 

 has lonor been practised in England, and for 

 the facility and cheapness with which it 

 might be adopted in this country, is recom- 

 mended in those situations where it would be 

 suitable, is, first to commence the drain by 

 taking off a strong turf, twelve inches in 

 width and three or four inches in thickness, 

 laying each carefully, sod-downwards, on one 

 side; and, after digging the trench a full 

 spade more in depth, and cleaning out the 

 bottom, then, with a narrow spade, cut an- 

 other depth in the bottom of this drain, and 

 just in the middle, leaving a shoulder about 

 three inches in width on each side, and upon 

 these, place the turfs, sod-downwards, so deep 

 as to be out of the reach of future tillage, 

 filling in the earth which had been thrown 

 out. These are called shoulder-drains, and 

 they may last a long time in suitable soils 

 and situations, when carefully executed, but 

 they are, like many other cheap modes of 

 doing things, not always to be depended upon. 



When land lies very low, and without an 

 out-fall for the water, the best way to take it 

 off is by well-constructed drains, perforated 

 in the bottom with the augur until the pervi- 

 ous sub-stratum is struck, and if plenty of 

 these holes are bored before filling in with 

 stone or brick, the water will be as effectually 

 taken off" as it can be by any other means 

 whatever ; and upon these occasions it is that 

 the infinite value of draining is seen, felt, and 

 understood, the finest water-meadows having 

 been constructed upon this plan of under- 

 draining, and the health of a whole neigh- 

 bourhood permanently secured. 



All lands, after draining, should be heavily 

 limed, whether they are designed to lay in 

 g'rass or become arable, for here the lime acts 

 m its proper character, neutralizing the aci- 

 dity of the soil and destroying all aquatic 

 herbage of every description — the natural 

 growth of all wet land — and inducing and 

 encouraging the growth of those that are in- 

 digenous to a limestone soil, amongst which 

 white clover always predominates — and there 

 is no fear of an over-dose, provided the lime 

 be pure. C. B. 



It has often been remarked, that the great 

 fault of American farmers lies in the eager 

 desire to add field to field, which often impo- 

 verishes them, keeps them in debt, and ren- 

 ders them unable to bring any part of their 

 land into the highest and most profitable state 

 of cultivation. 



To the Editor of the Farmers' Cabinet. 

 Lightniug Rods. 



Respected Friend, — In thy letter, thee 

 wishes me to give some account of the man- 

 ner in which our conducting-rod is fixed, 

 down which the lightning passed, killing two 

 cows which were lying about twenty-five feet 

 distant from its fool.* 



It is not quite clear to me that the electric 

 fluid passed to the cows at all ; possibly they 

 were killed by the shock only, for I believe 

 that such instances have been known ; and 

 yet, from the appearance of the wall, the elec- 

 tric fluid must have passed through it in the 

 direction of the cows, although no traces of 

 it could be found upon their dead bodies : that 

 it was, in some way, the effect of the stroke, 

 hov/ever, there can be no doubt, for they 

 were both acted upon in precisely the same 

 manner. 



There are two rods to the barn, one at 

 each end, extending about five feet above the 

 comb of the building, which is about sixty- 

 four feet in length : they penetrate three or 

 four feet into the ground, at an angle of 45° 

 with the wall of the building, and are im- 

 bedded in charcoal ; being | of an inch in 

 diameter, with platina points. That the 

 charge was most powerful there can be no 

 doubt, the report being tremendous, and the 

 melting of the brass by which the platina 

 point was fixed, which was, I presume, the 

 fact, as no trace of the point was afterwards 

 to be found — this, however, is conjecture only, 

 possibly the point was thrown offhy the shock. 



But, while a part of the electric fluid left 

 the rod and passed to the cows, it was evident 

 that another part followed the rod into the 

 ground, penetrating it and leaving a hole 

 about it, and throwing up the earth for seve- 

 ral feet around. Now, why any part of the 

 fluid should leave the rod, which is a good 

 conductor, to pass off" by a stone wall, which 

 is a had conductor, perforating several holes 

 through its whole thickness of two feet, be- 

 tween the stones, carrying away the plaster 

 in its way around the foot of it, for many 

 yards in length, before it could reach the 

 cows, is to me unaccountable. As the case 

 stands, however, the rod fulfilled its purpose, 

 in conducting the fluid from the over-charged 

 cloud to the negatively-charged earth, with- 

 out danger to the building, I think that one 

 rod, extending a few feet higher, in the mid- 

 dle of the building, would be a better secu- 

 rity than one at each end : Dr. Franklin says, 

 there has been no instance — and, in fact, I 

 have never heard of any — of a building being 

 struck, which had a good conducting-rod ex- 

 tending six or seven feet above the highest 

 part of the building, and communicating with 



* See the Cabinet for June, page 349. 



