VOL. XXI. NO. U. 



AND HORTICULTURAL REGISTER. 



107 



he rain, and a very dry atmosphere. It will be 

 id that in soil so treated and converted into this 

 ildy condition, in dry seasons sufficient quantity 

 moisture will be ret.\ined for the use of the 

 Its, which will grow viijorously when land in 

 snnio neighborhood is completely dry. 

 do not think that it is possible to drain land 

 much, from the fact that the mould becomes an 

 ellent magazine for the retention of moisture. 

 ircumstance took place in regard to this in my 

 1 district, in 1820 — a very dry season. In that 

 r lliere was so long a period of dry weather, 

 , the pond was dried up, and there was a great 

 ciency of crops. I had a field which had been 

 ted in the way I have e.'cplained, and I had a 

 ) of hay on iL The hay in tKe country round 

 luced not above half a crop. On this field, 

 oil I had deepened to l(i inches, I had a splen- 

 crop. A proprietor of land in the ncighbor- 

 1, one of the old school, resisted to the utmost 

 regard to the result of thorough draining and 

 loil plowing. A person occasionally employed 

 ne was also engaged in doing work for him. 

 had asked about this hay, ami the old gentle- 

 was rather puzzled at the state of the crop, 

 exclaimed, that ho really thought I had drained 

 and so much that I should have no crop at all. 

 was immediately after this completely wedded 

 e system, and from that day he has been vigo- 

 ly engaged in introducing thorough draining 

 subsoiling all over his estate; and he is now 

 ig a great deal of poor soil, on a very rich and 

 uctivc estate, treated in the same way. Tak- 

 the average of that gentleman's estate, ho 

 produces double the quantity of corn that he 

 to obt.'iin. He now grows potatoes where he 

 1 not grow them before ; and on the old clay 

 ■oduccs regular and large crops of turnips. 

 1 inquiry was made as to whether there was 



I and where subsoil plowing would be success- 

 ithout thorough draining. 



r Smith. — I am much obliged for that hint. 

 ,' persons have thought that plowing the 8ub. 

 night do without thorough draining, but there 

 ;w instances indeed in which that application 

 » plow will not be hurtful instead of being be- 

 al. If you have a retentive bottom which 

 lot allow the moisture to pass away, it must 

 il n till absorbed by the atmosphere ; therefore 



!;reater the chambers for receiving rain, so 

 the longer will the land be kept in a wet 

 The practice which now prevails in the 

 sh clay districts of plowing with a shallow 

 w, has arisen from the e.^cperienco of ages, 

 1 has t.iught them that on such soils you can- 

 ultivate wheat if you plow a deep furrow, be- 



you make jupt so much the larger chambers 

 ;eive water. Even in open soils I would not 

 imend the application of the subsoil plow till 

 lorough draining had been executed, 

 gentfeman asked if it was necessary to repeat 

 ibsoil plowing. 



Smith. — It may not be essentially necessary 

 leat the subsoil plowing, but it is beneficial, 

 eat the plowing at every shift, every time I 



up my fallow, 

 it always done in the same line ? 



Smith. — Generally : sometimes I have done 

 quely. 

 1 you ever try it diagonally ? 



Smith. — Yes ; perhaps it is better to do it in 

 fay, according to the drop of the land. The 

 lea I had was to use the subsoil plow ; then 



I thought I might use the trench plow, and that I 

 might, the next shift, turn up the whole soil, so as 

 to have a complete mixture. In some fields, where 

 the soil was of a bettor (piality, and there was 

 uioro vegetable matter, I had excellent crops ; on 

 the poorer soils, I found that by bringing up the 

 subsoil to mix with the active soil, after the first 

 shift, I did a great deal of mischief. I found, es- 

 pecially with regard to grass, that I could not get 

 that growth of plants which I had before; imme- 

 diately on observing that, I resolved a third time to 

 go over those fields, and that I would again use 

 the subsoil plow ; I have now lallen into the prac- 

 tice of doing so every time I turn. I took up al 

 the first shift, perhaps about three inches, even in 

 the poorest field; the next time three inches more; 

 and by that means I gradually attained a thorough 

 depth of soil to the extent of sixteen inches. On 

 my own farm I have a thorough depth of sixteen 

 inches, but that is in ci>usequenco of using a trench 

 plow on the second shift; and in some fields that 

 was unsuccessful. If [ had then the experience I 

 now have, I would use the subsoil plow at each 

 shift; instead of going down the whole sixteen in- 

 ches, I would only take up perhaps three inches 

 the first time and three the next, till I had com- 

 pleted the depth of sixteen inches. 



A Gentleman. — In draining in the summer sea- 

 son, how do you get the level ? 



Mr Smith By the spirit-level, of course. 



A Gentleman. — The great object would be to 

 get it done cheap ; but it would be much more ex- 

 pensive if done in the summer. 



iMr Smith No doubt ; but if I had the choice 



of executing draina during the winter, at an ex- 

 pense of 50 percent, less than the summer, I would 

 prefer doing it in summer. The efficiency is of 

 far more importance than the expense. 



A gentleman inquired whether the rocks under 

 the stratification were horizontal or perpendicular. 



Mr Smith There was very little stratification 



at all. I am aware of what has been stated with 

 regard to destroying the pans, such as are placed 

 upon gravel ; but thorough draining may be ap- 

 plied with advantage to sand or to gravel; and 

 though in the gravel the opening must be at a con- 

 siderable distance, and consequently the water 

 will be long in finuing its way out, if it gets into 

 the channel it will go off easily. These dry soila 

 retain moisture a great deal too long for agricultu- 

 ral purposes. When agriculturists have determin- 

 ed on draining a field, they should resolve to drain 

 it wholly, otherwise they, are only throwing the eJf,- 

 pense away. 



FARMING ON A LARGE SCALE. 

 What large tracts of land are sometimes tilled 

 in the Western States under the name of farms, 

 may be judged from the following article which is 

 found in the Peoria Press: — 



An Illi.nois Prarie Farm. — Mr Isaac Under- 

 bill, of Peoria, has a farm about 18" miles above 

 this place, at Rome, on the Illinois river, which is 

 the largest, or at least one of the largest in the 

 State. 



The first field of this farm that meets your view 

 in approaching Rome, consists of five hundred 

 acres, under what is called a Virginia or worm 

 fence, eight rails high. Three hundred acres of 

 this are in wheat, principally put in last fall, and 

 which was sowed upon the sod, last year for the 

 first time broken up by the plow. From such 



ground a full crop is never expected, before the 

 large furrows, which had lain in a solid body of 

 matted roots for ages, are thoroughly decomposed 

 and pulverized, which cannot take place in a few 

 month.f. The wheal is now (July Uth,) " white for 

 harvest ;" and it is estimated that parts of the field 

 will yield twentyfive, and some thirty bushels to 

 the acre, though the whole may not average much 

 over twenty bushels. The difference in the crop 

 is mainly attributable to the time and manner in 

 which the plowing and sowing were done. The 

 balance of the field is in corn and oats. 



The second field, which is nearest Rome, and 

 separated from the first named, by the road leading 

 from Northampton to thai place, consists of two 

 hundred acres, which is enclos'jd with a beautiful 

 and excellent board fence. '1 his was done at an 

 expense of .$1205, which was about the cost of the 

 fence around the five hundred acres. This field 

 contains wheat, rye, oats, and corn, and shows 

 what the La Salle paririe can do when under full 

 subjection to the hand of the cultivator. The 

 wheat here presents a scene beautiful beyond de- 

 scription. It overtops the fence, which exceeds 

 five feet in height ; it is clean, well headed and 

 even, and must produce thirtyfive bushels to the 

 acre. A description of the rye and oats, would 

 be such as might excite doubts of its truth in the 

 minds of those who have never seen the crops of 

 our prairie State. The corn, though fine, is not so 

 well grown as it is at the same time of the year in 

 ordinary seasons. 



The third field, which lies north of the second, 

 will be of mammoth size when completed, which 

 will be in a very short time. Much of it is now 

 under fence, broken up, and a part of it in corn. 

 It will consist of sixteen hundred acres, all under 

 one fence. 



The whole farm comprises about two thousand 

 three hundred acres, and has a straight line of 

 fence on one side, three miles long. 



Mr U., expects this fall to be able to put seven 

 or eight hundred acres in wheat. Much of this 

 will be in ground a second year under cultivation, 

 and with an ordinary season the next year's crop 

 of this and the sod wheat, or what will be put in 

 new ground, may reasonably be calculated to yield 

 at least, an average production of twentyfive bush- 

 els per acre. 



The breaking or plowing of the prairie, cost 

 Underbill $2,.50 per acre by contract, and wheat 

 sold here nearly all last winter at 75 cents per 

 bushel. We add these prices to the preceding 

 account, that the reader may form some idea, of 

 what can be done in the way of prairie farming in 

 Illinois. 



Mr U. is now building two large barns, 30 by 

 50 leet, on the bank of the river, at Rome, where 

 there is one of the best steamboat landings on the 

 river. The first of these was raised last Satur- 

 day, and the frame of the other will be ready to go 

 up in a short time. 



Shoe Blacking;. — Perhaps the best in the world is 

 elder berries. Mash the berries with your hand in 

 a large kettle of water ; set them in the shade a 

 few days, filling the vessel up with water. After 

 they are cool, strain and wring them through a 

 coarse cloth, and then boil down to the thickness 

 of molasses. Put a small quantity with a feather 

 on a brush, and rub the shoe till there is a fine 

 gloss. The same will make good writing ink. — 

 SdtcUd. 



