1847. 



GENESEE FARMER. 



135 



chanical School, upon what principle I am igno 

 rant ; but the fact itself is instructive of public 

 sentiment, and should be hailed as a good omen. 

 The time is at hand when the Empire State, and 

 other agricultural States, are to have their Agri- 

 cultural Schools and Colleges, and when our sons 

 will study and learn as a part of their education 

 the theory of tilling the soil — the time and cor- 

 rect principle for plowing, and sowing, and gath- 

 ering in the productions of mother earth ; and 

 from these higher schools shall go out a wave 

 which, in the end, will reach the remotest district 

 school house in the Union. I think I clearly see 

 the future ; and seeing it, I can confidentially 

 bid the farmers of America be of good cheer — 

 the elements of progress are with them — the 

 principle of advance has been planted in their 

 midst, and it cannot be choked. 



Next month I will continue this subject with a 

 more particular notice of the influence of news- 

 papers to agricultural interests. 

 Penn Yan, April, 1847. D. A. Ogden. 



Winter-killed Wheat. — Draining. 



Mr. Editor : — Foremost among the various 

 farm crops produced in Western New York in 

 importance to the agriculturist, man of com- 

 merce, and the consumer, stands the Wheat Crop. 

 Whatever affects that, for evil or for good, affects 

 the temporal well being of all in the community. 

 Among the many calamities which cause a fail- 

 ure of this crop none equals what is usually de- 

 nominated winter-killing. The past season, up to 

 the present time, has been estimated by most 

 farmers to have been one of our worst — and se- 

 rious apprehensions may very justly be enter- 

 tained that extensive damage will be sustained 

 from this cause. However, in this town the last 

 three favorable days have dispelled most of the 

 fears of our farmers in relation to it here, as the 

 sudden greenness it has assumed shows that it has 

 not been much damaged. 



But the cause, and the cure, of this calamity 

 is a matter f>f more importance to know, than 

 any speculations in relation to the extent of dam- 

 age done to the present crop. Both, to my ap- 

 prehension, are easily understood. The cause 

 is the superabundance of surface water in the 

 soil : and the cure, to provide means, either by 

 a thorough system of underdraining, or some oth- 

 er method to draw it off so as to lay the young 

 plants dry and warm. 



It is a common remark which all practical farm- 

 ers make, that the longer they plow and work 

 their land, the heavier and more retentive of 

 moisture it becomes ; this explains the reason 

 why, in numerous localities the land is so much 

 more liable to heave, than when the country was 

 new ; then, the subsoil being more permeable 

 the water percolated through it, acting as a natu- 

 ral conduit ; now, it stands upon the surface, or 



fills the earth like a sponge, till it is evaporated 

 by the sun and winds. 



What are usually denominated timber lands, 

 are the most liable to damage from this cause. — 

 This description of lands have usually a retentive 

 sub-soil, particularly where you find it to consist 

 in alternate ridges and black ash swales; the 

 ridges are esteemed the best wheat lands because 

 they are dryer, but if the superabundance of 

 moisture were drawn off the swales would be 

 the best, as they have been enriched by receiv- 

 ing the fertilizing elements from the high ground 

 for ages, and therefore must contain all the grain 

 forming elements in the greatest abundance. — 

 But these are the lands which are most liable to 

 damage by winter-killing. 



We have on one of our best fields for wheat 

 growing a swale, or basin, containing about IJ 

 acres of this description of land, which, for one 

 or two crops after it was brought under cultiva- 

 tion produced wheat well ; but afterwards utter- 

 ly failed, for many years not producing enough 

 to pay the expense of harvesting. Three years 

 ago we put in some underdrains, sowing it to wheat 

 in the fall ; tlie crop was much the best part of 

 the field. We have it now in wheat, and it has 

 gone through the winter with lesa^apparent dam- 

 age than many other parts of the field. The 

 first crop paid all the expenses of putting in the 

 ditches ; they have not only rendered it perma- 

 nently valuable wheat land, but improved it in 

 nearly an equal degree for all other crops. 



If a thorough system of draining were adopted, 

 it would add many millions of bushels of wheat 

 to the annual product of this State. However 

 rich the soil in all other necessary elements, if 

 there be a superabundance of surface water, it 

 will be ruinous to the crop. It is this, more 

 than all her scientific manuring, that has so im- 

 mensely increased the production of wheat \fx 

 Great Britain, during the last quarter of a centu- 

 ry. By its aid many millions of bushels of wheat 

 have been added to the annual product of that 

 island, from lands which forty years ago were 

 esteemed only fit for growing oats and other 

 spiing grains. 



But the question will naturally be asked. Will 

 it pay the expense? In very many cases, per- 

 haps most, it certainly would. If our farmers 

 could buy good wheat lands for thirty dollars an 

 acre, they would consider it cheap ; now, if they 

 can cause that they already possess, which will 

 not no.v produce wheat, to yield them from twen- 

 ty to thirty bushels per acre, would it not well 

 pay a pretty large outlay to attain so desirable an 

 end — especially when it is remembered that it 

 would make the land more valuable for other 

 crops ? 



It is not the object of your correspondent to 

 point out how this is to be done, but to call the 

 attention of our farmers to this subject, which is 

 one of very great importance to the agricultural 



