1848. 



GENESEE FARMER. 



171 



remarked, that, as an instance of the results at- 

 tending draining of a stiff soil, this casual cir- 

 cumstance had wrought a very favorable change 

 in the opinions of many of the farmers in the 

 neighborhood. — Mr. Brand reth Gibbs, as the di- 

 rector of the show-yard at the Newcastle meet- 

 ing, fully corroborated this statement. 



Reaping Machine. — Mr. Hussey, of Balti- 

 more, U. S., requested that his reaping machine 

 might be subjected to trial in England under the 

 orders of the Society. The Council directed 

 that Mr. llussey should be informed that he was 

 at liberty to enter his machine for the York 

 meeting of the Society, when it would be sub- 

 ject to trial at the discretion of the stewards and 

 judges of the Show on that occasion. 



• WiREWORM. — Mr. Dickinson, of Curzon-st., 

 favored the Council with the result' of his en- 

 deavors to eradicate the wire- worm from his 

 Italian Rye-grass, of which it had previously, 

 on the small plot of ground, destroyed three 

 crops. This result was attained by the appliea. 

 lion of voUtiip alkali, as it e^lotc in guano. 

 'I'hjs communication wns received with the best 

 thanks of the Council, and referred to the Jour- 

 nal Committee. 



Cost Of Clearing Land at the West. 



Messrs. Editors : — Your readers, from the 

 following, can see the difference between com- 

 mencing on a new farm at the West, and begin- 

 ning as many of them did in Western New 

 York. 



In 1846 I hired broke up, and completely grub- 

 bed out, thirty-four acres of very grubby white 

 and yellow oak openings, at $6 per acre. T had 

 to fence two sides of the lot, 160 rods, requiring 

 "2240 rails, or fourteen per rod ; paid for splitting 

 75 cents per hundred — and for hauling them to 

 their place 50 cents per hundred, and for laying 

 four cents per rod, making for fencing, $32 80. 

 For fencing, as above, $32 80 



It cost to clear the land, about 10 00 



For plowing and grubbing 34 acres, at $6, 204 00 



Hauling of 144 loads of grubs, before sowing, 12 00 

 Harrowing three times, thoroughly, 24 00 



Forty bushels seed wheat, at 75 cents, 30 00 



Harvesting, at $1 50 per acre, 51 00 



Threshing and marketing, 6 cts per bushel, 48 00 



411 80 

 I had about 800 bushels, and sold for 80 cents, 640 00 



Leaving a profit over all expense, of $228 20 



I paid about one dollar an acre too high for 

 plowing and grubbing, it being a <' dicker" trade. 

 I come at the price as it cost me, having hired 

 the most of it done. My crop being good, and 

 the price fair for this place, it was a good outlay. 

 But the main profit is in having subdued and 

 brought to a good state of cultivation, thirty-four 

 acres of land which can now be easily tilled 

 with one span of horses. Last year I had 



such a piece, of forty acres, to sow to wheat. 

 With one span of horses I broke it up in seven- 

 teen days, harrowed twice, before cross plowing, 

 in six days ; cross plowed it in thirteen days, 

 and harrowed in the seed in seven days more — 

 in all, team-work, forty-three days. The crop 

 looks promising, and under favorable circum- 

 stances, will give eight hundred bushels of wheat. 

 I wore uj) three plow points on an old plow, and 

 liad the Imnow teeth sharpened once. The land, 

 a sandy loam, wears tools but little. 



This is the sunny side, and looks fair, I know. 

 But how many at the east, with means so scanty 

 that they can not procure a home^ or place to 

 labor, might here become comparatively inde- 

 pendent, where land is cheap and productive 1 



Eckford, Mich., 1848. A Subscriber. 



Draining. 



The draining of wet lands has become one of 

 the most important branches of mechanical 

 agriculture. An excess of water in the soil 

 prevents the access of air, ]-educes the tempera- 

 ture, favors the formation of frost, fogs and mil- 

 dew, and renders tillage difficult or impossible. 

 Soils may be rendered too wet in various ways, 

 as, by the tides of the sea, by the setting back 

 of rivers, by permanent springs in the soil, by 

 small subterranean streams, and by the coinpact 

 and retentive nature of the soil or subsoil. The 

 advantages of draining, and the various modes 

 by which it is best accomplished, are well de- 

 scribed by Johnson and Colwan, from whose 

 works the following facts in relation to the ope- 

 ration are derived. 



1. It carries off all stagnant water, and gives 

 a ready escape to the excess of what falls in 

 rain. 2. It prevents the ascent of water from 

 below, either by capillary attraction, or springs. 

 3. It allows the water of rains to penetrate, and 

 find a ready passage from the soil, instead of 

 washing the surface. 4. The descent of water 

 through the soil is followed by fresh air, which 

 occupies the space just left by the water. 

 5. The soil after thorough draining becomes 

 looser, more friable and easily broken ; this is 

 especially true of stubborn clays, which in prac- 

 tice becomes altogether another soil. 6. By 

 freeing the soil from the excess of water, it be- 

 comes warmer, and thereby advances the crop 

 to an earlier harvest: thus it is "equivalent to a 

 change of climate.''^ 7. When the autumn is 

 wet, draining carries off the superabundance of 

 water, and prepares the land for sowing fall 

 crops, which would otherwise be retarded, or 

 altogether prevented. 8. In its consequences it 

 is equivalent to an actual deepening of the soil. 

 9. In wet soils, bones, wood-ashes, rape dust, 

 nitrate of soda, and other artificial manures are 

 almost thrown away. 10. He who drains con- 

 fers a benefit upon his neighbors also. 11. It 



