THE GENESEE FARMER. 



75 



do violence to nature. Nature's liberality is profuse, 

 liut undirected; she is to work for man, and it is 

 fur his science to discover her capabilities, and 

 Turn them to account, and not to blindly follow her 

 lead. Though an indispensable servant, and often 

 ii rt'liable adviser, slie is Hot the infallible teacher 

 that many suppose.'" 



MOLE DRAINS. 



These are the simplest of all covered drains, and 

 are usually formed by means of a machine called a 

 mole-plow, of which there are various patterns in 

 use at the "West. Our engraving represents such 

 a machine as is commonly used for this purpose in 

 Great Britain, 



long enough to make the operation of mole-draining 

 profitable, and there is no doubt it is both cheaper 

 and more efficient than open drains, as well as of 

 vastly more benefit. 



The mole-plows used in Illinois are many of thera 

 good machines, but being generally patent-riglit 

 articles, are very expensive — the price varying 

 from $100 to $1V5 for good machines. 



The Hon. A. B. Dickinson, of Hornby, Steuben 

 Co., N. Y., has drained his large farm elfectually 

 without the use of tiles, by means of a very simj-le 

 machine of his own. Hokace Geeeley, in an 

 interesting account of Major D-'s farm, describes 

 this implement and the way in which it is used, as 

 follows: 



AN ENGLISH MOLE DRAINING MACHINE. 



This machine consists of a strong wooden beam 

 and stilts, to which is attached a broad coulter, 

 which can be raised or lowered by means of a slot 

 in the beam. To this coulter is attached, horizon- 

 tally, a short, cylindrical, pointed bar of iron. 

 The beam is sheathed on the under side with iron, 

 and moves along on the surface of the ground ; 

 thus keeping the bar at the end of the coulter at a 

 uniform depth. The machine is dragged through 

 the soil by means of a chain and capstan, worked 

 by horses, as shown in the foreground of the 

 engraving, and produces in its course a hollow 

 channel similar to a mole run — from which it 

 derives its name. 



These drains can only be constructed with benefit, 

 in strong clay, or so'ls of sufficient tenacity to 

 resist being washed away by the action of the 

 water, and thus filling up tlie drains in a short 

 time; and then the improvement is of a very tem- 

 porary kind in comparison with that effected by 

 proper tile or stone drains. StUl, on the stiff" 

 subsoils of Ohio and. the prairie lands of the West, 

 they have been found of great benefit and to last 



"I believe there is not a rod of tile laid on this 

 farm, and not a dozen rods of covered stone drain. 

 But the major has a home-made, or, at least, home- 

 devised, 'bull plow,' consisting of a sharp-pointed 

 iron wedge, or roller, surmounted by a broad, 

 sharp shank nearly four feet high, with a still 

 sharper cutter in front, and with a beam and 

 handles above all. With five yoke of oxen at- 

 tached, this plow is [lut down through the soil and 

 subsoil to an average depth of three feet — in the 

 course which the superfluous water is ex[)ected 

 and desired to take— and the field thus plowed 

 through and through, at intervals of two rods, 

 down to three feet, as the ground is more or k-ss 

 springy and saturated with water. The cut made 

 by the shank closes after the plow and is soon 

 obliterated, while that made by the roller, or 

 wedge, at the bottom, becomes the channel ot a 

 stream of water wlienever there is any excess c^ 

 moisture above its level, wliich stream tends to 

 cleai itself and rather enlarge its channel. From 

 ten to twenty acres a day are thus drained, and 

 Major D. has such drains of fifteen to twenty 

 years standing, which still do good service. In 

 rocky soils, this mode of draining is impracticable;' 

 in sandy soils it would not endure; but here it 

 does very well, and, even though it should hold 

 good in the average but ten years, it would many 

 times repay its cost." 



