THE COUNTRY HOME [chapter 



and strawberries — to strike much deeper into the 

 soil, and feed at a greater depth. In this way many 

 good things go together — drainage, irrigation, and 

 an increase in our abiHty to use natural resources. 

 I find the record of a twenty-acre field, which usu- 

 ally yielded twenty-five bushels of corn per acre, 

 but after thorough drainage yielded sixty bushels 

 of corn per acre — and paid, in a single year, the 

 entire cost of tile-drainage. The outlet of the sys- 

 tem of drainage should be into a larger drain, and 

 thence, by a free outlet, into a large stream, or else- 

 where, without doing damage. 



After a full consideration of the provisos I have 

 named, thorough drainage and thorough cultiva- 

 tion, there will still remain, even in our most humid 

 states, a great loss in all sorts of farm crops, and es- 

 pecially in berry gardens, so long as irrigation is 

 not applied in a regular and scientific manner. 

 We must make our country homes on a basis of an 

 unfailing supply of water and entire deliverance 

 from the chances of the seasons. 



Intensive farming is the growing of a large num- 

 ber of crops in the place of one or two crops, and 

 the application of scientific principles so as to se- 

 cure the very best results. This involves a growing 



[72] 



