142 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER 



NOV. 1, IS' 



A.Vn HORTICULTURAL RKGISTER. 



BosToK, Wednesday, Nov. 1, 1843. 



LAND DRAINING. 



The business of reclaimins swiimps, mpadow lands 

 and boj;s, by driiining .ind oiIut means, is now undi-r 

 good liendway in many sections of New England, and it 

 is not unromnion, when we visit a farm, Tor ihe [iroprie- 

 tor to say oflliis or that field, with its heavy biinlen of 

 grass or other crops, lliat it has been reclaimed from an 

 unprodurlive waste. It is a creation of his own, as it 

 were, and no wonder he feels proud to point out to his 

 visitor an inipiovement of so much importance. It is 

 the bc.^t investino'nt a farmer can make, thus to subdue 

 and brin^ into cultivation these waste places, whose 

 chtiif products are rushes, brakes, bushes and frogs, and 

 whose e.%halalions engender pestilence and death. The 

 outlay, to be sure, is great, if done at once, and it is not 

 within the means of every landholder to carry on an im- 

 provement of this sort, independent of his ordinarv 

 farming operations : but he can do it by degrees, as he 

 has leisure from the more urgent business of (he seascms. 

 There are thousands of acres either already reclaimed, 

 or in the process of reclaiming in this State, and we may 

 safely assert tliat there are tens of thousands more whose 

 value would he increased an hundred fold by a judicious 

 proce>s of d'aitiing. 



These unproductive waste portions are not all em- 

 braced in the low lands and meadow swamps, but there 

 is niurh high land cold and wet, covered with hard-hacU 

 and other busheii, denoting the presence of stagnant wa- 

 ter — a sure preventive of all profitable improvement, un- 

 til the hidden evil is eradicated. 



An English writer well remarks, " that until the soil 

 is laid dry, agiicnilure cannot be successfully pursued. 

 Without a sutHcient supply of moisture, grailual mois- 

 ture, 1 shall call it— not stagnant water — I admit that 

 vegetation will not proceed ; but wherever a superahun. 

 dance <?i.isls, it is baneful in the ratio of that excess, to 

 the life, to the health of the plant. Draining, there- 

 fore, where such operation is necessary, is tlje basis, and 

 it ought also to be the forerunner — the prelude— wherev- 

 er a substantial, well-executed imprnvement is e.tpected 

 or intended. For until the superfluous moisture is with- 

 drawn, yon cannot bring your soil into that state of pul- 

 verization, and expel the vicious principles it may have 

 imbibed fn.oi its long contact with water. Nor until it 

 is brought into such a state of pulverization, can it ac- 

 cept—inhale, as it were — the purilying, the fructifying 

 influence of the atmospheric air. 



" Manure applied to lands in a wet state, is, in a great 

 measure, thrown away : it is in fact, like tossing your 

 bread upon the waters, but you shall not find it again 

 after many days,' no, nor until the superfluous water 

 is withdrawn, and your soil brought into a state of pul- 

 verization — into that state of garden-like culture, in 

 which alone it can exert its best energies, e.\pand its 

 virtues to full tflect, in the perfect production of those 

 sorts of plants which generally constitute the food of 

 man." 



There is perhaps no operation in rural economy, of 

 such vital importance to the well-ltirig of agriculture, as 

 thai of draining, in some locations and sections of our 

 country. 'I'he modes of doing this, \vith the expense, 

 .■;re subjects worthy of serious consideration. In Eng- 

 land, the art of ilraining is receiving th.at attention which 

 its import mce demands, and there are persons wlins 

 »o!e business it is to make surveys, plans and estimates, 



so that the firmer may go understandingly to work, it 

 is liere fieqnenlly done ai hap-hazird, and oftentimes in 

 a very injudicious manner, and much mruiey is some- 

 times spent without protlucing the desired effect. We 

 have, hiuvever, ofien witnessed the pleasing result of a 

 thorough and effectual draining of wet, iinproduciive 

 lands, which when v\ell done, arc invariably the most 

 fer'.ile of any in the country, the prairies of the West 

 not excepted. 



The Hon. B. V. French, of Braintrec, has been expe- 

 rimeniing upon his farm by the way of draining a por- 

 tion of It, which, no doubt will produce the effect aimed 

 at. The farm of this gentleman was visited by the wri- 

 ter five years since, and again the past month. During 

 this interval of time, there appears to have been a con- 

 tinued seiies of solid, permanent improvements in pro- 

 gression, and among others, and not the least in inte- 

 rest, are his experiments in draining. 



A portion of his farm, from what we saw five years 

 since, and by the appearance of some of the adjoining 

 lands, was of the most unpromising character — wet, cold, 

 rocky, and covered with hardback and other bushes, 

 the common occupants of such soils. To guess what 

 disposition could be made with such an abundance of 

 stones, would have puzzled even a Yankee. This land, 

 originally so uninviting, has been crmverted by the pre- 

 sent proprietor into beautiful smooth fields, without a 

 stone to mar their suiface. 



The first object of Mr French was, to dig out and dis- 

 pose of the stones. To do this, he divided a tract, we 

 suppose, of 18 or 20 acres, into small lots of two to three 

 acres each, and dug a ditch to the depth of 2 1-2 feet or 

 more, for the foundation of the dividincr walls : into 

 this he tumbled stones, upon rvhirh he erected most 

 substantial walls, 5 to 5 12 feet high : these serve for 

 the double purpose of walls and drains. He also dug 

 other trenches of greater width, as a means of getiin" 

 rid of the stones, and at the same lime to drain the land ; 

 but afler all, it was fjnnd that in some portions of these 

 grounds, there was still too much inoistiire, as the occa- 

 sional appearance of rushes would testify. lie there- 

 fore determined to make thorough work with one of the 

 small lots of about two acres, directly in rear of his 

 buildings. He has dug drains 21 feet apart, across the 

 hreadih of the piece. These drains were three feet 

 wide at the surface, 2 1-2 feet deep, and the width of 

 the spade at the bottom. 



The manner of laying the stones to form the drain is, 

 to select such as are nearly v^■edge-shaped or triangular ; 

 these arc placed opposite to each other, in the bottom of 

 the Ireiicli, with the small ends dnwn — thus forming a 

 passage-w.iy for the water, in the shape of a rude gothic 

 arch. This, as it will be perceived, can be d.me very 

 rapidly. A little care is necessary that the stones be 

 laid in such a manner that they will not fall in. This 

 course being completed, stout chestnut rails are laid 

 lengthways in the centre. Another course of stones 

 are then laid upon each side, resting upon the rail and 

 the lower course, and thus forming three openings for 

 the water to pass. Small stones are then thrown in to 

 within a fool of the surface; the trench is then filled 

 with the soil. 



These drains all disciiarge themselves into a larger 

 one, which runs lengthways at the bottom of the piece, 

 and from thence into an adjoining pasture. The field 

 has considerable declivity. Tlie large drain i.s made 

 similar to the small ones, excepting that it is bropder, 

 and has two rails laid lengthways instead of one, thus 

 giving ample room for a free discharge of water. This 

 section of Mr French's firm is somewhat elevated, in a 

 moderate swell, which gives every chance for thorough 



draining. He stated that the expense of diaitiinj 

 lot, was at the rate of $,30 per aire. It should b 

 menibered that the sioncs were all handy. 



Mr French has used tiie subsnil plow very esten 

 ly on these grounds, to much advant.igi— of which 

 his many experiments with manure, we hope, wil 

 leave, to speak at some future time. 



A writer upon the subject of draining says : " I 

 call liim a dolt, who, with the means r>f reclamalii 

 his power, whether fmrn narrowness of mind or slu| 

 apathy of soul, robs the laborer of his hire, and tb 

 tion of its bread, by allowing his acres to lie com 

 lively sterile, drowned with water and covered 

 weeds, scattering inlection over the land with e 

 wind that blows. To say the least of it, he is neit 

 friend to himself, his race, or his country. Tlie fa 

 you may send ship after ship on the ocean, you 

 add house to house on the land — you have plenty o 

 how-room, but you cannot stretch out the map of 

 country, and plant additional farms thereon." 



MASS. HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



EilllBITIOS OF FLOWERS. 



Saturday, Oct. 28, 18< 



The specimens of Dahlias by Messrs. J. Siicknc 

 H. W. Dutton, were among the best exhibited d 

 the season. We have no recollection of having 

 at any time, a better specimen of any variety tha 

 bipom of Junes's Francis in the stand of Mr Sticli 

 there were others of great merit, viz : lUown's G 

 of Trumps, Widnall's Queen, liedford Surprise, 

 of Bath, &c. Hudson's Princess Royal is very fi 

 its form and general appearance, but the petal gnme 

 large and confused ; still we tliink well of it, and 

 another season to fully test its merits as also the 

 reputation of Essex Triumph. 



In the collection by Mr H. W. Dutton, we 1 

 some beautiful specimens: Oakley's Surprise 

 Charles XII., made a fine display ; and among i 

 others, we noticed Conslantia, Widnall's Queen, I 

 Triumph, and although last not least it our estim; 

 Admiral Stopford ; tliis last named variety, allh 

 not large, (judging from the specimen) in size, i; 

 in its form, petal good, color somewtiat like No Flu 

 tra, and we shall be disappointed if it does not t. 

 high stand and rank among the cultivators anothen 

 son. 



Bouquets, by Messrs. Warren, of Briglilon, and 

 Kenrick, of Newton. 



We were pleased to see some specimens of Violl 

 color, from the garden of Mr Warren, of Brighton. 

 For the Committee, 



S. WALKE 



0°An adjourned meeting of the Society, will be 

 on Saturday, Nov. 4th. 



EBEN. WIGHT, Ric. S 



Qj'The Fruit report is deferred for want of roor 



0=We hereby acknowledge the receipt of one 

 drod and fifty dollars from " the Rhode Island Sc 

 for the Encouragement of Domestic Industry," fc 

 New England Farmer, for distribution among its ? 

 bers. 



(CrWe would invite the attention of our readi 

 the account, on another page, of the late trial of { 

 by a committee cif ihe Essex Agriciiltuial Society 

 which it will ho seen that the Howard plow susl- 

 its high reputation. 



