1862. 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



206 



Fur the New England Farmer. 

 "WILL UNDEBDRAINLNG PAY?" 



Dear Sir : — The question has been repeatedly 

 asked in your paper, "Will underdraining pay ?" 

 and as often answered in the affirmative. Yet 

 there is some doubt in my mind about its being a 

 paying operation in all places. For one lot of 

 land, in a certain locality, it may pay well to drain, 

 while with another, equally good, but in a differ- 

 ent locality, it would be a losing operation. Or, 

 with the men of capital, it might pay well in the 

 end, while with the farmer, having no resources 

 but the income of his farm, it would be of doubt- 

 ful propriety. Is, or is not such the fact ? 



I have a lot of land containing ten acres, which, 

 I doubt not, would be greatly improved by drain- 

 age, as it is nearly all too wet for cultivation. 

 About one-half of the lot was formerly a wet, miry 

 swamp, the mud gradually increasing in depth 

 from the outside to the cciitre, where no bottom 

 has ever been found. It has been partially 

 drained, the old grass roots have decayed, and the 

 surface rendered very easy of cultivation. The 

 remainder of the lot consists of a wide strip on 

 three sides of the swamp, of moist, loamy land. 

 The surface is a black, rich-looking mould. The 

 subsoil, in the dryer parts, is a deep brown-colored 

 loam. This rests upon a hardpan bottom. In 

 the wetter portion it is a fine, slate-colored, clayey 

 substance. This land is located where farms, as 

 they average, are worth $20 per acre, and hay 

 from $12 to $lo per ton. Now, taking into con- 

 sideration the value of the land and its quality, as 

 described, the worth of hay, the expense of tile 

 and their transportation here, (being twelve miles 

 from any depot,) will it pay to underdrain such 

 land in this locality ? Or would you advise filling 

 the ditches in the hard pan with small stones ? 



How would strips of hemlock board nailed to- 

 gether, answer ? Would they be durable and less 

 likely to become clogged than stones? What 

 would be the expense of tile ? How long are the 

 pieces, and what is their weight, and where can 

 they be obtained ? 



One question further. Would it be a safe op- 

 eration for a man without means to drain and re- 

 claim this land I have described, and depend upon 

 its production for his pay ? Il- T. 



liuiland, Mass., Feb. 4, 1862. 



Remarks. — It seems to us that our correspon- 

 dent can work out the problem for himself with- 

 out our help. It appears that the "wide strip on 

 three sides of the swamp" produces nothing now. 

 Suppose he reclaims one acre 



At a cost of $30,00 



Manure 10,00 



Grass seed 2,00 



$42,00 



On such land, he cannot fail to pet, the first 

 year, 1 ton of hay, worth, after the cost 

 of making $12,00 



The second year,l>i tons 18,00— $30 00 



$12,00 



At the end of the second year, instead of an of- 

 fensive, unproductive swamp, he has land worth 

 $100 per acre for agricultural purposes, which has 

 cost him only $12 per acre, and with proper care 



will continue at that value through generations to 

 come. Is it, then, worth draining ? 



If there is hard pan underneath, and the upper 

 portion is muck, it would be quite likely to wash 

 down and obstruct the flow of water if it were 

 constructed with stones. Stones will answer a 

 good purpose for many years in a gravelly or 

 sandy loam. Simple, open ditches may, possibly, 

 answer the purpose for a time — but they should be 

 dug where the tiles are to be placed, so as to pre- 

 vent digging again when tiles are to be laid. The 

 cost of tile at the factory is about $14 a thousand. 

 They are in pieces, each 12 inches long. If hem- 

 lock boards could be kept always wet, they would 

 last for a long time ; but where changing from 

 wet to dry, and dry to wet, they would soon rot 

 out. Mr. George Campbell, of West Westmin- 

 ster, Vt., says hemlock bark "is as durable as 

 tile, and not half as expensive." 



Fur the Nete England Farmer. 

 HUNGARIAN GRASS, OR GRATN". 



Mr. Editor : — Considerable has been said, for 

 tliree or four years past, about Hungarian grass ; 

 some against its usefulness, but more in its favor. 

 I have cultivated several acres each year, for four 

 years, and having met Avith uniform success, am 

 now prepared to say I entertain the same senti- 

 ments concerning it that I did in 1859, and again 

 in 1860, which were published in your paper. 



I continue to cultivate it on account of the uni- 

 foi-m and abundant yield of both hay and grain. 

 Of hay, about as much as I could get of any other 

 kind upon the same land, (according to quality, 

 from Id to 4 tons per acre,) and of uniform good 

 quality, when I have good weather to cure it. Of 

 grain, from 15 to 25 bushels, weighing from 44 to 

 48 pounds per bushel, which is received with as 

 great avidity as corn and oats, by all the domestic 

 animals I have around me. 



I harvest it as soon as the seed is mostly ripe. 

 At the time of cutting, it requires very much 

 more drying than herds grass does when cut in 

 bloom. With me, I can say horses and cattle are 

 as ready for this hay when well cured, as they are 

 for other good hay. By cultivating this, I have a 

 double crop, either of which is very satisfactory. 



Several reasons exist in my mind why this 

 grass has not been more readily adopted by farm- 

 ers. Many have tried it on a email scale, having 

 sowed a pint, a quart, or even four quarts of seed, 

 as an experiment, and put the result of the har- 

 vest into the barn, to receive their attention when 

 they might find it convenient. After awliile they 

 find the seed mostly eaten up by a privileged set 

 of pilferers, ever ready to take their rations in the 

 sheaf, when the farmer is willing to be saved the 

 trouble of threshing in season, and going to mill. 

 This farmer, of course, thinks the result of the ex- 

 periment not very good. ISIy plan and practice is 

 a different one. I thresh it with a machine as 

 soon as I bring it to the barn, and then carefully 

 season or dry the seed before I put it in the bin. 



Some have read in accredited agricultural pa- 

 pers, got up expressly to advance the science of 



