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NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



/::''- 



PLOWING— DRAINING. 

 On the 17th instant, Ave were plowing with a 

 heavy pair of cattle and horse on a side hill, where 

 the footing was firm and good,— but where, four 

 years ago, a man could not walk without weeing 

 his feet and occasionally getting mired. This 

 change was effected by draining. Common pipe 

 drains were put down four feet below the surface, 

 and the drains laid twenty feet apart. The grass 

 came in last summer and gave a heavy crop, and 

 now, in the midst of a long storm and general*? 

 wet 'season, the land is in admirable condition to 

 be plowed and planted. 



We have practiced draining our wet lands, and 

 believe that we engage in no operation on the 

 farm that Is more profitable. It is wonderful, 

 what a change is effected in such land in the 

 course of two years. From a wet, sticky, heavy 

 soil, it becomes porous and friable, dropping into 

 fine grains when stirred, and rendering it light 

 and pleasant to cultivate. The change in its pro- 

 ducts is also as great as that of its mechanical 

 condition. Water grasses, hassocks and rushes 

 disappear entirely, and sweet timothy, red-top 

 and clover take their places. On a portion of the 

 drained land of which we have spoken, the herds- 

 grass stood more than four fed high,— and came 

 without sowing any seed to bring it. 



We believe the whole matter of drainage is too 

 much neglected. It will certainly bring money 

 to the pocket of the farmer, but as it comes indi- 

 rectly, the sources from which it springs are lost 

 sight of, and the work is neglected. 



On this subject, we have quoted various author- 

 ities to sustain the opinions which we have from 

 time to time advanced, and among others that of 

 Mr. John Johnston, who resides near Seneca 

 Lake, in the State of New York. He says tile 

 draining pays the expense in two seasons, some- 

 times in one. In 1847, he bought 10 acres of 

 land, a perfect quagmire, to get an outlet, and in 

 1848 harvested 80 bushels of corn per acre, which 

 paid for the land and drainage. Another piece 

 of 20 acres was drained at an expense of about 

 $30 an acre, and the first crop was over 83 bush- 

 els per acre, where before not more than 10 were 

 harvested. A part of the field averaged 94 bush- 

 els per acre, this being 84 bushels over the former 

 yield. One-half of the manure used before drain- 

 ing was found ample, for maximum crops, so ben- 

 eficial was the removal of water. 



Mr. Johnston says he never made money thThe 

 drained, and that occupiers of comparatively dry 

 land will find advantage in draining. 



His farm comprises about 300 acres. His yield 

 of wheat is from 30 to 40 bushels per acre. He 

 uses salt at the rate of five bushels per acre. 



He recommends farmers not to use over 2-inch 

 .tiles for lateral drains. He makes his main drains 



6 or 8 inches deeper than his laterals. An error 

 he fell into was in having too many drains on low 

 land, and too few on high land. To drain effect- 

 ively the supply of water above must be cut off, 

 then fewer drains will be needed below. Here is 

 the secret. 



These opinions come from one of the most 

 thoroughly practical men in this country; a man 

 who is independent, and who has acquired his 

 means through an intelligent, scientific industry, 



TRIAL OF MOWING MACHINES. 



It is now some twelve years since the mowing 

 machine was introduced among us, and, somewhat 

 later, became common on New England farms. 

 The prejudice that so long existed against them 

 has been obliged to yield, so that now, when help 

 is scarce and high, the most inveterate advocates 

 for sticking to old "notions" and the old scythe 

 are quite willing to borrow a mowing machine for 

 a few days, to say tne least. They will condescend 

 to do this, when the practical mower demands two 

 dollars and fifty cents per day, and board, for bio 

 labor ! 



Since the introduction of the first rude and im- 

 perfect machine, great improvements have been 

 made in them, and new'ones devised of more beau- 

 tiful and convenient form, more substantial in 

 structure and yet of much lighter draft, and less 

 weight of metal and wood. 



We have no means at hand of ascertaining how 

 many different patterns, or patented machines- 

 have been introduced and recommended, but the 

 number must be quite large. A manufacturer of 

 them recently informed us that he thought he 

 could enumerate ffty different kinds ! Out of the 

 ten or twelve kinds that we have tested, or seen 

 under trial, we could not, conscientiously, recom- 

 mend more than one-half of them, and this com- 

 parative number will probably hold good in all 

 that have been made. If such is the case, the 

 loss to the fanner in purchasing machines unfit for 

 the purposes for which they were constructed, 

 must be very large. The money loss is not all. 

 Disappointment, delay, vexation, and want of 

 confidence in all farm-machinery will come in to 

 swell the aggregate loss. This should no longer 

 continue. Some means should be suggested to 

 ascertain for a certainty what really good machines 

 there are, — machines that have stood the test of 

 several years trial, — and when this is done, the 

 fact should be made known to all the farmers in 

 the land. 



In order to get at the greatly needed informa- 

 tion, we suggest that a grand trial be had of the 

 different mowing machines that can be got together, 

 during the coming haying season, where all inter- 

 ested may attend and judge for themselves which 

 is the best machine among them all, and the one 



