1870. 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



419 



about five days the leg began to swell. I then ap- 

 plied a strong liquor, quite hot, of wormwood and 

 sniartweed. It is not as sore nor swelled so much. 

 But what to do for that cord, I don't know. 



Justin S. Montague. 

 Woodstock, Vt., July 12, 1870. 



Remarks.— "We doubt whether anything can be 

 done directly for the cord, further than by aiding 

 nature in its efforts to outgrow the wound. We 

 should advise you to get Dr. Boynton or some 

 other physician to examine the ox. Advice based 

 on such examination would be far more reliable 

 than any that we can give from a mere description. 

 Flies, dirt, &c., should be kept from the wound, 

 and perhaps the wormwood and smartweed wash 

 is about as good as any that can be used. Of late 

 carbolic soap is recommended for this purpose. 

 Your eflForts should be directed to assist nature in 

 her efforts to heal the wound, rather than to find 

 any infallible "cure." 



DRAINING. 



Information is wanted in relation to underdrain- 

 ing land that has a tight, pan subsoil, which holds 

 water late in the spring; is smart, powerful land, 

 will produce large crops of grass, corn, or grain, 

 when the season is not too wet. Now, what I want 

 to know, is, will it pay or be profitable to make 

 drains across this field or up and down, (as the 

 land cants sufficient for the water to run either 

 way,) and lay stone drains and fill in with small 

 stone, of which there seems to be plenty on and 

 in the ground ? 



I have had no practical experience in draining 

 land ; all I know is what I have read in agricultu- 

 ral papers. 1 do not want you to tell me that tile 

 are best for drains, for there are none made in this 

 place or near here, and to bring them on the rail- 

 road would be too expensive. 



I might answer some of the numerous questions 

 that have been asked in the Farmer the past year, 

 but I will wait and see what you say in relation 

 to my drains. John L. Jones. 



Ripley, Maine, 1870. 



Remarks. — On such land as you describe, there 

 is no doubt in our mind that it would be profita- 

 ble to drain by the use of stones. To make a 

 sure thing of it, we would advise that the work be 

 done in a thorough manner. Judge French, in his 

 excellent work on "Farm Drainage," says : — "In 

 clay or hard pan, such a drain [stones] may be 

 made durable, with proper care, but it must be 

 laid deep enough to be beyond the efiect of the 

 treading of cattle and of loaded teams and the 

 common action of frost." A drain between three 

 and four feet deep will be more sure to carry the 

 water freely and will be much more permanent 

 than one laid a foot or more less. 



It will be well, too, to consider which will be 

 best, to form a duct of six, eight or more inches of 

 stones of considerable size, in the bottom of the 

 ditch, cover with flat stones, either in a triangular 

 duct or the square culvert, then put on shavings 

 or hay, and fill to the surface with earth ; or fill 

 over the duct with small stones a portion of the 

 way to the surface, and finish with earth. 



Our own opinion, based upon some experience, 

 IS, that the small stones would be injurious rather 



than beneficial. They would allow a pretty free 

 passage for the water to carry down with it sand 

 and fine soil, which would gradually fill the duct 

 and afford fine nestling places for moles. The 

 moles are busy people, frequently passing up and 

 down from the stones to the surface, and thereby 

 leaving numerous holes where the water can run 

 down in volume during showers, and take the 

 earth along with it. 



On the contrary, if the duct is covered with turf, 

 shavings or straw, and then the ditch filled with 

 earth, the water could not rush down through it, 

 or fall in drops, but when the soil is filled with all 

 it could hold, would gently and gradually pass 

 down through the pores of the soil by its own 

 weight, into the duct, without disturbing the earth 

 above it. 



With regard to the course in which the drains 

 should run, we think they should be up and down ; 

 that is, in the direction of the general slope. 



Drains put in the hard pan, between three and 

 four feet deep and twenty feet apart, will prob- 

 ably remain good for fifty years — perhaps a hun- 

 dred — and, with judicious treatment in cultivating, 

 the field will produce double the value in crops 

 than if it remained undrained. 



A considerable portion of the expense of drain- 

 ing is repaid by the increased value of that portion 

 of the soil which is trenched. When a field is 

 treated alike in all its parts, with manure and pul- 

 verization, the lines of the drains will show double 

 the crops that are produced on other portions of 

 the field. This is the result of a fine root bed, 

 giving the roots ample room for extending them- 

 selves and finding the food they need. Thus you 

 have our say in relation to your drains. Prob- 

 ably we could have written more intelligently were 

 we better acquainted with your land and its sur- 

 roundings. In closing, we must put in our claim 

 for the fulfilment of your implid promise about 

 answering questions that are asked in the Far- 

 mer. We have no doubt of your ability to do so. 

 Why should you not do it then ? The idea that 

 ministers, lawyers, &c., should do the talking and 

 writing for farmers is all wrong, as is also that 

 other notion that by writing anything to be printed, 

 a common farmer is liable to be laughed at for 

 trying to be smarter, wiser or more learned than 

 his neighbors. Why shouldn't farmers talk and 

 write about farming ? 



IRISH farmers. — YANKEE EXODUS. 



An Irish correspondent stated some weeks since 

 in the Farmer that his countrymen are supersed- 

 ing Yankees on our New England farms. This 

 fact is very noticeable in this region, which has a 

 good reputation for grazing and mowing lands. 

 The Irishman "works out" as a laborer for some 

 years, until he has acquired five hundred or a 

 thousand dollars, which he invests as part pay- 

 ment for a small, snug farm and stock, and before 

 long it is paid for. The exceptions are rare iu 

 which this class do not make thrilty, providenr, 

 and honest men, — good citizens who arertaiiy o. 

 great accession to the community. They rear 



