INo. 10. 



AND GARDENER'S JOURNAL. 



159 



w.n 'd, \vn9 in one ecnee, niso, tbe prujreat. Its popu- 

 lajoii, iiifjttnot «?■ it was wiih aii.l.)r, nnd unrivallod 

 fnr i-a industry, wns unemployed, and in want. — 

 h loma were eilent — iiianiifactonea were closed — com- 

 mercial men looked at each other in conBlcrnntioM and 

 dcsi)n)r I What wns the cause of thiu extraordinary 

 eiiue of things 1 It wae in be foimd in the laws which 

 l>robibit ihe exchange of labor for food. The eyes of 

 the c uuury were turned upon Manche>lcr. It wns 

 necoasary, therefore, that thooe uasembled ahoiild stand 

 clear from all imputaiion, and it was most desirable 

 that tho- eiioiild avo.d commitiint^ tbemeelves to any 

 distinctive line of pnriy politic, which might coni- 

 IproinioC them in pnblic opinion. Let them adhere 

 firm'y to principle, but avoid giving oiTence to any 

 one — uniting to the courage of the lion the gentleness 

 of ihe Iamb. 



Di\ Vye Smith followed with on energetic appeal 

 to the syinuathiea cf his audience. He contended 

 ihal the Corn L^ws were a part of that vicious t-ys- 

 lem of legislation waich had its origin in the night of 

 ignorance and baibarisiii. Some person objecled to 

 lake part in the proceeding/9 of the Conference be- 

 cause they snid it was interfering in a matter of tiscal 

 regulation. Such ought not so to be recrive i. lie 

 protested ogninet the doctrine that ministers of religion 

 ought noi to interfere with politics. The alternative 

 ■now presented to the country was this — removal of 

 iniquity, or tbe ruin of the nution. — Emutdpator. 



Irrigation* 



The cfTecte of running water flowing over grogs 

 nds, is 60 highly ben< licial that every farmer should 

 Bsceridin whether ihtre is not nonie portion of hiy 

 lands which may be cheaply irrigated. \Xeeny cheap- 

 Iffj because the price of lands ,n this region is not high 

 eiiough to justify such outlays as are often profitably 

 made in England and on the cuitinent of Europe. — 

 Toe waters of many a email tstream in our hill country, 

 might by a few hours work wiih the plough, be car- 

 ried along the hill-eidc in such manner that they would 

 percolaie ihrouiih the slight embankment and nourish 

 a vigortms growth of iirass on all the sloping ground 

 bA 'W the d.lch or canal. This is cheap manure — ap- 

 plying itsell year after year — and long maintaining the 

 r.:riiiity of the soil unimpaired. At the baee of the 

 nil It w.U often be necessary to open a drain for the 

 wn-cr wiiich finds its way di)wn. Siiould it come to 

 1 lilt and cold soil, as it ofien would, at the terniina- 

 ,io:i of the descent, th:it soil would be injured. While 



I )wing wtitcr is favorable to vcgetalde growth, stag- 

 lint water is baneful. Wherever the farmer can 

 :;.iu?5 water to flow over his irniss lands without stag- 

 Titing npm the.n, he will find gieil benefit from the 

 ),)erati ni. Toe following article from the Southern 

 A4riculiurist, wid be read with inter 'tt, though it de- 

 -,crii>e3 processes more expensive than most cultivators 

 will be ready to adopt. — .V E. Earmtr. 



\Vasiiington, April 3, 1341. 

 T[» the National (nstUutionfor tlie proinoUon of i>ci- 



ence : 



Smee the brief elatement of the advanngos of irri- 

 gniion appeared in my discourse dr ivcTPd before the 

 jn?lituti(m in January Inet, 1 have leceived so many 

 applications f)r inormaiion on the manner of water- 

 ing land, that 1 am induced to bcheve a more extended 

 noLH-e of the subject may be acceptable and useful. 



Tiic numerous and abundant rivers, atreamp, and 

 bri'o'o, which traverse our country in evervdirec:ion, 

 all^rd great facditiea for irrigating the soil, and thou- 

 emdii of acres of barren land might ther'^by be render- 

 ed as produciive as any in the United States. 



The thin soils, which drain and dry easily, profit 

 mist by the use of water, and are the irast prodirjlive 

 v-iihout it. The gravelly, sandy land of Chile pro- 

 fin ccs by irrigation, upwards of thirty bu~hels o( wheat 



I I tlie acre, and the pior lands in the neigh!Kirhood of 

 M-'xico, are made equally produciive by this process. 

 Th3 great advantage, however, to be derived from 

 th^' free use ol water is not so much in the increase of 

 grain, as in that of grasa crop3. A water meadow 

 ni.t'i!,h'd to a farm, gives the farmer an abundance of 

 mmure fir that portion of his land which he keeps in 

 tillage ; for h« may convert into dung the whde of the 

 h ly it produces, wliile it requires nothing in return but 

 w.!t?ring 



In ihe Carolinas and Georgio, the low lands border- 

 ing on the rivers are '"rrigaicd a.s high up as the influ- 

 cn -e of the tide extends for the cultivation of r.ce. The 

 w itcs 18 a Imiited into ditches paralel and perpendic- 

 ular to the river, and thenfe dislr.buted by feeders 

 over the whole surface, so as to druwn the land, by 

 T opening the sluices when the tide is rising ; and after 

 ^' keeping it there 03 long na ia rfceincd neaes^ary, it is 



let off at low tide. This method might be practiced 

 With great advantage (m all the tide-water rivers thro*- 

 out our country, where the banks are low enough to 

 admit the water at high title. Elai lands that have not 

 the advnntage of tide water, are the most difficult to 

 irrigate successfully, tor it is essential that when the 

 water is let off, the land should be drained perfectly 

 dry ; otherwise it will produce coarse grass of inferior 

 quality. 



Linds that have a gentle slope, even steep hill side, 

 are better adapted for irrigalio'i, as they admit of the 

 wa'cr flowing over them without ntvering the top of 

 the plants, thus giving tiiem the advan^age ot air and 

 moisture. A gentle current is considered more ad- 

 vania_'eous than stagnant \\atcr, and the land thus sit- 

 uated will always drsin dry when the water ceases to 

 flow. On level land it is necessary to condui-t the 

 drain so far that it may enter the river low enough to 

 ensure a sufiicient fall to dry the land. 



Where the stream is rapid and the fall great, it is 

 not necessary to construct any dam ; but simply to 

 tap the river high enough up to lead the water along 

 the highest part of th*: field ; but where the current 

 IS sluggish, the water must be raised by a dam erected 

 at the point where it is to be used. 



The;e are two methods of wotering lands. The 

 one by dividing the field into regnlar beds, and the 

 other by what is called caich work, which is resorted 

 to where the iorm of the ground i** irregular. It va. 

 rios therefore with the circunittances of the land it is 

 piopoHed to water ; hut the conductors, feeders, and 

 drains, must be laid so as to profit by the natural 

 movements of the toil both to water and to drain it. 



The fi 8t thing to be done by the farmer who de 

 sires to irrigate his fields, is to take an accurate level 

 of the ground which he intends to water, so as to com- 

 pare the highest part of it with the height of the water 

 to bo used. The surface of the water must be eight, 

 twelve, or twenty incnea higher than that of the land, 

 according to the distance of one, two, or three hun- 

 dred yards from the one it. the other. The main con- 

 ductor is then to be cut from that point as straight as 

 it can be, to lead to and continue along the highest 

 side o*" the field. 



If the land has any swells on its surface higher than 

 the rest, it will be neccrsary to give to each of them 

 its own ctmducior, wilh feeders branching Irom it, to 

 convey the water over that portion of the field. The 

 width of the conductors must depend upon the quan- 

 tity of water they are required to convey ; and be deep 

 enough to receive the muddiest portion of the stream ; 

 for although the land Will profit hy being covered with 

 clear water, it ia more en-iched by the deposit of tur 

 bid slrC'ima. Kach conductor is to be prov.dcd with 

 a sluice to regulate the admission of the water. In 

 case the river does not run in such a direction as to 

 allow the water, after flowing the land, to be di«^*har- 

 ged directly into it, a mnin drain must be cut along 

 the lower part of the meadow to icreive the surplus 

 water and convey it to the river. This shonid be of 

 the same dimensions as the principal conductor. The 

 portion of meadow to be wate ed by each conductor 

 is next to bo divided into beds from thirty to fifty feet 

 wide, the feeders, wmch branch at right angles from 

 the conductor, running along the centre of them, ex« 

 ccpt wh'Te the ground ffdis twu ways, when il may 

 be necessary to make the feeders nearer to one dram 

 than the other. A bed two hundred yards long will 

 require a feeder where it leaves the conductor to bt; 

 iwemy inches wide, nnd irradually diminishing in 

 width to twelve inches the txiremity. A drain is to 

 be made between every two feedc-rs, and parallel to 

 them of the same dimensions, btit reversed form ; t' e 

 upper part being ten or twelve inches, and the drain 

 gradually widening to twenty inches, where it termi- 

 nates cither in the main or in the river. Su|»pooing 

 these works finisiied and rt-'atty to go into operatinn. 

 the manager opens the sluice to admit the water into 

 the conductor, where he adjusts the stops ia such a 

 manner as to eupply the feeders. He next regulate;* 

 the 8to;,8 in the first fecd'T, so that the vva'.er shall flow 

 regulai ly over its bides from one end to the other. He 

 then repeals this [ rocess in the second feeder, and so 

 on, uniil ail the feeders are adjusted. The eiops may 

 beof pit'ces of board or of turf pinned down, if neces 

 sary, taking care to keep the heads of the pegs below 

 the surface of the water, otherwise they arc apt to 

 collect weeds and trash. 



The proiiti ari&ing fn m irrigation are so great that 

 they will justi'y a cipns.derahte outlay. The works, 

 therefjre, ou^ht to he well and durably constructed ; 

 the dams and sluices of ihr? be^l materials, and able to 

 re^iot the audih'n rising of the water. The baU which 

 as aheady stated, are to be from thirty to fifty feet 

 wide, gSj^uU he raised from one (ooi vo fourtoon inches 



in the cenfe, so that the water will fall gently off 

 from the feeders which run along their summits to the 

 drains. 



1 have endeavored to give such a description of the 

 prt)cesfl of irrigafion as will at least enable a farmer to 

 judge of the practicability of watering any portion of 

 his land, if not lu execute ihi; work himself. Those 

 who Bcek fur fuuher information on this important 

 subject, may consult the works of Boswell, VVright, 

 Smith and Johneoo. Loudon's Encyclopedia of Ag- 

 riculture, ond Stephens' Practical Irrigator. Tbe con- 

 Piriielion of works for irrigation belongs, however, to 

 the civd engineer, and it is to he hoped ihot those of 

 the United Stoles will turn their otleniion to the sub- 

 ject. 



Our extensive linea of canals may, for the most part 

 be convened into conductors, and the water be bene- 

 ficially used to fructify the country throngh which 

 they pas". If a bleesing awaits the man who makes 

 two blades of grats grow where only one grew before, 

 the irrigator will be thrice blesbcd — f.ir well waieied 

 land will produce at least three limes as mucii grass 

 as the same quality of sod under dry culture. 



J. n. POINSETT. 



ladiau Corn and Sugar Beets. 



We have certainly never bail a more continued ami 

 atorehing drought in this vicinity than th;il with which wo 

 are now visi'.cil. The clouds Bonieiinies roll up nnd prescut 

 all the usual tigns of rain ; but il would tfccni that the dry 

 and heated surfiicc possesses a power of repulsion, or railier 

 a tnek of attrr-ction, for the sun again brey.ks out wilh its 

 wonted firea, and the clouds di.s.nppcar as if they werein th» 



•' Deep bosom of the ocean Imried." 

 Pasture is dried up ; potatoes, even those which were plant- 

 ed early, arc no hing. But it would seem that a kind Prov- 

 idrncc has given UF,in addition to winter gr.ain, two article* 

 of food for man and Least, which from their early rapid 

 growtli and large con 'ueting leaves, are cahable of Kubsis - 

 ingand thriving well fur a long tinir, without other external 

 moisture than the dews of heaven. 



We have now Sugar Beets from 4 to 6 inches in diam<»teT 

 growing only i2 inches apart, they were transplanted early 

 in June. We have corn planted 15th May in drills 3 feet 

 apart ; 8 lo 1-2 inches apart in the drills, with 1 full ear and 

 a nubbin on utmost every stalk. Such a growth of Sugur 

 Beets and Corn we have never had before in the same space 

 of giound, in any one season. A niasicrlv farmer in thli 

 vicinity corroborates on a large si-ale our small experience 

 he iilsu says that his clover bears the drought well. 



We have no doubt but that Ihe green stalks and Sugftr 

 Beels raised on a single acre would feed more cows at ibis 

 time ib.in all the pasture witiiiii a mile square. 



A stinmier drouglit to some extent seems lo us to be an 

 annual occurrence in the rhnnipnign regions of Western 

 New Yoik. lIcHL-c the import;. nee of a more general cult - 

 vation of those vegetalile productions which thrive better in 

 dry than in cold wet seasons. It strikes us that this kind of 

 cuIti\"alion should obtain more ond more, around our now 

 rapidly increasin? villages, iJong Ihe canal and railroad; 

 routCH, wlicre manurff is cheap and plenty, and the lalmreri 

 are not t'ew. S. W. 



WuUrloo. Auffutt ^%, S4'. 



llow to Cure Com. 



Cut It off at the ground, as every goo I fjirmer will do," 

 then draw it off an t staii 1 It up against the crooks of the 

 fences around ihe fie! I, from o:ie to two feet ihick. It will 

 cure much better ani quiikcr in this way tnan if stacked in 

 the n>nal manner; it is a saving of time ; and the ground 

 win be clear for putting In wheat if desired. M. N 



Rkmark. — If the field is not fery *m/i//, w^ apprehend it 

 will ^e^;iire the stalks to bepla-el more than one or two 

 feet thick arounitho fences, iinlejis the crop ia very light, 

 or the fences of other fields arc used. — Eos- 



Driving \ails Into Flard Wood, 



We have lately seen another experiment of driving 

 nails into hard seasoned timber, fairly tried The 

 firs* two n<nla, ofter passing through a pine b'ard, en- 

 tered about one ineh. and then doubled down under 

 the hammer ; but on dipping the points of ihc other 

 six or oii;ht nails into lard, every one wos driven homo 

 without the least difficulty. 



Carpenters, w-ho are engn^ed in repairing old build- 

 ing3, sometimes carry a small lump of Jard or l&IloT 

 for this pnrpoffs on ono of tbcir boota at sboea. 



i 



