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though but seven years were left of his lease, he did it at 

 a cost of $500. The result fully justified the expense, for 

 in the remaining seven years he made, over and above all 

 expenses, money, enough to pay $12,000 for the farm he had 

 drained. No land can produce well without the aid of heat 

 and proper aeration. If the soil is full of water it will be 

 impervious to the air, and the water will also counteract 

 the eflfects of the sun's rays, and the ground will be cold 

 and lifeless. Without the influence of heat and air, neces- 

 sary chemical changes in the constituents of the soil cannot 

 take place, consequently the roots fail to find the nourish- 

 ment they are seeking — they fail to penetrate the soil to a 

 sufficient depth, and instead of a rich subsoil, there will only 

 be surface soil to support vegetation. That soon becomes 

 exhausted, and the land appears worn out. Draining opens 

 up a mine of fertilizers below, the roots run quickly down 

 to it, and there is no question that the crops are greatly 

 increased. There is much land in our State that would be 

 greatly improved by draining. The soils that will bp im- 

 proved can be ascertained, during the wet season, by digging 

 a hole in the fields and watching the height to which the 

 water rises. In many 'places it will remain almost on a 

 level nearly all winter; in others showing itself one, two or 

 three feet below it. And this, too, on rolling lands that are 

 supposed to be dry enough. Not only are the wet lands 

 made dryer, but the dry lands made wetter. This is effected 

 by the soil becoming porous, so as to better admit the mois- 

 ture df rains and dews. It is made warmer, and conse- 

 quently frosts will have less effect, there being less moisture 

 to freeze on the surface. And besides, by being warmer 

 the crops come on earlier. 



Our northern farmers practice almost exclusively tile 

 draining. This is a costly mode, and if it were the only 

 way our farmers would be frightened at once from the effort. 

 But so thoroughly is this plan practiced, that it is no longer 

 an experiment. Some counties in Ohio have spent the pub- 



