5o8 



LIGHT FROM THE SOCIETIES. 



to survive such severe treatment and spin its cocoon is 

 remarkable, and it is not strange that alternate freezing 

 and thawing was generally fatal. 



Making Old Orchards Profitable. — There are some old 

 orchards in which there seem to be no chances for profit. 

 Some of this kind are comprised almost entirely of worth- 

 less varieties, and are good for nothing but firewood. 

 There are in Illinois many old orchards that, with good 

 management, could be made profitable. A large number 

 of them are composed of trees that bear little fruit, but 

 what little fruit they do bear is generally of good quality. 

 Some of these trees are dead in the lower limbs and bear 

 only in the tops ; some of them are too closely set, and 

 might be thinned and the oldest trees taken out. The 

 orchard should not be thinned by the amputation of the 

 limbs on the trees that interfere with the limbs of other 

 trees. If the trees are so close that their branches inter- 

 fere, the thinning should be done by removing some of 

 the trees themselves, and enough should be removed to 

 give the trees that are left plenty of room. Water- 

 sprouts should be left to protect the trunks of the trees 

 against sun-scalds. If the soil is poor sow red clover- 

 seed. If the shade is dense plant orchard-grass. It will 

 not be practicable to plow deep, even where such plow- 

 ing is needed, and the clover-roots will do the plowing 

 better than can be done by any implement. Hogs are 

 better than colts for pasturing in the orchard. Light 

 grazing may be allowed in the fall. The orchard must 

 be fed, and if the trees have borne many full crops they 

 will be found to be getting weak from fruit-bearing. In 

 this case barnyard manure should be put on, and this 

 seems to be the best kind of manure for this purpose. — 

 F. I. Mann. Ccnlral Illinois Ilorticullnral Society. 



Stirring the Soil after Rains.— I found during my 

 studies of soil-moisture, when taking samples of soil just 

 before a rain, and again immediately after in the same 

 localities, that on several occasions the soil at some dis- 

 tance below the surface was drier after than before the 

 rain. I found, also, on two different occasions, by deter- 

 mining the amount of water in an area of field-soil down 

 to a depth of four feet, and then adding with a sprinkler 

 a known quantity of water to the surface, that after the 

 lapse of about 24 hours the lower three feet contained 

 less water than before tlie sprinkling occurred, while the 

 upper foot had gained in water more than had been added 

 to the surface. I have not been able yet to determine 

 whether this principle applies to all soils, but there is a 

 condition of moisture for clayey soils underlaid in which 

 a certain amount added to the surface increases for a 

 time their power of drawing water from deeper below the 

 surface, so that in these cases the surface foot may re- 

 ceive not simply the rains which fall upon them, but an 

 additional quantity brought up from below in conse- 

 quence of the rains having fallen. 



These facts make it evident that there may be times 

 when to leave a piece of ground unstirred two or three 

 days after a shower may result in leaving the upper four 

 or five feet of soil in a drier condition than if it had not 

 rained at all, because not only will the rain itself have 



been evaporated from the surface, but in addition some 

 portion of the deeper soil-water which the rain was the 

 occasion of bringing up from below. If the surface is 

 broken as soon as the soil will permit of it, there will be 

 retained near the surface, where the moisture is most 

 needed, not only most of the rain which fell, but in addi- 

 tion that which the increased capillary action has brought 

 up from below. — Prof. F. H. King, before the Agri- 

 cultural Convention. 



How to Drain.— The best material for a drain-pipe is 

 round or cylindrical tile, without collars or joints. As 

 to the merits of soft and hard (or glazed) tiles, there is 

 but very little difference. The latter are not so likely to 

 crack and flake where exposed to the frost, as at outlets. 

 The water goes in through the joints, and not through 

 pores of the tile as some suppose. Each tile should be 

 rejected that does not show a clear red color and give a 

 metallic ring when struck with a hammer. Most author- 

 ities have advised them too small. The tendency in this 

 country is now toward larger tiles, and that is simply be- 

 cause they are needed. Even the two-inch tiles are be- 

 coming scarce. The tiles used should be large enough 

 not only to carry off all extra water in a short time — and 

 the sooner the better — but also to provide for cases of 

 emergency. For sizes from three to six inches and grades 

 less than three feet to the hundred, a good rule for find- 

 ing the number of acres any tile will drain is to square 

 the diameter and divide by four. For example, for every 

 500 feet ; A 3-inch pipe will drain 1% acres ; a 4-inch 

 main will drain 4 acres; a 5-inch main will drain 6^ 

 acres ; a 6-inch main will drain 9 acres. For steeper 

 grades than three feet to the hundred, it may be divided 

 by three. Have the mains large enough to take the water 

 as fast as the soil can filter it and the laterals collect it. 

 A depth of four feet may do very well for the deep loamy 

 soil of the western prairie, but for the compact clayey 

 soils of Ohio a depth of 2 '2 feet is quite sufficient. 

 Where the tiles are placed shallow the drains can be 

 closer together. The minimum depth should be two feet. 

 But it must be remembered that the filtration is less, 

 and the consequent loss of manure or fertilizing materia' 

 is greater. For horticultural purposes they should be 25 

 feet, and in loamy soil they may be four or five rods 

 apart. Hand-work, with hand-tools, is decidedly best. 

 The first implement to use is a two-horse plow. First 

 cut deep with the plow, in the fall ; then the light snows 

 will prevent freezing. Thus the workman may keep 

 busy nearly all winter, and the ditch may be worked while 

 the surface of the ground is frozen. If ditching is done 

 in the winter the work should be commenced at the out- 

 let and continued back upward. The same process should 

 be observed at any time when the ground is saturated 

 with water and it is ready to run off through the ditch. 

 But in commencing at the lower end to place the tile, 

 great caution should be observed in keeping mud or dirt 

 from passing into the drain, and each evening it should 

 be well stopped at its upper end with a bunch of grass or 

 hay. — From lecture by IV. I. Chamberlain, before a 

 meeting at the Ohio State University. 



