1871.] 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
91 
there is porous, gravely subsoil, the driven- 
well offers an effectual method. Au iron pipe, 
suitably pointecl,is driven down below the water- 
line, and will give just as good a supply of wa- 
ter as a well curbed with stone or brick to the 
same depth. The first cost of the driven-well 
is much less than any one of the other methods. 
The great objection to it is the cost of pumping 
the water, which, for a large stock of cattle, 
would be two or three hours' work every day. 
But even this expense would be better than 
drinking ice-water three months in the year. It 
is manifest from this brief consideration of the 
different methods of supplying water for stock, 
that tiie elevated spring is altogether the best, 
and in most cases a man can better afford to lay 
a pipe a half-mile in length than to get his wa- 
ter by pump or windmill. If the whole cost 
were $500, the interest of that is but $35 annu- 
ally, and this would not go a great way in sup- 
plying labor at the pump-handle, or in keeping 
machinery in repair. At any reasonable price 
we want spring-water brought into the barn or 
the yard, where cattle can help themselves. It 
will pay a large interest on the investment. 
«_ -«•»- —• 
The Alkaline Soils of Colorado. 
A correspondent of the American Agricultur- 
ist in Bent Co., Colorado, writes as follows : 
" We have some peculiarities of soil in Colorado 
which I do uot understand. In some places on 
this Arkansas River the alkali is so thick on the 
ground it looks like a light snow, and can be 
scraped up, and sometimes there is no grass at 
all ; and when very dry, as it often becomes 
here, large cracks come in it. In other places 
the grass is short or fine, but stock do n't seem 
to like it. 
" In the East we would call it a stiff clay ; 
here it is called adobe. We depend entirely 
upon irrigating our crops, and this soil needs 
watering oftener than any other. Thai, which 
is brought into subjection, which is not the 
worst, is better adapted to wheat than almost 
any other crop. I should like to know the best 
way to treat it, to overcome the excess of alkali. 
On some farms it is predominant, but there is a 
great deal of rich, sandy soil, which grows the 
largest root crops I ever saw, and vines seem 
to grow almost spontaneously, and no bugs 
trouble them. 
"It is difficult to raise potatoes here in 
Southern Colorado. Some years they do well, 
and others, as last year and this, the tops are 
thrifty and look well, but there are no bottoms; 
two years ago they were a success. Can you 
give us any hint through the Agriculturist that 
will be of practical benefit to us ?" 
We can give no advice on this subject. If we 
might hazard an opinion on theoretical con- 
siderations, we should think, if not altogether 
too costly, underdraining would be the best 
remedy; then, after draining, thorough culti- 
vation, and then irrigation. Unless the land is 
naturally or artificially drained, we lose three- 
fourths of the benefit to be derived from irriga- 
tion. This, so far as we know, is universal ex- 
perience. We suppose the alkali is carried up 
out of the soil by water, which, on evaporat- 
ing, leaves the alkali on the surface. Under- 
draining, by carrying off the water below, 
would do much toward preventing this deposit 
of alkali. Mulching would also do the same. 
The thorough cultivation of two or three inches 
of the surface soil would check evaporation. 
This loose soil, in fact, acts as a mulch, and is 
probably the cheapest mulch lhat can be used 
in this case. The fact that the clay soils need 
more irrigating than the sandy soils, indicates 
that they need draining and more thorough cul- 
tivation. If well drained and cultivated they 
would need less irrigating, and would probably 
prove exceedingly and lastingly productive. 
We should like to know more about the 
trouble with the potatoes. — Eds. 
Vegetables, New and Old. 
We believe that the settlement of the much- 
discussed question of " How to make Boys stay 
on the Farm," will, in part at least, be found in 
the garden-patch. No sensible boy will be con- 
tented with poor fare ; good fare can only be 
had with a plenty, and a good variety of veget- 
ables; therefore we advocate, as one means of 
making home attractive, greater, far greater 
attention to the garden than most farmers give. 
We know that we cannot convince some that 
there is more profit in a half-acre of kitchen- 
garden than there is in several of corn or wheat, 
but it is not the less so if health and comfort 
are regarded as of any account. 
The new catalogues have Gome, and we have 
looked them over. We welcome with pleasure 
any new shrub or flower that will make our 
borders brighter, but it is with far greater pleas- 
ure that we notice a new vegetable that prom- 
ises to excel in excellence any that "we now 
have. The catalogues have to us all the charm 
of a new novel. They are of three sorts. First, 
we have catalogues of vegetable seeds only ; a 
plan to be highly commended. Then, we have 
those in which vegetables are put first and the 
flowers come afterward ; we make our best 
bow to these. Lastly, we have catalogues in 
which the vegetables ignobly come iast; but as 
in these the list of seeds is usually a very good 
one, we forgive the authors, and wish they may 
do better another year. There are many old 
varieties of vegetables that have stood their 
ground for years, and it appears very unlikely 
that they will be superseded, while with others 
there is frequently great improvement in either 
size, earliness, or other important quality. 
While we advise those who grow for home use 
only to place their maiu reliance on well-tested 
kinds, we would encourage a trial of such new 
things as come well recommended, provided 
one feels able to risk the chances of the failures, 
which, of course, must sometimes occur. In 
our " Calendar," or Notes about Work, we 
usually mention the standard sorts of each veg- 
etable, and we wish here only to enumerate 
those which are now offered as novelties. 
Beans. — Dwarf Wax. — We tried this variety 
last year and can highly commend it. It is 
for snaps only. French Asparagus, Pole, are 
highly spoken of. 
Beet. — The Egyptian, sparingly tried last 
year, has proved itself of great value. Bastian's 
Extra Early Red Turnip (there's a name!) is in- 
troduced this year by Dreer, of Philadelphia, as 
superior to other early kinds. 
Cabbage. — Early Wymau was tried and ap- 
proved last year. Vick offers Fearnought, which 
he says the English claim to be the earliest of 
all cabbages, but he does not indorse the state- 
ment for this country. 
Cauliflower. — Henderson & Fleming offer 
the Autumn Giant as a valuable late sort. 
Corn. — Moore's Early Concord is put out by 
Gregory as a superior variety ; and Vick has 
Early Minnesota and F.u««e!'s Prolific — varie- 
ties claimed to be very early. 
Cucumber— Sooly-qua. — Here ought to be a 
novelty, us Thorburn asks $1.50 a seed. It is 
from China, and is eaten cooked. 
Lettuce.— All the Year Round is offered by 
Bliss & Sons as a variety not liable to run early 
to seed, and Dreer has much to say in praise of 
the Hanson. 
Melon. — The Valparaiso and New Mexican 
are upon Thcrburn's list of novelties, and said 
to be of good quality. 
Peas. — Every year many new peas are offer- 
ed. We always put in a plenty of Carter's 
First Crop, Little Gem, and Champion of Eng- 
land, and try the new ones which have not as 
yet induced us to give up the old sorts. The 
leading novelties this year are Alpha, Laxtou's 
Quality, Laxtou's Quantity, Kentish Invicla, 
Hundredfold, etc. 
SrROUTS. — Dalmeny. Said to be a cross be- 
tween Brussells Sprouts and Savoy Cabbage, 
and valuable for hardiness. 
Tomato. — The Trophy, of which we have 
already spoken in high praise, is now to be had 
at a low price, as will be seen by advertisements 
and our special premium list. The Currant 
Tomato is pretty, and will serve for pickles. 
Ogden Farm Papers.— No. 15. 
Either the types or my pen made a mistake 
in the January number. What I should have 
said was that the manure resulting from the 
consumption of a ton of hay is worth $0.43 
(gold) — not that it is worth this much per ton. 
The correspondent who calls my attention to 
this error, urges me never to stop preaching 
"soiling;" and he says he has "fed nine head 
of full-grown stock for eight weeks off less 
than two-thirds of an acre of corn drilled for 
soiling." This is equal to feeding five cows one 
daj r from a square rod. If the corn were drilled 
at 3 feet intervals, it would allow about one 
lineal rod or row, daily, for each cow. This is 
a large story, but I fully believe it — and the fact 
that it is possible is worth all that could be 
written in a year to prove the economy of 
soiling. 
In the November number of these papers I 
spoke of a neighbor who gets a very large prod- 
uce from very little laud. I stated tine facts as 
I understood them, and as nearly accurate as I 
could make them without prying too closely 
into other people's business. If anybody thinks 
it nice work to write for an agricultural paper, 
I would be glad if he had written this state- 
ment. It would have cured him. I have had 
letters about it from all parts of the country. 
No one has told me I lied, but some have evi- 
dently suspected it ; many have considered me 
deceived, and many more have asked for the 
minute details of my neighbor's management. 
At last, in pure self-defense, I called on him and 
told him my troubles. He frankly said that he 
had no objection to my knowing and printing 
the whole story. He naturally objects to hav- 
ing his name published, but it will be given to 
any one who desires it from other motives than 
curiosity. 
To begin with, then, his farm contains — not 
28 acres— only a little more than 26. It is a 
part of his business to buy and sell cows, so 
that his stock is constantly varying. It has run, 
during the past year, from eighteen to thirty 
head, averaging, probably, twenty-five or 
twenty-six. Money made or lost on the cows is 
not included in the farm accounts. He makes 
