ADVANTAGES OP THOROUGH DRAINING. 
49 
every street, and what these sweepers are not able 
to collect for the carts, they are careful to sweep 
into the drains leading into the common sewers. | 
I have looked at these people and at thechiffonniers 
often with great interest; and, filthy and disgusting 
as their occupation necessarily is, I have always 
felt in my heart a sincere respect for persons who, 
poor as they are, would fie ashamed to beg; and 
who, by the severest and most useful labor, are 
proud to obtain for themselves and their families, 
though a very humble, and honest living. All 
this refuse is transported to places appropriated for 
its deposit, where it remains until it is decomposed, 
and is then sold to the farmers for manure. 
ADVANTAGES OF THOROUGH DRAINING. 
Draining, as understood thirty years ago in 
England (and to this day with us), merely meant 
the making of channels to carry off surface water, 
and underground drains, to dry bogs, or cut off 
springs. It has now an entirely different meaning 
in the agricultural world. Mr. Smith, of Deanston, 
near Edinburgh, was among the first to practice 
and explain Thorough Draining , as it is called. 
His system is, that all land requires to be drained 
—that the depth of loam, or soil, containing the 
food of plants, seldom exceeds a few inches, resting 
on a subsoil, or pan of clay, or hard gravel, satur¬ 
ated with water. By making drains from two and 
a half to five feet in depth, at every twenty or 
thirty feet, the land becomes dry; air takes the 
place of water; every shower furnished with a 
stock of ammonia, permeates the soil, and the 
result is, that instead of a few inches there are 
as many feet of fertile loam, the action of the 
atmosphere being sufficient of itself to produce the 
change, although, to hasten the process, subsoil 
plowing is made part of the system. 
The change produced by the introduction of 
thorough draining in Britain, is said to be truly 
astonishing. Not only has the produce been 
greatly increased, but wheat and turnips have 
been grown at elevations, and in districts, where 
their cultivation was not before thought possible. 
By it, crops have been rendered less liable to 
disease, and harvest has been forwarded nearly a 
month. This will be better understood, if we 
reflect, that when water is allowed to remain in the 
soil until removed by evaporation, the heat of the 
sun and air, instead of being imparted to the 
land, will actually, through this process, produce 
an intense degree of cold. On the other hand, 
were the soil so dry as to allow the rain to pass 
through, it would imbibe heat from every ray that 
fell upon it. 
The British government has considered this im¬ 
provement of so great importance, that, during the 
last three years, large sums have been loaned to all 
applicants, to be expended in drainage, under the 
superintendence of inspectors. These loans are 
repaid by annual instalments of 6g per cent., for 
about twenty years; and as the money is borrowed 
by government at three per cent., these payments 
cancel the loan and interest.— Robert Jardine. 
Three Principal Elements of Productive 
Farming. —Labor—capital—intelligence. 
CISTERNS AND MATTRESSES—ANSWERS TO 
REVIEWER. 
| In answer to Reviewer, I would state, that 
it is of the western countips of Mississippi I 
generally alluded to. The water even now in 
general use is limestone, hard, and taken mostly 
from springs, but sometimes from bayous and 
wells. No cistern with which I am acquaint¬ 
ed, has had an unpleasant odor. I have two, 
my son-in-law, one, two brothers-in-law, one 
each, and there are others at Edward’s Depot—all 
in this neighborhood. I have drank from perhaps 
50 to 100 others in this part, five years. I have 
heard complaint, of bad odor, but it was where the 
pump was used, yet others who use pumps deny 
this to result from their use. All of us around 
here catch water, winter and summer, and as re¬ 
gards ice, generally we never think of it, our water 
is cool enough ; and if care be taken so as to cut 
off all water after cold weather, some think the 
water will be cooler; but I think all is owing to 
the situation; because the coldest water from a cis¬ 
tern that I have used was from one situated north 
of the house, perfectly shaded nearly all the day. 1 
think the use of ice has done more injury than 
tea or coffee, my friend, Reviewer, to the contrary 
notwithstanding. If a body was able to get fixed 
rightly, before he died, or got rich enough not to 
need comforts,—I would have my water all filtered 
as it entered the cistern. In catching water at all 
seasons, there should be one or two small perch 
(fish) put in, to eat the embryo musquitoes. Do 
not put more than that, as it will not be neces¬ 
sary. I put five or six in mine, but all died to one, 
and that was larger than twenty or thirty of those 
I put in, it had grown that much in three years. If 
you do not put in the fish, you will have to strain 
the cloth. 
I have just this moment thought of a cistern of 
water spoiled by putting in a half bushel of lime 
to correct the odor,—the only case I ever heard of. 
And Reviewer heard of it, too. The dashing of 
the bucket when let into cisterns will to a cer¬ 
tainty keep water pure; four or five years experi¬ 
ence warrants me to speak “ advisedly.” 
Reviewer is afraid of your readers tiring. No 
sir; although they know you not, yet your reviews 
are conducted with such good feeling, that I guess, 
your writings are a plaguey trouble,—when they 
are not in each No. For one, I regret your ab¬ 
sence, and always look for Reviewer the first thing, 
Unless I am greatly mistaken, Reviewer has 
slept on as good cotton mattresses as of any other 
kind. I have used moss, wool, cotton, hair, 
shucks and cotton mixed in layers ; and really as 
regards the luxury of a good sleep, I would as 
leave have cotton as any, and it is much preferable 
to moss. I have used no other beds for eighteen 
years winter and summer but mattresses, and from 
the urgency with which I appealed to my fellows 
to try cotton, a gentleman in ridicule dubbed me 
the “ Knight of the Cotton Mattress.” He was an 
editor, and abused Reviewer and my humble self 
most roundly—but since he has acted most 
nobly, made amends by approving the exertions 
only made for the good of the whole. I know 
no man, north, south, east, or west, who has 
as much right to stick to the cotton mattress, I 
