88 
THE CULTIVATOR. 
soil. Most of these lands are susceptible of a high 
state of improvement and of profitable culture, by the 
simple process of draining, a branch of farm economy 
which has been neither much practised nor duly ap¬ 
preciated in this, nor, till recently, in those countries 
of Europe from whence we derive our best lessons in 
farming. Indeed we think it is but imperfectly, or 
partially, yet practised in England; and we should 
rather refer to Scotch husbandry for the best exam¬ 
ples in this branch of improvement. 
We are aware, that many think, as we did when 
we commenced draining, that they understand all 
about it, and that they practise it on the most ap¬ 
proved, or at least most economical system. But 
they may learn, as we have learnt by experience, 
that draining is only economically done when it is 
well done—when the lands are laid dry, and the drains 
so constructed as to be rendered efficient and perma¬ 
nent. In swamps, the source of the evil,—the foun¬ 
tain of living waters, which flow into the morass, 
must be sought out, and the waters conducted off be¬ 
fore they enter the swamp, or before they approach 
its surface. On level tenacious soils, or soils repos¬ 
ing on an impervious subsoil, where the rain and snow 
water settles and stagnates, and where its existence, 
is generally indicated by the growth of coarse grass, 
or marsh plants, farrow draining must be resorted to, 
that is, parallel drains must be opened, in a mode¬ 
rately inclined direction across the field, to receive 
these waters as they settle down, and to free the soil 
from their incumbrance. 
We have published our own opinion, and the opin¬ 
ions of others, repeatedly, as to the best manner of 
constructing drains—of the materials which are most 
suitable for making them, and of the situations where 
under drains are - preferable to open ones. The 
expense of thorough draining seems formidable; but 
yet, if it is compared with the enhanced value of the 
land operated upon, and its vastly increased products, 
it will be seen that the outlay is better than capital at 
compound interest. If the outlay in draining will nett 
a return of only seven per cent in the increase of pro¬ 
duct, it should be gone into ; but in almost every case 
where the operations are judiciously and thoroughly 
performed, the return in the increased value and pro¬ 
ducts of the land, is generally twice or thrice this 
sum, and often fifty and a hundred per cent. 
We present below a statement of the mode and ad¬ 
vantages of improving a wet meadow, in a communi¬ 
cation addressed to the trustees of the Essex agricul¬ 
tural society. The writer stated to the trustees, that 
the whole cost of the land and improvements, up to 
the time of taking off 1 the first crop, did not exceed 
,$26 per acre; and yet a part of it afterwards produc¬ 
ed, in one year, the sum of $100.50 per acre. The 
communication which we insert below, is accompa¬ 
nied, in the New-England Farmer, by one from Moses 
French, giving his mode of reclaiming six or seven 
acres of swamp land, covered with “bushes, flags 
and rushes,” for which he paid $70, and for which 
he refused $200 after he had made his improvement. 
But to the statement. 
“ To the Trustees of the Agricultural Society of the coun¬ 
ty of Essex. 
“ Gentlemen —In my farm in Lynn, I have a mea¬ 
dow of 70 acres, which eight years ago bore nothing but 
meadow hay, and produced about one ton to the acre, 
of a poor quality. The meadow was mostly filled with 
hassocs. I cut a ditch of eight feet wide and four feet 
deep, through the centre of the meadow, and many other 
smaller, ditches to drain the water into the large ditch. 
The length of all the ditches is about four miles. The 
whole meadow is covered by a soft black mould, from 
six to nine inches, and then a greyish substance, I call 
peat, from nine to fifteen inches deep, upon a pan of 
clay and sand. 
“ Eight years ago the last fall, I ploughed seven acres 
of this meadow, and in the following spring I sowed 
three acres with oats, three and a half to four bushels, 
half a bushel and one peck red top and one pound clo¬ 
ver seed to the acre. In the summer following, I har¬ 
vested fifty bushels of oats to the acre. In the winter 
following, when the ground was frozen, I carried on 
ten cords of compost manure to the acre. This compost 
contained two cords of night manure, four cords of yel¬ 
low loam, and four cords of gravel, and was spread 
evenly over the ground in the spring, as soon as the 
frost was out. The following summer I cut on an ave¬ 
rage, three tons to the acre, of good, merchantable En¬ 
glish hay. The following year the seven acres produc¬ 
ed two and a half tons to the acre, and the third year 
two tons to the acre. The winter after the third cut¬ 
ting, I top dressed the same land with the like compost, 
ten cords to the acre. The next year the grass was 
equally good as the first year’s mowing, but decreased 
in quantity the two following years, in the same ratio 
as at the first manuring. 
Two years after my experiment upon the seven acres, 
I went over about three acres of the same meadow, 
while frozen, and cut off all the hassocs, so as to leave 
the ground smooth, and hauled off the hassocs. In the 
winter I carried on to the land, ten cords to the acre, 
of manure from the slaughter house yard, where I kept 
eight or ten hogs. Early in the spring, this manure 
was well spread upon the land, and I then sowed to the 
acre the like kind and the same quantity of grass seed 
as I did on the seven acres. The following summer I 
mowed the three acres twice. On one acre which I 
measured, and about as good as any of the three, I cut 
the first time three tons of hay, which I sold at $25 the 
ton, the second cutting one and a half ton, which sold 
at $17. The whole quantity of hay upon one acre that 
year, amounted to $100.50. The second year I had an 
equally good crop on this land as the first, but I did not 
cut the second crop. The third year the crop decreas¬ 
ed, as the crop of the third year upon the seven acres. 
The winter after the third summer I carried upon this 
land ten cords to the acre of the like compost as upon 
the seven acres. The next summer the crop was equal¬ 
ly good as the first crop upon the seven acres, but de¬ 
creased the two following years, and kept pace with 
the seven acres. I am well satisfied that my meadow 
should be manured, as I have done, and with like quan¬ 
tity of manure, every winter after the third cutting or 
third summer, and by this management my meadow 
will continue to produce good crops of grass without 
any other cultivation, except keeping the ditches well 
cleared out. I consider this experiment upon the three 
acres the best, considering the amount of labor; and 
should have continued it upon the remaining portion of 
my meadow, had the surface been smooth and even, 
but it was very rough and uneven, so that I was com¬ 
pelled to plough it. 
“ In the exact manner I treated the acres, the three 
excepted, I have my whole meadow of 70 acres in good 
grass cultivation, all but fifteen acres, which I plough¬ 
ed last fall in order for sowing in the spring. My crops 
of oats and grass have been uniformly good as upon the 
seven acres. The last summer my oats were sown late, 
and I cut them for fodder. 
“I am, gentlemen, with due respect, your humble 
servant, ORIN DALRYMP.LE.” 
We beg the reader to remark, that although the 
lands drained were covered with “ a fine black mould, 
six to nine inches deep,” it required a top-dressing 
once in three years, to maintain its productiveness in 
grass; and that under this treatment it yielded an 
enormous profit, in one case exceeding $100 per an¬ 
num on an acre. We here have a demonstration of 
the exhausting effects of constantly mowing the same 
field—of annually carrying off the crop of grass, and 
returning nothing to the field to maintain its fertility— 
and we have a strong argument in favor of th^ alter¬ 
nating system, wherever it can be introduced. Old 
meadows will not yield more than half a crop, unless 
they are triennially top-dressed with dung or compost, 
as practised by Mr. Dalrymple ; and to do this, in or¬ 
dinary cases, is wasting manure. The manure will 
do twice as much good if it is buried in the soil, in an 
unfermented state, and first used as food for a hoed 
crop; and the operations of tillage divide and loosen 
the soil, and render it more permeable to air, heat, 
dew, and the roots of the grasses. Those who must, 
or will have permanent meadows, should follow the 
example of Mr. Dalrymple, top dress them once in 
three years, if they would reap the full profits of their 
labor. 
The above will serve to show the advantages aris¬ 
ing from draining and reclaiming swamp land, as 
practised by a Yankee Dalrymple. And it is a singu¬ 
lar coincidence, that the evidence of the expense and 
profits of furrow draining, which first presented for 
illustrating this subject, is from a Scotch farmer of 
the name of Dalrymple. We copy in his own words 
from the Edinburgh Quarterly Journal of Agriculture. 
“ I am clearly of your opinion,” says Mr. Dalrymple, 
“ that well authenticated facts on economical draining, 
accompanied with details of the expenses, value of suc¬ 
ceeding crops, and of the land before and after drain¬ 
ing, will be the means of stimulating both landlords and 
tenants to pursue the most important, judicious and re¬ 
munerating of all land improvements. The statements 
below will prove the advantages of furrow-draining; 
and as to the profits to be derived from it, they are 
great, and a farmer .has only to drain a five acre field 
to have occular proof upon the point. 
“1832, No. 1, Easter, Ladywell and Whinny fields, 
containing 54 acres, cost £303.17s. for draining; ave¬ 
rage say £5.12 per acre. These fields were not fur¬ 
row-drained, but cross-drained, and are not dry enough. 
The wheat sold for £11 an acre in the Easter field, the 
turnips in the Ladywell field at £20.13.4. The drains 
were all built and covered with small stones, which 
were obtained quite at hand. The land was formerly 
completely covered with rushes. Soil stiff (provincial 
chattery ) "clay, and used to let in pasture at 20s. an 
acre. Last summer, 1836, the Easter field fed five Che¬ 
viot ewes and lambs to the acre. 
“1833, No. 2. Horseless and Jennvside fields, 16 
acres, cost for draining £98.7s ; say average £5.9s per 
acre. These fields were furrow-drained, 18 feet be¬ 
tween each drain, 30 inches in depth, cut with the com¬ 
mon and narrow spades, and filled 18 inches with slag, 
(scoriae,) from an iron furnace contiguous. All the 
mouths of the furrow drains terminated in main drains, 
36 inches in depth, laid with tiles and soles. The fields 
are now perfectly dry. There was a very fine crop of 
wheat, about 8 acres, which sold for more than £13 an 
acre. The potatoes brought 15 guineas, and the tur¬ 
nips £21. The land was formerly occupied with whins 
and rushes, and let for 12s. an acre. When let for pas¬ 
ture I expect to get 50s. an acre for the land. [An in¬ 
crease in value of more than four hundred per cent, and 
of rent more than sufficient to pay the heavy expense 
of draining in three years.] 
“ 1836, No. 3. Longbog, nine acres. Cost for drain¬ 
ing £69, say average £7.13s. per acre. This field was 
furroAv-drained 16 feet between each drain, 30 inches 
deep, and cut as in No. 2. The field is dry, and bore a 
good crop of oats. The land was previously droAvned 
with water, and covered with rushes, and brought about 
25s. an acre for grazing. A large portion of this field 
was very stiff clay; but now (Feb. 1837,) that it has 
been twice ploughed, the soil is quite changed, both in 
substance and color. The reason why this field cost so 
much more for draining than No. 2, was, that it Aims 
drained in very wet weather, XAdien the land became so 
poached with carting, that I was nearly beaten with 
it.” 
We now transfer, from the work just quoted, the 
testimony of Mr. Howden, another Scotch farmer, in 
favor of the great advantages of furrow-draining. 
“I have practised the system of furrow-draining,” 
says Mr. Howden, “ to a considerable extent, and am 
fully satisfied that it is one of the greatest improve¬ 
ments ever introduced into our agriculture. It is not 
easy to say, Avith certainty, as to the exact increase of 
produce which may be derived from it, so much de¬ 
pending on the nature of the soil and seasons. The 
farm which I at present occupy, consists mostly of a 
clay soil, resting in general upon a retentive sub-soil, 
and, consequently, Avas much injured from the reten¬ 
tion of rain-water, and, in some places, from water 
springing from below. The method I am adopting for 
laying it dry, is, Avhere the subsoil is veiy retentive, to 
put a two feet drain into each furroAV [dividing the 
ridges] the breadth of the ridges being 18 feet. Where 
the subsoil has a tendency to draw under-water, I lay 
tAvo such ridges together, and put a drain into each fur¬ 
row, [thus making the distance betAveen the parallel 
drains 36 feet,] the depth of which is regulated by the 
nature of the subsoil; but in general they are 2£ feet 
in depth. There being but few stones on my farm, I 
use tiles, which I find answer uncommonly Avell; in¬ 
deed I would prefer them to stones, even admitting that 
I had them upon my farm, for these reasons:—Drains 
are cut in winter, and in most seasons, and particularly 
the present, it is almost impossible to get stones brought 
forward to the drains, and to induce women to fill them ; 
besides, the injury which the land sustains by poaching 
with carts is considerable. Where land has a good de¬ 
clivity, stones, when well broken , will admit the Avater 
for a considerable time; but when land is nearly flat, 
tiles have a decided advantage for durability of drain. 
In covering in the tiles, I either putin some brush wood 
or mix a little of good earth with the subsoil, in order 
to allow the absorbed water to sink more freely into the 
drain. I am aware that some people have a prejudice 
against tiles, and allege, that in a few years, the earth 
above them will consolidate so much as to become im¬ 
pervious to water. I can only say, that I have used 
them for twelve years, and find the water making its 
way by them as freely as when the drains were first 
executed. With regard to the expense of draining a 
Scotch acre [four Scotch being equal to about five En¬ 
glish acres,] with the tile drains at 18 feet asunder, and 
tAA r o feet in depth, it will cost for cutting and filling 3| 
pence per rood of 18| feet, or £2.6s. per acre. Prime 
cost of tiles is 40s.* per thousand, [which the editor says 
is too high.] Being seven miles distant from the kiln, 
I must add 8d. per 1,000 for carriage. Say that 2,700 
tiles are required, their cost will be £6.9.6, making 
the total expense of draining £8.15.6 per acre. The 
expense no doubt is great, still I am of the belief, that 
upon all damp, heavy lands furrow-draining will repay, 
on an average, from 15 to 20 per cent on the outlay.” 
The lands, with us, which it would most profit the 
farmer to drain, are such as are marshy, and have 
not been exhausted of their fertility, of which there 
are vast tracts. Let us assume as data, the highest 
estimate of expense stated by Mr. Howden, which 
would be about $31 per English, or common acre.— 
The lands we refer to are now virtually unproductive. 
The outlay would bring them into the most produc¬ 
tive state, say three tons of hay per acre, or its eqi- 
valent in grain or roots. Almost any where in the 
valley of the Hudson, or near a market, the average 
price of the hay may be stated at $10 per ton, and 
the product of the acre at $30. Deduct from this 33 
per cent, or one-third, for making and carting the 
hay, fencing, &c. and the nett profit of the acre 
would still be $20 per annum. Suppose there are 20 
acres thus reclaimed from waste. In twenty years 
the nett profit would amount to 8,000 dollars. De¬ 
duct from this one half for triennial manuring, the 
outlay of the $620 for draining, and for incidental 
charges, and there remains the snug sum of four 
thousand dollars, or two hundred dollars a year, as a 
reAvard for the improvement. We honestly think this 
estimate is a safe one. In a field we last year lost 
an acre of potatoes, besides our labor, by reason of 
the water, coming from spouts and springs, keeping 
the ground wet, although it had been already imper- 
* Draining tiles are made by Mr. Jackson, in Albany, and 
sold at $15 per thousand, with an extra charge of $7.50 per 
thousand for soles, if required. For the latter, however, 
hemlock boards are a good and cheap substitute. 
*6 
