ROCHESTER, N. Y.-THURSDAY, JULY B, 1851 
Slgririilturnl Dtparfnunt. 
PItOftliESS AMD IMPROVEMENT. 
THE PROFIT OF DRAINING. 
Will it pay ? is a question which should 
be considered in every undertaking, wheth¬ 
er of great or small moment; not always, 
of course, in a pecuniary sense, but as to 
tho remunerating profit expected in return 
for tho intended outlay of time and labor, 
. thought and capital, or all these combined. 
Real selfishness takes little heed of the ul¬ 
timate result, while true benevolence looks 
carofully to tho actual advantages, present 
and prospective, of every project to which 
it puts mind and hand. Ignorance is heed¬ 
less and short-sighted, while wisdom is cau¬ 
tious and far-seeing. In its broadest sense, 
tho question of profit is one worthy of the 
deepest consideration, and none need to 
ask, “ Will it pay ?” in relation to tho vari¬ 
ous matters prossed upon his attention, 
more earnestly and soarchingly than the 
farmer. 
The subject of Drainage has again and 
again been presented to our readers. But 
it is a matter of so much importance, that 
there is -little danger of exhausting its in¬ 
terest. It is a matter which will pay, and 
therefore should bo urged upon those inter¬ 
ested until thoy take it fairly into consid¬ 
eration. It is one great aim of the farmer 
to improve and fertilize his soil so as to pro¬ 
duce good crops every year, whatever the 
season, but he has hitherto too much un¬ 
dervalued draining as a means to this end. 
If we can prove to him that the coldness 
and backwardness of heavy, clayey soils in 
spring and rainy seasons, the heaving out 
and winterkilling of wheat and clover, tho 
worst ett'oets of drouth, the difficulty of 
properly working compact soils, and often 
tho loss of labor, seed, manure, &c., bestow- 
od on such land,—that theso can by this 
means be prevented, he must own himself 
convinced of tho advantages of draining, 
and will only delay to put it in practice, 
from the reason that his farm does not need 
it, or that he cannot yet command the capi¬ 
tal necessary to its accomplishment. 
All compact and retentive soils, and thoso 
underlaid by subsoils of like character, aro 
cold and backward, and, save in the most 
favorable seasons, comparatively unproduc¬ 
tive. The reason of this, is simply tho 
presence of water in tho soil which has no 
escape save by evaporation. Itcannotsink 
away by filtration, tho imperviousness of tho 
subsoil prevents, and it must remain stag¬ 
nant, until evaporated by the warmth of tho 
sun and air. Evaporation always produces 
cold, and in proportion to tho quantity of 
water to bo evaporated, will bo tLujjcoldness 
of tho soil. Tho same quantity of water 
disposed of by filtration, produces no change 
in the temperature, except to bring that of 
tho subsoil tho same with that of tho surface, 
which is usually an increase instead of a de¬ 
crease. When a field is thoroughly drained, 
all this surplus water passes off rapidly by fil¬ 
tration, and such land can bo worked as 
early, and will bring forward its crops as fast, 
as tho most genial soil on the farm. 
Tho heaving out and winter-killing of 
whoat and clover always takes place on 
heavy, undrained soils, and nevor on those 
which are naturally porous, fine and opon, 
or w'hioh havo been rendered so by drain¬ 
ing. Every farmer, who has given the least 
attention to tho subject, has observed tho 
former fact, and thoso who have experi¬ 
mented in draining in this country uniform¬ 
ly confirm the latter. 
Tho offocts of long continued rains and 
of oxtroino drouth are equally injurious to 
undrained, retentive, and heavy soils.— 
Such are oithor mortar or brick from tho 
action of one or tho othor of these causes, 
while porous and well-drained soils are al¬ 
ways in nearly‘:tho same condition. In such 
lands overy rain that falls—its oxcoss of 
moisturo at least—porcolates rapidly and 
freely through tho soil, imparting to tho 
whole tho warmth of tho surface, and tho 
soluble manures, abounding in rain water; 
and, living and activo, not dead and stag¬ 
nant. becomes an agent instead of an ene- 
my of growth and fertility. In drouth, it 
is ever to bo observed, that deep, friablo 
soils suffer least from this cause. The mois¬ 
ture in tho air and from beneath is brought 
into use, and the more porous tho soil the 
less the effect produced by want of rain.— 
Such land does not bake so hard as to pre¬ 
vent the least expansion of the roots en¬ 
cased within it, but retains its friable, cul- 
turable character. 
The difficulty of working such soils needs 
little comment. They aro not fit for the 
plow until late in the spring, and generally 
require a strong team, and break up in 
largo lumps and clods, which cannot be 
sown or planted without much greater labor, 
than is necessary on land of an opposite 
character. But there are few farmers who 
do not, from experience, know tho severity 
of the labor requirod in tilling retentive 
and heavy soils, unless overy thing is done 
just in tho right time—when neither too dry 
nor too wet for cultivation. 
Tho losses resulting from backwardness, 
winter-killing, tho effects of long rains and 
of drouth, difficulty of working, &c., &c., 
may all be traced to the presence of an ex¬ 
cess of water in tho soil, and the fact that 
it has no moans of escape thorofrom save 
by evaporation. And these losses may all 
bo prevented by a system of thorough drain¬ 
ing, which will so change tho character of 
tho soil as to render it warm, mellow and 
friablo, and ready to give out again every 
element of fertility it possesses, for the 
growth of the crops which may be sown 
thereon. Lot our readors now turn to the 
“Experiments in Draining,” by John John¬ 
ston, Esq., of Seneca Co., in another col¬ 
umn, and thoy will find practice to confirm 
our statement of the case, which some may 
be pleased to look upon as mere assertion 
and theory. 
HARVESTING-CITY VISITORS; 
Messrs. Editors :—Having been well ac¬ 
customed in my younng days to labor in 
tho harvest field, and believing myself still 
an adopt at raking and binding, I rosolved 
to have tho pleasure of spending a week or 
two in tho country, assisting friend Joseph 
in his harvest. The old man roceived mo 
and my proposition very kindly, saying that 
ho should bo very glad of my help, but add¬ 
ing, “ To be frank with you, John, you can¬ 
not onduro tho fatigue of tho harvest fiold 
this hot weather, as you have not been ac¬ 
customed to labor in tho sultry sun for a 
long timo, and it will provo too much for 
you; and as you will occupy the place of a 
good hand -without boing ablo to perform 
tho work, you will be a damage to mo rath¬ 
er than a benefit.” I thankod him sin core¬ 
ly for his frankness, and assured him he 
need not fear for me, as I was so woll ac¬ 
customed to exercise in tho open air, and 
so woll skilled in the use of the rako, that 
I would not find any difficulty in perform¬ 
ing my part in the work. So I was accom¬ 
modated with frock and trousers, farmer- 
like, and a pair of gloves in case my hands 
should get sore, and at it we went. Tho 
wheat was stout and much tangled, so that 
the labor was vory fatiguing. The weather 
was excessively hot, and I must confess that 
the harvest fiold was any thing but delight¬ 
ful, even to those well enured to hard work, 
and I would have boon glad to havo fore¬ 
gone tho pleasure, but I had said so much 
that pride would not allow me to retract. 
Tho old man repeatedly cautioned us to 
take it modoratoly the first day, or wo would 
feel it soveroly to-morrow. Night camo, 
and glad was I to quit, and I felt as though 
another such a day’s work would end my 
existence. Friond J. was well aware of my 
feelings and tendered me timely relief.— 
lie took into my bed-room a pail of soft 
wator, a spongo and towels, and spunged me 
thoroughly from hoad to foot, then wiped 
mo dry, and rubbed my wrists, arms and 
shoulders with camphorated spirits. I went 
to bod and never slopt more soundly in my 
lifo. In tho morning friend J. inquired of 
mo how I felt. I informed him that I was 
somewhat sore, but much hotter than I ex¬ 
pected to find myself. “ If you will repeat 
tho operation for a few nights,” said he; 
“ you will soon overcome the soreness con¬ 
sequent upon application to new and se¬ 
vere labor, and if all the men would do so 
at the commencement of harvest, it would 
be a great benefit to them, but they think 
it too much trouble.” 
A shower of rain detained us, but we 
started about ten for the field again. Tho 
grain was damp, which mado it very heavy, 
the sun shone excessively hot, and soon all 
were as wet with sweat as water could make 
us ; yet all wore cheerful—no complaint of 
heat or hard labor was heard from any one 
—all seemed conscious of the great amount 
of labor which must be done in a short time, 
and willing to perform their part without a 
murmur. 
Uncle Jo, for that was tho titlo wo all 
gave him, assisted by ono of the boys, shock¬ 
ed up the grain, and as ho stepped from 
sheaf to sheaf with cheerful mien, and 
chanting his favorite tune, ho seemed con¬ 
scious of tho importance of his labors in 
gathering food for man the coming year, 
and he evidently was equally conscious of 
his dependence on tho Giver of all good, 
and sincerely thankful for tho bountiful har¬ 
vest. His feelings were vividly expressed 
in his countenance, and I spontaneously 
partook in them, and must confess that ne¬ 
ver in my life did I so much realize the im¬ 
portance of the cultivators of the soil to 
civilizod society in pi-oviding food for the 
whole, nor were more conscious of the boun¬ 
tiful goodness of the Creator towards us. 
Wo had passed through once, and were 
about commencing again,when Uncle Jo said: 
“Now my boys, take it modoratoly; the 
weather is hot and tho wheat is heavy, but 
if wo keep steadily at it wo shall get through 
before it wastos much. Short stories and 
steady perseverance performs the work and 
saves the grain.” So to work we went, at a 
steady jog. Tho old man was pleased, and 
exclaimed, “ that is the way to do, boys; you 
are doing the work well, and will not bo 
any the worse for your labors.” 
Word camo that Mr. L., with wife and 
family, had come from the city on a visit, 
and a boy must go to take care of their 
horse. Tho ono who was helping;Uncle Jo 
could best bo spared, and tho old man had 
to increase his diligence to koep up, al¬ 
though he had as much as he could well do 
before. Mr. L. soon camo to the fiold.— 
“ Good morning, friend J.” said ho ; “ hard 
at it, I soe.” “ Yes,” said Uncle Jo, “ the 
weather is hot and the grain heavy, but we 
take it steadily and moderately, and are get- 
tingalong vory well.” “ Oh,” says L., “ that 
is not the way to get through. When I was a 
boy, I was a staver with tho cradle.” So 
saying, he pulls off his coat, takes up a cra¬ 
dle, and sets in with all his force to exhibit 
his skill. 
“ Big Tom,” as wo called him, gave a wink 
to his comrades, as much as to say, “ Mr. 
L. you shall have something to do before 
you get through,” and sots in after him. 
The others followed suit, and as tho rakers 
must not get too far behind, off we all went 
at a full trot, and soon left Uncle Jo, for he 
had occasionally to re-bind a sheaf, and stop 
to scrape up tho grain that was scattered— 
for wo were making bad work, but wo soon 
got through. Mr. L. camo swaggering back, 
pretty woll satisfied with tho fun of cradling, 
yot boasting that he could have gone as 
fast again, and saying, “Well, friend J., that 
is tho way to got along.” “ Yos,” says Un¬ 
do Jo, “ that is tho way to w'asto tho grain.” 
“ P’shaw,” says L., “ your horse-rako will take 
it all.” “ Yes,” says Uncle Jo, “ and anoth¬ 
er rain like that of this morning will des¬ 
troy it.” 
“Well, woll,” saidL., “I see you aro busy; 
I had best visit with tho women folks.” So 
ho puts on his coat and sets off with full 
spoed, and to exhibit his dexterity, un¬ 
dertook to leap over a row of shocks 
which were in his road, but by some mis¬ 
chance or other, his feet did not attain suf¬ 
ficient elevation, so that he knocked them 
down, but passed on, leaving it for Uncle 
Jo to right up at his leisure. 
After resting (for wo were all tired as 
woll as Mr. L.) we commenced again, Uncle 
Jo saying, “Now, boys, that flourish has 
tired you more than a day’s work at a mod¬ 
erate rato would have done, and has wasted 
more grain than would pay for harvesting 
it. The harvest field is no place for visitors.” 
Noon camo and we repaired to dinner, 
and as good manners would not allow visi¬ 
tors to eat with hired men, an extra table 
must be prepared for tho former, and Un¬ 
cle Jo must wait and eat with his friends. 
We had cut once through before ho arrived 
in tho field, so that he had to double his dil¬ 
igence to keep up. Night camo and the 
effects of tho visit were as visible in the 
house as in the field,—the men were in for 
supper, and the tea dishes were not yet re¬ 
moved, and what was much worse there was 
a vacation in the city school, and little Miss 
and Master L. were come to spend a week 
or two in the country. The house was full 
to overflowing with the necessary laborers, 
and Mrs. J. scarcely knew how to dispose 
of all for the night, yet tho two visitors must 
be accommodated, because they had nothing 
to do at home. 
Thus it is, Messrs. Editors, that we city 
and village folks often give our farming 
friends much unnecessary trouble by visit¬ 
ing them in harvest timo, 'when, I assure 
you, neither farmers nor their wives have 
much leisure for social intercourse, it being 
above all others a season of bustle and toil. 
Monroe Co., N. Y., July 24, 1862. JOHN. 
MOWING MACHINES.-DEVONS, &c. 
Messrs. Editors :—I recently mado a 
visit to our friend Geo. Siieffer, of Wheat- 
land, and can say truly, I have not seen 
anything in firming to compare with tho 
way he does tho thing up. I found him 
busily engaged in cutting and making hay, 
and as he has made some innovations on the 
old-fashioned way, I will try and explain his 
modus. Two of Ketchum’s Mowing Ma¬ 
chines were cutting down tho grass, at the 
rate of about twelve acres each, per day.— 
The grass where these machines were at 
work, was very heavy, at least three tons to 
the acre; they moved along with perfet 
ease, and the work was hotter done than the 
best I ever saw with scythes, and then, again 
it leaves the grass perfectly spread to dry. 
Mr. Sheffer has adoptod a new mothod 
of securing his hay, which strikes me as a 
very excellent one. He rakes into winrows 
as is usual in tho old method of cocking— 
then he has constructed a rako about twelve 
feet long, the toeth all projecting forward, 
and a back raised about thre^ feet to keep 
the hay from slipping oft'. To this is at¬ 
tached at each corner, a rope, which is bro’t 
together about ten feet forward of tho rako. 
This rake will take half a ton of hay, which 
is formed into small stacks of about a ton 
each, neatly put up and trimmed for all 
weather. This, it appears to me, is a great 
saving of time, and making tho hay as com¬ 
pletely secure as it can bo in larger stacks. 
The hay is not to remain in these stacks 
only until a convenient time to haul to tho 
barn. 
Here I saw thoso beautiful Devon heifers, 
which were at the State Fair last fall. I was 
surprised to see the amount of flosh they 
have accumulated sinco last September. 
Here, too, aro somo of tho finest Devon cat¬ 
tle to bo found in Western New York; also 
the finest of tho swine kind. Mr. Siieffer 
has taken uncommon pains to perfect his 
hogs, and ho finds market for all he can 
spare, when quite young, at high prices. 
And now I have not said anything about 
tho different kinds of crops I saw on the 
farm, nor the manner of cultivating, which 
may afford matter for another communica¬ 
tion. Yours, 
A Livingston Co. Farmer. 
Time and labor devoted to the collection 
of materials to be converted into manure, 
are the most fruitful sources of profit in the 
whole range of farm economy. 
-I WHOLE NO. 135. 
“BROAD HINTS’’-AGAIN. 
Messrs. Editors : —I noticed an article in 
the Rural New-Yorker, of April 18, under 
the caption of “ ‘Broad Hints’ in Season,” 
showing tho want, and way of improvement 
in neatness on our farms and around our 
dwellings, and giving evidemce that such a 
work had already commenced among us._ 
It proved a partial prevalence of refinement 
anti a taste for tho ornamental, calculated 
to impress travelers and strangers with a 
favorable opinion of the state of improve¬ 
ment in society where such practices have 
prevailed. 
Although the plan proposed by “R. S.” 
may not generally bo adopted, yet we shall 
find some who will hail it with delight. To 
many, undoubtedly, tho idea never before 
occurred that filthy cellars, yards, &c., have 
^.ny influence upon health, and therefore 
the little trouble that has been taken to 
improve and cleanse them. But had a 
general cleaning up taken place heretofore, 
the chip pile instead of the road would have 
been the receptacle of the rubbish. The 
chip pile, situated half way between the 
door and the road fence, would have been 
the most convenient place for it, as well as 
for the wood, which has been pitched over tho 
fence from the road, and there prepared for 
the stovo without any useless extra work of 
piling up in wood-houses, and cleaning out 
of the same. And “R. S.” should feel 
thankful if he finds the road over which ho 
travols, mended with old boots and shoes, 
and chip manure, for who would not rather 
ride over such mended roads than those al¬ 
most impassable from slough-holes and 
mire ? 
Now as to the former practices in trim¬ 
ming orchards, you know “gentle reader,” 
if you traveled through this section of coun¬ 
try a dozen years ago, that tho orchard brush 
then, was mado into what was termed an 
orchard fence. Some there mav bo, who 
do not understand the term—for them, I 
will give a recipe for making it: Take in 
the first place a rail fenco, and as it rots 
down so as to need mending, pile on apple 
tree brush—suffering the blackberry bushes, 
burdocks, thistles, elders, weeds and bram¬ 
bles of every description to grow, if they do 
not encroach upon more than tho first row 
of apple troes. The man would almost 
have been termed insane, who could havo 
consigned them to no better use than tho 
fire. 
Now, as it relates to putting the hog- 
trough and hogs in the road,—if the trough 
is only well supplied with milk or grain, 
there will bo but little need of putting 
wires in the noses of tho swine. Even hove 
is improvement—for tho timo was when the 
long, lank-faced land-sharks were turned 
into the road without seeing or knowing the 
uso of a trough. You might see them gra¬ 
zing by the road side^vith a knot tied in 
their tails, which answered tho purpose of 
a yoke. b. h. 
B-viUe, N. Y., July, 1852. 
EXPERIMENTS IN DRAINING. 
[Tho following report, referred to else¬ 
where, will be found in tho forthcoming vol¬ 
ume of tho Transactions of tho N. Y. State 
Agricultural Society:] 
To the Executive Committee of the New York State 
Agricultural Society : 
Gentlemen —In your list of premiums 
presented to the farmers of this State for 
competition, at tho winter meeting in Jan¬ 
uary next, a premium is offered for experi¬ 
ments in draining. 
Having long esteemed a good system of 
drainage as important to good farming, and 
being well convinoed that it would much in¬ 
crease tho profits on most farms, I have 
made tile drains on my farm in Seneca 
county extending full sixteen miles in length. 
The farm is situated on the rich clay ridge 
which extends from the Seneca river south¬ 
erly to Tompkins county, a ridgo of land 
devoted chiefly to the cultivation of wheat 
I was many years ago satisfied of the neces¬ 
sity of removing in somo economical way 
the surplus water which saturated the soil, 
