40S4- 
THE BUBAL NEW-YORKER. 
354 
ed it, while frequently parts not oiled have de- 
cayed rapidly. T have just finished taking 
down, and making over into smaller ones, a 
wooden storage tank. This was first built 
over IS years ago, and left exposed to all kinds 
of weather. We did not find one rotten spot 
in it; everything was sound. I have known 
oil barrels, and also small tanks, to be covered 
over with a thin layer of earth and remain so, 
in oue ease, for over U years, and come out 
souud. Farmers, as well as other builders, 
can save money by a liberal use of petroleum 
on all exposed timber, lumber, or shingles. 
Soak the feuce posts with it before setting 
them. Saturate the bottom sills of the barns 
and houses with it, and they will last louger 
than any other part of the building. With 
regard to the danger from fire, there is no in¬ 
creased risk after the first two or three days. 
Venango Co., Pa. M. M. small. 
farm Cconomij. 
CONSTRUCTION OF UNDER DRAINS. 
PROF. R. C. CARPENTER. 
GENERAL EFFECTS. 
While it is unquestionably true that drains 
greatly benefit fiat, heavy land, or land that 
is cont inually wet., it is not so generally ad¬ 
mitted that they are also of great benefit on 
lands wet only occasionally, and having a sur¬ 
face somewhat or considerably rolling. It is a 
fact, however, thut heavy clay lands are great¬ 
ly benefited by drainage, even if naturally dry 
anil having .a rolling surface. In the first 
place, drained lands are much warmer than 
wet lands, for this reason: the evaporation in 
the drying up of water requires heat, and the 
total amount of 'heat required is thi same 
whether the evaporation be done in one 
day or in several weeks. Some portion of 
this heat is likely to be drawn from the earth, 
leaving it colder than hefore the water was 
dried off or evaporated; on the other baud, 
when under-drains are used, the water passing 
from the surface downward through the soil, 
if warmer than the soil, gives up some of its 
heat, and the land is much the gainer. Thus 
drainage gives us, to a certain extent, 
control over the climate. Under-drains 
are of much benefit in iterating the soil, 
and rendering it more porous. During dry 
weather the under drains serve as channels 
for the air to pour into and through the soil, 
and serve in this way to draw into the soil the 
moisture contained iu the atmosphere. All 
know that during dry seasons the positions of 
the under-drains are clearly marked by the 
greater growth and freshness of the vegeta¬ 
tion immediately over them. Thus they serve 
to lesson the evil effects of excessive wet as 
well us of parching drought. 
The benefits of drainage in giving us better 
health and longer Jives, is well attested by 
actual observation. The water that will lie 
carried off by drainage is only that which is 
in excess of the needs of plant life, and is that 
which is so potent iu breeding inalurial dis¬ 
eases, and bringiug death and the blackest of 
all sorrows to many happy homes. The vic¬ 
tims of uudrained areas either lie beneath the 
eanh, or drag half dead bodies for years 
over it. 
Under-drains are also of benefit in increas¬ 
ing the action of the fertilizers. .Surface 
drainage is always detrimental in this respect, 
as the fertilizers are carried by the wash into 
ditches and water-course*, where they cannot 
possibly do any good. On the other hand, 
with a good system of under-drains, the wa¬ 
ter, instead of running over the soil, runs 
through it, leaving therein a great portion, if 
not all, of its fertilizing materials. But the 
principal object of this paper is to tell 
“HOW TO drain,”- 
rather than to argue the benefits of drainage. 
There are two classes of drains, oue the open 
ditch or trench, and the other the closed or 
under-drain. 
The open ditch has its part to play iu the 
drainage works of a country, and iu many 
places can never be replaced by the under- 
drain. It is, however, at best a temporary 
construction, unless a heavy body of water 
flows through it; for every rain carries parti¬ 
cles from its bank to its bottom, and every 
Winter’s frost exerts its power to fill it up, so 
that the construction of an open drain implies 
a continual bill fox’ annual repairs, or else a 
gradual lessening of its efficiency. 
Under-drain's are the only ones that can in 
any way be considered as permanent, and these 
are not permanent unless properly construct¬ 
ed. 
The outlet must be the first considera¬ 
tion in locating under-drains. It must be suf¬ 
ficiently low to allow a free flow of water 
from the drains. It is often a difficult thing 
to secure a good outlet, especially in a low, 
flat country; but it must be done before any 
successful drainage system can be carried out. 
The construction of township anil county or 
open ditches, has often to be resorted 
to before good outlets for tile drains 
cau be secured. In several instances outlets 
have been obtained by diggiug large wells 
until w ater taking strata are found, ns shown 
in Fig. 170, As the construction of these 
Drain-Well. Fig. 170. 
wells forms au important method in drainage, 
and as l have much faith in their efficiency in 
many localities, I will take time to describe in 
detail the method of constructing them. 
Since, in order to be successful, water-tak¬ 
ing strata mast, be found, this system is some¬ 
what uncertain iu its operation. There is no 
doubt that, in certain localities, water-taking 
strata are not to be found, or lie so deep as to 
render the sinking of wells to them impracti¬ 
cable. This uncertainty has, of late years, 
rendered this method of obtaining un outlet 
so unpopular that iu practice it has seemed 
likely to be lost sight of. It has, however, 
been tried with success in Michigan, at Mar¬ 
shall, near Lake Superior, and iu several other 
places on a small scale, and I have not heard 
of any trials iu this State being unsuccessful. 
The system is so inexpensive when it will 
work, that 1 would advocate its trial in the 
drainage of all large swamps where au open 
outlet cannot readily bo obtained. The water- 
taklng strata are usually of coarse saud or 
gravel, or sand and gravel combined. By 
driving a capped two-inch gas-pipe down u 
few feet at a time and withdrawing it, the 
character of the successive strata of earth cau 
be accurately determined, with little expense. 
The water-taking character of the strata can 
be tested by pouring water down the pipe. 
The size of the well will depend on the area to 
be drained. It will probubly be better to con¬ 
struct as many wells aa may l>e needed, inch 
with au internal diameter of six or eight l’eet, 
rather than try to make fewer wells of larger 
size. If the strata, take water with great 
avidity, a two inch drive-well might answer; 
but from considerations to be mentioned fur¬ 
ther on, such wells uro not likely to he perma¬ 
nent. 
How Constructed.— In the construction 
of these wells, certain important considera¬ 
tions are to be taken into account;—First, the 
well must have as large an area as possible in 
contact with the water taking strata; second, 
the water that enters the well must be as pure 
as possible. The first condition is secured by 
sinking a large well so deep into the strata that 
water will escape from the sides as well as 
from the bottom. The second condition is 
important, because the drainage water from 
all laud, and especially from marshes, holds 
in suspension a fine dirt, termed silt, which is 
deposited when the wuter comes to a rest, cov¬ 
ering everything with a crast which would,' in 
time, choke up the best drainage well ever 
made. We cau prevent this dirt from getting 
into the well by the construction of settling, 
or silt basiiis, which first receive the water 
and discharge it into the main well. The im¬ 
portant thing in the construction of these silt 
basins, is to muke them large enough to hold 
considerable water, and to have the inlet of 
the outgoing pipe its diameter below that of 
the outlet ol' the incomiug pipe. These set¬ 
tling basins may also receive the surface water. 
The construction is shown in Fig. 170, in which 
A is the settling basin and B the main drain¬ 
age well. 
More than one settling basin might lie con¬ 
structed on different sides of the well, if neces¬ 
sary. I would make the settling basin four 
Outlet of Drain. Fig. 177. 
feet iu diameter, with a depth three feet 
below the tile coming in. 
The main drainage well should probably be 
filled with large, loose stones at least to the 
hight of the drain. However well drainage 
wells might answer, they can never be supe¬ 
rior to a free outlet. 
Protection to Outlets.— The outlet to 
under-draius should be protected by some 
construction, as shown inFig. 177, that will 
prevent the earth from falliug in front of the 
d rain. The best construction is a retaining wall 
of masonry laid in hydraulic cement. There 
should also lie a coarse grating in front, of a 
tile drain, to pruveut vermin from gettiug 
iu. Coons, muskrats and rata have been 
known to run up tile drains as far as they 
could go, and dually get bulged, and form an 
obstruction to the flow of water. The outlets 
should be free; that is. above the surface of 
still water, as standing water in a drain is 
liable to cause a deposit of silt. Common 
porous tiles should never be used for au out¬ 
let, as they are destroyed by freezing when 
wet. For the Hi feet nearest the outlet, 
either glazed tile or a triangular or diamond - 
shaped box of wood should be used. In nearly 
every kiln there are a few tiles burned so 
hard as to be in part vitrified. Such tiles, if 
of good shape and full size, would answer for 
outlet tiles. 
(To be continued.) 
FARM WIND-MILLS. 
In the Fall of LS7« I erected a 10-foot llalla- 
day wind-mill on the end of my barn. It has 
now been iu place more thun seven years, 
during which time the wind-mill proper has 
cost less than one dollar for repairs. During 
the winter time it lias been in use almost 
daily; in Summer it has been set to work once 
or twice a week. It has, when a good trough 
was ready to receive it, pumped all the water 
needed for stock, and was doubtless capable 
of pumping as much more, had It. been re¬ 
quired. It is a geared mill, and when I put it 
up, i expected to use it for doing other work 
besides pumping water, such as shelling corn, 
sawing wood, etc. Experience showed, that 
iu windy weather, the mill is capable of doing 
this kind of work in limited amount. I have, 
with the help of two men. shelled UK) bushels 
of clean corn in lu hours. I have also sawed 
as much wood in a day with the wind mill 
as a strong ma n can do with a buck saw. But 
owing to the irregularity of (he wind, we have 
not used it much for this kind of work. 
Wince the mill was erected we have had two 
gales that did much damage in the vicinity; 
oue in particular destroyed a large and strong 
building but a few rods distant; but the mill 
suffered no perceptible injury. It is only fair 
that l should mention a fault I have noticed; 
during storms of sleet, the working parts 
sometimes freeze together, so that it cannot 
be started without ascend lug to the wheel, 
and working the parts into gear with the 
hand. Rarely, it lias been necessary to carry 
up hot water and melt the ice from the work¬ 
ing joints. Although the parts do not freeze 
together moro than once or twice during a 
Winter, this is sufficient to make some annoy¬ 
ance. “elm.” 
tieifr Cru})5. 
THE LADY-FINGER ROTATO. 
In the Rural of May 17, Dr. Hoskins con¬ 
demns the illustration of this potato, given in 
the issue of April 11), as inaccurate. I fully 
agree with friend Hoskins, that to give so ses- 
thetie a name to about the ugliest variety of 
the whole Bolauutu tribe, is a slur upon woman¬ 
kind. The man who gave It must have been 
au old, cross-grained bachelor, devoid of all 
appreciation of female beauty and grace, or 
one who, disappointed iu not securing the 
lady’s hand lie desired, t.lms sought vengeance 
iu villifyiug the digits of the whole sex. 
However this may be, it does not change 
the name of a potato, and the cut given in the 
Rural was as life like as possible, and the 
description was correct, except as to the qual¬ 
ity. When well grown, under favorable con¬ 
ditions, there is no better variety for baking, 
and it is for this purpose only that it was 
grown iu former years. Now it is almost un¬ 
known, bnt it is of so peculiar an appearance, 
that among the 500 varieties of potatoes which 
I had on exhibition during the Centennial, at 
Philadelphia, it attracted more attention than 
any other. Many old farmers recognized it 
at once, and were delighted to renew the 
acquaintance of this friend of their youthful 
days. Some of the visitors knew it by the 
name of Pineapple. 
The smooth, white, tapei ing, handsome po¬ 
tato known to Dr. Hoskins as Lady Finger, 
under which name I have also received aud 
grown it, is an English Fluke. Tt is one of 
the most beautiful potatoes iu existence, and 
might well deserve the name; but under the 
recognized niles of priority and nomencla¬ 
ture, there is no help for it, aud the rough, 
deep-eyed, ungraceful tuber must be called, 
Lady Finger, dr, f. m. hexamer. 
CANADA NOTES. 
We are fully a week earlier than last year 
in many things this season. For instance, the 
first asparagus for the table was cut on the 
first of May, while the first inurkeh package 
went, away on the 7th. Last year it was the 
18th before any was sold. The flower buds of 
Tetofsky and some other early apples can be 
seen already; but a cool spell has set iu, aud 
we hope it vvill retard the blossoms till they 
are safe. We have been looking over the 
grapes and roses, and are rather surprised to 
find so many hybrid roses winter killed, that 
have hitherto proved hardy Lord Macaulay, 
La Reine amt Caroline do Hansel especially 
have suffered. I think the early autumn 
frost may have injured the growth of new 
wood, for they were well covered with snow 
all Winter, besides the usual protection, and 
the moss roses beside them are ulive to the tip. 
The first, grape-vine to bud wus Amber Queen; 
it looks well; so does Early Dawn and Brigh¬ 
ton. Lady proves hardy always, and so does 
Moore’s Early. The Duchess is exceedingly 
sturdy; it, would be thr grape, if I could only 
have one; but 1 fear the Prentiss will never 
show us Its fruit, being killed down every 
Winter, while the Poeklington is partially 
injured. The Niagara has not come into 
thrifty, sturdy growth yet, and I should not 
like to be obliged to swear for or against it. 
I wonder very much after such a long Winter 
of snow-covered ground, that there are so 
many things looking bad. The pansy bed has 
uotu dozen plants left, and hyacinths were the 
same. Perhaps the damage Is due to want of 
air—killed by too much covering, but this 
could not affect the vinos. The Rosa rugosa 
is very hardy. It is in full leaf now (May 
Hi), and last Autumn bloomed till frost. May 
I- is called Arbor Day in the Province of 
Quebec, and we intend celebrating it by plant¬ 
ing a few forest trees, and also by putting 
in apple trees all across the farm at the road¬ 
side, “so that,”says the head of the household, 
“ there will be plenty of good fruit for the way- 
farer, aud the small boy of the future.” We 
have been planting to-day a few Fay’s Prolific 
Currants, our Lrial plant proving very hardy. 
Hut the Smith’s improved Gooseberry is win 
ter killed ugain, and no improvement at all 
with us. Who has a gooseberry large, prol¬ 
ific, hardy and mildew-proof? [ Try the “ In¬ 
dustry’’ of Ellwttngor & Barry. — Eds.] I 
remember with great pleasure the great va¬ 
riety of shrubs and ornamental trees on the 
Rural Grounds. I am even envious of some 
of them, but in the icy North so many beauti¬ 
ful things are too tender to thrive healthfully, 
that it discourages the most ardent enthusiasts 
and the growing of many plants often proves 
a costly experiment, annik l. jack. 
RASPBERRIES AND BLACKBERRIES 
IN COLORADO. 
The main drawback to growing these ber¬ 
ries iu Northern Colorado is the necessity of 
covering the canes in Winter. If not covered, 
they arc killed back almost to the ground, and 
produce little or no fruit. The only safe cov¬ 
ering i.s two or three inches of earth, and it is 
not nearly so much a job to cover the canes as 
one would naturally suppose. Two men will 
cover half an acre in a day. 
RASPBERRIES. 
Doolittle is au excellent bearer, and the 
canes being not so stiff as those of some of the 
other varieties, cau be more easily covered. 
Mammoth Cluster beard equally well, is a 
little late, and is a profitable berry. 
Grkoo is, perhaps, a third larger than those 
above mentioned, but is very doubtful if it 
produces as many quarts to the hill. 
HoPKINS is almost as large as the Gregg, and 
is earlier and hardier. 
Kentucky is au immense grower aud a 
good beaver. Berries about the size of Doo¬ 
little. 
Davidson’s Thornless on my clayey soil 
does not bear well, and is unprofitable. 
Hhakfer’h Colossal is a strong grower, 
and the berries are large, and the variety pro¬ 
fitable. 
Souheoan plants are yet young, but look 
as if they would lie near the gx-ouud and could 
therefore be easily covered for Winter. 
Turner has so far proved the most profita¬ 
ble red raspberry, uud is a good one. It 
bears very heavily, beautiful, bright red ber¬ 
ries. 
Cuthbkrt gives promise of being even bet¬ 
ter, but it is not so hardy. 
BLACKBERRIES. 
Kittatinny is still the old stand-by, and 
keeps so long iu bearing that for the family 
there are none to compare with it. 
W ILSON’S Early does well here, and ripens 
