APRIL 28 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
farm (t'conoimj. 
TILE DRAINAGE.—No. 6. 
W. I. CHAMBERLAIN. 
How to Drain. 
Partial Drain age.— There are many farms 
in our gravelly drift soils that do not need 
thorough drainage; that is, the drainage of the 
entire area with parallel laterals two or three 
rods apart. The subsoil is of a somewhat com¬ 
pact gravel that slowly filters away even the 
heaviest rain, and leaves no stagnant, water on 
or in the soil long enough to destroy or in¬ 
jure the crop. But such farms often have 
several “pockets,” or “cat swamps,” or swales 
in fertile cultivated fields. They not only are 
unfit for tillage themselves, but they hinder 
the cultivation of the rest of the field. They 
divide it into awkward triangles or patches. 
They are eye-sores and hindrances. Now what¬ 
ever doubts there may be as to the wisdom of 
tile-draining an entire field of clay soil and 
subsoil, all of which equally need drainage, 
there can be no possible doubt as to the wis¬ 
dom of draining these worthless “pockets” or 
swales in cultivated fields that elsewhere do 
not need drainage. Two or three such pock¬ 
ets on my own clayey farm have been drained 
and have become the most fertile spots on the 
entire farm; fertile because, for many years, 
they have caught and held the fertile surface- 
wasn from the adjacent higher ground; but 
unproductive because the stagnant water at 
certain seasons of the year destroyed or in¬ 
jured vegetation. They were the first to be 
drained on my clay land, though the rest of 
the fields have since been drained. 
The formation of the these pockets or small 
swamps in drift, gravel soils aud subsoils is not 
hard to understand, and an understanding of 
their geologic formation will make their 
drainage simple. The following cut (Fig. 184) 
gives the profile of the lowest part of a grav¬ 
elly loam field that needs partial drainage. 
The heavily-shaded part, a, d, e, f, is an “im¬ 
pervious” clay stratum with a slight “dip” as 
shown by the horizontal line, a, b. The dotted 
part, f, e, g, b, is a gravelly soil and subsoil 
with a depression at k, forming a pond or cat- 
swamp most of the year, or long enough every 
year to ruin the. crop. A drain from 1 to h, 
with a slight fall, will relieve the depression 
at k, of all surplus and stagnant water and 
render the cat-swamp tillable with the rest of 
the field and exceedingly productive. 
Sometimes, however, the knoll at n is so 
high that tile drainage is impossible. I know 
of one such place on a neighbor’s field. The 
water is not stagnant at k very long, but a 
heavy rain floods it long enough to destroy a 
crop of corn, potatoes, wheat oats, etc., and 
obstructs tillage. If now beneath the clay 
stratum there is another gravelly stratum a, 
c, b, d, then a well or catch basin may be 
sunk from k to m, and stoned up from the bot¬ 
tom to a foot or more above the surface, and 
filled around the stoning near to and above the 
surface with cobbles and loose gravel. This 
will quietly draw off the water into the gravel 
stratum beneath before the crop is rained. If 
there is no gravel stratum beneath, the drain¬ 
age is practically impossible. 
Sometimes the cat-swamp at k is springy or 
spongy, with soft, wet muck to a great depth. 
Here the drainage is more difficult. It may be 
accomplished, however, by laying a three or 
four inch tile all around the swamp just as 
near the deep muck or quicksand as possible 
and yet have a solid clay bottom to lay the tiles 
in. (See. b, c, d, e in Fig. 185.) This effectually 
cuts off the water supply that comes near the 
surface, from the higher laud, and will in time 
dry the swamp enough for pasturage or 
meadow aud perhaps enough for tillage. But 
if there is a constant small stream of water 
through the pipe from b to the outlet a, (see 
figure 185) a uew difficulty presents itself. The 
roots from surface crops may seek the moisture, 
and possibly choke up the drain. Roots seem 
to have an instinct for deep water or fertility, 
and what seems like the power to go in search 
for it to great distances and depths. A neigh¬ 
bor of mine. Mr. F. B. Ferry, of Summit 
County, 0., has a cat swamp drained as in 
Fig. 185. The outside line f, g, h, i, is the outer 
edge of the spongy ground, or the inner edge 
of solid gravelly drift soil. At b is a catch 
basin to receive all the water into a four iuch 
tile running some 30 rods through a hollow to 
the outlet a. A heavy wheat crop grew above 
the drain a, b, this last year aud in the Sum¬ 
mer time when the roots needed moisture they 
sought it in the tiles which had a stream rau- 
ning through them all the time from the 
springy ground above. The stream at the 
outlet, a, which had been full in wet weather 
gradually diminished to almost nothing, and 
after a heavy rain the water from tho tiles 
would boil or buret up through to the surface 
all along at k, k, k. On digging down to the 
tiles it was found that they were choked with 
a mass of fine fibrous wheat roots. After 
harvest, however, the wheat, roots, having of 
course died, washed out gradually, and soon 
the drain was again unobstructed. Whether 
the clover aud grass roots will obstruct it in 
the same way this comiug Summer is not 
certain but quite probable. 
Whenever water from above is constantly 
flowing through tiles under a wheat field or 
clover field there is, therefore, danger of stop¬ 
page by roots in dry weather when die roots 
need moisture. The only way I know to pre¬ 
vent this is to use porous tiles, free from 
cracks or pin-holes, aud lay all the joints 
in cement. This will exclude the roots 
and admit some water from the adjacent 
swale or hollow. If it does not admit it fast 
enough then another tile drain, tinecilimited, 
can be laid a rod or two off on one or both 
sides. In that case the cemented drain will 
convey the living water from the swamp or 
spring above, and the uncemented ones will 
act as ordinary drains for the hollow or swale. 
I have said there can be no doubt as to the 
wisdom of drainage of such cat-swamps aud 
swales in fields otherwise fitted for tillage. It 
pays by removing obstructions to cultivation 
straight through the whole field; aud the crop 
grown on the otherwise unproductive spot pays 
too. Let me give two examples. On my own 
farm was a cat-swamp of perhaps a quarter 
of an acre which would grow nothing but 
smart weed, swamp grass and black ash. It was 
fenced in from the pasture with 28 acres more 
to make a tilled field. The water would stand 
there nearly all Summer in u wot year. It 
was drained at a cost of about 125, aud plowed 
up in the Fall, a stiff, blue clay. The cost of 
draiuage was greater because the outlet was 
60 rods distant; but the drain also drained a 
strip of lowland two rods wide, and nearly 
the entire clayey field has since been thorough¬ 
ly tiled. The swamp was pulverized by the ac¬ 
tion of frost for two Winters and then manured 
like the rest of the field, but the crop was 
heaviest there. The Hungarian Gross stood 
nearly six feet high and yielded at the rate of 
18 tons per acre, greeti weight, aud nearly six 
tons of dried hay, and the wheat the next year 
was heaviest there, and the whole six acres 
similarly treated yielded 40)^ bushels per acre. 
The swamp part must have yielded at the rate 
of at least 45 bushels per acre. And all this 
was clear gain for there would have been 
neither hay nor wheat but for the draining; 
uothing but clods and huge lumps and water 
aud “smart weed.” 
My neighbor, F. B. Ferry, drained a small 
cat-swamp of about a quarter of an acre in a 
field of gravelly loam. In wet weather the 
water stood two feet deep in the middle and 
killed every crop. The drainage cost about 
$50, as the outlet was over 60 rods off and the 
drain had to go five feet deep some of the way. 
The field was planted to potatoes which were 
up nicely. An immense rain filled the pond or 
swamp full, though the drain was running full 
capacity at the outlet. His neighbors crowed: 
“I told you so; told you your tiles wouldn’t 
do no good.” At night the pond was full. 
Next morning not a drop was left. He care¬ 
fully marked the ground covered by the wa¬ 
ter, and where the potatoes would have been 
an entire failure but for the drain, and at dig- 
ing time sold the potatoes from the spot for 
$63. And besides that, the work of cultivat¬ 
ing straight through the chained pond was lass 
than it would have been to cultivate around 
the big mud-hole. 
Hundreds of similar instances might be giv¬ 
en. The first tiling on any farm is to “tackle” 
the smull swamps and swales. That is all that 
is needed on a gravelly loam, but on a clayey 
farm the thorough drainage of the whole tilla¬ 
ble surface will in time follow'to fit it for wheat, 
potatoes, fruits and general mixed fanning; 
and therefore it is of the utmost importance 
that these swales lie well drained at first with 
tiles large enough to serve as main drains 
when the laterals are laid all over the field. 
Thorough drainage will be discussed in an¬ 
other number. 
Washes. —1 tried several lands of dams for 
these, and had the satisfaction after as many 
deluges, of dimming them over again. 1 
finally tried driving down willow stakes (the 
common Gray or Upland Willow) and the dam 
proved effective. Drive them down as soon us 
the frost is out of the ground doop enough. In 
small washes, I drive them zigzag iu the 
couree; iu large ones I drive them four to six 
inches apart across. Let the top of the stake 8 
come level with the banks; they will soon 
gather debris, etc. Seed plentifully with Red- 
Top or Timothy when you get a solid sod. 
Then cut out the Willows, and don’t be foolish 
enough to plow that slough again, R. J. w. m. 
Ittiscfllatifous. 
JOTTINGS AT KIRBY HOMESTEAD. 
COL. F. I). CURTIS. 
Medicine to Pigs. 
As we strangled a pig not long since trying 
to force a dose of tuipentine and milk down 
its throat, an attempt was made to get a pig 
to take a dose of castor oil by mixing it with 
fresh, warm milk. It was first tempted with a 
few swallows of clear milk which it took to 
kindly with a genuine piggish appetite, but 
when the oil was added it would not swallow 
a drop. The trouble in giving medicine to a 
pig is, that it must be held, aud holding it 
makes it squeal, and this effort opens the epi¬ 
glottis, or the covering to the windpipe, and 
lets the medicine enter it aud so strangles the 
pig. Perhaps a pig w T ould drink milk with 
Epsom salts; next time we will try that. 
WINTER GRAIN. 
Winter grain has been protected by snow in 
this section of the country all Winter, and 
now, nearly the middle of March, we have 
just had the heaviest fall of snow. The pros¬ 
pects for its comiug out in good condition are 
very flattering. The culture of w heat is in¬ 
creasing every year, and the yield in this old 
settled country is very satisfactory. Good 
cultivation and high mauuring always insure 
a paying crop. On this account the older 
portions of thu county average a larger yield 
than the newer. If the farmers in the new er 
and more naturally fertile part took the same 
pains they could excel, but they do not. 
INFLAMED UDDER IN A SHEEP. 
A ewe had so much milk that her lamb 
could not take it all, and one side of the udder 
became inflamed and swollen so badly that no 
milk could be drawn from that side. It was 
lanced and a quantity of bloody pus came out, 
which relieved her and prevented the w hole 
udder from liecoming so inflamed that it would 
have boon spoiled. Sheep highly fed often 
secrete more milk than the lamb can take 
when first bora. They should be examined 
and the surplus milk squeezed out until the 
lamb is old enough to require it all. The ewes 
are fed turnips and oats which make a large 
flow of milk. There is nothing better. 
FEED FOR OLD HORSES. 
A pair of old liorees which canuot keep iu 
good condition on oats, as they swallow them 
whole, have wintered in excellent condition on 
corn. They were fed com iu the ear so long 
as it lasted, and now they are doing equally as 
well on it shelled. They are given two quarts 
at a feeding, getting six quarts a day with 
straw. One of them more than a quarter of 
a century old, looks fine and does his share of 
work. He mustieates the coin and none of it 
is wasted in his excrement, which would not 
be the case with oats. Meal Is the best for old 
horses, but I like to save the trouble, and the 
millers toll if it can be done without loss. 
When the Spring work begins the most 
economical and the best feed for this team 
will be to cut their hay and mix meal 
with it. Rye meal is the cheapest aud 
they will be fed on it mixed w ith a little 
ground oats and oat-meal. An old horse which 
had the heaves badly was fed one Spring 
nothing but oats soaked aud swelled iu water. 
Ho kept fat and did a great, deal of hard work. 
Three pecks a day woe all he required. There 
was no trouble on account of the horse. If he 
had been allowed to eat bay be could not have 
w’orked at all. 
TICKS ON SHEEP. 
All the feed a sheep would eat last Fall did 
not make her fat, but she actually grew thin¬ 
ner. Upon examining her she was found to 
be literally covered with ticks. Five cents 
worth of Scotch snuff rubbed into the w r ool by 
opening it iu circles around her body killed the 
vermin and she immediately begau to gain. 
The presence of ticks can usually be known 
without catching the sheep by the appearance 
of the wool, us it will present a mussed or rag¬ 
ged surface caused by tho sheep nibbing. 
Mixing powdered sulphur with salt, and get¬ 
ting tho sheep to eat it, it is said,will drive tho 
ticks away. As our sheep always have salt to 
to help themselves to, this remedy has not 
been tried. If salt should be kept from them 
for some time, they might become so salt-hun¬ 
gry as to eat sulphur mixed w ith it sufficient 
to destroy the ticks, but w T e doubt it, they are 
such dainty creatures. 
SPASMS IN PIGS. 
A neighbor came to find out what was the 
matter with his pigs. They wmuld lie down 
aud kick, and seemed to be in pain. After the 
CAYW'OODS BLACK SEEDLING.—FIG. 186.— SEE PAGE 261. 
