76® 
THE RURAL HEW-YORKER. 
butcher, but this was impossible when they 
must go a long distance for water once a day, 
and cattle kept in this way are not in good 
condition to winter. 
Butler Co., Ohio. 
FROM FRED GRUNDY. 
The drought which has prevailed in this 
section so long was broken, to a certain ex¬ 
tent, by a week of raiuy, foggy weather, Sept. 
25-MO. During that week the soil was damp¬ 
ened to a depth of eight to 15 inches, but be¬ 
low that it has remained as dry as ever at the 
date of writing (Oct. 20). Many wells are dry 
and farmers experience the same difficulty in 
obtaining water for stock as they did in 
August, though, of course, not so much is 
needed. 
Fall wheat started finely after the rains, as 
also did all grass that was not killed outright, 
and both have made an excellent growth. All 
the clover I sowed last spriug was killed, ex¬ 
cept that sown among rye which was cut 
early for green feed, and a strip about 20 feet 
wide and MO rods long over a tile drain. In 
August this strip of clover seemed to be as 
dead as all the rest, but the rains started it 
into growth and there it is, a strip of bright 
green running through the center of a field of 
brown, dead grass and weeds. If I could 
have plowed the land two months ago, 1 
would have done so, but it was too hard, and I 
now have a practical refutation of Mr. B. F. 
Johusou’s jeremiad against tile draining. 
Had the whole field—which is common black 
soil underlaid by a stratum of tough clay— 
been thoroughly tiled, there would now be a 
good stand ol clover gi'owiug upon it, iustead 
of only a narrow strip. 
Among other things which the drought has 
taught farmers is that our flat lands are much 
the best, especially If means—either tile or 
open drains, preferably the first—for the 
prompt removal of surface water are pro¬ 
vided. It has taught them that laud which 
has recently been in clover or pasture is worth 
more than twice as much as land that has 
been cropped with corn or other cereals for 
several successive years. It seems strange 
that so simple a lesson as this should be so 
hard to learn; but it is one that only bitter ex¬ 
perience will thoroughly instill into the tniuds 
of most farmers. It has also taught them 
that manure, applied in the fall has a value 
greater than that of the mere fertilizing ele¬ 
ments it contains, in the decaying humus 
which attracts moisture aud aids largely in 
keeping the laud friable and iu working con¬ 
dition long after unmanured soil has become 
a bed of dust, or baked hard as a road. 
Furthermore, this great drought has strongly 
emphasized the lessons taught farmers by all 
other bad masons—dry or wet—viz; never to 
place their sole dependence upon any one 
crop; never to overstock; never to iuvest 
largely in improved machinery, fine stock or 
anything else on the strength of a prospective 
crop; to keep the ditches open aud the weeds 
down. 
If I knew t hat next year would be as dry as 
this has been I would advise farmers to fatten 
and dispose of unnecessary stock at the earli¬ 
est moment possible; also not to breed auy 
more than they could conveniently handle in 
almost any contingency. It might bi a good 
idea to keep the necessary animals in good, 
thrifty condition, to breed if indications 
seemed favorable; to sell if not. Of pigs the 
owner might breed the usual number, or as 
many as he could properly care for, and if 
necessary slaughter or otherwise dispose of all 
but a limited number of the strongest and best 
to each sow, and hurry those forward as rap¬ 
idly as possible and get rid of them. I would 
earnestly advise them not to allow pastures to 
be grazed very low this fall, and to keep stock 
off in the spring until the grass obtained a 
good start; to haul out, during the fall aud 
winter, all the manure, half-rofcteu straw,etc., 
they can get aud spread it—thinly if the quan¬ 
tity obtainable is limited—over as much of 
the pasture as possible. It will help to pro¬ 
tect the grass from extremes of cold iu win¬ 
ter and heat in summer; it will promote a rap¬ 
id aud continued growth, aud aid iu prevent¬ 
ing the stock from grazing it too closely iu 
spots. 
I would advise farmers to grow such crops 
as they have been most successful with, and 
not to break seriously into any established ro¬ 
tation for one season. In view of the fact 
that indications so far seem to point to an in¬ 
vasion of chinch bugs next year, 1 would 
plow all land this fall so as to have it ready 
for seediug as early os the season permits. I 
would sow the high, tbin laud, or that most 
affected by drought, to oats, as early as a har¬ 
row can be drawn over it, seeding pretty 
thickly to hasten maturity. They will attain 
a good growth before hot weather comes on, 
aud ripen before the bugs can seriously injure 
them. I would plant the lowest and also the 
richest land to corn, using seed that has 
been kept over winter in a dry, warm place to 
insure certain growth and a vigorous start, 
seeding rather lightly so that the plants will 
better withstand the effects of drought. I 
would plant ground that lies next to oaks aud 
wheat as early as possible with the earliest 
maturing variety to be obtained iu the neigh¬ 
borhood or from some reliable farmer North. 
In obtaiuiug such seed I would entrust my 
order to a grange rather than to a seedsman. 
I would cultivate as much as possible with the 
harrow, and othersurface-stirring implements, 
keeping the weeds down and the surface of 
the soil perfectly mellow, aud finishing with 
the land as nearly level as possible. 
We cannot foretell tbe seasons, but we can 
hold our forces well In hand so as to be pre¬ 
pared for any emergency that may arise. An 
invasion of chinch hugs would be as disastrous 
to our crops as a severe drought, and as it 
seems likely that we shall have them, all seed¬ 
ing and culture should be doue with a view 
of hastening maturity rather than of obtain¬ 
ing great yields. 
Christian Co., Ills. 
FROM PROFESSOR G. E. MORROW. 
If I knew that next year would lie as dry as 
this has been, I would try to dispose of all in¬ 
ferior stock, those the keeping of which is 
at best of rather doubt ful economy, aud give 
all the others fairly liberal feeding during the 
winter, so as to have them go on the pastures 
in good condition. I would do all 1 could to 
have the pastures get a good start in the 
spring, top dressing them this fall or in the 
very early spring if manure could be had. 1 
would not turn the stock on until the grass 
had made a fair growth. I would be very 
glad if all the pastures had a good percentage 
of clover. 
I would sow a good acreage to oats and sow 
them early, so far as possible haviug the 
ground prepared for the crop this fall, as also 
for the com crop. This I would plant early, 
planting one-fourth or one-third of the crop 
with an early-ripening variety, drilling this 
nearly twice as thickly as is counted best 
when the ears only are considered, using a 
bushel of seed to three or four acres. I doubt 
if in any other way we can secure a supply of 
food to help out insufficient pastures more 
cheaply than iu this way. This year we be¬ 
gan cutting our Murdock corn so planted, on 
August 1st. at which time the ears were suffi- 
ciently matured to be profitably fed. As yet 
we have found no better early-ripening dent 
corn than this variety. A part ol the corn 
acreage I would plant with other large aud 
later-ripening varieties. I would cultivate the 
corn very much as iu ordinary years, not cul¬ 
tivating deep, especially after the corn had 
gotten well started. 
Especial care would be taken in saving the 
hay, cutting this rather early, and all straw. 
Much if not all the corn would be cut for fod¬ 
der. Possibly, but not certainly, a silo would 
be filled. Our experience this year will help 
to determine this. 
If tbe pasture acreage was small in propor¬ 
tion to the quantity of stock, I would sow Ger¬ 
man millet iu May. At this writing (October 
8) it is too late to do so, but had the University 
farms been short of pasture land, I would 
have sown rye early this fall. A neighbor 
has been getting excellent pasturage for three 
weeks past from rye sowed about the middle 
of August. I would sow clover freely uext 
spring on land seeded to Timothy this fall or 
oix land so seeded next spring—sowing this 
early; probably in the first half of March. 
We have had water enough for a stock of 
about 150 head of cattle and horses, although 
at some inconvenience. Were this not the 
ca^e I should either sink additional wells or 
build large cisterns to be supplied from tile 
drains, if the ponds were not large enough. 
While the remarkable drought here has 
reduced the yield of most crops, I am 
much eueoui’aged by the evidence given of 
the remarkable power of our soil to resist 
drought. Most of our corn will give us 40 to 
50 bushels per acre, and we have never grown 
a crop with lass labor. Our potato crop was 
almost an entire failure, Aside from this, we 
have had fair yields. I believe the Univer¬ 
sity farms will show a slight profit from 
the year’s work notwithstanding the drought. 
Champaign Co., Ill. 
FROM A. C. GLIDDEN. 
Those farmers who sold their com and 
oats in June, because the prospect was good 
for a large yield of both, have learned that it 
is safer to keep a year’s stock of grain ahead. 
Better provide storage room for the extra 
surplus than to run the risk of such a calamity 
as a scarcity of grain entails. It is safer al¬ 
ways to manage the farm as though a 
drought were immiuent. Provide a patch of 
sowed corn every year near the stables; even 
the drought of this year did not prevent se¬ 
curing a fair yield of fodder grown before 
the real pinch came. Plant corn thin—never 
more than three kernels to the hill and two are 
better on average soil. I plant three feet 
eight inches for Western corn and two kernels 
aud I would not plant too early. I think a 
great mistake is made iu giving so much ad¬ 
vice through the agricultui - al press to plant 
early. Here “early’’ would be from May 5 to 
lfi. That planted up to the 20th has invariably 
turned out more corn this year than the early, 
and I think will average better oue year with 
another. Every field where half a crop will 
be harvested, was cultivated deep at the last 
working, which was about the first half of 
July, varying a week or so, but every time 
this cultivation followed a slight rain, or at 
least was given when the ground was some¬ 
what moist. Working the corn after the 
ground had become very dry was disastrous. 
Coni ground should be plowed when it is full 
of moisture—not too wet, of course—but it is 
difficult to compensate it afterward for not 
doing this. Ground plowed when it is dry re¬ 
mains dry; but if plowed when it is 
just right, it will retain the moisture a long 
time, if it is frequently stii'red. I like to plant 
com on freshly plowed ground, it tends better; 
but we often have dry weather the first half 
of May, as we did this year. The corn starts 
slowly and many kernels fail in dry soil, so 
that it is safer, all round, to begin plowing 
for corn in April. Better work it for 10 days 
rather than run the risk of a dry spell. 
We formerly sowed two bushels of oats to 
the acre on dry, sandy soil, but wo have 
learned better. The soil cannot furnish the 
moisture to carry so much vegetation through 
to maturity. Thinner seeding insures a max¬ 
imum crop. You cannot force nature into an 
effort beyond her capacity, which thick seed¬ 
ing is attempting to do. If you have food 
enough iu the barn to winter but one cow 
do not hitch another one to the manger 
and expect both to keep fat and give 
double the milk of the oue. Casting too 
much seed on the soil is iu expectation of just 
such a miracle as two pads of milk and beef 
iu the spring would be in the illustration. 
A farmer must adopt some system of rota¬ 
tion, and it should be the one that seems most 
suitable for tbe farm and the location. lie 
cannot very well change for oue season, for 
fear that the weather will be too dry, or even 
too wet, but, as I have said above, he should 
evei'havc in view the fact that a drought may 
appear, and sometimes disastrously. The pre¬ 
cautionary efforts suggested are not lost on 
tbe crop if the drought doesn’t come. It is 
folly to think of irrigating our farms mechani¬ 
cally, when we consider or work out the prob¬ 
lem to the effect that one-tenth of an inch of 
rain is equal to about forty hogsheads of water 
to the acre, and that it needs an inch of rain 
per month, at least, to make irrigation effec¬ 
tive. We must consume the moisture iu the 
soil, aud learn how best to proceed iu order to 
secure it. 
Van Bureu Co., Micb. 
FROM T. T. LYON. 
It would seem preposterous for a horticul¬ 
turist to undertake to state the teachings of 
the past season’s drought respecting the hand¬ 
ling of farm stock aud crops, except so fur as 
relates alike to both agriculture and horticul¬ 
ture. The drought whispers that deep and 
thorough culture—keeping the soil thoroughly 
pulverized as deeply as practicable without 
injury to the roots of plnnts—is, iu the absence 
of irrigation, the most effective remedy avail¬ 
able to the farmer. That mulch, as an alter¬ 
native, is an injury rather tbau a benefit, in 
just so far as it shall become a substitute for 
cultivation. That early- plan ted crops, the 
roots of which acquire a deep hold upon the 
soil, in advance of drought and heat, will 
often yield satisfactory returns, even where 
later plantings prove utter failures. That 
corn and other deep-rooting crops have afford¬ 
ed profitable results, eveu when, as in Iowa, 
and "doubtless in other Western States, grass 
aud sowed crops generally have proved utter 
failures. That, whether for orchards or for 
farm crops, a gentle slopufrom the sun, either 
to the north or northeast, is to be preferred 
to a warmer exposure, except, possibly, for 
crops indigenous to a more suuuy clime. 
That upon soils naturally dry, and espe¬ 
cially in dry seasons, the free application 
of salt can hardly he otherwise than bene¬ 
ficial; if not as a repellant of insects, 
at least as a conservator of moisture. 
That, in tbe orchard, the low-branchiug of 
trees, and the consequent shading of their 
trunks and of the soil occupied by their roots 
is to be strongly commended both for its cool¬ 
ing influence aud for the conservation of 
moisture in the soil, as well as for its benefi¬ 
cent influence in preserving the bark of the 
trunk and larger branches iu a healthy con¬ 
dition. That a subsoil naturally easily per¬ 
meable to both moisture and the roots of trees 
is to be preferred l’or orcharding; and if such 
is not naturally its condition it should be made 
as nearly so as practicable by thorough 
subsoiliug and underdrainage. That there 
are peculiarities in some planks, either of foli¬ 
age or otherwise, which especially enable 
them to resist the influence of heat, as well as 
the dissipation of their contained moisture; 
and that, in the drier climate of the West es¬ 
pecially, such quality should be carefully con¬ 
sidered iu the selection of the varieties to be 
planted. 
Finally that, upon the Western prairies, the 
substitution, of farm crops for the indigenous 
prairie grasses has increased the injurious ef¬ 
fects, if not even the liability to drought, and 
that a reined}’, whedier by tree planting or 
otherwise, is loudly called for; as is even more 
unmistakably the case throughout the origin¬ 
ally timbered, but now settled, cleared and 
cultivated portions of our country. 
Van Buren Co., Mich. 
FROM F. S. WHITE. 
The past drought has taught our farmers 
many lessons of economy, such as to cut aud 
shock all our corn; to save all wheat, oat aud 
rye straw, and to feed close all our surplus 
aud refuse fruit aud vegetables to Our stock. 
We have learned also that w’o cau make a 
pietty fair crop of grain—in fact of every¬ 
thing—with much less rain than we had sup¬ 
posed necessary. The wheat* oats and rye 
grown in the past two years of drought were 
uuusually heavy aud of fine quality. Corn 
lighter and quality poor. We have learned 
that laud well-drained, well-manured, and 
plowed deep, and given frequent cultivation, 
will stand the drought and make much better 
crops than the same quality of land not drain¬ 
ed or manured, aud receiving only partial culti¬ 
vation. Farmers in this section ave not 
agreed as to which stands the drought best— 
fall or spriug plowing. I prefer the Fall 
plowing—it proves best for me. 
If I knew that uext season would bo as dry 
as the last two I would not attempt to raise 
any stock, aud would only keep just enough 
for actual use—that is one or two good cows, 
a few pigs to eat the waste, and teams for 
work. These I could keep very well if the 
next were no worse than the past two years. I 
should try to provide more and better stock- 
water. I do uot think it would pay our far¬ 
mers to raise cattle or hogs for the market. 
The handling of our crops would be an easy 
matter. I think it best to sell all surplus as 
.fast as matured. Prices are too unsettled iu 
years of drought to make it safe to hold per¬ 
ishable produce for a higher market. 
Droughts are generally sectional, and there is 
usually a surplus raised somewhere, so wo 
cannot, always expect high prices for our 
small surplus in drought seasons. 
As to the bust crops for a droughty season, 
early varieties of corn would be a good crop. 
So would early potatoes; wheat and oats, too, 
would be good crops but lor the chinch bugs. 
In view of the fact that we have bad chinch 
bugs for two past years of drought 1 would 
leave off all small grains, and plant corn, and 
early potatoes,and if I bad much stock 1 would 
plant a good crop of roots, such as carrots, 
mangels, bcetsaud rutabagas. 1 would culti¬ 
vate these crops by commencing—as I have— 
this fall to manure and plow my laud deep aud 
after planting to give frequeut cultivation 
whether there were weeds iu the crop or uot. 
I have no confidence in the system of cultivat¬ 
ing a crop merely to keep the weeds out. My 
idea is to give frequent cultivation no matter 
how dry the weather, or how clean the crops 
may he of weeds. By this plan 1 have always 
succeeded and have better crops now than I 
cun harvest. 
Polk Co., Iowa. 
. FROM D. W. HERRICK. 
The season’s drought has taught us many 
new things; sonic we will remember as long 
as we live Though the experience has been 
dear, great good will surely come from it in 
the end, especially to those who take advan¬ 
tage of the knowledge guiued by it. Tt has 
done more to awaken us to our true condition 
and our position with the commercial world 
than anything else could. Tbe sooner we give 
up the false idea that the Valley of the Missis¬ 
sippi is inexhaustible, and the quicker wo 
map out aud carry out plans based on scien¬ 
tific principles to bring up our farms to a high¬ 
er fertility, aud work into better methods of 
economy, the more money it will be In our 
pockets. 
If I knew that next year would be a repeti¬ 
tion of this, I would put in more winter ami 
less spring grain, as the winter grain reaches 
maturity before the worst effects of a drought 
are felt. I would plow up all Timothy mead¬ 
ows this fall, and plant fodder corn to take 
the place of liay. 1 would haul out during the 
winter and early spring all the manure and 
litter of every description that I could get 
aud spread where wanted. 
Doing this would save time in the spring 
when time is worth the most (especially In a 
dry season) and the manure would help to 
hold the moisture before plowiug, aud act a 
