188 
THE CULTIVATOR 
June. 
makes them cold—evaporation always involves a loss 
of heat—and hence vegetable growth is slower than 
upon a porous soil. 
What is the remedy for these evils? Thorough 
Drainage. 
A thoroughly drained clayey soil is one of the best 
soils which can be chosen for most agricultural pur¬ 
poses. Thus drained, instead of being retentive of 
moisture, it is open and porous—instead of being cold 
and sterile, it is warm and fertile. 
Then you may take any system of rotation founded 
on common sense in agriculture, and carry it out on 
your clayey soil. Manure may now be applied to some 
purpose—wheat and clover will not winter-kill—the 
leaven of drainage works through the whole lump, and 
enterprising and intelligent labor can be applied to 
some purpose. 
But leaving “ Thorough Draining” out of the ques¬ 
tion, “ What is the best system of culture and crop¬ 
ping for improving a clayey soil?” Suppose a field is 
now in grass, and yields but a partial crop, what shall 
be done with it ? Here is one course to pursue : 
1. Fall-plow late in the season, as neatly as possible, 
making narrow lands in the direction of the greatest 
descent, deepen and clear every dead furrow, so that 
no water may stand anywhere on the surface. 
Sow in the spring to oats, first harrowing thoroughly 
—but without re-plowing. See to surface drainage as 
before. 
2. In the fall, plow again in the same direction as 
in breaking up, unless there is nearly equal descent 
another way, making the dead furrows in the center of 
the old lands, deepening and clearing these as in 
the first breaking. 
Plant to corn in the spring, using the harrow and 
gang-plow to mellow the surface, and applying com¬ 
post of muck, barn manure and ashes—leached or un¬ 
leached. Top dress with plaster, after first hoeing. 
3. Plow again in the fall, throwing two lands into 
one, surface-drain thoroughly, taking care to get a 
clear outlet for the water. 
Sow to spring wheat or oats early in spring, and seed 
down to clover and herdsgrass, top-dressing with a 
bushel of plaster per acre. 
4. Let the land lie in grass as long as it produces 
well with the help of plaster and a triennial dressing 
of compost, early in autumn. Put in underdraws as 
soon as possible. 
We ask the aid of correspondents, who have had ex¬ 
perience in cultivating and cropping clayey soils, in 
throwing light on the question first above proposed 
Let no anxious inquirer be left hereafter to grope in 
the dark for “ something definite” about the best sys¬ 
tem of rotation for a clayey farm, for of such farms 
there is no lack in many sections of the country. 
-«9-»- 
Grinding Feed and Farm Mills. 
Eds. Cult, and- Co. Gent. —As you request informa¬ 
tion about Farm Mills, I will give you my limited ex¬ 
perience. I prefer the “Young America Mill.” I 
have ground about 300 bushels with mine, and the 
rings are good yet. When they wear out I can get 
another set for S3. The mill cost $50, with two sets of 
rings—one coarse, for soft corn, and one fine for hard, 
which is a great advantage. The only objection I have 
to “ lever” mills, is the sweep they take, as it is a great 
advantage to have it housed for grinding in cold and 
stormy weather. Mine takes 28 feet clear. 
As to economy, I think two bushels goes as far as 
three unground. I should prefer it as fine as clover 
seed, or finer; if coarser, the manure will report it. 
I mix mine with straw or hay, as it gives them a chance 
to chew it better, and I get rid of feed they otherwise 
would not eat. Oats and corn, mixed half and half, 
makes good feed for horses at least mine do well on it. 
I can grind meal fine enough to eat, with the “Young 
America,” at the rate of three bushels an hour— 
coarser, from four to six bushels. E P. St. John. 
Oberlin , Ohio. 
-0-9 0- 
Farming that Pays. 
The system of farming which in six years has ena¬ 
bled Mr. Metcalf of Ontario county, to renovate a 
badly worn farm of 128 acres, and at the same time 
pay by its products, a debt of $4,000 on the same, 
shows itself a good one beyond dispute. His method, 
though not differing essentially from that of many other 
good farmers, does vary materially from that which 
left on the farm at the time it came into his possession, 
eighty acres of stubble, without one foot seeded to clo¬ 
ver—and deserves especial notice in our columns. To 
Mr. M. was awarded the first premium on farms of the 
Ontario County Ag. Society, and we gather these items 
from their annual report in the last volume of State 
Transactions. 
The soil is a clay loam on a clay subsoil—100 rods 
of underdrain have been laid, mostly of stone, doub¬ 
ling the yield of barley and wheat thereby. Mr. M. 
plows from five to eight inches deep—the latter depth 
producing the best wheat and barley—the former, turn¬ 
ing under long manure and clover of one or two year’s 
growth, the best corn. This ho cultivates as follows : 
If the land has been much cropped, gives twenty loads 
of coarse barn-yard manure to the acre, plows once, 
just before planting, harrows and marks out three and 
a half feet each way ; plants the eight-rowed yellow 
corn about the middle of May. As soon as the rows 
can be seen, passes through with corn cultivator, then 
top-dresses with ashes and plaster mixed in equal parts, 
at the rate of a handfull to three hills; the cultivator 
is then passed through once a week until it commences 
to tassel; he hoes but once. 
Mr. Metcalf has given considerable attention to rais¬ 
ing wheat. After preparing the land by summer fal¬ 
lowing, he draws on finely rotted barn manure, spreads 
and harrows it in, thinking this the best way it can be 
applied to the wheat crop. He has used plaster, guano 
and ashes for wheat; sowed 100 lbs. per acre on a por¬ 
tion of a lot, and the balance dressed with Cayuga 
plaster and unleached ashes. Could see no difference 
in the effect, and believes plaster and ashes increase 
his crops of grain and clover one-fifth, wherever ap¬ 
plied. 
Of course much attention is given to manure—and 
he makes 300 loads annually from the hay, corn fod¬ 
der and straw fed in the yard and stables. Horse and 
cattle manure is mixed daily with the straw in the yard. 
He sows Cayuga plaster on all the land sown to wheat, 
oats, or barley, at the rate of a bushel and a half per 
acre, and relies on this and home manufactured ma¬ 
nures, for the imprvement of his farm. 
