THE CULTIVATOR. 
143 
Potosi is the county seat of Washington county, built of course 
like all other towns, upon seven hills; for here there is not level 
ground enough to build scarcely one house, much more a town up¬ 
on. At this place I was shown a well dug through a bed of lead 
ore, and was assured that this mineral never injures the water, all 
of which must come more or less in contact with it. Near Potosi, 1 
visited the farm of John Evans, a good English farmer, who has 
proved that fruit trees, grass and sheep, will flourish in this part of 
Missouri, if they can have a chance. At a Frenchman’s where I 
staid over night, I learned a new way to build a barn in a country 
where saw mills are few and very far between, as is the case here. 
I will describe it for the benefit of new settlers in general, and some 
folks in particular. 
A row of cedar posts, being first grooved on each side, are set in 
the ground about five feet, apart, and in these grooves are fitted pun¬ 
cheons of any convenient width, the edges resting upon each other, 
which forms the sides of the barn. Upon the lop of these posts, the 
plates and roof are put. The partitions are all made in the same 
way, so that there is no sawed stuff and no nails except in roof and 
doors, and it makes a very good cheap building. The grooves are 
cut in the posts by a tool made on purpose, shaped like an adze. The 
plan is worthy the attention of new settlers in many situations that I 
know of. It will answer very well for making cheap sheds” for 
some of the prairie flocks and herds. And now, my dear friends, 
while I take another rest, let me beg you to have patience, we tra¬ 
vel slow, but we have much to see. and life I hope will be long 
enough to see it all. So once more, 1 am affectionately your old 
friend, Solon Robinson. 
DITCHING—COTTON CULTURE. 
Editor of the Cultivator —It affords me great 
pleasure to inform you that I have succeeded in reclaim¬ 
ing my swamp lands by draining, which has rendered 
them not only safe for fine crops, but their value 1 now 
rate very high. I am now engaged in repairing and 
deepening the ditches I cut last winter, and locating a 
few smaller ones required. The work has been execu¬ 
ted by my own laborers under my directions, and the 
ditches will compare with any dug by Irishmen. The 
time employed, I conceive the most advantageously spent 
of any work bestowed on my plantation. True, the last 
summer was very dry, but notwithstanding we had a very 
heavy rain in April, and one in August, which would 
have left a sufficiency of surface water to have injured the 
growing crop, had not the waters been conducted off by 
my ditches. Our winter rains prove their efficacy, as the 
fields are rid of waters which heretofore stood on (he 
lands. I have accurate anil well finished plates of all my 
swamp fields, with their ditches and ponds thereon, 
which I w r ould forward on to you, was it not for the ex¬ 
pense of the mail, which would give you an idea of the 
utility and correctness of the work. My stiff swamp 
lands, that I was apprehensive would not be materially 
benefited by draining, owing to their tenacity of absorb¬ 
ing water, have by far exceeded my expectations. My 
ditches, with the aid of a few water furrows, have ren¬ 
dered such lands, as I heretofore despaired of, in my opi¬ 
nion, after a few good plowings, the most productive, and 
the best quality of cotton is being made on them. Your 
treatise on draining in your August number for 1844, I 
examined with great delight, in comparing its instruct¬ 
ions with the w'ork executed; and the plan fig. 68, page 
241, same number, is an instructive lesson of what I am 
to undertake, in reclaiming a piece of low land surroun¬ 
ded by high, for the season of 1846. I made one attempt 
in cutting off a spring on a hill side, which partially an¬ 
swered the desired purpose. My mistake was in placing 
the ditch a little too high. Experience in this case, 
shows that where the wet land commences, occasioned 
by such springs, the ditch should be located a few feet 
below where the spring emerges, so as to absorb the first 
springs, and by the depth of the ditch, it cuts off the low¬ 
er springs. Had I proceeded in the w r ork accordingly, 
entire satisfaction would have been the result. In exa¬ 
mining the ditches of most planters, and such heretofore 
has been my own mistake, the ditches are all too small, 
for after a few heavy rains, they become so filled up, as 
to render very little benefit; but where a ditch is suffi¬ 
ciently large, it not only keeps itself clear, but drains 
more rapidly and effectually, and requires less attention 
in keeping them in order. 
So much towards ditching—now for cotton. It is an 
article at present nearly worthless; but as regards its cul¬ 
ture, we may say something. Two of my friends and 
neighbors experimented on Dr. Cloud's method—good 
lands, well prepared, and well managed throughout; and 
I am sorry to say I was greatly disappointed in the re¬ 
sult. These gentlemen who tried that system, are good 
planters, energetic, and indefatigable; and they left no 
stone unturned, in giving it a fair trial. They intend the 
coming crop, to try it again. One perhaps reached 2000 
lbs. to the acre; the other hardly reached that amount. I 
planted against the former, on the old drill system, and I 
beat him. His trial was on ten acres, according to Dr. 
Cloud s method; I placed eighty acres against it, on the 
old system, acre for acre, or an average against the ten. 
By this statement, nothing is intended against Dr. 
Cloud’s system, for I am of the impression, it must in¬ 
crease the product of land, and I candidly believe the 
season of last summer in this section was unfavorable to 
manured cottons, owing to (he drouth it experienced. I 
| manured some fifteen acres of my own in the drill cul¬ 
ture, which was by far the most inferior cotton I had, and 
no doubt the drouth in a measure caused the disappoint¬ 
ment in the above crops. One great difficully they had 
to contend against, was in procuring a stand, which in 
.he end could not be obtained with no less than four se¬ 
parate plantings, which was against their crop. 
Owing to the very low price of cotton, there is some 
talk among the planters of trying tobacco, as our neigh¬ 
bors, the Floridians, have made the last season a small 
test of its product, and are so well pleased with the re¬ 
sults, that the present year they are going into it on a 
large scale. Something must be done, for at present rates, 
the cotton planter is not remunerated for his labor and 
plantation expenses. The evil I presume will work its 
own cure. Jno. H. Dent. 
Eufaula, Ala., Feb. 1, 1845. 
FEEDING CALVES. 
Mr. Editor—I have noticed several articles in the 
Cultivator upon rearing calves. I will just give you nzy 
plan, with results. 
Feed and growth of a Calf .—Calved Jan. 19th, 1843— 
weaned at six weeks old, and weighed 220 pounds. One 
quart of Indian meal, and one quart of middlings were 
boiled together and mixed with eight quarts skimmed 
milk, with which he w r as fed morning and evening, with 
as much hay and carrots as he would eat for three weeks 
and five days, when he weighed 276 pounds—gain 2 1-13 
pounds per day. He was then fed with 2^ quarts Indian 
meal boiled, without the middlings, for 18 days; weigh¬ 
ed 326 pounds; gain per day, 2 7-9 pounds. Meal in¬ 
creased to 3 quarts; fed 22 days; weight 377 pounds; 
gain 51, or 2 7-22 pounds per day. I do not write this 
boastingly, for it may be beaten; but if any of my broth¬ 
er farmers have a mind to try the process, I do not hesi¬ 
tate to assure them in advance, they will not find it as 
great a humbug as manuring potatoes with 4 barrels of 
poudrette to the acre, or using a penknife blade instead 
of a shovel to put the manure in their corn hills. 
Oijster Bay, L. I., March, 1845. D. K. Youngs. 
TO PREPARE SHEEP FOR SHIPPING. 
Sheep should be fed on hay a day or two before they 
are shipped, to change the nature of the dung, and thus 
prevent their becoming filthy when confined in small 
quarters. They should also be fed with grain one week 
at least before they are shipped, and also on the route, 
oats or other grain, regular twice each day. 
The best kind of hay should be selected, and after it 
has been moistened a little, twist it into a rope as hard as 
it conveniently can be made, and wind it up into tight 
balls or bundles and pack it away at a little distance from 
the pen of animals. 
By this method, the hay not only occupies the least 
possible space on the boat or cars, and is easily handled, 
but it is kept as fresh as possible, a very important thing 
in feeding. A small rack or box should be prepared for 
feeding, and cut off the hay rope for them as occasion 
requires. S. W. Jewett. 
The quantity of poultry exported from Dublin to Eng¬ 
land during the Christmas week, amounted to five hun¬ 
dred tons, and was worth 50 1 per ton. 
