170 
THE CULTIVATOR, 
June 
There is still another cellar adjoining this, which re¬ 
ceives all the wash of the house and the night soil, and 
which is liberally supplied with muck to absorb it as 
occasion requires. The objection to such places gene¬ 
rally is that they are difficult of access, but in this case 
it is entirely obviated, the cqllar being sufficiently ca¬ 
pacious to back a cart into it. 
The barn-yard is constructed differently from any I 
have before seen. The main yard, where the fatting 
cattle run, is slightly descending to the east to another 
yard, which is well supplied with muck, and is calcula¬ 
ted to receive the wash or superabundant moisture of 
the former. This arrangement gives him a yard free 
from mire and water, which at certain times is deemed 
essential to the comfort of the fat cattle, and to his 
own comfort and convenience in carting to and from 
the barn such large quantities of hay, &c. During the 
day the coarser forage of the farm is mainly fed out in 
the lower yard to the cows and young cattle, which run 
there, and the refuse of it is incorporated with muck 
by the treading of the cattle. Occasionally in the 
course of the winter, a moderate coat of muck is 
spread over it, this being deemed better policy than to 
put the whole quantity of muck that the yard will bear 
into it at once, in the fall. After planting in the 
spring, the contents of this yard are carted out into a 
heap for fermentation; it is immediately supplied with 
muck again, and the cows are yarded on it over night 
through the summer, excepting when too wet and miry 
from heavy rains, when they are for a few days turned 
into the upper or dry' yard. In the fall, the contents 
are again carted out, and a fresh covering of muck put 
in for winter. The litter, &.C., of the upper yard is 
also carted out in the spring and composted with muck, 
in all cases designing to use two parts of muck to one 
of manure. 
Irrigation. 
Mr. Rice’s system of irrigation is in the highest 
state of perfection. At the breaking up of winter 
quite a brook is formed from the rains and melting of 
the snow. It may be termed surface water from the 
adjoining high lands, and probably its marked effects 
in increasing the quantity and quality of grass, may be 
attributable in a great measure, to the fact that it is 
thus formed, and not a living stream fed by springs. 
A large embankment of earth has been thrown up 
on the lower side of the swamp, the other sides being 
surrounded by higher lands, and thus a large reser¬ 
voir is made into which this temporary stream is con¬ 
ducted, and with which it is filled in March, and after, 
to the depth of several feet. Gates are constructed in 
the embankment to draw off this accumulation of wa¬ 
ter as wanted for irrigation, and they are also calcula¬ 
ted for the thorough drainage of the swamp. The wa¬ 
ter is conducted in ditches at different heights, over 50 
acres of grass land, which lies more or less descending 
from the swamp. The ditches run across the land at 
right angles with its descent, and the water is taken 
out of them by small outlets, made at suitable distan¬ 
ces in the lower sides, so as to flow gently over the 
whole land. 
The water is not let on to the land till after the frost 
is out in the spring, on account of its liability to wash 
holes by getting under the frozen ground; neither is it 
continued on*theland after about the middle of June, or 
when the grass has grown so as to cover the ground com¬ 
pletely; if continued on longer, the quality of the hay 
is injured. Mr. Rice considers that the greatest bene- ' 
fit is derived from the irrigation in April and May, on 
account of the early and vigorous growth it imparts to 
the grass;—this effect is no doubt increased greatly 
from the fact that the temperature of the water is coa- 
3i.lerably warmer by standing in the reservoir. 
Care and judgment is necessary in managing the ir¬ 
rigation. Mr. Rice frequently passes over the land 
when under the process, and if any part of it is getting 
overcharged with water, it is taken off, or if any part 
is not receiving its portion, the same is supplied as 
soon as discovered. When heavy rains occur during 
the irrigation, it is stopped for a time; the object being 
not to drown the grass roots at all, but to keep them 
gently moistened. 
The contrast between the irrigated land and the land 
adjoining, which is above the highest ditch and cannot 
be flowed, is very striking. The latter, although ly¬ 
ing more level, and oftener plowed and manured, will 
not cut as much grass by one-half as the former, nei¬ 
ther is the quality as fine. The irrigated land can be 
kept in productive mowing, much longer than other 
parts of the farm that have not the benefit of the wa¬ 
ter, it is occasionally plowxd and manured however, and 
goes through a rotation of crops—no water being let 
on to any portion that may be under a state of tillage, 
until it is again in grass. The crop of grass on the 
irrigated land is not affected by any drouth, however 
severe, that may occur after the water is taken off,— 
the land having been well saturated, and the grass com¬ 
pletely covering it, prevents the moisture from evapo¬ 
rating. The burden of hay is very heavy, and the 
quality excellent; the tendency of the irrigation being 
to produce a thick and fine bottom. 
Seeding to Grass in August. 
Mr. Rice has several acres of grass land too moist 
to plow and cultivate in the spring. He obtains fine 
crops of hay from this land by plowing it in August, 
when a light coat of compost is spread on top of the 
furrows and harrowed in; the land is then stocked down 
to grass again, wuthout sowing to grain. The new 
seeding is fit for the scythe the next season, although 
later than the old fields. The process is repeated about 
every fifth or sixth year, or as often as the more valua¬ 
ble grasses are supplanted by wild grass. He consi¬ 
ders this by far the best management of a moist soil. 
Improvement of a light, hungry soil. 
He has a piece of land rather inconveniently situated 
to get at with manure, upon which he is trying the fol¬ 
lowing experiment to redeem it frem a state of compa¬ 
rative sterility: it is sowed to rye in the fall, and 
stocked with clover early in the spring; the grain is 
taken off the next harvest, and the next year after, the 
growth of clover is plowed in and the same process re¬ 
peated. The plan has proved very satisfactory thus 
far, the land yielding more than double the crop it did 
five or six years ago. 
Planting a Forset. 
Mr. Rice had, a few years ago, fa piece of side hil 
in pasturing, of rather thin unproductive soil, which he 
plowed up and sowed to rye, at the same time plant¬ 
ing to chestnuts in rows about four feet apart. After 
the rye”was taken off the land was left to run up to a 
forest. The first growth or sprout from the chestnut 
was rather ©rooked and scrubby; but by cutting it close 
to the ground new sprouts started which grew straight 
and thrifty, and there is now a good prospect of a fine 
growth of chestnut timber—an article which is becom¬ 
ing more and more valuable in this section of country. 
I liavo thus given a very imperfect sketch of some of 
the more important operations of this intelligent and 
prosperous farmer. His enterprise and skill in the use 
and application of his muck, together with the appro¬ 
priation of his natural advantages for irrigation, have 
told wonderfully upon the productiveness and profit of 
the farm. Some twenty years ago he commenced ope 
rations on a worn-out farm, the whole produce, all told 
not filling the barn then on the place, 60 by 30 feet 
