1854 . 
THE CULTIVATOR. 
209 
blew the corn to cool it. Now all the rage is to make 
the lands dry by drainage, and also make them wet by 
irrigation. I have cultivated a farm at the West, 
which nature had drained, it being a gravelly loam 
soil, some two feet deep, upon a compact clay subsoil— 
all that was wheat land, corn land or grass laud. I 
removed to this farm two years ago. The 200 acres 
under what is c/illed improvement, lies between the 
Champlain Canal and the Hudson River; the west. 100 
acres nearest the canal, is what is denominated good 
meadow land—subsoil, clay; surface, clay or clay and 
sandy loam, with a few inches of muck generally. The 
eastern parts, river flats, generally dry, with wet pla¬ 
ces, and a ridge west of the flats, but not so high as 
the meadows; generally dry, based on the slate, and 
mostly overlaid by clay, sandy and gravelly loam, 
with wet depressed holes in spots. I commenced near 
the river, to drain one field every year until I went 
over the whole farm. But the idea of irrigation has 
come in like backwater upon my notions of drainage, 
and the question is, where shall the line be where the 
two contending systems meet ? or shall both run over 
the whole as a tree and vine covering the same space? 
I have no doubt as to pursuing the drainage as to the 
100 acres next to the river, which, if I pursue grazing 
as I intend, would be sufficient to raise all the grain 
and roots required for the farm ; but as to the other, 
comes the question, will that, well prepared, be as 
profitable in durable meadow and pasture ? and 
how prepared, by draining aad then irrigating, 
(there is a supply of water for that) or neither? 
This land is now wet in the spring and fall, and dry 
during the summer. It seems to me that it is now in 
about the same state as that described by Mr. Morris 
(in his valedictory address to the State Society,) as ir¬ 
rigated on the slopes of the Alps. Would not the use 
of the subsoil plow in preparing this,, do ail that is re¬ 
quired as drainage for permanent meadow or pas¬ 
ture ? and then if more water is needed, irrigate ? 
I can readily conceive in our climate, on gravel¬ 
ly lands, irrigation would be very beneficial; it will 
not only afford moisture but will make a porous soil 
more compact; and here arises a query, whether for 
that reason it is not detrimental to a clay soil—will 
it not make it too compact ? if it brought on a fertili¬ 
zing sediment, it would enrich by that means—and 
again if irrigation will produce rot in sheep who feed 
upon the pastures overflowed, I should think the evil 
would be as great as the benefit. Yours, Ac., L., Strar 
elian Farm , near Mechanicsville , N. Y. 
California Wheat Crop. —.an immense breadth 
of land was sown to wheat the last autumn, and the 
crop is now represented in the most flourishing condi¬ 
tion. It is said that the larger portion of the yield 
last year averaged 50, and frequently as high as 60 to 
70 bushels per acre. Estimating the present crop at 
only thirty bushels, of which there can be no doubt, it 
is thought that it will be abundant to supply all the 
wants of the State. 
Covered and Uncovered Manures. 
Messrs. Editors —In the No. of The Country 
Gentleman for Peb. 23rd, there is, under the caption 
of t; Truths not yet adopted in Practice,” a very urgent 
appeal made to farmers to adopt more generally some 
efficient measures for the protection of their farm-yard 
manures fixom the destructive effects of exposure to all 
the winds, rains, and scorching heats of the year. 
That appeal, we trust, will be heeded by those inter¬ 
ested, as many thousands of dollars' worth is annually 
allowed to go to waste for want of some suitable care 
of yard manures. 
Having lately perused some account of experiments 
made by Lord Kinnaird, reported in the Journal of 
the Royal Agricultural Society of England, on the 
comparative value of covered and uncovered manures, 
it occurred to me that a brief sketch of these experi¬ 
ments and their results might contribute somewhat to¬ 
ward fixing .in the public mind an impression of the 
importance of more care, than now generally prevails, 
in regard to protecting yard manures and saving them 
from waste. 
In 1851, a field of 20 acres, of very equal quality, 
being a rich loam naturally dry and in good heart, 
with an exposure to the south, was selected for the ex¬ 
periment, and divided into two equal portions. The 
manure was applied at the rate of 20 cart-loads per 
acre. The whole field was planted with potatoes; the 
seed all of one kind ; and planted first and second 
weeks in April. All brairded well, and showed no dif¬ 
ference in growth till the first week of July, when a 
decided superiority began to manifest itself in the half 
of the field manured out of the covered yards. The 
vines on the portion of the field manured from the ex¬ 
posed yards began to decay by the latter end of July, 
while the other portion of the field still retained its 
strong dark green. The crops were taken up on the 1st 
to 4th of October, and after careful measurement and 
weighing of two separate portions in each division, 
the result was as follows :— 
With uncovered manure. 
tons. not. lbs . 
1st measurement—1 acre produced 7 6 8 of potatoes. 
2d do 1 do do 7 18 99 do 
With Covered manure . 
tons. not. lbs. 
1st measurement—1 acre producded 11 17 50 of,potatoes. 
2 d do ' 1 do do 11 12 26 do 
As soon as possible after the potatoes were harvest¬ 
ed, the field was cleaned, plowed and wheat drilled in, 
at the rate of 3 bushels per acre. As soon as the wea¬ 
ther was suitable in the spring, the whole field got a 
dressing of 3 cwt. of'Peruvian guano per acre. Dur¬ 
ing the winter very little difference was apparent; but 
shortly after the application of the guano, the wheat 
on that portion manured by the covered dung took a 
decided lead, which it retained all summer. The 
whole field was cut on the 26th of August, 1852; the 
portion manured by the uncovered dung being at least 
four days earlier than the other. As before, the two 
separate portions in each half of the field were mea¬ 
sured, cut and stooked separately. On the 4th Sept., 
