1848, 
THE CULTIVATOR. 
19 
practical men, I never met one who was disappointed 
in the result of efficient, thorough draining. 
The manner of carrying out improvements, and the 
extent to which they are at once adopted, must neces¬ 
sarily be very different in this country and England. 
Our farmers are mostly proprietors of moderate means, 
erach managing his own land. We have no tenants 
who are willing to pay eight or ten thousand dollars 
of annual rent, when that sum would purchase a su- 
berb estate in the west. Our farming being on so 
much smaller a scale, the improvements must be more 
gradually perfected. They may, however, and in this 
instance ought to be, of a similar character. The 
remedy for wet cold land is the same here as there, 
and there are few of our farmers who could not in the 
course of each year, find time to accomplish some¬ 
thing; even without increasing, to any material ex¬ 
tent, their usual force/ Half an acre or an acre of 
drains might surely be put in annually on almost any 
farm, and I have little doubt that he who commenced 
by one acre a year, would not long be contented with¬ 
out doing more. It is of much importance, that what 
is done be done well . The desire to go over a large 
surface, should not induce the improver to go over it 
in an imperfect manner. I have known instances 
where the drains were put in at double the proper dis¬ 
tance, with the intention of finishing from the profit 
of the first operation. The sequel of such unwise 
economy is almost always the same. None of the 
ground is thoroughly drained; the land is still in a 
state unfit for the most advantageous cultivation; the 
profit that ought to be derived from draining, is only 
in a comparatively small degree realised, and the money 
invested is returning but a poor interest on the outlay. 
The prospect of a little saving, ought not to be an in¬ 
ducement to neglect the best mode of construction. 
Due care in the laying and filling, make a difference of 
many years in the time of duration. In the covering 
of stone drains particularly, no pains should be spared. 
The subject of draining is peculiarly important in 
this section, where there is so much wet heavy clay 
land. A large extent of it lies nearly in a state of 
nature, so far as regards the adoption of effective im¬ 
provement. On many wet fields in the hollows, there 
as scarcely any sustenance for cattle, and a large pro¬ 
portion of the hill sides produce only a scanty innu- 
tritious growth of grass. Even much of the land that 
is mowed, produces but a small part of what it would 
bear, were it not so wet. The land which thus lies 
entirely idle, or comparatively unproductive, is in many 
,«ases of the very best character, strong and deep; the 
hollows and fiats generally are richest, because they 
receive the washings from the hills. 
Improvements upon such soils pay the improver bet¬ 
ter than any other, because the gain in value is so 
great. Land which is tolerably dry, produces an in¬ 
creased crop after draining, it is true; but in that 
which was nearly worthless on account of a sur¬ 
plus of water, the whole crop is a gain. What 
would pay a better rate of interest than a ton and a 
half of hay per acre, from land before of little value, 
even as pasture? I have known instances in Scotland, 
where in cases of this character, the first crop repaid 
the whole expense of improvement. Suitable mate¬ 
rials foi? the manufacture of tiles, can be procured in 
this section with great facility, and if there should be 
a good demand, they would in a short time be afforded 
at low rates. 
But time admonishes me that I should draw toward 
a close; the subject is not by any means exhausted, 
but I think that enough has been said to show the 
propriety of combining theoretical with practical 
knowledge. Draining, as now described, becomes a 
science; giving full scope for investigation, and long 
courses of elaborate experiments, and I trust that all 
are convinced, that the results of such experiments 
may be communicated in a form quite intelligible, even 
to those who have not turned their attention to scien¬ 
tific subjects. It has been my object to show, that 
what is ordinarily termed book farming, may yet be 
practical; and that it may offer results worthy the at¬ 
tention of those who depend for a livelihood on the 
profits of their profession. Among the best farmers 
abroad, I heard but one voice as to improvements; it 
was always the remark that those who farmed highly , 
made most money. That is—those who reasoned most 
upon their pursuit—who studied the causes of good or 
bad crops—who availed themselves of every source of 
information, and who expended the most money judi¬ 
ciously upon their lands, always obtained the largest 
profits. A stress should be laid upon the words judi¬ 
cious expenditure , because we see some in all commu¬ 
nities, who enter into improvements rashly, and with¬ 
out due precautions. The failure of such ill-advised 
attempts, exposes a good cause to ridicule. I would 
not, however, be by any means understood to say, that 
all farmers should become scientific men; that is clearly 
impossible; but they may through lectures, or through 
books, acquaint themselves with the great principles 
upon which the cultivation of the soil should be 
grounded; may obtain an idea of the nature of the 
substances with which they have daily to do. Such 
knowledge as this is simple, and can be attained even 
by an intelligent child, of twelve or fourteen years. 
Diseases ©f Animals. 
Founder in Horses. —A writer in the S. W. Far¬ 
mer says that he rode a hired horse 99 miles in two 
days, returning him at night the second day. In the 
meantime he had been deeply foundered, but so effect¬ 
ually cured that the owner would have known nothing 
of it, if he had not been told. In other cases he was 
nearly as successful. This is his method of cure:— 
Bleed him immediately in the neck, according to the 
severity of the founder—in extreme eases, as long as 
he can stand. Then draw his head up, and with a 
spoon put back on his tongue salt enough till he has 
swallowed a pint. Let him drink moderately. Then 
anoint the edges of his hoofs with turpentine, and he 
will be well in an hour. The salt operates as a ca¬ 
thartic, and with the bleeding, arrests the fever. 
Puerperal Fever in a Cow. —It is stated that some 
apparently hopeless cases of this disease have been 
cured by a compound of ether with cathartics. In 
one case, where there was every appearance' of speedy 
death, by repeatedly administering these medicines, 
the cow in thirty-six hours got up and began feeding, 
and was quite well in a week. 
Disease in a Cow’s Udder. —In the month of 
May, 1846, I had a beautiful young cow, that gave 
over twenty quarts of milk per day, injured in one of 
her teats to such an extent, that the milk could not be 
drawn, and in consequence suppuration of the bag en¬ 
sued, and I lost the use of her. Some two weeks af¬ 
ter the injury, I lanced the spot where the first indica¬ 
tion of suppuration appeared, and I repeated the open¬ 
ing four or five times afterwards, at different periods 
and in different places, with good results; but the bag 
continued to yield pus for ten months. Now I wish to 
learn whether, if I had opened the teat through the 
milk-passage, at the proper time, the teat might not 
have healed, and the cow been saved from the butcher? 
Would not a compress, secured by a tarred cloth, pre¬ 
vent the spontaneous flow of milk in such a case as is 
alluded to in your answer to the inquiry of J. L. R., 
in the last volume of the Cultivator, page 287? 
Autograph. 
