224 
THE CULTIVATOR. 
June, 
Supplying a Farm with Water, and Draining. 
Eds. Cultivator —Encouraged by the receipt of 
several letters, stating that the practice of housing sheep 
during winter, which I recommended in the Cultivator 
some years since, has proved economical, and improved 
the quality of wool, I am induced to send you the fol¬ 
lowing items of experience, which appear to me of some 
importance. 
I have owned for fifty years a farm of one hundred 
acres, and for thirty I had no means of Avatering my 
stock, but to drive them to the river, which being frozen in 
winter made it difficult for cattle to drink, and quite im¬ 
possible for sheep. About forty acres of my fa^m is in¬ 
terval ; then lies a flat of good plow land, and next to 
this a side-hill, at the summit of which, on a gravelly flat, 
stands my barn. For twenty rods in the rear of the 
barn, the soil is sand and gravel—then commences a rich 
loam resting upon a ledge of lime stone. Where the 
gravel and the ledge of rock met, there .was water in the 
wet season. At this place I sunk a well to the depth of 
15 feet, which filled with water to the depth of 12 inches, 
but rose no higher. I concluded that there was rock or 
clay, which operated as a dam below the Avell, and that 
the water flowed off through the gravel. I then com¬ 
menced a ditch some 12 rods below the spring, and 
about two feet lower than the bottom of the well. In 
this ditch I placed a pump log; throwing the dirt back 
until I had room for another. I proceeded in this way 
to within twenty-five feet of the spring, Avhere I struck 
a ledge of lime stone, reaching to a level with the bottom 
of the well. Removing the stone with a light blast, I 
reached the spring, from which issued a stream of Ava- 
ter, which would fill an inch pipe. This spring has 
never failed to afford a large supply of water to my barn 
in winter, and in summer it flows above ground, supply¬ 
ing the pasture. Thus at a cost of not over $80,1 have 
added $500 to the value of my farm. 
Again, I had a plow field of twelve acres, in the center 
of Avhich was about one-third of an acre, which Avas too 
wet for planting,and usually remained so just long enough 
to destroy the crop. I found that the water came out 
from seams in a rock, and being dammed up by a soil 
of hard-pan a feAV rods in width, was forced to floAv near 
the surface of the ground. As the land Avas on a side- 
hill and could be easily drained, I made at an expense 
of $2, a blind ditch, which carried off all the Avater, and 
in four days the land was as dry as any in the field. It 
Avas planted to corn and produced the best yield, as it 
had not been injured by previous cropping. 
Pieces of land situated similarly to mine, may frequent- 
ly be seen, Avhich by a slight expense can be made availa¬ 
ble and valuable, and also a supply of water be furnished 
for farm purposes. Yours truly, John S. Pettibone. 
Manchester, Vt. 
Great Crop of Wheat. —The Editor of the Michi¬ 
gan Farmer states, that on a farm 15 miles north of Lon¬ 
don, a crop of Avheat Avas nearly ready for harvest, Avhich 
fully promised sixty bushels per acre. It was as high as 
a man’s head, stood thick, and the heads Avere long; the 
land Avas at first poor, but was brought up by draining 
and manuring, mostly with stable manure. 
NEW PU BLICAT IONS. 
The Howadji in Syria, by George William Curtis: Harper & 
Brothers, New-York. 
We are indebted to Messrs. E. H. Pease & Co., of this 
city, for a copy of this interesting, description of travels 
in the east. It is a written in a graphic style, and abounds 
in the rich drapery of metaphor, which characterises ori¬ 
ental language. The author carries you along with him 
in a familiar way—you see Avhat he sees, feel as he feels, 
and for the moment rejoice in all the exuberance of fancy 
which eastern scenery is calculated to inspire. The book 
is unencumbered Avith statistics, and the numberless tri¬ 
fling incidents of travel, and Avill be read with interest by 
those Avho prefer gems of thought to sands of the desert. 
The American Veterinary Journal, edited by Geo. H. Dadd, M. 
D.: Boston, Mass. 32 pages, monthly, at $1 a year. 
A Avork of this kind has long been needed, and this 
publication is issued under auspices that will ensure it 
success. The editor is a practitioner of Veterinary Sur¬ 
gery, and Avrites to considerable extent his own experience 
and observations. The Avant of anything like knoAvledge 
of the diseases of domestic animals and their remedies, 
results in an immense loss to the farmer eA 7 ery year, much 
of which might be saved by subscribing to this journal. 
Leaves from the Note Book of a Naturalist, by W. J. Bro- 
derip, Esq., F.R.S. E. Littell & Co.: Boston. G. P. Putnam, 
New-York. 
The contents of this work have appeared in the num¬ 
bers of Littell’s Living Age, and this fact alone will re¬ 
commend it to the favor of the reading public. Very 
many pleasing and instructive facts, connected Avith the 
natural history of animals, are related, $nd ancient my¬ 
thology is noAV and then called up to impart its strange 
fascination to the narrative. 
Littell’s Living Age— weekly, at $6 a year; E. Littell & Co., 
Boston Mass. 
This publication is Avithout a rival in the sterling interest 
and permanent value of its matter. It commends itself 
to the student as a means of forming correct literary 
taste, and to the general reader as an instructive and en¬ 
tertaining magazine. It is, in itself, a library of Biogra¬ 
phy, History, and Literature, of the highest order, and 
is deserving of a place in every Avell informed family. 
Cattle Shows for 1852. 
State. 
New-York— At Utica, September 7, 8, 9, 10. Trial of Reapers, 
Mowing Machines, fee., at Geneva, about the middle of July. 
Ohio —At Cleveland, Sept. 15, 16, 17. 
Michigan —At Detroit, Sept. 22, 23, 24. 
Indiana —At-Oct. 19. 
Pennsylvania —At Harrisburgh, Oct. 20, 21, 22. 
Georgia —At Macon, Oct. 19 to 23. 
Maryland —At Baltimore,--. 
Wisconsin —At Milwaukie, Oct. 6, 7, 8 
Vermont —At Rutland, Sept. 1, 2, 3. 
Canada West —At Toronto, Sept. 29, 30. 
Rhode Island —At Providence, Sept. 15, 16, 17. 
County Shows. 
O 3 * We are unable to announce the times for holding but few of 
the fairs of this or other states, and we shall be greatly obliged to any 
of our friends who will give us notice of the times and places fixed 
upon for holding any of the County Fairs, in all of the states of the 
Union, the ensuing autumn 
