1851 
THE CULTIVATOR. 
341 
so hard that the grains will not bruise between the thumb 
and finger. 
Covering Drains. —Indirections about covering tiles, 
I notide the-joints are to be covered with a sod, shavings 
or straw. I have laid on my farm over fifteen miles of 
tile drains. I have a double tree, nine feet long, and I 
put a horse on each side of the drain, and plow the earth 
right on the tiles, without any covering, and I have 
never had a stoppage, excepting where the tiles were too 
small to contain the water. 
I have purchased 10,000 tiles to lay this fall. A 
neighbor laid 12,000 last spring, and several others are 
going to drain this fall. The low price of wheat will 
be a hindrance to draining, but nothing pays as well as 
this business. We have another tile machine start¬ 
ed in this neighborhood, and Mr. Whartenby, at Water¬ 
loo, is also getting another put in operation, also another 
kiln and sheds for dryingj but the increasing demand 
would, I think, take more if they could be got. One 
of my neighbors intends laying 15 or 20,000 this fall and 
pext spring. 
In covering tiles by the plow, care should be taken that 
there is no stones large enough in the first furrow to 
break the tiles, and the first furrow should be a light 
one. 
Plowing for Wheat. —I notice that one of my neigh¬ 
bors is mowing his pasture fields, with the intention of 
plowing them up for sowing with wheat this fall, with 
one plowing. I have no doubt that he may have a good 
crop, provided we immediately get good soaking rains, 
so that it can be deep and thoroughly plowed ; if not. my 
opinion is that there will be more timothy than wheat 
next season. Although we have had many rains to re¬ 
tard hay-making, and even damage part of the hay, we 
have not had any soaking rains to wet or soften clay soils. 
John Johnston. Near Geneva, Aug. 6, 1851. 
Advantages of Drainage. 
The advantages of drainage are becoming more and 
more conspicuous as the system is adopted and extended. 
This will continue to be the case till the increased pro¬ 
ducts and profits of cultivated land, will be augmented 
to an amount which is at present beyond estimation. 
Col. Sherwood, of Auburn, lately informed us that he 
had, within about a year, purchased 14,000 drain-tiles, 
from the manufactory of Mr. Whartenby, of Waterloo. 
He has laid nearly all these, and their benefit is already 
so obvious, that he intends to lay more as fast as they 
can be obtained. Col. S. showed us a field of wheat, 
on a part of which tiles were laid last fall. The supe¬ 
riority of the crop on the drained portion, was very 
manifest. He related an incident illustrating the effects 
of drainage in bringing the soil to a workable condition 
in spring. On a part of a field having rather a tenacious 
soil, he laid tiles just before the setting-in of last winter. 
The last spring was wet and backward, and much ground 
could not be plowed till very late. He intended this 
field for barley, the sowing of which he was anxious to 
do at the proper season, but was obliged to defer opera¬ 
tions on account of the undrained land. At length 
plowing was commenced, and the furrows were run in 
such a direction as to cross both the drained and un¬ 
drained portions of the field. On passing from the one 
to the other, the plowman was at once struck with the 
difference in the condition of the soil—that on the 
drained part breaking up sufficiently dry and “crum¬ 
bly,” or friable, and the other being stiff and “ clam¬ 
my.” The plowman observed, also, that the draft of 
the team was plainly less when plowing the drained part 
than on the other. The difference in the condition of 
the soil was obvious when the seed was sown, and a cor¬ 
responding difference was doubtless exhibited in the 
yield of the crop. 
Flax-Cotton and Linen. 
There appears to be good reason for believing that the 
discoveries and experiments of Claussen and others in 
regard to the spinning and manufacture of flax by ma¬ 
chinery, will result in important improvements. Fabrics 
have already been produced in England from cot ton pre¬ 
pared by M. Claussen’s process, specimens of which, 
and of the cotton in various states, have been sent to 
this country. An editorial article in the New-York 
Tribune, speaking of those articles, says “The simply 
dressed fibre is as clean, as fine, as soft, as strong, as 
easily spun, as any Sea Island cotton, and is said to cost 
but nine farthings (less than five cents) per pound in 
England. That it would produce a fabric every way 
equal to the best bleached shirtings or sheetings, we have 
no doubt.” In relation to the flax-cotton fabrics, it is 
said—“ they are at once elegant and serviceable, espe¬ 
cially a pantaloon stuff closely resembling satinet.” And 
of the specimens of dyed flax-cotton, it is said they are 
“ perfect, proving the capacity of this staple to take 
the most delicate tints as well as the most vivid colors.” 
It should be here stated, that the prepared flax pos¬ 
sesses decided felting properties, and may be formed into 
fabrics in combination with wool. Specimens of these 
fabrics, consisting of flannel and broadcloth, of various 
colors, and said to possess remarkable strength and 
beauty, have been exhibited by M. Claussen at London. 
Mr. M. B. Bateham, of the Ohio Cultivator, writes 
from London that M. Claussen has disposed of his right 
to use his process in the United States, and that arrange¬ 
ments are in progress for the production of the flax-cot¬ 
ton here. Mr. B. suggests that farmers who are grow¬ 
ing flax for seed, should save the straw, after the seed is 
threshed out, in anticipation of its becoming valuable. 
He states that the machinery which M. Claussen uses 
for reducing the straw to a suitable condition for market, 
is very simple, consisting merely of a series of iron roll¬ 
ers, propelled by horse or other power, which so crush 
and break the woody portions of the straw, that by 
shaking or “scutching” it can be mostly separated from 
the fibre, and is made ready for the chemical process 
which prepares it for spinning. 
While the experiments above alluded to, have been 
going on abroad, others of a not less interesting nature, 
have been made in our own country. Dr. O. S. Leavitt, 
of Maysville, Ky., has invented a process for spinning 
unrotted flax and hemp by machinery. By this process 
he states that “ linen fine enough for the best shirt linen 
can be produced from the unrotted hemp, while the un¬ 
rotted flax will.be run to the very finest numbers.” 
It is not designed by this process to bring flax and 
hemp into a condition resembling cotton, but to preserve 
