250 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
[July, 
Cucumbers as a Farm Crop. 
Cucumbers are extensively raised in the vicin¬ 
ity of our large cities, especially New York, for 
making pickles. It is a very good crop for farm¬ 
ers, as it can be raised after the other crops are 
all planted. The usual time of putting in the 
seed is from the 25th of June to the 5th of July. 
An old corn stubble, in good heart, is suitable 
ground for the pickle patch, though sward is 
sometimes selected. Plow and harrow thor¬ 
oughly, and mark out rows running both ways 
41 feet apart. Put in the hill a large shovelful 
of well-rotted compost, and cover it with an 
inch or two of soil. Plant from five to ten seeds 
in a hill, and thin out to four after the plants 
are six inches high. If the weather is dry, the 
manul'e should be thoroughly drenched in the 
cart before it is dropped in the hill. It is usual 
to cultivate the crop but once, just before the 
vines fall over. Much labor is saved by doing 
this just at the right time. With a steel tooth 
cultivator, the ground can be stirred three inch¬ 
es deep, and very little space be left for the hoe. 
Some sow turnip seed at the time of cultivating, 
say about the 1st of August, and get half a crop 
of turnips, which have the ground after the cu¬ 
cumbers have done bearing. Cucumbers cau 
be picked in six weeks from planting, and the 
season will last from four to six weeks, or until 
the first frost, and then there is about six weeks 
for the turnips before the ground freezes. This 
is working the soil pretty hard, but with high 
manuring, it pays much better than to have the 
land idle. The turnips do not exhaust the land 
more than the weeds that would be certain to 
grow on land cultivated but once. Cucumbers 
are notan exhausting crop. With good culture, 
!Vnd- a good season, 300,000 pickles are raised 
upon an acre, and the farmer expects to clear 
about 300 dollars. Some make a good deal 
more, but green hands can hardly expect as 
much. The crop is usually bargained for at the 
factories, at the beginning of the season, and it 
is carried to the depot or landing every day. 
One-half the vines are picked on alternate days, 
thus keeping the force constantly employed. It 
takes about four men or boys for an acre during 
the picking season. The cucumbers are usually 
assorted into three sizes, the largest for table use, 
and the two smaller ones for the factory. 
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Irrigation of Grass Lands. 
BY P. W. VUERSTENHAUPT. 
[We recall well the surprise and wonder with 
which we first took in the great power of wa¬ 
ter as an agricultural implement, so to speak. 
In the hands of those who know how to use it, 
the crops of grass are doubled, tripled, quad¬ 
rupled—with no proportionate outlay of labor 
or manure. The art of irrigation is indeed 
simple to those who know how, but it is just 
sufficiently critical to lead those whose knowl¬ 
edge is not of a practical kind, if they are wise, 
to have little to say about it. We have the 
pleasure of introducing to our readers the au¬ 
thor of the following as theoretically and prac¬ 
tically a master of this subject.—E d.] 
“Agriculture cannot prosper without cattle, 
and they require wholesome, agreeable, and 
nourishing fodder—hence its supply must receive 
particular attention. Wo may place the grasses 
first among fodder plants, for they have become 
indispensable to our domestic animals, and con¬ 
tain the greatest amount of nutritious matter. 
By proper cultivation, the farmer, in soils not 
adapted for grain, can achieve almost incredible 
results with grass. The variety is very great, and 
each locality, from the swamp to the dry hillock, 
from clayey soil to quicksand, brings forth a 
different species of this wide-spread family. All 
grasses, however, are not of the same value to 
the farmer, since they vary considerably in their 
nature. Some are hard, dry, rough, brittle, not 
very nourishing, and only partaken of by animals 
in extreme hunger; others, again, have opposite 
qualities, and give, both when green and dry, 
an excellent fodder for horses, cattle, and sheep. 
The best meadow grass is such as agrees 
most with the character of the land on which it 
grows, and with the least volume contains 
the largest quantity of nutritious matter. The 
more air, light, warmth, and moderate moisture, 
can act on vegetation, the more profuse will be 
the harvest and the finer and better its quality. 
If meadow land should receive a supply of 
moisture, by atmospheric vapors, rain, dew, etc., 
at suitable times and in sufficient quantities, 
then it would, unaided, be capable of promoting 
vegetable growth ; but it seldom gets this fertil¬ 
izing element at the time wdien needed, or in the 
requisite quantity. Therefore it must be to the 
interest of agriculture to supply the lack of 
w'ater by means of artificial arrangements. And 
nothing can increase the returns more, or bet¬ 
ter insure the necessary fodder, than a thorough 
system of irrigation constructed on sound prin¬ 
ciples. By this the great agricultural problem 
of attaining the greatest amount of provender 
with the least cost and on the smallest amount 
of surface, is fully solved, while the keeping of 
live-stock and the making of manure is brought 
into better relations to the culture of grain. A 
properly irrigated field pays an annual interest 
to the fanner, and is a constant source of cheap 
material for fodder and manure for the future. 
By conducting the water in a fitting manner, wo 
distribute the elements most necessary to vege¬ 
table life. The proprietor of land so supplied is 
never perplexed wdth anxiety by arid seasons, 
spring frosts, etc., for these he can avert by the 
aid of fresh w'ater. He reaps his crops without 
having to manure, till, or sow r . Moles, ants, and 
other noxious animals and insects, are also de¬ 
stroyed, and thus the wdiole harvest is insured. 
Recognizing thus the importance of irrigation, 
w T e need to know, lsi, which kind of water is 
most useful; 2 nd, where and how a system of 
irrigation is best constructed and applied; and 
3rd, what necessary costs are thereby incurred. 
Each of these points we will briefly explain. 
First, every sort of water can be employed for 
purposes of irrigation. From its great tendency, 
however,to dissolve many substances,the decom¬ 
position of which it promotes, and with wdiich it 
partly combines, it can never be found perfectly 
pure in nature, but always commingled with such 
soluble substances as it has come in contact 
with. Its action on vegetation is as different as 
the foreign ingredients it contains, of which 
very many are detrimental to plants. Natural 
waters which can be used to boil peas (that is, not 
very hard); such as contain fish; such as when 
rapidly evaporated give a blackish precipitate; 
those which come from chalk, limestone and sa¬ 
line formations; and ail brook and river waters, 
are to be recommended for irrigation. Outlie 
other hand, water which has a red color, and 
looks as if covered with oil, or which gives a 
brown precipitate, is not fit for this use, because 
it contains too much iron and tannin. That com¬ 
ing from peat bogs and moor ground, from 
mines, and deposits of ochre, is also not suitable. 
If no good water can be had, then the impure 
may bo prepared and improved artificial^u 
Now, all water impregnated with impurities is 
meliorated by long exposure to the rays of the 
sun and the effects of the atmosphere, and by 
being allowed to stand and deposit these injuri¬ 
ous substances. This is easily accomplished if 
the w T ater be first collected in ponds, from wdiich 
it can be drawn off as required. Again, by 
placing animal manure in a large tank and let¬ 
ting the water flow over it, we greatly increase 
its fertilizing power. 
Second, in accordance with the variations of 
soil, position, climate, and the disposable quan¬ 
tities of water, a similar variety exists among 
the systems of irrigation, which have gradually 
sprung up, though the object of all is the same. 
These systems are divided into two classes, viz.: 
the irrigation of slopes over which water may 
trickle, and irrigation by flooding, or over¬ 
flowing wdth standing water. 
The former may again be subdivided, accord¬ 
ing to the peculiar nature of the land, into 1st, 
Irrigation of Natural Slopes; 2nd, of Regulated 
Slopes; 3rd, Dorsal Irrigation, or where the 
water flows both ways from a ditch on an arti¬ 
ficial ridge. Irrigation by Standing Water is 
sub-divided into natural and artificial. 
Which of these various systems is to be 
adopted, depends altogether on the locality and 
character of the meadow’ land; and it is best to 
consult an experienced person on this point. 
Third, nothing should be done before a proper 
and minute plan has been made, and the kind 
of W’orkmanship and manner of obtaining ma¬ 
terial has been determined upon. If these be 
not attended to beforehand, disorder and errors 
will be the sure consequence. 
A good and regularly constructed system of 
irrigation may cost, according to circumstances, 
from §10 to $75 per acre, but it secures a double 
and triple crop, for ‘ water makes grass'" 
A Wagon Jack. 
There are a score of w’aysto lift wagon wheels 
one at a time, to wash them. Most wagon 
jacks have some pins about them liable to be 
lost, or to slip out So one without any, and 
very simple in its character, and easily made, is 
so far meritorious, if not novel. “ J. B. L.” of 
Barlow, Ohio, sends a neatly whittled model, 
which we show in the engraving. It consists 
of three pieces. The long lever is 8 feet long ; 
the upright lever, 2 feet and 10 inches long. 
Both of these have a slot mortice in one end 
into which the short lever or handle, which is 
three feet long, fits. This handle may be made 
of an inch board, broad and oval-shaped at one 
end, which needs an iron band around it and 
extending a short way up the handle, to prevent 
splitting. Two-inch holes, 4 3 | 4 inches from cen¬ 
ter to center, must be bored through this oval 
part in such a way that the lower one will fall 
about twice its width back of the other, when 
the handle is held perpendicular. Correspond¬ 
ing holes are made through the sides of the slot 
mortices, and hard-wood pegs inserted to fit 
rather loose. The working is very simple. 
