The Lambertville press. [volume] (Lambertville, N.J.) 1858-1???, 1859-08-18
AUGUST 1S, 80.
Drawing Wet Lands.


Before many years there will be thousands of
acres pierced with drains But the inducements
to it which make it wise in England and New
England do not yet generally, exist in the West
The expense Of draining one acre would buy
two Many farmers have already more arabic
land than they can till to advantage Land re-
deemed from slough would not pay for itsefin
many years.
But although general Introduction of drain
ing would not be wise, there are many cases in
which, to limited extent, it should be practi-
ced Lands lying near to cities are sufficiently
valuable, and the market for farming products
sure enough, to justify the retaining of wet
pieces Of land On small farms of forty and
eighty acres, surrounded by high-priced lands,
not easily procured for charging his farm if the
owner should wish it, draining might be employ
ed with advantage. A man with a small farm
can aofrd expenses for high cultivation which
would break large farmer.
Some time large meadow or arabic field is
marred by wet slash through the middle of it );
farmer would not begrudge the labor of drain
ing tor the sake of having his favorite field with
out a blemish. Some time farms are intersected
10y wet lands which make the passage from one
part of the farm to another difficult at all times
and almost impossible at some seasons of the
year Draining might be resorted to in such
case, not so much for the sake Of the land recai
med, as for the convenience of the whole farm
We know pieces of wet peaty meadow land
lying close by the faryl-house, the only drawback
to the beauty of the place. A good farmer
would wish to recover such a spot for the same
reason that he would prefer handsome house
to homely one-a fine horse over a coarse look
ing ANIMAL slightly fence, rather than clumsy
one. There is much strong land-but high
fiat, and cold-which is wet through all the
spring. resisting seed till long after other por-
tions of the farm are at work, and which would
but for this backwardness, be regarded as the
best land. If without great expense, such land
could be cured, few farmers would mind the trou-
BILE or labor.
There are three kinds of draining which may
be employed according to circumstances-sub
soil blowing, furrow- draining and ditch drain
ing When a soil is underbound by com
pact impervious subsoil. all the rain or melting
snow is retained in the soil until it can erhale
and evaporate For the subsoil acts like a
water tight floor, or the bottom of tub. Sub
soil plowing, by thoroughly working through
this under crust, gives a downward passage to
the moisture water sinks as it does in sandy
loans Nor will such treatment be less useful
the depth of soil affords a harbor for roots from
whence they can draw moisture when the top
soil is dry as ashes
But there is limit put to this treatment, by
the amount of clay contained in the subsoil. 1t
has been experimentally ascertained in England,
that when the soil contains as high as forty three
per cent of alumna (clay) stbsoil-plowing is
useless, because the clay soon coalesces and is
as impervious as ever. In such cases, if the land
has slight inclination in any direction, fur
row -drainig may, in some measure, relieve it
The ground is marked out in lands as for SOW
ing grain and plowed with back burrows, throw
ing the earth toward the centre The rain and
snow will run to either side, and flow off by the
channels left between each strip. This treat
ment does not relieve the land, to any great ex-
tent, of water contained in it, but acts as a
preventive, by carrying off the rain and snow
before they are absorbed.-H W. Beecher, in
Plain and Pleasant Talk about F5'uits Floac-
erS, and Farming