The Tipton advertiser. [volume] (Tipton, Cedar Co., Iowa) 1856-1962, 1863-01-29

c."'' auu Aeep uoWu tue WeeuS. III IL
should be dry season and the crop is
sowed in time, it may be worth something.
Sow the first crop on the sod. In the
fall, or if it is not dry enough in the fall,
plow as soon as it is dry enough in the
following spring, and SOW on oats or buck
wheat again, for the second crop. A tol-
erably dry slough will do for corn the
second crop. Go around the slough the
same way that it was broke, make the
land about six feet wider than it was at
first, to prevent forming a ridge at the
edge Of the slough. Plow in the same
manner as at first, and make the two last
burrows as deep as possible, to deepen the
channel
| have sometimes plowed a slough
twice the same season, as above dcscrib
ed, before putting out crop. After a
slough has been plowed for two or three
years as above described, it may be cross
plowed and then furrow drawn down it.
A very wide, wet slough, after having
been plowed as above described to form
a channel, should be plowed in lands six
ty feet wide, crossing the channel at
right angles, with deep middle furrow,
to carry the water into the main channel
1t may be thought that sloughs plowed
several times as above described, will
have such deep channels as to be difficult
to cross with loaded wagon or reaper,
but the descent is so gradual from the
edge of the slough to the ceuter, that it
can be crossed gi:hout difficulty, After
few years, if the channel gets too deep,
the plowing may be reversed, and the
channel partly filled up. l have several
sloughs that for two or three years were
powed as above described. | now plow
across them the same as if there had been
no sloughs there, and then draw fur
row down to let the water off, They
sometimes bring good wheat, and gene
rally good corn, and excellent timothy.
Many sloughs in this neighbcrhood
have been drained with mole di,chcr.
More than half are failures Slough lands
lsbould have open channels to draw off the
prface water. I have a slough that for
y efly Vas quite wet, the water running
llatso1ing on it nearly the whole year.
ten years ago I sowcd it with
~ red top, without narrowing;
"a about five years, and has
"a for the last four or five
HaS ld grass has been entirely
fem, k50F the fast three years Tns
IL washed channel through the
md it is now covered with ,
11sss sod that can easily be plowed
l. Atwo horse team, and is dry enough
W. good corn. Many of the sloughs
q outside of fields, and have been
"a for the last twenty years have
z cbannels, and are covered with a
((sSe grass sod, and are dry enough to
false good corn,
Whenever | have brought any prairie
under cultivation, for the last six or sew
en- years, l have broke up and cultivated
the s!oughs with the dry land, and they
bring good crops. In May and June, of
1861, | had twenty acres broke; about T.
acres of it was slough and wet bottom
land. There was a pond on the bottom
of three fourths of an acre, nearly three
feet deep. There had been little red
top seed scattered over the wet ground,
without narrowing, and it had been pas
turcd, not very closely, for four or five
years. About three fourths of the wild
grass was killed out, and the tame grass
had taken its place. Where it was not
too wet sod corn was planted and produc-
ed quite crop with no labor but plant
ing. Last spring all of the ground was
narrowed that was dry enough. At the
time of big rain waded boot top deep,
and set stakes on the lowest ground where
| wished to make drain for the wet
ground and the pond; then, after it dried
off for two or three weeks, | commenced
blowing a channel where it had been pre-
viously staked off, to drain the pond. I
first plowed land from the creek to as
near the water in the pond as possible,
about twelve feet wide, turning the fur
row out from the center. | then plowed
second time around the same land,
making it four feet wider, two on each
side plowed the same land three or
four times, as described above, making
it wider eacn time 1t would have been
better to have narrowed after each plow.
ing; then, after cleaning out the dea1
furrow with a shovel little, | let the
water in from the pond with spade l
then plowed furrow through the mud
aud water in the pond, after TIE water
had pretty well run off, to intersect with
the channel at the lower end of the pond.
After letting the pond and low ground
dry few days, | plowed the channel
through the low ground, and beyond,
where it was staked off, four burrows
wide, the last two as deep as possible. l
then plowed the whole bottom in straight
lands sixty feet wide, with deep dead
furrow. The main channel was so cut
as to cross the lowest part of each land,
The bottom was sowcd with oats about
the middle of June. Oats were failure,
.,,soJ hy rurt In notobor 1,et 7 ,,lo