Staunton spectator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1849-1896, 1869-03-02
Tile Drainage-No. 5.

End Illustration Mr. j. Johnston venera-
/ be Scotch farmer who has long been a success
| ful cultivator in the wheat region of Western
New York, and who was almost the pioneer of
tile draining in America, has laid over so miles
OF drain within the last 30 years. His practice
IS described in Klippais land drainage as fol<
| lows:
"Mr. johnson SAYS he never saw 100 acres
| In any one farm but portion of it would pay
for draining Mr.. j. is a hardworking Scotch
farmer, who commenced poor man, borrowed
money to drain his land, has gradually exten-
ded his operations and is now reaping the BEN
eft In having crops of 40 bushels to the acre.
lie is gray haired Nestor, who after accumu-
lating the experience Of long life is now at
6S years OF age written to by strangers in every
State of the Union for information, not only In
drainage matters, but in all cognate branches of
farming He sits in his homestead veritable
Humbolt in his way, dispensing information
cheerfuly thro' our agricultural papers and to
private correspondents of whom he has recor-
ded 164 who applied to him last year. His
opinions are therefore worth more than host
OF theoretical men who write without practice
Although his fame is mainly devoted to
wheat, yet considerable area of meadows and
some OF pasture has been retained. He now owns
about 300 acres of land, and the yield of wheat
has been 40 bushels this year and in former
seasons when his neighbors were reaping s, 10
or | 5 he has had 80 or 40.
Mr.. Johnston says tile draining pays for it,
self IN two seasons, sometimes in one. Thus in
1o47 he bought piece Of 10 acres to get an
outlet for his drains it was perfect quagmire
covered with coarse aquatic grasses and so un-
fruitful that it would not give back the seed
sown upon it. In l84S crop of corn was taken
from it which was measured and found to be
80 bushels per acre and as, because of theirish
famine, corn was worth 81 per bushel that year
this crop paid not only for all the expense of
draining but the first cost of the land as well.
Another piece of 20 acres adjoining the farm OF
the late John Delafeld was wet and would nev-
er bring more than 10 bushels of corn per acre,
This was drained at great cost. The first crop
after this was SO bushels per acre, it weighed
and measured by MIR. Delafeld, and the county
society awarded premium to Mr.. Johnston.
Eight acres of this land at one side averaged
81 bushels or the trifing increase Of 81 bushels
per acre over what it would bear before those
Insignificant clay tiles were buried III the
ground, but this increase of crop is not the on
ly profit Of draining, for Mr.. Johnston says
that on drained land one half the usual guam
tlty Of manure suffices to give maximum crops.
1t is not difficult to find reason for this. When
the soil Is sodden with water, air cannot enter
to any extent and oxygen cannot cut OFF the sur
faces of soil particles and prepare food for
TOR plants, thus the plant must in great measure
depend on the manure for sustenance and Of
course the more this is the case the more ma
nure must be applied to get good crops This !
is one reason, bat there are others which we
might adduce if one good one was not sufficient