New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1870-03-05
WHAT | KNOW OF FARMING.
DY HORACE GREELEY.
nRAINING-MY OWN.

lem Railroad. Ii embraces the SOutheaSteily nan
of the marsh which the Railroad here traverSeS from
south TO north-mY part measuring some hiteeh
acres with five acres more of slightly elevated uN
land between it and the foot of the rather rugged
hill which rises thence on the east and the SOUTH
and of which / now own some fifty acres lying
wholly eastward of my low land. and in good part
covered with forest. OF this. bought more than
half in 1853 and the residue in bits from time to
time as could afford it. The average cost was be-
twsen $3.50 and $40 per acre. small and poor old
cottage being the only building found on the tract
which consisted of the ragged edges of two adjacent
farms between the western portions of which mine Is
now interposed while they still adjOin each other
beyond the north and south road half mile from
the railroad which their buildings are located and
which forms my eastern boundary. My stony,
gravely upland mainly slopes TO the west but two
acres on my east line incline toward the road which
bounds me in that direction, while two more on my
southeast corner descend to the little brook which
entering at that corner. keeps irregularly near my
south line until it energies Swelled by smaller run
mel that enters my lowland from the north and ira
verses AZ 70 meet and pass off with the larger brooket
Aforesaid. | have done some draining TO no great
purpose on the more level portions of my upland !;
but my lowlaRd has challenged my best efforts III
this line. aD'l shall here explain them for the en-
courageutent and possible guidance OF novices I'D
dIai1lng Let me speak first of -
w Diffculies-This marsh or bog consisted. when
first gIappled with it, of some thirty acres WHEREOF
/ then owned less than third. To drain 1t TO al
vantage one person should own 1t all or tue dereht
owners should cooperate; but had to go II alone.
with no other aid than freely accorded privilege oil
STRENGTHENING as well as deepening the brook WHICH
wound its way through the dryer meadow just De-
low me forming here the boundary Of two adjacent
srun inl viii ph IS
perfect but the first decided fall in the stream occurs
nearly mile below me; andy tire easily of doing
M yonr own cost work which benefits several Others
as much as Yourself My drainage will never be per-
feet till this brook with that far larger one in which
ii u merged sixty rods below me, shall have been
SINK three or fouf feet at further expense OF at
least 500
This bog or swamp, when first bought into 1t,
WAS mainly dedicated TO the of frogs, muskratS
and snapping-turtles. A few small water-ems ana
soft n,aples grew upon il, with swamp alder partly
n-pg the western base of the hill east of It, where
the rocks which had through thousands OF years,
rolled from the hill, thickly covered the surface
with springs bubbling up around and among them
Decsying stumps and imbedded fragments OF trees
argued that timber formerly covered this marsh as
we'll as the encrcling hills tall, dense growth OF
blackberry briars, thOrOughwort, and all manna OF
swamp weeds and grasses covered the center OF the
swamp each Summer; but my original portion Of IT,
being too wet for these, mainly addicted to
hassocks or tussocks of wiry worthless grass their
matted roots rising in hard punches o few inches
above the soft bare encirclng mud. The bog ranged
in depth from a few inches TO five or six feet and
was composed of black, peaty, vegetable mold, di-
yefsiied by occasional streaks of clay sand, all
resting on "a substratum OF hard coarse gravel. out
oi which two or three springs dubbed up in add-
ton 10 the half dozen which poured in from the
east. and tiny rvulet which Except in very dry
no, tune added the tribute of three or four
which sprung from the base of higher shelf OF the
Dill. near the middle of what is now my farm. Add
20 these that the brook which brawled and foamcd
down my hillside near my south line as aforesaid,
had brought along an immensely OF pebbles and
gravel OF which it had manly formed my five acres
OF drer lowland had thus bnilt up petty swalc
vhereon it had the bad habit of filling up one chan
mel and then cutting another more devious and &C.
centric if possible than any of its predecessors-and
You have some idea Of the obstacles | encountered
aud resolved 10 overcome. One III my first sub
stsntal improvements was the cutting of straight
channel lOr this current anu, by waiingit with large
stones, compelling the brook TO respect necessary
limitations. Ii not my fault that some of those
stones were set nearly upright, to veneer Inc
brook rather than thoroughly cOnstran it: hence
some of the stones, undermined by strong currents,
Were pitched forward into the brook 10y high Spring
freshets, to require resetting more carefully,
This was mistake, but not one OF
Wy BiaWdrS-These, the natural result Of mex
perienoe and haste were very grave. Not only had
had no real experience in draining when / began.
bat / could hire no foreman who knew much more OF
1t than did ought TO have begun by securing an
ample and sure fall where the water left my land,
LIE. az.
which intended 10 drain to the lowest practicable
pOlnt-sO low at least, that no drain running into it
should eve be troubled with back water. Nothing
can be more useless than drain in which water
stsgnates, choking it with mud. Then / should have
bought hundreds of IIemlOck other cheap boards,
Gilt them TO a width of four or five inches, aud hav
ing opened the needed drains, laid these in the bot
tom and the tile thereupon taking care To beaL joint
by covering the meeting ends OF boards with the
middle of tile Laying tile in the soft mud of a
bog, with nothing beneath to prevent their sinking
as simply throwing away labor and money. cannot
wonder that tle-dranng seems to many hunlbug,
seeing that so many tile are laid SO that they can
never do any good.
Having, 10y successive purchases, become owner Of
iuly half OF this swamp and by repeated blunders
discovered that making stone drains in bog while
1t Is capital mode of getting rid OF the stone, is
way at all 70 make drains closed my series of
peIiments two years since by carefully relayiug
MY generally useless tile on good strips OF board,
sinking them just deep as ! could persuade the
water to run of freely and instead OF allowing them
70 discharge into abrOoket open ditch connecting
each with covered main of four to sx-nch tile;
these mains discharging into the running brook
which drains all my farm and three or four of those
above 1t Just where it runs swiftly OIL from nv land
liza tiaw or heavy rain swels the brock as il some.