Fayetteville observer. [volume] (Fayetteville, Tenn.) 1850-1966, 1870-08-25
faral aud Household.
What 1 know of Farming
BY HORACE GREELEY.
nRAINING-MY OWN.

DRAlNlNG-M1 OWN.
My farm is in the township of
.wcastle, Westchester county, N.
Y, 50 miles from our City Hall,
and a little eastward of the ham
let known as Chappaqua, called
into existence by a station on the
Harlem Railroad. 1t embraces
the south-easterly half of the
marsh which the railroad here
trayerses from south to north
my part measuring some fifteen
acres, with FIVE acres more of
slightly elevated dry land be-
tween il and the foot of the rather
rugged hill which rises thence on
the east and on 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, l bought
more than half in 1858, and the
residue in bits from time to time
as could afford it. The average
cost was between $3.50 and $40
per acre: one small and poor old
cottage being the only building l
found on the tract, which consist
ed of the ragged edges of two ad-
jacent farms between the western
portion of which mine is now in
terposed, while they still adjoin
each other beyond the north and
south road half a mile from the
railroad on which their buildings
are located and which forms my
eastern boundary. My stony,
gravelly upland mainly slopes to
the west; but two acres on my
east line incline toward the road
which bounds me in that direc-
ton, while two more on my south
east corner descend to the little
brook which, entering at that
corner, keeps irregularly near my
south line, until it emerges, swell
ed by smaller runnel that en-
tiers my lowland from the north
and traverses it to meet and pass
off with the larger brooklet afore-
said. / have done some draining,
to no great purpose, on the more
level portions of my upland but
my lowland has challenged my
best efforts in this line, and | shall
here explain them for the encour-
agement and possible guidance of
nOvices in draining. Let me
speak first of
My Dit5cultieS.-This marsh or
bog consisted, when [ first CRAP
pied with it, of some thirty acres,
whereof / then owned less than a
third. To drain it to advantage,
one person should own it all or
the different owners should co op-
crate but had to 60 it alone,
with no other aid than a freely
accorded privilege of straighten-
ing as well as deepening the brook
which wound It's way through the
dryer meadow just below me,
forming here the boundary of two
adjacent farms. l spent $l0G on
this job, which is still imperfect ;
but the first decided fall in the
stream occurs nearly mile below
me; and you tire easily of doing
at your own cost work which ben
efts several others as much as
yourself. Ny draining will new.
er be perfect till this brook, with
that far larger one in which il is
merged sixty rods below me, shall
have been sunk three or four feet
at further expense of at least
$500.
This bog or swamp, when l
first bought into it. was mainly
dedicated to the uses of frogs,
muskrats and snapping-turtles.
A few small water-elms and soft
naples grew upon it, with swamp
alder partly fringing 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 sur
face, with springs bubbling up
around and among them. Decay
ing stumps aud imbedded frag-
ments of trees argued that timber
formerly covered this marsh as
well as the encircled hills. A tall;
dense growth of blackberry briars,
thoroughwort, and all manner of
swamp weeds and grasses, covered
the center of the swamp each sum-
mer; but my original portion of
il. being too wet for these, was
mainly addicted to hassocks or
tuss 1cks of why, worthless grass
IL, ,natfo,1 roots rising IN hard !