Vermont farmer. [volume] (Newport, Orleans County, Vt.) 1870-1877, 1876-01-14

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break and destroy as much as the amount Of
their wages. What the manager wants. "A 10
,sy out his work at the beginning Of the year
lie should make two columns lone Of what
must be done, the other Of what ought u be
Done he should do all the first, and as mtch
OF the second as possible. He should have
plan oil the days work laid out the night be.
fore, aud should let the hired man kpow
what that plan is. He should finish ono
kind OF work before commencing another
Mr. Pitkin then discussed the value of diE.
ferent kinds Of crops such as corn. wheat
and oats, and their respective values for tod.
der. He thought the feeding Of concentrated
1000 did not pay as we'll as hay or dried
grass lie gave certain experiments in regard
to feeding concentrated food which had
brought him to this conclusion,
The speaker then urged the value of ex.
detrimental stations to give us the money
value Of different kinds Of fodder. In con.
clusiOn, he thought the subject au important
one, as it was little use to labor aud have
the profits wasted for want of better care
aud understanding. An interesting discussion
followed.
Mr. Fassett, of EuOsburgh, said that many
experiments had been made on feeding. with.
out uniform results. Mr. Hutchins, Of the
New Hampshire board of agriculture, with
a herd Of grade Ayrshires, feeds for milk.
His cows do not give any more in Juue than
in January, aud give him forty pounds Of
milk per day to each COW, at cost of sew.
enteeu cents. He feeds to each COW twelve
and one.half pounds Of hay, three pounds of
corn-stalks, one quart OF corn on the cob aad
three quarts Of shorts. He cuts his hay aud
corn-stalks 10 together, saturates IL with,hot
water, puts in the rest, aud stirs il up. lie
then covers the mixture up, and lets il stand
till the next feed. With feeding this mix
ture, and giving the COWS warm water to
drink, he gets the result above stated. Mr.
Miller Of New York feeds his cows on three
quarts Of meal per day, and claims they
thrive.
Mr. A. D. Cummins, Of Montpelier, said
he was sorry to hear Mr. Pitkin disparage
the feeding Of concentrated food. He
thought wo needed to induce tho farmers to
feed more meal. He found that meal in.
creases the value Of the milk more than the
quantity Of it, while roots increase the guam.
thy aud not the quality.
The discussion took a wide turn aud was
quite lively in its character, aud at its con.
clusiou Professor Sesly read an essay on
"Leaves."
Friday Morning. ..
The first paper on the programme for the
day was on EARN Drainage" by A. o.
Oummins, Of Montpelier. He began BY
calling attention to the Importance Of the
subject, aud said he hoped to lead to further
investigation oft by the farmers. First,
what kind Of land should be drained He
would lay down the general rule that all
land where post hole dug three feet deep
would contain water in the spring or fall,
needed draining. He then proceeded to
show the effects on the soil Of poor drainage
that it was much cooler iu temperature than
soil properly drained that it was more easily
affected by drouth, as the roots would not
penetrate It so deeply, and were more easily
exposed to the effects Of the drouth. He
thought we might almost absolutely protect
soil from the uncertainties Of weather by
undertaking. He then proceeded to show
from his own experience and general facts
aud statistics, that it was profitable to
drain. He had expended one hundred dol.
lars per acre on three acres Of his own land
10 UNDERTAKING., and where the crops be.
fore were swamp grass and bulrushss, he
now moved two crops Of herdsgrass and
clover, Of about three tous to the acre. He
gave other examples Of the same good effecta
from undertaking. He then went on to dis.
cuss the materials for drains, aud the way 70
use them, and FIRST described the methods OF
laying the ordinary stone drains. But, be said
the stone drain bad been superseded by the
tile drain, which was the cheapest and The
most easily constructed. Laying and en-.
cheering were 40 important part Of sys.
TEN Of tile drainage. The first thing is TO
find the best place to take the water from
the field, which should always be at the
lowest point, and where there is a good fall.
Run main to this point then put in lat.
eral drains running into it. His own Gus.
tom was to put these laterals forty feet
apart for drains laid in a three-foot ditch,
which he thought was generally the best
depth. Aiter the bitches are laid out COM
mence at the lowest point to dig, and after
dug, begin to lay the pipe at the upper end,
to prevent the liability Of dirt getting into
it. Place board 10 the bottom Of the
ditch before laying the tile, so as to preserve
a uniformity Of grade. 10 regard to size Of
tile, two.inch was the smallest he ever used,
aud three.inch the largest this must be
determined by the amount of water aud the
grade. 1t was necessary to be very careful
in making the junction Of the laterals with
the main, so as to prevent dirt getting in and
cloggiug the pipe. He had used a cover.
ing Of fat stone or straw for the pipe ut
these functions, to prevent this. In regard
to cost per rod Of laying tile drain, IL was
a hard matter to determine, on account of
such variety Of circumstances, iu the diff
ference Of soil, price of labor, etc. The
price of tile was high, but more demand
would produce competition, and make il
lower Drains, when once well laid, would
need very little care.
At the conclusion Of the paper Mr. Fassett
said he wanted to endorse Mr. Cummings
He had been experimenting in uDderdrain-
ing on his own farm, with satisfactory
results. Thought 1t profitable investment.
He wanted to know il Mr. Cummins had
ever been troubled with growing of roots in
his drains. .r .-fh
Mr. Cummins--I never had any trouble
with tile drains, but think there, is some
danger Of this in stone drains. ,
Mr. Fassett---Have you ever sesa branch
tile for the functions Of the laterals with
mains ? 4sri,.0
Mr. Cummins--Yes, but have never
used them. IL is indispensable in order to
keep your drain, to watch it's mouth, and
have that oil right. .-r..
Mr. l.. G. Fisher, Of Cabot, said he thought
the benefit of tile drainage could not be es.
timated. lie saw the effect of it on his lapd
at once. 1t might cost good DEAL bat, 10
his opinion, was a better investment thdn
government bonds, and was permanent inn
Provemsnt. He thought it would be wise to