The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1877-11-06
Economy i'm UnderdraininR,

Undertaking is measure of farm econo-
my, and it is in every way important that it
should be done economically. If made to
needlessly cost twice as much as it ought, it
will pay only half the profit it should, and the
farmer is proportionately discouraged in his
good work. By being careful to dig when
the ground is in the best condition, doing as
much as possible with horse plows and sub.
soil bitches, the cost of making underdrans
may be reduced to the smallest possible
amount. like to have underdrains fully
three feet deep wherever a good outlet can be
got for that depth, as this places the tile be-
yond all possible danger from frost; but with
plows and scrapers I have often lc osened the
soil so that only few inches at the bottom
will need to be dug with pick and spade. A
good way, wherever possible, is TO begin the
previous ploughing by making as deep dead
furrow as possible where you intend to lay
the underdrsin. After blowing out all the
plow can remove, follow with a subsoiler,
which will break the hard subsoil so that it is
comparatively little work to remove it with
the spade. This can be done best when the
subsoil is moist in spring. At this time of
the year the subsoil plough would hardly 20
very deep, and the work of loosening the
subsoil must be mostly done with the pick
axe. A further economy in undertaking
may be often effected by free use of clover,
enables the farmer to dispense with half the
underdrains he would otherwise need.
When the country was new +, the virgin soil,
filled with the roots of trees, and composed
largely of vegetable mould, was rarely too
wet. The reason was that the roots and
fibrous vegetable matter afforded a natural
drainage. Cultivation has compacted the soil,
and the decay of vegetable matter has left it
hard and lunpy. We shall never see the soil
SO full of black mould as it was when the
forests were first cleared away. Opening the
surface of the soil to sunlight causes vege-
able matter to decay much more rapidly than
when shaded by forests. But this is no real
loss. On all heavy soils there is vegetable
matter enough to last long time. What is
wanted is more undertaking, to remove
surplus water in spring and to keep the soil
from becoming too hard and lumpy during
the dry season.
With frequent seedlings of clover we shall
replenish the vegetable matter in the soil,
open the subsoil, by natural underdrainage
through crevices made by decaying roots. and
thus restore the land to its original fertility.
With the free use of clover, one-half the un-
derdraining otherwise needed may be dis
pensed with. When farmers read of the
costly undertaking which market gardeners
find useful and even necessary, they are
alarmed at the idea of undertaking such ex-
pensive improvements. They should remem-
Der that the market gardener is compelled to
place drains close together, because he
pioughs every year, and the soil, though rich,
has only moderate amount of vegetable
matter. Inc farmer who has the advantage
of seeding frequently with clover NAV secure
equal benefit from undertaking though
placing bis tiles twice as far apart as the
market gardener does. In many large fields
a few underdrains judciously placed will
make the soil dry enough for most farm
crops, and if done largely with horses and
ploughs, the work will cost far less than
farmers unaccustomed to undertaking
would believe.-W j. Fooler, in RuraI Neao
Yorker