, 1880-03-06
Overwhelming Proof that It
Docs.
i, Essay by ". I. Chamberlain, Of
AA summit County, Ohio,
~, =. ttc 7Ile.Haltrs' Contention, at Columbus,
" O., Feb. 10, 1878.

~ IIlII|l'I1[ IIlIIIl1| I||ll|II
rvorr.-Thc facts and arguments Of this
.ss,r nro mainly derived from the actual ex-
sst'enee of the writer In the management OF
r. ohI clay farm, such as constitute tho
r-,,tpr nortion OF the Western Reserve dairy
,.sion. The essay was written tho rast snm-
r,tr and read in m open Grange meeting,
where many Of those present were familiar
vi,b tho facts narrated. Tho lessons will
.nnly TO the majority Of clay farms else
wherc, and the essay ought to be read In the
hundreds Of Grange and Farmers Club meet
itase 1t tint this question nenna, will 1t
nv for us, icrc, nnw, with our climate, soil,
~. of farms, price OF lRbor, and tiles, and
Market for farm produce? 1t Is serious
orestlon for It's, fur ,naily Of lis have found,
hy costly experiment, that farming, as lftl,-
trto pursued, docs not put. mean TINT ex-
tluslyc dairy farming, rs generally pursued
IN his rcg!nll, docs not pny. do not need
10 argue .hnt point before this audience.
Mauy Of yon hRvo Just drawn your pny at
The cheese factUrtes fnr your July milk, Mt
oaIy four cents per gallon Of ten pounds, or
tcss than n cent quart; md 1t needs but
little arithmetic, not to mention algebra, to
de,iro Mt such ratio tho net income
Of farm of fifty, ncrcs with por-
uanent pastures and meadows de-
yoied exclusively to keeping cows whose
milk shall be made up or sold ut tho factory.
Datller, should sny, 1t needs the,aia Of al-
zebra 10 compute the not Income, for algebra
discusses minus quantities.. BY net income
1meau tho income after allowing Interest on
tbs rcst Of farms, interest, repairs, and wear
of tools, implements, and buildings, loss Of
stock from disease and age, wages and board
If tho farmer nnd his family, md
hired help. Most Of us know rs q dcnd
certainty thnt OIL n fnrm Of average slzo
and fertility thus used, II is almost iTpossl-
BE 10 conc out squire ut tho cnd OF the year.
The following, then, become TO US vital Qucs-
lions:
i.Tsany otller kind Of farming oosstblcon
our stiG clay farnls?' .-.-
Elf 50, will my other kind Of farming
Payhester? ..-.
Will andcrdraintn1 ct our clay soil for
more profitable fRriltng?
For years we have been told TINT this clay
land was not nado to be Tiled; thnt 1t Is not
capable nt general cultivation or rotation Of
crops. Is tll!s true? Ii so, can 1t in my way
bemaae fit for raising grain, fruit, and ve8e-
tablcs2 Let ,ls sec. Ny own opinion, based
ou considerable observation nna experience.
Is That our clay soil can be made more pro-
ducsive md profitable tllan ut present simply
By 1ud!cious cultivation and careful say
lux AMI proper application Of manure. but
hat only hy u1Nterlraining as q basis Tor and
il, connection with tie above treatment can
DC made to compete with the better class
Of sandy and 1nan.y soils f0r general crops,
and especially for wheat, rntntoes, and fruit;
md that without UNDERSTANDING there Will DO
ite9aent pars!al or total failures. especially
however, only be determined BY actual OBJ
sefyation and experiments. l.. therefore,
make no aMloEy for q FREQ mention OF what
lhavc seen and done on my own farm and
eslSSswhe5a benrlrg on this general question:
does Tile-Drai1age Pay?"
EXAMPLES N WESTERN NEW ToRK.
Two years ago this month visited some
nf Geneya Lake. J'hatof Robert j. Swan con-
ia!ns 200 acrrs, and Is of n stiff clay similar To
my0wh. Ten yearsngo he bought the farm.
Not rod Of It was then tile4lralned, and 1t
Fas somewhat run down. Ills first wheat
800 M bushels from % acres. Tfls, % may be
supposed. ttisgnstetl him, antl he determined
70 s!le-tlrnin the land, after tho example Of
hs tathcr.itl-lnw and ne1ghbor John John
fton, who Is called the father Of .tile-drainlng
y tSa lsis country; llavlnE canltal he completed
Whole, excerpt woodland, at q cast OF $50 per
acre. tho drains M fceI deep and 33 faet
apart; When ] was there le tlnh Just
tafashed bis wheat, and saw the huge bins
G1h-a,e0o bushels of the finest-looktng graln
5usSsI. sssr ssw, tt.n - acres q ola land o. = =
Nse excellence, for went NIL over the far'n
w ether frnit, and i second a crop dover %
thss last wns helng cut for seed, sixty acres OF
Pss u 3 scr slen, iH IL agtldn M to us Immense
hsst crop Of hay TINT had been taken of thu
same erul,ld ak weeks before. This almost
magical transformation Of that large farm
had been produced, not by large nNtlay for
asHsn sanan sss t f4 sanr sR!y yaHsa ~ undf nd
saser as st'1src, q ad % the fsedInE Il hsy e aMtI
staks to sheep and cnttln on the place, and
@!eworklng OF straw, refuse cornstalks, etc,
INTO manure to be used on the land.
POW, being yery I'D nun, though haie aid
hearty yet. Many years ag0, wien he c01n-
hencstl to untlertlrain, he had to import all
hls tile from Englnnd, none being then made
Y tH1s country. llt soon nat0llsllett all by
als Immense crops Of wheat and other grain,
nal fruit from Ills drained land, and from
ne success it Ind there tilt:-tlratnlng ,hRs
apEead over all the United States. The farm
now rented, mostly for term Of years, to
allsaFyinen for raising young fruit trees, ut
sa ssasfl rent ct Sla per nero annually. or per
EN- on $50 per- mere, but the lind was
eeoAght at less than $50 per acre, and was In
sste .ssIafhiled vt an average expense ct $50 per
hae. hhsae. on theso farms, then, tile drainage
"as certainly paid.
:. EXPERIENCE N NORTHERN ONO.
.,asayy ayy own first experience In "buying crock
SSt Was thirteen. years ago, when laid Tile
s1aa staihs through tow swAlea wlere brooks
"ec "s!e sfth Rftcr heavy rains, and the land
H. H. always too wet to plow until after
sns. @e rest of tho grnand was dry
fMongh. I.nrge-sizcd tilc. were usesi
T 1ere, So that latcral drains could be
sSt!'it9 ~ !'it9 Them II ever the rest Of the land
sos suuults ne dtN[lieG. As soon as theEo BWalea
n iese Hfained they became soonest At to plnw
~ n9R,slilg nr after heavy ra!ns, aud the most
'sW'tlc tM1tlons Of the fields.
mi ~ second experiment was eight years ago,
sna .,a moro thorough nature Fifteen yrard
~ H., sold nine acres of tho west slda OF my
II ~ ~ " nun who Tes0ld 1t 10 Mr.. McCauley.