Union County courier. [volume] (Elk Point, Union County, D.T. [S.D.]) 187?-1913, 1883-06-13
Lralnilg "Uas' swampa

One reason why our average crDps
are SO small, Is tecansc they are 30
many poor and waste spots in our 9TH
erwise fertile fields. on which the Weld
Is nothing. In . Geld Of wheat it
might be easy to pick out spots on
which the yield would he at the rate
of forty or even fifty bushels per aero,
and still the whole tield will not yield
one-half that. Ihave just been reading Of
potatoe yields, on small patches Of gar
den soil. highly cultivated and ferttliz-
ed, the largest one At the rate of 726
bushels per acre. aud still there wore
not, probably, in that vicinity. ten acres
Of potatoes together that yielded 200
bushels per acre. These poor spots
may be caused in various ways.
wish to speak this time particularly
Of cat swamps. basins and swalcs In
cultivated fields. Will it pay to under-
drain and improve them? tits as much
work to pillow and cultivnte around these
waste spots as it would be to 20 right
! through tlssss if tisays sswere drained,
ana usually m0fs. And sometimes. III
dry Spring, we may be tempted to
plow and plant right through them;
then it comes on wet, and we lose our
crop. Thus we do all, or most all, the
work. except the harvesting. and get
no pay for it. A swale may cross one
Of our cultivated lots, making it neces-
sary to plow and cultivate it in two
different pieces, thus wasting good
deal of time in turning around, beside
wasting the land in the swale, which. II
underdrained, would probably out-yield
the hills on either side.
Year before last sold from . quarter
of an acre Of land $66 worth of pota-
toes. That is the most money lever re-
ceived from that amount Of land since ]
have been farmer. Tne average from
the whole field WAS about Sl60 an acre.
That quarter Of an acre was basin. or
small cat swamp, where the water
would accumulate during heavy rain,
and 1G davs, and sometimes weeks,
soaking away aud evaporating. Time
and again have plowed anu p...ated
It, and got nothing back, except when
the crop was grass. When in that crop
it would yield well for q year or two,
except a small spot in the center, but IL
would soon run to wild grass. 1t would
cost $50 to underdrain it, requiring a
drain sixty feet long, of three-inch tile,
and cut part of the way five feet deep.
With land selling at $50 An acre in the
vicinity, it seemed foolish to spend $50
on one quarter OF an acre, nevertheless
it was done, although l hated to see
any one coming along when we wers
working at it. we sowed the Geld with
wheat, basin aud all, one dry Tall. and
then determined TO save that wheat crop
any way. which would he some $40 to-
wards the $50 that the drain would cost.
A good crop of wheat was harvested
in the hole, and crop of Hungarian
grass after it the same season. The
next year the whole lot WAS planted
with potatoes. Along in June, when
the tops were about six inches high, we
had y great rain, some two or three
inches of water falling in forty-eight
hours. This basin was filed two feet
deep in the middle, notwithstanding the
drain was running at its full capacity.
In about eighteen hours after it stopped
raining the last drop Of water was gone,
and although twas close call and the
tops were somewhat injured, the pota-
toes grew from that time on finely aud
we got sixty bushels, (so!d for 81. 10
busheD from that one fourth OF an acre,
where, but for the drain, the crop would
have been total loss. The next profit
on this one crop, after deiuctiny tie
cost of all labo. and seed, use OF land,
marketing, ETC., paid for the undcrdrain
and triiie naore.-L b. Terry in Coun-
try Gentleman.