Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1884-05-15
UNPRODUCTIYE LAND ON FARMS.

|
On nearly every farm there is a con-
siderable amount of land that Yields
the owner no revenue. 1t is kept under
| fence, and fences are expensive 1t is.
assessed for taxation every year, and
is rated for this purpose rs high as any
portion of the place. In some cases
this land remains unproductiYe during
the entire life Of the owner, and costs
| in expenses for fencing and taxes q
very large sum. Sometimes this I'M
productive land is occupied by few
| scrubby trees and bushes, and is dipni-
| fed by the name Of the wood lot'' or
timber patch" No timber is ever
| taken from it for the reason that there
is none to take. The trees arc small
and crooked. They belong to varieties
that do not afford good dimension tim
Der, rails or posts. Scarcely any fuel
is ever taken from the place known
as the wood lot. :" The ground is not
cleared for the reason that trees are
| desired. Much valuable land is often
| occupied by trees that are of no value
and by bushes that only serve to form
| hiding places for Vermin. Land that
gives no promise of producing trees,
valuable timber or fuel should be i'm
! proved in some way. 1t should be
cleared and planted to field crops or
more valuable trees should be intro
| duced. Wood land that does not yield
cord Of good fuel per year is not
valuable property. 1t does not pay as
an investment. 1t would be more
profitable to devote it to something
else and to rely on its product to pur-
chase fuel. 1t is often easy to intro
duce trees valuable for furnishing tim
| Der, nuts, or fuel, or all of them, on
land partly occupied by unpromising
| trees and bushes. A partial shade is
favorable to the growth of transplanted
seedlings and the termination of nuts
The nuts can be planted by the aid of q
spade, as can the small trees, and the
leaves that accumulate in such places
will afford an excellent mulch.
Sometimes the unproductive land is
too moist to be cultivated in the usual
way. 1t is in fact so wet that it will
not produce valuable grass. When
this is the case it should, if there is an
opportunity for letting off the water,
be drained by the employment of tile.
Boys and marshes ordinarily contain
very rich soil that only needs draining
to render it very productive of corn,
potatoes, and roots. Sometimes when
it is difficult to dispose of the water at
as low depth as the tile would be re-
| quired to be placed it may be advis-
able to make the land productive in
another way. A pond may be excavat-
ed in the deepest portion, and the earth
| taken out used to cover the remainder
of the surface. The pond can be uti-
lized for raising fish and the land about
it employed to raise onions, celery, or
grass. Marsh land properly treated is
very productive of these crops. 1t is
less difficult to find an outlet for the
water in low places than many sup
pose. Land that appears to be of the
same elevation frequently descends in
J one direction sufficiently to admit of
thorough drainage. An opening for
one row of tile of large size can be
made and all the smaller tile made to
| discharge their water into it. By
means of a leveling instrument it is
easy to ascertain how deep it is neces-
sary to dig in order to lay tile to carry
off the water. A metal pipe placed at
the proper distance under ground may
be used to carry off the water from an
artificial pond. The flow of water can
be regulated by simple arrangement
for closing the end of the pipe where
the water enters. In many cases small
marshes and boys may be utilized for
producing cranberries. When this is
the case the land will yield much
larger return than if it was high and
dry and planted with crops that re-
quire constant attention during their
season of growth. Much attention is
now given to improving boys in the
eastern states.
Some land is unproductive in conse-
quence of being composed almost en-
tirely of clay. When this is the case
the soil must be treated with view of
making the soil friable. It should be
plowed when it is in the best condition
in regard to moisture and the burrows
| left exposed to the action of the frost
during the winter. Tie incorporation
of sand, muck, and coarse vegetation
| like straw, corn-stalks, and barn-yard
litter, improve the mechanical condi-
ton of the soil, while the latter SUBJ
! stances by the process of decomposi-
ton furnish the elements Of fertility
AS sand can be proftably employed to
improve the condition of clayey land,
| so clay can be used to excellent adj
vantage to improve land that is chiefly
composed of sand. A sandy soil needs
to be rendered more compact. Clay
will fill the spaces between the par
| ticles and render it more retentiYe of
moisture. A top dressing of clay will
often fit q sandy soil to produce large
crop of clover or rye. Sometimes
there is q piece OF sandy and of strong
clayey land on the same farm, neither
of which is productive. When this is
the case one should be made to benefit
the other. Clay should be hauled on
the sand, and sand Incorporated with
the clay. If the sand is on an eleva-
| ton it may often be carried on the clay
| by means Of 4 scraper. Sometimes it
will be necessary TO remove each in
carts or wagons. When this is the
case q load can be taken both WAYS.
| On many farms there are portions of
| land that arn v00rO9rrptivo 4o,. H.