The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1888-03-30
SATURDAY FORENOON.

On OnDHr FOhENOONs
1t was about 10:4O when the Institute
was called to order this morning and
the opera house was well filed with
farmers, their wives and their children.
Chairman Brown gave another chap
ter on the hog.
The Fairmont male quartet gave a
song entitled "Speed away" in their
happy style.
Prof. Soaring, of the Normal school,
was introduced and spoke upon "Tile
Draining"
The observations of eight years had
shown him that large part of the coun-
try needed tile draining and hardly a
question coming before the Institute was
of more immediate importance to the
farmer. The benefits of the draining
are to be divided into two classes, one
the self evident and admitted, and the
other the obscure. The self evident in
clude the frightening of the season and
rendering the ground in good condition,
making cultivation easy, and increasing
the territory given the roots. An illus
tration was presented showing the eff
fects of the tile draining. The roots of
farm plants penetrate much deeper than
is generally supposed. Much less labor
is required to cultivate the soil and es-
pecially if it is clay soil. Drain off the
water from beneath and the clay be-
comes mellow, though it is baked if
dried from the top. Surface washing is
done way with by the use Of tile drain
ing.
The benefits less generally known are
There is less evaporation from under
drained soil than from undrained soil.
The moisture gets tangled up" in the
light soil and remains there The evils
of the drouth are very much lessened
by draining. The sun fails to properly
warm the soil from which there is much
evaporation. The air penetrates the
mellow soil, and will do so much more
readily the mellower it is. In the at
mospheric changes under the soil the
moisture in the shape of dew is deposit
ed into the ground for several inches.
If these theories are false the fact of
thirty bushels of wheat to the acre dur
ing drouth is conclusive.
The speaker referred to his own ex-
perIence on a farm of 800 acres in
northern Decoria. The land when pur-
chased several years ago was wet and
forbidding in appearance and contained
several small marshes. Drain thing. was
put in draining the water into q ravine,
and within two or three weeks the land
was as dry as any upland farm. The
The change was almost miraculous, al
though the wet portion of the season
was not yet over. The marshes were as
dry as any portion of the field and there
was found the heaviest portion of the
crop.
The speaker did not believe that he
could have put money into his farm to
better advantage. What he had done
should be done on many other farms.
The only thing that is the matter with
any farm in the county is too much wa
ter and hard baked soil. The fall of his
own drain was slight and uniform.
Numerous questions were asked and
answered. The one ditch drained about
twelve acres in one place. The cost was
fifty cents a rod, under difficult circum-
stances. The five-inch tile cost about
three cents foot. All through last fall
splendid stream of water ran out of
the end of the drain, and cattle were
watered there all the time. The water
has already been running for several
weeks this spring. The water gets in
O0IW60n INC JOluGS LuOotly, NJ pdluS
we're taken to guard the tile or joints.
One inch q rod is very satisfactory
slope. The discussion was necessarily
cut off on account of q lack Of time.
Chairman Brown read another alleged
telegram from the Emperor of Germany
and raised laugh.
The Fairmont quartet sang Home by
the Sea-"
Mr.. Brandenburg, of the signal SER
vice, continued his talk of the previous
day. He stated that cyclone is mere
area of barometric depression, while a
tornado may occur in q cyclone. The
terms are nine-tenths of the time mixed
up. He explained the phenmenon of
storms. Whenever q storm comes one
should run either due north or south.
A cyclone is several hundred miles in
diameter, while tornado is only few
hundred yards in diameter. A cyclone
is not wind. A tornado Is somewhat
gyratory or round and funnel-shaped.
Miss Sanford gave select reading, en-
titled skipper Ireson's Ride" in very
finished style.
Prof. Pierce, of Minneapolis, was In