Blackfoot news. (Blackfoot, Idaho) 1891-1902, 1892-12-31
THE FARM AND HOME.
VALUE OF UNDERTAKING. ON
CLAY SOIL.
aow 1t Increases the Yield Grooming
the Farm Horse--Eggs as Food
Must Cuitivate-Farm Notes
and Homo Hints.


Profits From Understanding.
1 Grained last spring rolling field
OF eight acres putting a hve-lnch
main angling through it to the north-
west and then six laterals OF three
nch tile running due north into the
main. There was fall OF 10 feet or
more in % rods but We located the
laterals so that the natural flow OF
the water would not be directly over
them. May proved to be excessively
wet and July and August (three
made) excessively dry. We cut up and
shocked 60 rows of corn running d.
rectly across the lateral drains aud
very heavy corn. noticeably heavier
than the average Of the field grew
along tho line OF each drain and tho
entire deld showed up veil A neigh
Dor put the field in on shareA aud he
says that on all the best drained part
/ OF IL the crop was as heavy as he ever
grew. and he farmed several years on
one OF tho best bottom faruIs OF the
| Miami valley. We could not have
raised bushel OF corn 10 the acre on
the part drained by the tive-inch main
and now we have had an estimated
yield OF so bushels. A neighbOr whose
farm joins mine aud who could only
drain by an outlet through my farm
asked the privilege OF running sin
gle S-inch drain into my main which
| | granted. and on passing the field
| with him later he called my attention
to tho fine corn growing along the
drain. and he said lie was satisfied
/ that the increase from this single
crop would pay back every dollar MS
drain cost
! On our Ohio upland clay soils
there is no improvement that pays so
we'll rs thorough undertaking and
there are scores OF farmers owning
one or two hundred acres OF land
who would mRNe more money and do
their work with far greater ease If
they would sell half their land and
put the money received into under.
draining the remainder. have had
personal experience with under.
drains ever since | began farming
writes Waldo +. Brown ia the Coun-
try Gentleman. and my apprecia-
tion of their value increases cOutinu.
ally. II is great thing To have
land on which you can feel certain OF
fair crop whether the season Is
wet or dry. and this IS practically
what understanding does on our
soil It's good effects are usually
more noticeable in year OF drouth
than when the season il wet through.
out for II the land is not drained IA
\ wet spring compacts II and runs 10
/ together ia such manner that when
| the rains stop we cannot get
ir in condition 10 endure
drouth in time TO save the crop;
while with undcrdrains OF sufficient
capacity 10 carry OF the water the
surface quickly dries so that We can
work il fine. making an earth mulch
which retains moisture. ana perfects
the crop. have often been sur
I prised that a writer with so much In
/ telligence as your Illinois correspon.
dent Il. +. j.. should cxpeud so much
energy and ink. in dcnouncing tile
/ drainage. and ! can account for il
( only on the idea that tho psaty
prairie soils OF his locality arc differ
emily affected by undertaking from
our clays and that he has had no ex-
! perieuce on such soils as we cultivate.
| There Is no more question OF the
\ profit and value OF undertaking on
such soil as is found In more than
half the area Of Ohio than there Is
that IL pays 70 use a modern pillow in
stead OF one with wooden mold
board. or a forked stick as they do in
some countries OF Asia and IL IA a
fact established beyond question that
our most thoroughly drained lands
are the ones that hold the most mois.
ture during continued drouth. Tho
| fault OF our farmers is not that they
| have spent TOO much money IN drain
ing but too little. aud thai il too
| many cases the work has been done
haphazard without any general plan
or system. Our wheat crops are
usually injured more by wet weather
than are the summer crops. and in
stances are not rare when $50 an acre
| expended in drainage has been rcpuid
from the first wheat crop grown.
/ Whenever the time arrives thnt our
population is so large as 10 consume
all our wheat we can here 10 Ohio
increase tho yield not less than fifty
per cent by a thorough undertaking
Of our land.
Grooming the Farm Horse.