St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1921-12-10
MORE EVIDENCE
OF VALUE OF
ST. IAnlD1ANY
FARM LANDS
Wisconsin Farmer Shows
Accomplishment of
Drainage
ORANGES HERE
BEAT CALIFORNIA
Not a County in California
So Well Situated as to
Climate and Water
BY A. e. Briggs


point. But il We make practice 81
turning down Or refusing to find out
about things that are new to us, We
you'd never learn anything, which is
an exceedingly stupid habit. Mr.. F.
Z. Worthlngton, OF Vaudeville, is 4
very young o.d man. He is past
three score and ten, but he is as
eager as a school boy to pick up a
bit OF new knowledge. Anyone who
has watched the improvements dur
ing the past year on the old Orfila
place in The middle Of the postof1ice
block must have become aware that
the man who lives there has some
'get-up' about him. And if he Will
take the initiative and get past the
modest reserve which makes the
owner shy toward strangers he will
discover very interesting person
His experience is worth while to St..
TammdDy farmers, for he has had a
lifetime i'll the farming business in
Wisconsin. Wisconsin is famous for
her dairy development, which is far
the best in the United States. Later
We may contribute somewhat of MI
Worthngton' knowledge on this
subject, but first it will be more i'll
teresting to our readers to- learn the
results OF Mr.. Worthingston' clear
ing and tile draining his farm.
The farm is located on the out
skirts Of a small town, Oconomowoc.
not far from Milwaukee, Mr.. Worth
ington inherited it from his father,
hJt ",
much Of an Inheritance, for it laid
low and wet. Forty years ago he
dynamited the stumps and then ul-
derdralned it with tiles. 1t was
that forward-looking spirit wnicn
has kept Mr.. Worthington young.
But it produced profits Of another
kind also. That farm not only there
alter produced Il good living for the
tamlly-lar more 1mDOTtant.-.t
paid for high scnool and college edu-
cations 1or half dozen children.
1t seems to me that was Wortn
while achievement
How was IL done, and what did
it cost?
There were oak stumps as large
as lCur tcet Ill diameter. 1t took
ten pounds OF dynamite TO do the
JOB. 1t then cost lnirty-five cents a
pound. it is interesting to contrast
tuat cost with the much less expense
TOR "liich ii can now be done by a
ot lanlmdny farmer, who can at the
present time Duy pIcTlc acid, "a, more
powerful and effective explosive, at
seven cents Il pound. The St. Tam
:
given full information about picric
acid.
The dynamiting not only blew out
the sDumps, out there were other
benefits. 1t killed AL sprouts, and
corn grew biggest and best on the
dynamited spots. Thru Mr.. Fried
lander l learn that he has observed
a similar benefit to fruit trees for
which holes were dynamited. There
is only one caution to be taken, and
that is not to dynamite clay soils
when they are wet, as it pudd.es the
clay and would then be an injury.
There were twenty acres to be
drained, but the drainage of this
tract a.so benefited adjoining lands
which lay higher. He employed a
drainage engineer for a fee Of So
to survey and plan the system. 1000
feet of tile were laid. The mains
yere 6 and s inches in diamet, r AMI
the lateruls ), 4 and 4 inches. The
entire cost OF tiles and dltchin5
amounted to $120. He thinks that
now with increased prices OF labo:'
and materials it would cost about
5000 or $500 to complete that JOB
Of drainage. Tile drainage is much
more expensive than drainage by
open bitches, but then it is far more
effective and valuable.
TWO points especially are to be
noted First, the drainage was
scientifically planned and laid out by
an expert drainage engineer. Sec
ond, the entire cost Of the drainage
was only Sc an acre.
How much was that drainage
worth? Mr.. Worthingaon says il
doubled the crop. That is, for the
same labor and expense put forth,
he got twice the yield, and that, OF
course, meant mor~ than twice the
profit. 1T would often mean the diff
ference between no profit Or loss
and big profit on the cost OF labor
and seed. s.
The crops raised were corn and
potatoes. Mr.. Worthington took
great care to select his seed corn out
Of his own field and the fields Of his
adjoining neighbors. The butt and
the end of the ear were shelled SO
that only the best kernels of uni
form size were planted
Preparation Of the ground and cul-
tiyation were given equally close at
tention. Before planting the field
was p1owed, disked, narrowed with
tooth harroy, pulverized with plank
pulverizer, and rolled to make a
compact seed bed. Then he waited
until the ground was warm and tried
to plant just before rain, when the
land was dusty and not wet. After
the corn was up it was dragged with
the harrow both ways, and the corn
was then cultivated every week. and
he took care to kill every weed.
Naturally, MIR. Worthington is 4
believer in the North as the real
farming section. for he has not been
hnro Ion q AN c,Yr ~ rot hiph nnfn.