Decatur Daily Democrat, Volume 14, Number 66, Decatur, Adams County, 17 March 1916 — Page 2

How Drainage Increases Crop Production i ' . life, from penetrating to the roots ot

That which is of importance to the farm is of importance to the nation, , for the farm Is the main spring of prosperity. The crop production is used as a barometer of the times; and rightly so, for the farms furnish the food that generates the encgry and makes possible bigger and better I things. In these times of stress, therefore, the eyes of the nation are ' turned to the farm. It is claimed tliat Germany far surpasses any other nation in thrift, economy and thorough detail in farming, while the United States is the most wasteful nation on the face of the globe. The former statement is being strongly tested by the great war going on. while the latter statement does not need proof. Uncle Sam is extremely wasteful in respect to the natural resources, and especially is this true on the farm. Germany raises more potatoes per acre than any other nation on earth, for she is far advanced in agriculture and makes each acre produce many times over what the Unitthough the : scii i , >oorer than ours. How is this accomplished? By preparing the soil to do its work with the greatest efficiency. The farmers of America, for the mosi part, overlook the most important scientific fact in

improving their soil; namely, the underdrainage. In Indiana this is indeed the case. The purpose of this article is to prove our contention that the drainage is necessary, and to urge upon the farmers of the state to thoroughly drain their land. In making an investigation of conditions in Indiana, we found that the successful farmers were those who had tile-drained their farms, while the most failures were due to lack of proper drainage. Let us cite a few cases where the farmers are meeting with success and reaping big profits from their crops. We visited a number of farms in Fayette and Franklin counties, the first of week in June, and interviewed the farmers, finding them, for the most part, enthusiastic advocates of tile drainage, for reasons set forth below. Trial Field Proved Merit. One of the first farms we visited was that of Mr. Dan Broaddus, who owns a 120-acre tract of land four

— && j - • J j . # . ? -a, BI- . • ■■Wl ' '•> •■•>-/*;' ■■ V- ; -ftc '-■ > r.’ ••"•.' i\ Z;i.’/ .<_•>- . '- - ,miaF.. -i—. ~ ■l—l ■ I" ■■■ ■■■ ■*■' ■' 1 — B '■' ■»»*—’— 1 ■■' HU—» ■'■— ■ Hill > ■ ■■»».». Two Fields of Clover on the Same Kind of Soil and Grown Under the Scwe Methods. The Different;/is the Rosul of Good Underdrainage.

miles north of Connersville. He was just completing a splendid brick residence on his farm that would have done proud to any large city. This residence was made possible by the big profits made during recent years on this farm. It was not a paying farm a few years ago. for the cold clay soil made a poor farm land. There was an excess of water, the soil was too compact, and it didn’t have the life and accessibility for air conducive to good plant growth. In endeavoring to improve the land, he experimented in various ways with the manures and commercial fertilizers, but the ground was so dense that ’ — '■ » n ■■ ’-nd * b e fer’ilizers in DC'.eni.ed Tne ground was plowed and harrowed, but the excessive water was still there, and the winter freezings kept the soil in the same old condition. Finally, a small section of the Und was tiled, a great deal of the excessive water was thereby removed, the soil was thus made more precious, permitting the air to get down to the roots of the plants and give them the air fertility they needed. The fertilizers remained in the soil, adding greatly to the productivity of same. The first planting showed a wonderful improvement, and each succeeding year brought a ><op. noery year he put in mme me, until his whole farm was tiie-drained. This farm is producing over thirty bushels wheat to the acre. When we were there, we walked tlnough wheat fields over four feet high, and the heads were well formed. One of the illustrations shows the splendid crop and the brick residence in the background. Drainage on Hill Land. Charles Thomas, who owns a farm a short distance from that of Mr. Broaddus, proved the value qf underdrainage. His land was by no means swampy, for it consisted of high, rolling ground, hardly enough level land on it to gather water. The soil was light grey in color, the subsoil a hard, dense formation. The water penetrating the soil was halted when coming in ixmtact with the subsoil, causing thio land to become foul and sour.

Some Examples on Indiana Farms-By James E. Pandall.

For several years he attempted to make his land more productive with the aid of cominerclal fertilizer, but his efforts were not rewarded with any Increased production. He simply neded to ventilate his subsoil, a condition which exists on thousands of farms in Indiana today. Ah a last resort, he tried tile underdrainage,

i . x ■ The Wheat Field and New Home of Mr. Dan Broaddus.

1 which absolutely solved the protyem and turned a poor farm into a splendid paying investment. Where forty bushels of corn to the acre was a I # . good yield, he is now producing nearly seventy bushels. The year before the land was drained he produced ; seven bushels of wheat, and that was > a representative yield in that country ■ on undrained farms. He took each i field as it came in rotation for corn . and laid in a good system, of tile ; drainage, and then followed with ■ wheat and clover. He put in 5.500 i feet of clay tile each year, until the entire farm was underdrained. The entire lines were sixty to eighty feet I apart and thirty to thirty-six inches > deeply The tile were mostly four-inch • tile, but a quantity of five and six-inch

tile were used. The first year after the tile were put in. the yield of wheat leaped from seven bushels to twenty-five bushels to the acre, and each suceeding planting of wheat brought a larger yield. He is growing alfalfa where it was impossible before, for the subsoil became more open and thawed earlier and prevented the freezing out of th&.crop. No End to Benefits. We asked Mr. Thomas what he thought of &he drainage. He stated that he owed everything to it; that it was an absolute necessity, and he wouldn’t be without it for any consideration. “Why,” he said, “there ipopvneriv no end to the benefits of e p oring war. difficuh. jj)' the ground was so dense; now, it is surprisingly easy and allows me to do the plowing much earlier; therefore, I can plant much sooner and harvest early without {par of delay until the fall frosts. While the ground was cold ar.d close-grain-ed before, it is porous now, and I get a better effect from the fertilizer. Before, I could dig a hole most any place and find water in the clay within eighteen inches of the surface. The farmers around Harrisburg thought I was crazy, to tile my farm; they laughed at me ar.d joked about my ditching the hillside, saying it war, a follsh idea to drain where there were no swamps; but they are.all tiling

their farms now, since they learned what tiling was doing for me. Tjle drainage is the only thing.” He showed us a field of rye that was ■ standing over five feet high, a beau i tiful sight waving in the bright, ‘hot - sunshine. Mr. W. E. Higham, wno had plowed this farm years before, when a boy, t stated that formerly the ground, when plowed, seemed to have a hard board floor underneath, and that they never . had a good crop until Mr. Thomas . tiled it. This farm cosisted of ninety-eight acres; every part of it was clean and orderly; the barnyards were free of rubbish and the usual scattered machines and odds and ends; everything had its place, and a spirit of real pride pervaded the entire premises. ' ‘ A

Two Clover Fields. We came to a field of clover, in which we walked knee-deep, as one of the illustrations shows. This was on tile-drained land. Directly across the road was another field of clover, with numerous bare spots, the plants scanty and scarcely reaching the shoe-tops. This was the same kind

of land as the other, but not tiledrained, giving us a very good object lesson in the effects of the same. The owner is thoroughly convinced of the need of draniage now, and is going to tile his farm. Over in’Franklin county, there are numerous large crop-yielding farms. We stopped at one of them. This one happened to be owned by John Hoff man. three miles north of Brookville. He is getting sixty to seventy-five bushels of corn to the acre, where formerly twenty-five bushels was all tl;at could be expected. The same development is shown in regards to the other crops. He is harvesting thirty-six bushels of wheat to the acre, while previous to tiling he got only eight to ten bushels. Two acres

of oats now bring him 141 bushels; before, it was only one-third of thaamount, Mr. Hoffman had no end of good to say about' land drainage We stopped along the road to Brookville and called a farmer from his plow. It was Mr. John Rohmor. i who owns a large farm, ar.d delights to work in the fields, although getting on in' years. Asked for a statement relative to the benefit? of tile drain- > age, he waved his hand and shouted: I “Go ahead and eay anything. You can’t say too much in favor of clay > tile and tile drainage; it pays big and ■ is the only thing to do. Why, look at the big crops I am getting, and ? just think, I can plow so much earlier ■ and easier.” His production is three to four-- times larger than before he • thoroughly tile drained his farm, and ■ increases each year. Mr. Rohmer i had the~same condition to overcome ■ as did Mr. Thomas.

> We met farmer after farmer, and it was the same thing over again. They had had ocular demonstrations, had tiled their farms and were reaping the big harvest and enjoying the happf, prosperous life they deserved for their enterprise. Good Farms from Poor Soil. These farms have been made from a poor soil in the beginning The success and good profits enjoyed by tliGcC fa,rxncr3 u-rc ialic to ***c simpaO fact that they followed the laws of nature and secured the necessary things for good growth. Let us dig down into tho fundamentals of the subject and find the reasons why the drainage is necessary and why, when properly and nystematically done,'it always doubles and even trebles the value of the crops tn production. Jt has been truthfully stated that it is as unhealthy to plant life to have wet feet as it is to human life. Tiiere fore, one of our first objects should be to get rid of the excess water, which is injurious to plant growth. Especially in the early spring do we find a good argument for the use of tile—the protracted rains give the soil a great amount of excess water, which if allowed to remain, stunts the growth of the plant, for it prevents the air, which'is so essential to plant

same. Plowing does not relieve this condition in dose grained soils. Then, too, undrained land is always subject to this undesirable condition through the season. Tile drains take off the excess water and make the subsoil porous, thus allowing the air to go to the roots, whjclt grow deeper and secure the greater amount of food. The air carries with it a great amount rtf fertility, and the fresh rains penetrating into porus soils carry the fertility of the air down to the roots, also; so we see why it is necessary to rid our subsoil of its dense, close grained con dition. A porus soil naturally can be plowed easier, and it thaws more quickly in the spring, thus giving the farmer the advantage of an earlier i plowing and planting, which develops more rapidly and is sooner out of the danger from frost or drought. The manures and commercial fertilizers prove more beneficial in porous soils, from Lie simple fact that the needed ingredients go into the soil and are not washed away into the gulleys or streams, as in the case with dense, cold clay lands. Drains the Excess Water Only. Tile draining does not carry away all the water in the subsoil, only the excess water, for there is a capillary action in opposition to gravity, which tetains as much water in the soil as should be available for the growth of the plant. To further consider the point, we quote from an excellent treatise on same by Mr. A. S. Kempton, which is as follows: “Capillary attraction, the force that carries oil up a 1 imp wick in opposition to gravity, will retain in the soil as much water as can be made avai • able for plant growth. It is the same force that causes a sponge to absorb water. If a sponge be compressed, a iu .ll qut.r.tity of water will be absorbed; allow the sponge to expand to its full size, and a much larger quantity will be absorbed, because its pores are larger than they were before. So it is with the soil. The water percolating through it to reach the tiles, together with the action of the frost, makes the pores larger and longer, and therefore capable of holding more

w .ter than before. Still, J do not ■ '■ sh to be understood as asserting ha’ nil the nores thus formed will be filled with water, for such, fortunately, is not the case. “Many of the pores thus formed will be 100 large to be acted upon by capillary attraction, and hence their water will be discharged into the tiles, and air will take its place and will prevent the formation of those injurious chemical compounds that are found in stagnant waters. As air is as necessary about the roots of crops as moisture is. this arrangement of air and water, side by side, deep down in the coil, would seem to be, and is, the ideal one. It enables the roots to -row deeply into the soil, reaching d utilizing elements of fertility that c-uerwise would remain unused because untouched. It was doubtless this phase of the question that inspired Emerson to say: “This year a very large quantity of land has been discovered and added to the agricultural lands, and without a murmur of complaint from any neighbor. By! til' drainage we have gone to the sub- j soil, and we have a Concord under | Concord, a Middlesex under Middlesex. ai d a basement story of Massahb i setts more valuable than all the superstructure. “As we have seen capillary attraction is a greater fore® than gravity, for it causes the water to rise up in ike pores, therefore the moisture thus : ;’-1 in the soil cannot be parted with except by evaporation and plant rrrOw h. It is observed of tiled land that at the surface the soil pulverizes id dries rapidly. This fine dirt acts as a blanket and largely prevents ihe formation of hoar frost and Steal ice, so injurious to winter wheat, and prevents almost wholly the evaporation of the moisture stored deeper down. Thus it is seen that tile drainage causes a larger amount of water to be observed and gives rise to q. ■ condition that prevents Its loss, exl co pt, as required for the growth of the • crop.” i Summary. i Tn conclusion, we wish to state > briefly the advantages to be gained by' i draining you{ land with tile. t It removes the excess water from

the soil or subsoil, which is so apt to injure or retard the plant wth ’ I it prevents the loss of sod fertil t, by allowing the water to pass down through the subsoil and into the - > where otherwise it would wash tie surface, carrying with it those ingredients you wish to retain. it makes the soil porus and open, giving it the condition necessary to r. tain the needed moisture f ‘> r growth, and allowing the roots df the plant to reach a greater depth for food and moisture, which is part.<mla’’lv advantageous in dry went . thus making th, soil drouth-res.stimL It increases the fertility of the scto the depths to which il 18 tile< ' cause of the circulation of air to that point, the air causing "‘‘‘ l . changes most beneficial for food o the plant. , .. , Our last reminder is this: Proba y tile-drained farms can be plowed etu- ; Her, easier and retain the plant food. I which is so necessary to large, pro t 'able crops. Eventually you will tile your farm. Do not do it in a haphazard manner; make a careful study of your land and 1 the proper methods of tile under drainage before proceeding. It is net. Accessary to tile your entire farm in the beginning. Test it out on a small section vou will find the tile will be more than paid for the first year by the increased profits, and the land will improve as the years pass by.

Restoring Fatigued Muscles. A very ingenious physiological method of Increasing the yield of labor from any given group of muscles is described in the Deutsche Revue. According to an abstract in Die Umschau the author, Th. Weber, claims that in practice a gain of from 22 to 40 per cent is obtainable in the amount of work done. The device is extremely simple. When the given group of muscles has reached the point of exhaustion, due to the accumulation of the products of fatigue, they are allowed to rest, while an entirely different muscle group is set to work vigorously. The energetic contraction of these muscles causes an increase in heart action and circulation, and the strengthened current of blood thus sent to all parts of the body partially restores the working power of the first group of muscles by carrying away fatigue toxins and supplying oxygen. The Number Seven. Seven is frequently used as a mystical and symbolical number in the Bible, as well as among the principal nations of antiquity, such as the Per sians, Egyptians, Greeks, Romans, etc. In the Bible we have the Creation completed in seven days; every seventh year was the Sabbatic year, and sever times seven years ushered in the Jubilee. We have the seven altars, seven greer withes, seven locks, seven angels, seven eyes which are the seven spirits of God. In light we have the seven prismatic colors, which make the pure white light. We have the seven sleepers, seven I wise masters seven wise men of Greece—Bias, Cleobulus, Chilo, Pittlcus, I'eriander, Solon, Thales. Foretold by Oil. Among the Kherrias of India there is a very curious marriage ceremony. Taking a portion of the hair, of the bride and bridegroom in turn from the center of the forehead, the priest draws it down on to the bridge of the nose. Then, pouring oil on the head, he watches it carefully as it trickles down the portion of hair. If the oil runs straight on to the tip of their neo their future will be fortunate, but if it spreads over the forehead or trickles off on either side of the nose, ill luck is sure to follow. Their fortunes told, generally to their own satisfaction, the final part of the ceremony takes place. Standing up side by side, but with faces strictly averted, the bride and bridegroom mark each other’s forehead with "sindar" (vermilion). zlt IW> ( H LOOK W Don’t stay gray! Nobody can t. when you darken gray, faded hair with Lage Tea and Sulphur. Grandmother kept her hair beautiful' darkened, glossy and abundant with I jvv. us Sage T, u. uad Sulphur. '.VI.™ ever her hair fell out or took on 1 ... dull, jaded or streaked apiearanct, 'I. simple mixture was applied With “c • derful effect. By caking at any dru store for “Wyeth’s Rage and t'-,h Hair Remedy,’’ you will ?„t a ■ bottle of this old-time recipe, use, for about 60 cents. 'Da' » mixture can be depend;rd ■.< on natural color and I e.irty i is splendid for dandruff, and falling Lair. A well-known downtown ei everybody uses Wyeth’s Ba. phur, because it darkens eo w. ■ evenly that nobody can tell it applied- —it’s so easy to u... , < •>. simply dampen a comb cr and draw it through your hair, t strand at a time. By . pray hair disappears; after another -iy, tion or two, it 'is restored to its natur :cr and looks glossy, soft ■'and at-, itHC. I democrat'wanFads PAY BIG

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