Rensselaer Republican, Volume 12, Number 26, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 12 March 1880 — Surface Drainage. [ARTICLE]

Surface Drainage.

We predict that the time is not far distant when a thorough system of drainage shall be inaugurated, that our low prairie lands will produce fourfold what they now do. Not that they will produce that much in excess -of what they now do in favorable seasons, but that the production will become more uniform, and will amount in a sqries of years to four times what it now is. This result we predict, in connection with a more reasonable treatment of the soil, which will be hereafter considered. Farmers who own forty, eighty and one-hundred-and-sixty-acre tracts of these lands will then see that they have enough land to make farming profitable, and if they have accumulated some surplus means they will see that it can be profitably employed as working cap ital. Many of these fanners own a gold mine at home that only requires to be developed. John Johnston, a Scotch gentleman, many years since settled in New York State. He purchased a tract of low, wet land, which was considered by his neighbors as nearly worthless for cultivation. He had bis own convictions of what this land would become by underdraining, and went about it, laying manv miles of tile drain with his own hands. The result was that his crops astonished his neighbors. His farm proved to be one of the most valuable in the neighborhood, and he is said to have accumulated, by legitimate farming, the handsome sum of SIOO,OOO. We wish at this time more particularly to call the attention of farmers of limited means, who occupy low lands, to the great importance to them of thorough surface drainage, which is within their reach. Without doubt many of these farmers feel the importance of draining their land in order to secure a more uniform productiveness, and yet they do not seem to consider that very much might be accomplished with the means at thoir command. There is a great deal of time during the year that could be very profitably spent in this direction.

It is well known that these farms under consideration produce, in favorable seasons, large crops of corn, but an unusual rainfall reduces very much, if it does not entirely destroy, the crop. We would here say that if farmers during these wet seasons would, instead of grumbling over the bad weather and the loss of crops, go over their farms and find where ditches would be of benefit, and then take a sharp spade and go to work and make them, they would find it the most profitable work yet performed on their land. In looking over many of these farms one will see that feeble attempts have in many cases been made to accomplish this object. A faint outline of some little ditch may be seen which was insufficient for the purpose, and which was left to again fill up. In other instances we see where a farmer has gone about this work with a will, and has cut good large ditches where they were required, thus preventing the water from accumulating on his land and making many acres available for cultivation, which before were entirely useless. This man will tell you that draining p»y»The present is a good time to look into this matter. If Individual farmers Vill make a careful survey of their land many of them will “find a natural channel, where if agood ditch were made along its course, it would take all the water from sloughs, and thus add land for cultivation, yrhioh before was entirely useless. In many cases it may not be found practicable to do muoh of this work, except by the combined efforts of several farmers in one neighborhood. In this case they should get together, look the ground carefully over, and if found practicable, accomplish this object bv their united efforts. One thing is oertain, they will not regret any labor and expense in this direction, if the work is thoroughly done. In many towns it may be a work of considerable magnitude, as a large ditch may be required, tor drainage Is oonduoive to the health of a neighborhood, as well as its other advantages. . On many farms there are depressions on the surface of the land which retain the water for a long time before

ft k wtOfl, th d * d* do not consider. It is this, that the land rendered useless, or nearly so, by water, is not only that actually cohered with it, bat a huge amount that is on the borders of these sloughs and depressions. The water may be out at sight, yet it is doing its work all the same. Whenever these places are filled with water and the surface of the surrounding land is bat little higher the subsoil is of course completely filled, thus preventing the roots of plants from penetrating the soil a sufficient depth to insure good crops. As we have before intimated, this work to be satisfactory most be thorough. Raving determined where the ditch is needed, take a team and where practicable plow the line of it, taking a land as wide as you wish the top of it to be, remembering that it should be much wider when it requires to be of considerable depth than where it is shallow. The success of open ditches depends on their being wide at the top, thus giving a good slope to the sides, so they will not easily fill up. After plowing take a good road scraper and remove all the dirt yon can to a good distance either side, then repeat the process until von have removed all that is practicable in this way. Two good men and a team will do this work very fast. In many places where the ditch requires to be of considerable depth the finishing work mast be done with tne spade. We have said that this work can be done at a time when little else can be done on the farm. There will be places too wet to be worked with the scraper, but by commencing at the outlet, thus allowing the water to pass readily off, one having a good pair of rubber boots and a spade can always be doing something in this line in wet weather. Let your ditch be not more than one foot in depth, and at least four feet wide at the top, that giving a goo slope to the sides and keeping it the whole distance. After the main ditch has been completed, then every slough and depression on the farm snouldoe looked after, and if possible connected with the main drain. Many will find it in their power, by the expenditure of a not very large amount of Labor, to drain every one of these unsightly sloughs entirely dry. In many oases when there is a good fall, if the ditch is well made, the force of the water will keep it clear, but when the fall is slight it will require more or less attention every fall. After completing your ditches, take a good breaking-plow and plow all the land on either side of the ditch which was before too wet for cultivation. It will in many cases be a “ tough job,” but it can be done. After the plowing is completed, take an ax and plant the land with corn. Your crop the first year will very likely more than pay the expenses of plowing and planting. The following spring it will be rather rough plowing, but after it is done go over it several times with a drag, piant again and you will have a stiu better crop. Now, after this crop is off, plow again in the fall, and the spring following you will have as good a seed-bed as you could ask for. It is, of course, better in many cases, where one can afford it, to lay tile at once, and then fill in your ditch, as in that case your land is in much better shape for cultivation. But unless that is done with great care, it is better to leave your ditch open for a time, as you can then see by its operation whether it is of sufficient depth. There is a large amount of land in the vicinity of Chicago, formerly considered almost worthless, which by draining has become very valuable for farming purposes. This change has been accomplished largely by grading roads through it.— Cor. Chicago Times.