Wrtttea tar tbe Indian
Principles and   Benefits of Farm   Drain-
By H. S. Chamberlaiu.
1'roiier drainage of the land is as neees-
m successful agriculture as judicious
fertilizing aud careful cultivation. Nature usually provides ample means for the
disposal of any surplus water from ruiu-
fall, l"it in many cases urtiticial methods
uiiiHt    be    used. Thousands    ot acres,
throughout our country, once practically
worthless swamp or bog laud, are to-day
hriile and productive through well plan-
mil systems of artificial drainage.
Too mnch moisture in the soil is as
detrimental to plant growth, valuable to
the fanner, as au iusulllcient quantity of
it. There must be a supply of moisture
just sufficient to dissolve aud render assimilable all mineral foods of cereals and
Other plants, and this supply must be regulated either by nature or by man, if the
best results in crop production are wanted.
Draiuage not only relieves the laud of
any excess of water, but strangely
euough it diminishes the bad effects of a
drouth. A drained soil is moist, but
dues not contain too much water, because
ihe quantity  is under  regulation.
Moisture in the soil exists in a mechanical condition and its amouut depends iu i
measure upon the texture of the soil as
well as upon adequate drainage. The
storage of moisture in the soil ordinarily
depends upon the surface tension of
water on each soil particle. By this
means a thin film of: water is attracted
and held to the surface of each soil grain.
This seemingly small quantity of water is
sultlcient for best crop yields, and anything beyond this normal state, whether
due to rainfall or seepage from higher
ground, must be carried aWay.
Natural or artificial daiaage depends
primarily upon gravity, and its dispatch
depends upon tlie slope of the area relieved. The fall of an artificial drain
can be as low as one-half inch per one
hundred feet when the distance is not too
great. A grade of from one to two inches
per hundred feet has been successfully used to drain vast tracts.
About 50 per cent of  the Boil volume
is due to 6paces between    the component
grains.     The size and shape of these soil ;
particles  naturally  determine  the size  of
the interstices.      All this in turn decides i
Uie extent of soil porosity, and consequent* ,
ly adds to the moisture retaining proper-
lies, aside from surface tension.      Coarse
**and   and   finely divided   compacted clay
n present the extremes in mechanical soil
conditions.
Where natural drainage is adequate an I
il areas and causes the frost
tt. leave the ground earlier iu the spring;
a decided advantage to the farmer. It
makes compact clay soil more porous ami
workable and hence more penetrable to
plant roots than would otherwise be. possible under surface drainage. The injury to crops from prolonged and excessive
drv weather is minimized by lliooaaad
depth and area of soil stratum.
It prevents abnormal evaporation of
moisture, aud allows bet.* circulation
of air and entrance of atmoejlierie heat,
thus producing new soil from crude and
uiiiiilnpteil soil materials. Soils difficult
of cultivation are changed in texture and
mechanical make up and consequently are
more readily controlled and yield better
crop returns.
make a bad investment, and perhaps lose
it all.
IMPROVED SEEDS  FROM THE AG-
RICULTURAi.   DEPARTMENT.
Editors Indiana   Farmer
A conservative calculation shows that
the value to the American sugar beet
growers of using higher grade seed than is
usually sent out by ticrnian seedsmen will
easily uggr.'gate $1,000,000 aumiaily. During l'.HHI the Department of Agriculture
will distribute more than 15,000 pounds
of American sugar beet seed and tin*
growers will proliably produce in the
neighborhood of 800,000 pounds of seed
next year all of wlii.-li has beeu contracted for at the present  linn*.
While   the   Department   of   Agriculture
F
"The Retreat," Home of Mrs. Julia    R.    Conk
Westfield.     Indiana.
SHALL WE INVEST IN LAND?
editors Indiana  Fanner
I write you for some advice, and hope
you will publish it through your paper, as
I am a subscriber. The advice that I want
is this: I am a youog man of 30; I
have farmed for myself for ten years;
have bought all first elass farming implements and paid for them and have four
head of good work horses and 15 head of
cattle; some hogs and a few sheep, and
have $1,000 in money. Now what would
be a safe investment? Would it be wise
to invest it in a farm of 80 acres at $100
per acre or not? If not what would be
a proper investment? Iu 10 years I
have farmed three different forms of 80
acres each, and had to give one-half of all
the gTain, hay, fruit and potatoes, but
I am getting tired of doing this way. If
you can advise a way to do better I
would be glad to hear it.
A Subscriber.
—Before our advise would be of much
ulmort perfect* ow_diti*» "oMain*» ' fer~«_e- i valuc t0 y°u we ou8ht t0 know wbat
' essfol farming, and whetre it does not ^nd of *»"d rou can b"-v at *100 an BCTe'
exist artificial conduction of excess water If it is really first class land, as well as
mnst resorted to. The underdrain system j be'i*g located near to good markets, as you
is usually the best. I are*   ?ou wol,ld 'be safe in >«vesting your
Tnderdrainagc mav be accomplished in ! money in it, but if it requires much fcr-
iwo wavs. (a) By open ditches cut ; Uliiation and you cannot afford the money
deep enough to enter the subsoil and al- I to pay for the fertilizer it would be unsafe
low the water percolating through the por- i to venture your all for the rarm alone.
ous top soil to Sow into it and thence We recommend you to take counsel from
•way.    (D    Bv    the covered    underdrain   some of the most successful  and reliable
eonstructed from hollow glazed or porous
tiles. These  methods   benefit  the   land
•ind its owner in many material ways.
The surface water is taken downward
through the soil and prevents erosion common to surface drainage. The valuable
top soil is left intact, and any soluble fertilizing content is carried deeper, to the
Sg benefit to the plant roots. Under-
draining raises the temperature of the sor-
fnrmers   of   your   acquaintance. They
will give you safe advice. Knowing all
the circumstances, which we do not, their
opinion would be much more valuable than
ours, although we are always willing
to aid our subscribers in any way in our
power. We have only this further to say,
that we advise you not to be in a hurry
to invest your money. You had better
hold  it  snd   rent  another' year  than  to
is quite limited in the annual appropriation for the recovery, collection and distribution of new seeds and plants, it is
doing most remarkable work in searching,
tnrough its special agricultural explorers,
the countries of the old world where agriculture has been carried on for centuries
and tens of centuries and where its history
of crop-raising traces back to medieval
days. From these countries some of the
most useful and attractive plants hu.e
been introduced. Every now and then
a new plant or new variety is discovered
and introduced which may revolutionize
that particular branch of crop production.
Macaroni wheat the Secretary of Agicul-
tue mentions as a fair example. Extensive trials of this wheat made in tlie semi
arid west—just west of the produciug area
for orditiary wheat—shows that it is possible to bring into cultivation 1,000,000
square miles heretofore thought to be unfit
for any agriculture and capable of producing this new grain at the rate of 15 to 20
bushels per acre. Secretary Wrilson believes that for every section of our vastly
dlvrsified soil land climate the old world
has a corresponding spot where agriculture
has been successfully prosecuted for centuries. All that is neenled is full and complete information of these countries and
an Intelligent application of that knowledge to our own.
Touching on the question of the annual
Congressional seed distribution, Secretary
Wilson stated that while there is undoubtedly some benefit attached to the distribution of vegetoble seed each year the real
value to the country of such distribution
cannot lie compared with that of even one
good introduction like macaroni wheat,
Japanese rice, and improved variety of
cotton or various oilier articles which
might be mentioned. G. E. M.
Washington, D. C.
Florida, as it Is.
Editors Indiana Fanner
We had read many glowiug accounts
of the sunny South by real estate dealers
and supposed it was the garden spot of
'.In* United States; but the delusion was
simiu dispelled when we saw things as they
are. When   we  went South  we passed
lh rough some of the most desolute coun-
irj in* ever saw, rough, broken, narrow
valleys where feeble attempts were made
ai   agriculture. Of   course   there   was
sonve line country and large fields of cotton, and an occasional field of puny corn.
When we arrived nt Pensacola, Fla., we
supposed it would be warm. In tills we
were disappointed, as it was about as cold
as it was when we left home. It was
the coldest it had been for 20 yejirs. Our
Impression of the Sunny Se*nh._was not
favorable. The next itn.ri •*». .'ter our
arrival the ground was froze c enough
to bear up a four horse te| f»* ut there
was sn.ou a change; the sue ? out aud
by noon it was quite warm 3 Tom that
time on  while  we  remain  ""i weather
tu fine. £
Provisions are not high "£-*ially fish,
oysters, sweet potatoes .-. ^ Sits. Irish
potatoes are high as they-oae not thrive
well bete, most of the northern visitors
spend much time in fishing, as fish are
very plenty. There are many places of
interest to visit near Pensacola, such as
the forts. Ten miles from Pensacola on
the bay or Forts Pickens, Barrancas and
McKee. Barrancas, is an old fort built
over .100 years ago by the Spanish. It
was used during the civil war; but Ib now
out of commission. The old guns remain
in position ns they did during the war, but
are useless when compared with modern
guns. This fort is built of heavy masonry, and at the time of its construction
was considered almost impregnable. Today it would not last long if bombarded
by modern guns.' It is kept as a relic
and curiosity of days gone by.
Fort Pickens is up-to-date, and one of
the strongest forts on the gulf, being located at the mouth of the channel. It
was the only defense that was not captured in the South during the civil war.
In the navy yard here small vessels are
built and all kinds of repairs are made on
large vessels.
We visited the great fish packing establishments here, several of which employ a large number of men. The fish
business, in a small way, is to the South
what the meat business is to the North.
The kind of fish caught at this time of
year is the red snapper a fine specimen
often weighing from 5 to 30 pounds.
We visited  one of  the  large saw mills
! of the South.      This mill was located on
the bay.        Logs are floated to it in large
rafts.     An elevator built out in the water,
something like that used  at an ice house,
was used to bring logs into the mill. Many
i of the logs are sawed into long square tim-
i bers,  intended  for ship building,  railroad
I ridges and other large structures.
This heavy timber is shipped to all parts
of the world, England securing a large
quantity of it. The    lumlxr    business
here is very important. It. H. B.
Cass Co.
It is to the welfare of the farmer to
encourage the building of electric roads
through his neighborhood; but he should
see to it that such lines be kept from
obtaining the right of way along the public highways. An electric car is often
as dangerous along the public roads as
automobiles.