Let us locate one acre of land on the thirty-eighth degree of north
latitude, midway across the continent, say near the City of St. Louis.
While under the intensive system of cultivation which will be pursued,
less land than one acre will ultimately be found sufficient to supply
the wants of one cow, it would not be advisable to begin with a less
quantity. That one acre is sufficient is opposed to the general opinion,
as witness the assertion of Mr. Schull, of Little Falls, N. Y., that
the land in pasturage and hay, requisite for the support of one cow,
is three acres, and this accords with the estimate of Mr. Carrington
for moderately good dairy farms in England. Colman says: Three acres
are required for a cow in Berkshire Co., Mass. Mr. Farrington, in the
Report of the American Dairymen’s Association says, four; while Mr. X. A.
Willard thinks that in Herkimer Co., N. Y., one and a half to two acres
will pasture one cow, and that in some exceptional cases one acre will
suffice.
True it is that these estimates take into consideration grass and hay
solely, and the treatment of the land is presumed to be that usually
pursued, viz.: scant allowance of manure, absence of subsoil drainage,
and consequently shallow cultivation.
But high manuring and deep cultivation are indispensable in view, viz.:
the obtaining the greatest quantity of dairy food from the least land.
And high cultivation, implying depth of soil, tilth, porosity and
aeration is impossible without subsoil drainage; nor in its absence does
manure produce its best effects. It is foreign to the purpose of this
article to elucidate the action of tile draining upon crops and soil.
The lasting and great benefit of the system is, to-day, a matter of such
plain fact, that no intelligent agriculturist will question it.
Therefore we begin by selecting an acre of land which affords the best
facilities for laying tile-drainage pipes. An easy slope with a good,
open outlet into ditch, run, or gulch, is all that is required. The
advantages of a sunny exposure are so obvious that, if possible, we
should choose land which trends to the south and east. The tile-draining
of one acre will necessitate an outlay of about twenty-five dollars; but
this expenditure is indispensable to the obtaining of the best results.