PART II.

CHAPTER I.

PRACTICAL DRAINAGE.

BEFORE Commencing drainage operations, many things are to be taken into account, the most important of which, in all probability, to the farmer, is, what kind of drains shall be made. Where lands can be purchased from $5 to $15 per acre, it would, perhaps, not be advisable to underdrain with tile, at a cost from $15 to $25 or $30 per acre.

Drainage is designed to be a permanent improvement; as much so as building a house or barn. In all farm improvements, the farmer in the West is proverbial for "cutting the coat according to the cloth." The western farmer is emphatically a practicable man, makes use of such means and materials as he can command, whether it be in accordance with any system "found in books," or not; and to this fact, perhaps, as much as to anything else, do we owe the amount of progress made in agriculture in the state of Ohio, and in the West generally. If the farmer had withheld all improvements, until they could have been made in the most approved manner, we possibly might yet be in the full enjoyment of log cabins and gar skin" plows throughout the state. Instead of pursuing that policy, however, they have more generally adapted themselves to the circumstances by which they were surrounded, and made such improvements as their

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means warranted, and it is, perhaps, best for the permanent progress and improvement in agriculture, that the same policy should be pursued with regard to underdraining.

As there are several ways of underdraining, and different materials, or no materials at all, employed in keeping open the water-courses, we will in a synoptical manner enumerate the various kinds of drains, and then devote more space to giving the details of each kind of drain.

MATERIALS FOR KEEPING OPEN THE WATER-COURSES.

1. Wood. This material has long been used, in various forms, for making drains. In swamps, where a general outlet is secured by an open ditch, the side drains leading into it, as well as drains made for the cure of springy places, are often kept open by the brush that is usually found growing in such places. It is doubtless bad economy to use brush, when a better material is at hand; but as this is not always the case, it will be found that a brush drain is much better than none. Saplings, or round sticks, or split wood, are frequently used, cut into equal lengths of three or four feet, and put in the drains at an angle, in the same manner as brush. Or a different plan may be adopted. Straight sticks, of any length, may be used, by laying one on each side of the drain, leaving the necessary space between; then a third pole, or piece, is laid upon them, so as to cover the space, and prevent the side pieces from crowding together. Timber is sometimes split into thin, wide pieces, resembling staves, or the shakes formerly used for the covering log houses, and a watercourse is obtained by laying one edge of each piece on the bottom, on one side of the drain, and letting the other edge lean against the other side, some inches from the bottom. In this case, the drains must be dug narrow, or

the stuff split sufficiently wide, so that it can not be forced down flat into the bottom of the drain. For short distances, lumber is occasionally used. A narrow board forms the bottom of the drain; a piece of scantling forms each side, and another board makes the top. This is an expensive method; and although the drain is good while it lasts, it is not especially durable. The choice of these various forms of wood drains must depend on the kind. most readily obtained.

Turf Drains.-Almost everybody, perhaps, has heard of turf drains, and, therefore, the question may naturally arise, if turf drains will answer, why incur the expense of tiles? Before tiles were as cheap in the British Isles as they are at present, millions of acres were drained with turf. One method was to dig the drain wedge-shaped, or much the narrowest at the bottom; then the turf, which had been taken from the top, was cut of such a width and shape with the spade, that when inverted and laid in carefully, it would rest eight or ten inches from the bottom, and support all the earth thrown upon it, in filling in the drain, leaving a small wedge-shaped channel at the bottom, which lasted many years. Another plan consisted in cutting down the sides perpendicularly, to within eight or ten inches of the intended bottom; then, with a narrow spade, or one made with one edge turned up about two inches, a narrow channel was dug, and good shoulders left, on which the turf could be firmly laid. These turf drains, in clayey land, and where the work was well done, often lasted a lifetime. Of late years, however, tile have superseded turf in all kinds of soil. Turf drains are, perhaps, more familiarly known as wedge and shoulder drains.

Mole Plows. These were extensively used in various parts of Europe, some fifty years ago. They seem to be attracting some attention in this country, at the present

time. On lands where the subsoil is a tolerably soft and plastic clay, without stones, and where the surface has a regular inclination, they do good service; and the watercourses opened in this way, often continue for many years.

Stone.-Drains of stone are formed either by placing them so as to secure a clear water-course, or the drain is partially filled up with small stones thrown in, and the water is left to find its way between them. A good water-way may be secured either by placing a stone on each side of the bottom, and laying a flat stone upon them, or by setting a flat stone upon the edge, on one side of the drain, and leaning another flat stone against it from the other side. In either way, care must be taken to cover well, with more stones, all the spaces through which sand or earth might pass to obstruct the drain. When small stones are thrown in to form a drain, a great many troublesome little stones may be disposed of, and a tolerable drain made, but it is very liable to become choked with sand or earth, and so made useless. In short, almost all drains, made with timber or stones, are liable to be injured by lobsters or moles, or be otherwise destroyed and rendered unsatisfactory.

Tiles. Where good tiles can be obtained, at a reasonable rate, no other material should be used, under any circumstances, because no other material makes so perfect a drain, is so durable, or so cheap. The value of tiles depend upon their form, the quality of the clay of which they are made, and the perfection of the burning. Horseshoe tiles-that is, those of which the end represents a semicircle, with the sides compressed a little, were, many years since, extensively used in England; but this form has, by everybody in that country, been abandoned for better. The water running through them, softens the