Bradford reporter. [volume] (Towanda, Pa.) 1844-1884, 1858-03-25
fnrmer's Department.
Hints on Drainage.

The subject OF drainage. Is assuming ne" III
'portance in This country. every year, aid Is.
we believe, soon to work an eutife change ir
tho methods aud profits of hnsbandry i'll the
elder States., johnson and his neighbors n
Geneva have been the pioneers in this work
for many years, aud their experiments and sat:
Isfactory result bare been published in the agrll
cultural transactions aud Journals. For years
thia talk about drainage seemed hike the,wlId-
,est speculation to- most of our faTmers--a throw
ing away of money that none but a man OF large
capital could afford Bnt as gentlemen visited
these drained farms Gnd eontrasted their Tro-
tIuets With Gelds lndraihed lying by their side,
they could not resist the conclusion that drain
age would pay. For the last five years exper
irnents have been tried on q small scale by
multitude of farmers, and wherever the work
IL began tho results have been SO satisfactory
that it must increase Farmers, who find that
capital Invested in tile drain pays ten, twelve,
sad fifteen per cent will not long be content
TO get only six and eight per cent. by the com
mon methods.
There is double advantage in draining
land. II not only yields directly good return
for the capital invested-but il increases the
profit of everything else done for the land
IF the farmer spends thirty dollars upon ma.
nurc for an acre Of land, it is found that the
manure brings mnch better crops npon drain
ed, than upon undrained, soil. If he spends
ten dollars in suhSoiling an acre, he gets much
better returns whore hc lays down the tile
If he uses lime, this gives better results The
subsoil improves rapidly under the influence OF
the atmosphere which now penetratcs it as far
down as the drains are laid. Poor clayey soils
that would hardly pay for cultivation, arc by
this process entirely redeemed, and turned in
10 fruitful meadows yielding forty bushels OF
wheat to the acre, aid three tons OF good
hay.
Most Of the farmers, of means, have now lit
Ile doubt that drainage in some lands will pay.
They are about ready to try the experiment
themselves, on some wet spots upon their own
farms. They have little doubt that the sto-
ries about drainage are true, and yet they like
10 see the results npon their own land before
they invest very largely in this operation
They are determined to try it, and some will
begin this season as soon as the hay crop is
gathered.
1t has been pretty satisfactory settled, that
brush, and boards should not be used for drain
age, where stone and tile can be used The
brush very soon decays, and drains Gil up
The same is true of slabs and boards II
these are used at all, as may be necessary in
new settlements, where wood is an incum-
brance, and stone can not be had, it should be
with the expectation that the whole work of
digging the drain will have to be repeated in o
few years.
As to the use of tile drain or stone, opin.
ions are not yet unanimous. Where the land
Is full of stone, suitable for laying drains, and
&, 4 Nh 70 to tril oF ic
ed that it may be advisable to use stone It
is to be considered that in laying stone drain,
you have to remove nearly three times as much
earth as you do in laying tiles. With labor
at a dollar day, the cost of this extra Dig
ging is frequently enough TO purchase the tile,
and deliver them upon the ground. The trench
for laying the stone must be foot or more
broad at the bottom That for laying the tile
need only be the width OF the sole, three or
four inches.
Then, again, stone drains are easily obstruc
ted unless the soil around them is very com.
pact 1t is found that sand works into them
with great freedom, that the moleS bore into
them, and, in case of heavy Showers the dirt
follows and the outlet becomes choked with
the deposits. The tiles, if properly laid, are
proof against sand and moles aud muskrats-
The water goes into them not only at the joints
but at every pore in the brick. The work
once well done, is done for a half century OF
more. This great permanence Of the work i:
an item that ought to have weight with the
proprietor of the soil lie is to reap for him
self and his heirs all the benefits of the invest
ment. The tile will yield annually fair PEI
cent Of profit for fifty years to come. What
is paid ont for manures ceases to bring in re
tnrns after three or four years. 1t is all ap
propriated by the crops.
The great hndrance to the use Of the tile
drain in New England, is the heavy expense
of freight. Until quite recently Albany hal
furnished all the Eastern States, and we know
Of very few tile manufactures now east Of the
Hudson. Tile works have been recently star
ted at WhateIy, Mass, and upon Long Island
and we hear Of Others in contemplation along
the Connecticut valley. 1t cannot be long be-
fore the clay-heds upon the bank of this river
which are abundant and of excellent quality,
will be appropriated for this purpose. But
stones are abundant on most Of the farms, and
the first essays at drainage will be made with
these.
Some drains shOuld be made deep and large
not less than three feet below the surface
There should also he a suitable proportion be
tween the size of the main drains and the side
drains that run into it. Allowance must be
made for the inclination of the ground, and fol
the amount OF water that will run in the heav
lest spring rains. If this is not properly ad
justod, the main drain is liable TO bnrst in
heavy rains anu greatly damage cultivated
fields.