The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1869-10-09

PORTLAND.
SATURDAY. Morning, October 9, 1869.

| -. >>A~Sa} SSsSSSA ~ -OSS'
| ~ For the Press:
Letter from Practical Farmer-No. HI
UNDERDRAIHING.
A capital time we have been having thi
fall ior laying the tile. Wet land has beer
drer than for years, and probably large quan
titles OF land have been drained, and there i:
yet time for good deal more to be done.
nave had little costly experience in this busi
ness and will give such of your readers as
are interested in this subject the benefit of it
| volumes have been written on this subject
but never could see the necessity of making
such big books on subjects whereon so little
need he said. sa5 Ill ..as.at -tee.
The object of draining may he briefly stated
II Is simply to let off the stagnant water that
mas got pent up on certain pieces of land
LIVING or running water does not need letting
OH 1t saA', Without. and in going in limited
quantities, does not injure, but benefits grass
nence' 'aho that has ne stagnant water near
the surface, does not need under draining
think 1t was Horace Greeley that once main
AIMED the contrary of this, and averred that
tile draining would pay on dry land. Horace
though generally correct, failed this time tc
recognize the humbug he was kiting.
| The practical question is, what land will il
| pay to drain? The shortest answer seems to
Inc to be this wet land which undrained is un.
productive, the soil Of which is good and capa
BILE Of producing good crops when finished up
and located where the crops will be of value
when produced. Otherwise it will not pay
Then it must be susceptible of being drained
| by having lower land adjoining it.
II the outlet is low enough, would put the
bitches down three or tilresA22d a half feet
and near enough together to take OIL ssl5s u
water. OF course the distance between the
drains will vary very much ON different
pieces, say any where from 80 to Is feet. A:
| general rule the deeper the drain is laid the
further they may be apart.
There must in every case be gradual and
uniform descent from the upper to the lower
| end of the drains. If a single tile toward the
| upper end is lower than another toward the
| outlet, the former one will fill with mud OF
sand.
The most important thing to be observed
| or at least the one wherein failure has been
| most liable to occur in my own experience, is
| in respect to the materials used in covering
the tile. Turf or sod cut from muckey land
consider the worst thing that can be put
over the joints.
would much rather put on clear clay and
risk it. Whenever my tile have clogged, ii
| has always been either with muck or sand
never with clay OF gravclly soil.
In running tile through beds of sand, it is
| always necessary to lay them on a narrow
board, and the covering l have recently used
| fer the joints, is the waste pieces of leather
| from shoe mandatory. Another method is
to cut the waste pieces of sheet iron or tin
from tin-plate shop into strips three inches
wide and long enough to cover the whole
| Joint, and bend them over it. Which of them
is preferable 1 am not able to say now, but
prefer the leather, as with that you can put
on little or much according to the character
of the soil as to its liability to sift Into the
tile. If could not get either would take
sod from clayey land with the grass side
| down. .ualu .--e
Late last Fall i opened an old tile drain
that had been stopped all summer, and at the
distance of fifteen rods from its outlet found
numerous frogs which had gone up and estab-
lished winter quarters in two inch tile. Ever
since, have been an enemy to frogs, and i
they ever get into my tile again they will have
| to go through place so small as to make tht
difficulty about equal to that of rich mar
getting into the kingdom of heaven. They
have done me much mischief, therefore say
to all, dam (not DAMN the frogs" out of you
tile drains. They are worse in them thar
humbugs, and in wet places as numerous
| i..4 r..+- PRACTICAL FARMER.