The Rutland daily globe. [volume] (Rutland, Vt.) 1873-1877, 1875-06-07
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hut had not served to warm 1t. There 1t
Law in that solid basin of clay, imperative,
lifeless, and continually borne away by the
streams which ran along the dead burrows
and down the great open canal, into the
highway, for the benefit Of no man.
found that the expense of ploughing such
land was too great. The open ditch was
an obstacle, and the beds were trouble
some. The process of ploughing was slow
and heavy, and the result was often attend
ed with great uncertainty. A good farmer,
who had once cultivated the field, said to
me "If ploughed that field too early in
the spring, l lost my crop If ploughed 1t
too late, could do nothing with it,
stNow, without entering into precise
calculation Of the return have received
for nv investment in draining, it is very
easy 10 see that the crop of the present year
alone, increased as 1t has been, and IN some
portions of the field increased by the drain
ing. would go far towards my remunera-
ton. l have now good field, whereas l
formerly had poor one. ARD IL is naruiy
necessary to demonstrate to any farmer
that any reasonable expenditure for such
purpose and with such result IS not an
extravagant or Improbable outlay.
would not be understood as saying that
drainage to all soils is to be recommended.
There are soils which do not require drain
age, Heavy clay soils are a bane to the
farmer without it--a blessing with it There
is a large quantity Of what is called cold,
springy land-land in which the water per-
colating from the hill-sides is caught and
held, and in which the springs thus fed are
constantly seeking an outlet on the sur
face for the want of any other mode OF es-
cape, which would be made highly valuable
by thorough drainage. know many acres
in this town, composed of q thin layer of
loan and humus, upon shallow bed OF
clay beneath which is found deep stratum
of gravel. The clay is so tenacious that a
great portion of the surface water never
penetrates into the gravel filter beneath.
but lies stagnant on the level places and
flows down the slopes so that the valleys
are constantly inundated. They yield but
little, and they need only thorough drain
age to become warm and fertile Swamp
lands req lire different mode of drainage ;
and although some may differ from me, l
doubt if thorough drainage is applicable to
such land. A swamp j. usually composed
of n collection of dec.yed vegetable mat
ter, of greater or l. IS depth, occupying
what may once have been the bed of lake
or pond. Through 1t or from it usually
flows ST. cam, and the land itself may al
most be said to be afoat. The subsol is
very often below the reach OF any ditcbing.
The level of the water may be governed by
the outlet. In its natural condition, the
water is usually almost as high as the leve
of the land This level OF the water may
be reduced in proportion TO the FIJI which
can be provided at the outlet BY digging
seldom more than two or three feet below
III, surface of the soil. II therefore, by ;
prSpgf ontef tbte Of open bitches and
flows from the li.sides and is % s,ctef
away from the swamp, you will have JUS
as many feet in depth OF porous, peat.
soil as YOU have reduced the level of tn
water-no more-perhaps less, on accoun
of tae settling of the swamp as the waite
is drawn off. This soil, composing islands
so to speak, between the open bitches ii
which the water stands, never loses it
porosity; and it usually requires the SAM
application of gravel or sand or loan upol
its surface to bring it into condition for cul
tivation. 1t has no surface water, and
has no subsoi that has been reached. !
is, in reality, agriculture afloat, and it mus
remain afioat so long as the reservoir c
water beneath it is supplied and not emf
tied. do not think tiles or bin
drains in any form are applicable
such land for | consider a firm subsoll ;
almost indispensable to the proper use
tiles, not only on account OF the solid has
upon which they ought to lie, but ON a
count of their capacity for discharging W
ter. have found many a stone drum sur
aro * ;r"';r,ns an ,mv.GerH, IF sncb s,,o
az 10 De drained az oil, l.. - ho Jann Sc y, a.
venetians drained the lagunes upon WHO
they built their city-by canals and not h
sewers. 'ru hot y
am frequently told that the purchase n
tlies is an unnecessary expense. inasmno
as nature has provided most of our for,no,
WIN materials for draining close at hand
Ia me stones of their fields, and that the,
eau NC MADE TO answer the purpose of tile,
themselves. am aware that it is rooC
pan 10 Dury the stones which interfere will
cultivation. But doubt the economv NJ
enueavoring to convert them into a,iins
except for the purrooe o1 constructing o
large free water passage, tapping copious
spring, or furnishing a culvert for rand
stream. l should never expect to thorough.
drain with stones; and should consider il
q misfortune to find enough in nv land IN
tempt one TO use them Stone drains can =.
not be constructed as econo',;s.iiy as tile
drains. They requiie vastly more digging,
and they are bulky and heavy to transport.
They cannot be laid so as to prevent the
particles of earth, from entering their crew.
ces and their walls offer retreats for moles
and mice too comfortable to be neglected.
Owing to their liability to be obstructed,
they are not permanent and, except as
conductors for rapid streams, ] doubt if
they are ever effectual In the fields which
have described, are 1862 feet of drains.
The work required six men sixteen working
days. Let any one compute how long
time 1t would have taken to hand stones
enough for these drains, even had they lain
Immediately about the field, and he will
be able then to judge of the comparative
economy of the two systems And con-
sldering the character of the soil and the
level of the field. have no doubt that stone
drains would have, ere this, been inopera-
tive. ! doubt if clay beds can be drained
by any such method. have in my mind a
beautiful meadow, which was drained,
nearly thirty years ago, with stone drains
and brought, for a time, into fine grass
land, but which is now rapidly returning
to its original aquatic vegetation. The
drains are evidently obstructed The work
is evidently failure. And why?
In answering this question am brought
TO the consideration of point frequently
brought forward In all discussions upon
sAOt'eoh VI oihuES WIN tlltS. Ilhct II Tile
In the hands OF any man, or show him a
tile-draln laid and ready for covering, and
he will almost invariably ask you how the
water enters the pipe. We are told that
five hundred times as much water enters n
drain at the creyices or joints, as through
the pores of the tile. This may be So,
But one thing should be remembered
that no crevice should be large enough to
admit particles of earth with the water, if
the water passage is to be kept free from
obstruction. The great advantage of tiles
over stones is that they strain the water
out of the soil without admitting any earthly
particles along with it an operation i'm
possible in stone drain, and unless the
crevices or joints are close enough TO per-
form this duty the drain must be failure.
Now take any number of feet or two-inch
pipe properly laid, with the joints carefully
adjusted, and the space occupied by the