The Red Cloud chief., 1881-01-27
Hints on Land Draining.

TILE are better than stone, and il
labor is to be paid for, and Is worth
anything, they ART cheaper. IL stone
are At hand, and need removal to clear
the land on which they lie, the farmer
can afford to pay Sl5 to S}0per acre for
tile, and dump the stone in s. pile, ra.h-
cr than use them for covered drains.
The tile are less likely TO clog up with
sand and mud. and cost less than half
the labor TO dig the drains and lay
them.
1t is not a good plan 10 dig drains
long before they are laid with tile or
stone. They are apt to cave in, espe-
c;ally In frosty weather, and, in case IL
Is desirable TO do such work in winter.
it is a better plan to lay out the drains
In the fall. remove the sod and plow
frequently the bottom of the bitches
thus partially dug. in order to keep them
from freezing. As fast as the bottoms
are dug out to proper grade, they should
be laid with tile or stone and immedi-
ately covered.
One very essential point. in fact the
most essential one in drainage, is TO
give the drains a continuous fall. IL
any point is dug out too low. the water
will stand there, and deposit mud until
the passage becomes DISTRACTED. IL is
easy enough to attain this continuous
fall if there is water flowing in the
ditch at the time of digging, as the
water will stand at any point below the
proper grade; but in case the ditch is
dry and the bottom of Uneven charac-
ter as TO hardness. il will need close
watching t. prevent tho digger from
going too deep in spots where the bot
tom is soft. The level Is the only safe
guide in such places.
Where the bottom is CLAW or hard
gravel. there is little trouble in making
covered drains work well. especially
where there is a good fall TO the water;
but when the bottom is sandy or peaty,
and the fall slight, much care will be
required TO secure good working of the
drains. Stones are not satisfactory for
such places, and tiles are only 10 be
trusted: these should be laid on strips
of rough boards. if the bottom is soft, TO
prevent settling. and should be cov-
sawdust, if it can be had. to prevent in
filtration of mud or sand.
The best place to utilize stone is in
laying open bitches, walls. etc. or
making roads. To dig a covered drain
for stone requires the removal of o
than double the earth needed for tile,
and after all is not so good a job.
1t is often desirable to introduce sur
face water into a system of covered
drains: to do this safely the only way is
TO let the surface water fall into a well
or catch basin dug out two feet below
the level of the drains. large enough TO
allow the flow of the surface water
to settle and deposit its mud before
entering the drains; the accumulated
mud will need removal as occasion re-
quires-
The cost of the drainage of MANY a
wet hole would be returned in one to
three years of good crops. and the land
thus reclaimed is usually the very best.
being able to withstand drouth better
than high land. and containing abun-
dance Of vegetable mold.
In case the land { o be drained Is q
pure peat bog. it viii need the addition
of sand or loan as web as drainage to
make really good soil. Pure peat when
drained becomes dry and dusty and
needs the admixture of the soil to make
it fertile; three or four inches of n
kind of loan spread and worked in.
will accomplish this purposa-Bosson
Cuiirofor.