The Bolivar bulletin. [volume] (Bolivar, Hardeman County, Tenn.) 1865-1888, 1882-11-23
Land Drainage IN The west.


Draining land by the employment of
tile placed several feet below the sur
face Of the ground has made but little
progress in the WESTERN. States until
within the past few years. The great
advantages of this method of draining
damp soils were demonstrated in varf-
Gus parts of Europe many years ago,
and the system there pursued was in
troduced into some of the Eastern
States. There was a greater necessity.
for underdrainage in the West than in
the East, for the reasons that the sur
face of the land is more nearly level and
the soils more retentiye of moisture. 1t
is also true in respect to many portions
of the West that the rainfall is very I'M
equally distributed during the year.
There isYasgreat excess during the early
Part of the season and deficiency dur
ing the latter portion The desirable
ity of thorough, systematic and scien-
tific land drainage was acknowledged,
but several reasons prevented its adOp-
on. Many farmers were in debt for
their land, or for improvements they
had made on it. Others owed consider
able for farming implements and stock.
Still others were DESTROYS of buying
more land in the vicinity of their farms
while il was still comparatively cheap.
All these persons hesitated about Dor
rowing money to improve their places
| by laying drain-tfie. A farmer who has
lust got out. of debt hesitates to plunge
in again. He realizes such relief from
a great burden that he is reluctant to
assume a new Onea Farmers who are
land hungry are reluctant to pay out as
much money to drain a piece ofland as
it viii cost to purchase another piece of
equal extent Besides, many farmers
! have neglected to draiL. their land for
want of information on the subject and
I on account of a Tack of material within
easy reach.
The present is a favorable time for
/ Western farmers to consider the pro
prietY of draining. their low lands.
4 Most Of them have money to invest.
4 Some desire more land, but they find ii
4 hard to. obtain ia the vicinity Of their
i homes. They can do no better than to
render the land they have more produce
| tive by means of drainage On many
farms there are tracts that produce
nothing but coarse grass that is Of lit
| tie value for stock. These low tracts
canzbe-reniered the most productive
/ of any on the farm by the iudiciOus
use of drain-tile. Low land receives
the wash Of Athat which les above=it.
and in time becomes very rich in all
4 the elements of plant food BY the
use of drain-tile the area Of plowable
| land can be greatly increased on large
| proportion of prairie farms. By the
same means the productiveness of much
land that can be plowed in favorable
| seasons can be increased In many
cases the Weld OF nearly all the cult
waited crops can be doubled By the
adoption of suitable drainage. If 9
| farmer wishes to raise more than he
now does, and has the choice between
| buying more land and draining what he
owns, it is better to select the latter
course. BY so doing he will save fene
| inQ and taxes. He viii also save mucE
labor No more blowing and cultivat
| inc. and but little more labor in harvest
! ing, are required to produce a large
| crop than small one. Drainage in
/ creases the quality as well as the guam
/ tity of crops. 1t also lengthens out the
season in which the land can be worked
| 1t enables the farmer to pillow earlier il
the spring and later in the fall 1t alst
| enables him to do better work with any
implement ne uses in the soil. 1t help
insure crops against bad seasons.
| However desirable underdrainage maj
be, it should not be undertaken withou
due consideration. A farmer SHOULD
/ learn before he commences operation
how InuehAthe improvements are t.
cost. He should ascertain where ht
/ can obtain tile, the cost at the manu-
factory, and the cost OF transportation
He should also learn how tosdig bitches
4 lay the tile, and place the earth abou
them. Ditching is an art that requires
considerable skill. Many farmers hav'
lost heavily by attempting to under
drain land with the aid of such knowI
edge as they have derived from a news
4 paper article or q circular sent out b.
some tile factory. Unless a farmer i
willing 10 spend considerable time il
learning how to do the work properly
and to purchase the necessary tools anC
implements, he will find it profitable Il
employ the services of a surveyor to lal
cut The work, and to engage an eHperi
enced difcher "a 1lerforni 1 Much en-
be learned hy visiting some po3 ton q
IfSlianR or Illinois where mueh lans
has been drained. Excellent works "a
farm Cgainage have been d III tten. wshiel
. give ii detail nearly an the informa
: ton required to enable an 5ntellirefK
farmer to do ali the work. -Chicag
Times $3.50 As