The Morristown gazette. [volume] (Morristown, Tenn.) 1867-1920, 1883-06-13
Land Drainage in the West.

Draining land by the employment Oh
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 dra n'ng
damp soils were demonstrated IN war;
Gus parts of Europe many years ago,
and the system there pursued was IN
troduced into some of the Eastern
States There was 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 retentive 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 is a great excess during the early
,,art of the season and deficiency Dur
ino the latter portion. The desirable
ity of thorough, systematic and sc en-
tific land drainage was acknowledged,
but several reasons prevented It's adop-
ton. Many farmers were IN DEBT Tor
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 it was still comparatively cheap.
All these persons hesitated about bor-
rowing money to improve their places
by LAYING drain-tile. A farmer who has
lust cot out of debt hesitates to plunge
in again. He realizes such a relief from
a great burden that he is reluctant to
assume a new one. Farmers who are
land-hungry are reluctant to pay out as
much money to drain a piece OF land rs
it will cost TO purchase another piece of
equal extent. Besides, many farmers
have neglected to draiL their land or
want of information on the subject, and
on account of a lack of material within
easy reach.
The present is favorable tine for
Western farmers to consider the pro-
prietv of draining their low lands.
Most of them have money to invest
Some desire more land, but they find 1T
hard to obtain in the vicinity of their
homes. They can do no better than to
render the land they have more produc-
tive bv means of drainage. On many
farms there are tracts that produce
nothing but coarse grass that IS OF Ilt-
tie value for stock. These low tracts
can be rendered the most productive
of anv on the farm by tie judcious
use of drain-tile. Low land receives
the wash of that which es above it,
and in time becomes very rich in all
the elements of plant food. BY the
use of drain-tile the area OF plowabIe
land can be greatly increased on large
proportion of prairie farms. by the
same means the productiveneSs o. much
land that can be plOwed in favorable
seasons can be increased. In many
cases the yield OF nearly all the cult
waited crops can be doubled by the
fol Ira
farmer wishes to Ia Sc more than he
now does, and has the choice between
buving more land and draining what he
, owns. it is better to select the latter
, course. By so doing he will save tenc
inc and taxes He viii also save mucl
labor. No more blowing and cultivat
: inc, and but little more labor in harvest
inc. are required to produce large
crop than small one. Drainage In
creases the quality as well as the guam
titv of crops. 1t also lengthens out thu
season in WI ich the land can be worked
1t enables the farmer TO plow earlier il
the spring and later in the n /. 1t als'
enables him to do better work with an.
implement he uses in the SO /. 1T help
insure crops against bad seasons.
However desirable underdraina2e ma.
. be. it should not be undertaken withou
|, due consideration. A farmer shoul
!, learn before he commences operation
!. how much the Improvements are t
= cost. He should ascertain where h
can obtain tile, the cost at the manu-
:, factory. and the cost of transportation
4 He should also learn how to dig bitches
81 lay the tile, and place the earth abou
them Ditching is an art that require
II considerable skill. Many farmers hav
lost heavily by attempting to under
drain land with the aid OF such know
:. edge as they have derived from new.
\ paper article or a circular sent out b
! some tile factory. Unless a farmer
= willing to spend considerable time
!, learning how to do the work properly
and to purchase the necessary tools an
- implements, he will find it profitable
= employ the services of a surveyor to la
out the work, and to engage an eEper
enced ditcher to perform it. Much ca
T. be learned by visiting some. pc ton
w Indiana or Illinois, where much Ian
8 has been drained. Excellent works
+ farm drainage have been written, whlC
n give in detail nearly all the inform
1e ton required to enable an intellige1
farmer to do all the work.-ChtcG.
Times.