The Abilene reflector. [volume] (Abilene, Kan.) 1883-1888, 1885-02-12
DRAWBACKS OF DRAINAGE.
Positive Views of Practical Farmer-WIth |
Illustrations From Experience.

tor Tile ana aug nearly 53,OOO miles o
Trains TO put them in. Besides, thou
sands of miles were laid with stones
Tile-makers and theorists have create,
and fostered this craze, and if continued
Will result in perpetual water fam
me Wholesale rrles adopted without
discrimination are a big curse in agri
culture, and drainage is one of the mos
potent for mischief 1t is true that il
many eases drainage improves land anC
makes it more tillable. but not AWAY.
more fertile. Oftcntimes a wet lot, or
vet patch, VIII, on account of the wet
ness, produce more grass than any
other portion Of the farm, and by being
let alone supplies some spring which i,
invaluable. The drain fever Selling
the owner, the water is speedily carried
of, the early and constant pasture
spoiled, and the spring fed from 1t de-
stroyed. Does this OUTLAY paw? The
same thOughtlcss Improvement sends
the melting SHOWS and the spring rains,
without hindrance into the farm rivulet.
where they quickly flow beyond reach
20 the distant river. The stores of wa
Ter being gone early in the summer the
rivulet dries, and the stream into which
t flows gets wonderfully small and the
mill stops, and on the river the boats
ground.
bitches and drains are made to carry
.he water away and they do it. bitches
are the outlets, and the water will
always flow away in them. To keep up
4 supply of moisture or of water there
must be a holding back of the water.
This is done in many ways, when the
avenues of nature are undisturbed. On
the surface it is kept in hoIlows or
basins, where swamps and bog-hOles
are formed; in slOughs; in muckv land:
underneath rocks: under the it.aves and
trees, whore the sun does not cause it
to evaporate. To prevent evaporation
there must be GOODNESS, and to make
GOODNESS there must be shade and humid
surroundings. Under the surface it is
neld in pockets. in veins and subter-
ranean places where it has washed out
its own bed, and in the constant per-
colatlng and OOzing out from swamps.
wet places and other natural reservoirs
on top of the earth Where there is no
drainage &c carry the water away it
ILLS ali of these fountains for the drier
portions OF the seasons. Each rain adds
to its supply. Before there was so much
drainage water was furnished by wells
of moderate depth. and springs were
plenty. Now permanent springs are
scarce, and the old wells get dry early
in the season.
10 secure permanent water the wells
must be sunk below the hardpan to the
bedrock, where the surplus water is
Stored, which has found its way there
in time Of flood and very wet periods.
There are two sets or strata of water
supply; one near the surface and above
hardpan and rock; the other below
hardpan or in the assures of the rocks,
or on the surface of the bedrock. The
water nnds Its way to these deeper re-
ceSseS through passages in the earth
which it has worn, or by the upturning
and breaking of the under strata.
Drainage does not mellow the soil so
much as it admits of better tillage and
enables the farmer to put in his crop
earlier than otherwise; because the
water goes out sooner. While drainage
makes smaller Steams in summer. it
also makes floods in springtime or
when there are excessive rains. The
water is emptied out speedily from the
drains, and from the surface. and this
makes a flood. Once gone, these
waters do not return unless in the
clouds. Showers are made less as there
Is less local evaporation from the dried
earth. These are the natural principles
and rational geology of drainage and
water supply. will now illustrate and
demonstrate by actual examples.
The barnyard well at Kirby Home
stead is located on hill with a gradual
descent III every direction The well is
fourteen feet deep, and for more than
eighty years it supplied all the water
required at the barns. A few wears ago
it began 10 fail, and at length furnished
so little water that it was abandoned.
The decline in the water supply occurred
at the same time that ten acres of
swampy woodland was cut off about a
quarter of mile distant A stream
formerly ran from the woodland which
was a purling brook nearly the whole
season. but is now known only in mem
DRY. Three years ago new well was
sunk in the barnyard thirty-two feet.
when vein of gravel was struck in the
midst of blue clay or hardpan. The
water stored up in this vein deceived
the welf-digger. As he supposed it would
furnish Il bOuntiful supply. 1t did for
"a year, and then the contents of the
vein or the story of water in it being
no more could he had than
what percolated into il ut its fountain
and this was a regular supply of about
ten pailfuls in twenty-four hours.
Last summer another well was dug
100 feet from the barns in a natural
water basin, where there was always
water on the surface At twenty feet
the rock was reached in the form of
shelf, extending half uay across the
well, and three and a half feet lower
down the level bedrock was reached.
The water ran in freely Oh the top of
the shelf and at the bottom, making a
supply which in Il short time filed the |
well, notwithstanding the large quantity |
pumped out. To have obtained the |
same supply of water al the barns the
well must have been dug at least |
seventy feet. A windmill sends the |
water TO the barns and also to the |
house Again, a second thought no
doubt saved a spring on Kirby Home
stead the past year. When ploughing
On au upland field, where there was a
depression OF an acre or more right on
tOp of the hill, it was wet aad sticky,
and an Irishman, with an eye to a job,
urged that othis muddy place should be
drained" A bargain had almost been
made VIXEN / fhonrht of n cnnranient