The Somerset herald. [volume] (Somerset, Pa.) 1870-1936, 1889-05-22
Drainage Of Lands

OEAiflcA5 Leatl~4o-
L may be said IN general that the
drainage Of Land that j. at any time too
yet for any farm operation IS beneficial
To IL Bat. ar the same time, there are
thinTs which are beneficial that are not
expeiientor ja,Iicious 70 De done. Drain
age IS costly w0rk, and the prevailing
craze ve viii say, for draining has un-
questi0nably led To a great amount o.
sorowing. Drainage Is one Of those
works which should be thought Of thrice
before It is undertaken. and the cost and
proEt Of il should be well considered BE-
fore it is begun. and when il Is done it
shoald be well done.
The principal considerations in the
work Of draining are the depth of the
drains and the size Of the tiles. These
ara the chief items in the cost. The third
foot n der;h of a drain costs twice as
mncl as the iirst. and the fourth foot half
much more than the third. The iirst
flot may be piowed out, and the second
foot may be loosened By the plow 50 a.
10 be quickly and easily thrown out with
the shovel. The third foot Is dug with
spade. and If a 6lnrth foot IS excavated
this must be 50 EHrow that special tools
viii bs required at the work viii be
very slow, OF the Rhsle ditch must be
widened.
The business Of drsiEage has gradually
got into the hands Of the manufacturers
Of the drain tiles ia the Western States
and as the greater part Of the money
spent goes into their hands. il iobyious-
ly desirable 70 them 70 increase the cost
Of the work as much IS possible. Il Is
not strange therefore, that farmers are
recommended to put their drains down
four feet notwithstanding the double ex-
pense, on the ground thai the crous grown
upon land so drained VIII be increased
fully hfty per cent This Is an instance.
supposing the claim to be vel founded
and the alleged increase cretain, OF a re-
salt that may be beneficial, but which Is
by no means expelienr, for the increased
cost viii scarcely be repaid BY the enlarg-
ed product, ard in truth this enlarged
product viii in many eases be llusory.
There are very rare cases in which four
foot drains are necessary. Such deep
drainage has been declared a failure ia
England, where the land requires to be
drained much more than Is needed in
cur drier climate, and where the eyapora-
ton from the soil is very slight.
More is claimed for the drainage Of
land than Is reasonable or certain. The
warming Of the soil by the entrance Of
air into il through the drains is one Of
these very questionable claims. Very
Iitte air ever passes into the soil in this
way, and 1t has never been observed that
any current II air is ever apparent pass
ing in or oat Of The drains. The writer
has made many trials TO discover this
alleged circulation Of air in drains, but
without ever detecting the slightest
movement. \ fame or smoke made in
the outlets has never shown the slightest
Indication Of any current at any time Of
the day or night IN any season. No doubt
xhen the soil is filed with water afer
a heavy rain. and this water fows OF
through'the drains, air viii gradually en-
ter the iuterstices Of the soil, and occupy
the vacant spaces, and. as far as This may
90, the efeet wili be TO raise the temper
ature Of the soil in the summer, but il
viii have contrary effect in the winter.
when the soil Is warmer than the air.
This seration. however. l. Of very little
account, for the roots do not absorb the
air, nor DO they, "a far as Is known. take
IN any carbouic acid from tae air. and If
theT take up any carbon IN this wayl al
al the soil always has a larger
supply Of ii derived from the decay Of
organic matter than it can ever obtain
from the air.
Unless IL exceptional c1ses drains
need MT De made deeper than three feet.
I; Is true tina. four foot drains may be
placed further apart than three foot
drains and dry the soil equally vel. bat
for al purposes the depth Of three feet Is
ample. The distance between the drains
depends wholly upon the character Of
the land. If it is low and receives a
large quantity Of water from adjacent
higher grouui and the soil Is of clay the
drains may be needed at sixty-six feet
apart, otherwise one hundred feet viii
not be too much. In such cases as this
much benefit may result from cutting
drain At the head, aeross the land on the
level, to cut of the inflow from the high
er ground. aad Ieading this water off
through the laterais 10 the main drain on
the foot. Iudeei, tie writer has known
one ia which large tract Of very wet
land at the foot of an extensive slope
has been wholly drained by one main
drain at the foot Of the slope, which was
dug to a depth Of seven feet, where wa
/ ter enough was met with 20 fiH a ten
inch pipe and run small mil. An in
stance Of this kind shows how neces-
sary it Is to thoroughly study the nature
OF the land and test its condition by ex-
plorAiinns by pits OF boring before spend
ing large amount Of money in digging
a number Of bitches and bnFying a cost
IS quantity or pipes, according to a theo-
reticd plan q thorough drainage laid
out in entire ignorance Of the real Heees-
sites Of the case, and copied from a book
OF ahe- publication--N T. T'a,es.
+ Happy Meeting of Two Friends.
john ~ Allen, Of Charlotte, Y y, said
e., Ia fiji . --r.-.- Z AS. q Ls.-,f HI