Martinsburg independent. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1875-1900, 1891-01-24
DRAlNIG IN WINTER.
How to Do This Important Work on the
Farm.

nu0 ~ 10 MS Important WotN vi tHo
Farm.
If the land needs draining, do not
put it off for milder wheather. Drain
ing can go on, though the tempature
may be some degrees below freez.
ing. The first thing to do is to map
out your work. Walk over the
ground carefully, and find the low
est lay of the land. Next ascertain
wheather one cool deep drain will
not take the place of two or more.
After the drains are laid out make q
rongh sketch of your fed, with
drains laid down upon it, and lay
it away for future reference 1t viii
be of use to you in after years. In
draining it is always the best plan to
have the drain dug by contract. the
farmer to lay the stone or tile, and
his own m to fill up the ditch
Where the work is all done by con-
tract, it is done so hurriedly and so
carclessly as rarely to be done right.
The drains may work all right for a
few years, and they then fill up, and
the work has to be all gone over
again.
In the writer's neighborhood con-
tractors get forty five to fifty per rod
for throwing out the earth; if they
do the entire job, sixty five cents
is the price demanded. III the land
is not too soft, and free Of stone
most of the work of throwing out
and filling in the earth may be done
with the narrow steel ditching pillow.
Have stout double tree balflong-
er than the regular one, so that the
horses may walk one on either side
of the ditch, and thus the earth is
plowed in. When the wheather is
down to the freezing point and the
trench is being dug, let some loose
earth remain IN the bottom. IL will
require q very hard frost 10 freeze
this loose earth. II stone in abund-
ance is on the place and not too far
away, ii viii be best to use them.
Tile makes the best ditch; less
earth has 10 be moved. They are
quickly put down and covered up,
and''are not disturbed by the runa
ways Of mice and rats. One and a.
half inch tile is the best TO use, with
out very heavy flow OF water is
struck; then two inches may be used.
An inch and a-half tile will carry q
full stream of water and wash away
all sediment; larger tile will only run
partially full, and sediment will
lodge in the elbows and other places
anu III tflHc, NltuOuI dtb' HbiOhf ShC
drain will fill up. After heavy
rains or SHOWS 1t is well to look at
the outlets of all drains, and see that
the water has nothing to stop its
flow. In digging drains zee to it
that they are dug deep enough. Two
feet should be about the depth. AL
ways try TO have a steady flow Of
water. The entire length of ditch
should be dug before laying drain
to see that the water flows freely.
Commence at the head and lay
downwards. Have collars for the
tile, and as you lay each piece see
that it is level and exactly straight.
Chink each side of tile with stone,
and, if possible, lay some small
stone carefully on top of the tile.
Where the fall is scarcely precepti-
bile, water level should be used,
which will give you exactly the level
of the ditch. Drains for temporary
use may be made quickly of poles,
placing one on each side of a ditch
and one on the top, and covering
with small stones, dumped in. Deep
swales or holes in fields may be filed
up with brush and then covered with
earth.
| In digging bitches upon swampy
or muck land, lay a sixteen-foot
board on each side of the ditch to
stand on. You can then cut your
ditch straight without filing. In
ditching get good steel tools and
keep them bright. A long-handled
narrow spade will be found a neces-
sity.