The evening times., 1896-06-18

The Department of Agriculture has in
course of preparation, and will soon issue
a bulletin, on the subject of farm drainage,
which is of especial interest TO all those
engaged in gardening and truck raising
for the Washington market.
The publication has been prepared by c.
G. Elliott, whois the only drainage en-
gineer to be elected member of the
American Society OF Civil Engineers.
After exhaustively reviewing the best
and most feasible methods of surface
Drainage in relation to the texture of soils,
the chara cter OF lands requiring drainage,
the rules which should govern the distance
apart and depth of underdrains. the size
OF tiles TO be used. how to locate drains-
surve VS. and grades. and the construction of
trenches, the following very instructive
chapter is given on the cost and profit of
tile drainage. which is applicable to the
territory surrounding this city:
THE ultimate question that must be
answered i'll regard Ia drainage is. VIII IL
pay The agriculturist can usually answer
that que stion if he can ascertain what the
cost of the work viii be. From what has
been said regarding the necessity of varying
the distance between drains to accomplish
the same work in different classes of sells,
IL will he seen that the cost must neces-
plitC VI
material in different sections OF the coun-
try is also subject to constant change.
THE COST.
Those farms which consist of a part
possessing natural drainage and a part
requiring artificial drainage may be i'm
proved at IA cost of from Sc to SS per acre
on the entire farm. where the outlets are
provided for by nature. The Improvement
IN tulS consists DRAINING N ba Hxat
land and fitting it for profitable cultiva-
ton
In others which require drains Mt Q
uniform distance Of. say, 100 feet, the cost
VIII he 81 4 per acre, while on those lands
requiring drains thirty-three feet apart the
the cost will he S22 To S25 per acre. These
prices VIII vary, OF course, according 10
the price OF material and labor. The profit
derived from draining wet land is quite APP
parent when we consider the fact that the
same abor that is bcstowed upon undrained
land will produce from 20 To 90 per cent
greater yield OF cereals where the land is
drained.
'As a rule, lands To be drained should
have large supply of fertility, drainage
being the only thing needed to make them
productive. 1t has, however, been found
by experience that soils which require ar,i
ficial fertiliZing frequently become very
tilizers which are applied are enabled, by
the effect of drainage upon the soil, to bring
Into use natural resources hitherto hidden
and unavailable.
THE writer has known of ma ny thousands
of acres of land that have been drained
with greater or less thoroughness Il nd has
never known Of one instance in which the
money SO spent did not pay a large return
on the Investment. An annual profit of
20 per cent is not at all uncommon. The
question should be looked at in the fol-
lowing way: If the farmer owns his land,
lie must pay the taxes, keep up the improve
ments and procure the necessary help and
lmplementsfor cultiYatingit. IftEere is la nd
which he cultivates at Il disadvantage Ls-
cause IL is too wet to yield full crop,
and possibly yields none at ALL proper
drainage will cause this land TO yield Il
full crop without The expenditure of any
additional labor, seed OF capital, and The
entlre increase may properly be regarded
as the profit of drainage. A few examples
which have come under the writer's per
sOnal observation will help to emphasize
these general statements.
YIELD AFTER DRAINAGE.
"A twcDty-acre field which usually yield
ed only twenty-five bushels of corn per acre
was tilc-drained at a cost OF $500, or Sic.
per acre. The yield after drainage WAS not
less tuaD Sixty bushels OF corn per acre, and
the yield of other crops in the rotation WIS
in proportion. THIS gain OF thirty-fivc
bushels. at 80 cents per bushel, the selling
price of corn at that time. paid for the en-
tire cost of the drainage the first year
"A pond. previously wasteland, was drain
cu at a cost of Is per acre. 1t was broken
and sown to millct, and the first crop paid
the expense of underdrainage. A farm of
100 acres was taxed So per acre for the
general outlet. IL WAS bought for $50 sub
Ject TO the tax for So, costing the pur-
chaser $40 an acre. Tile-drainage and
improvements cost SIS an acre, making
the land cost $50 per acre. This farm was
rented, and yielded the owner n rental of
50 per acre for four successive years. or
10 per cent on the entire Investment. He
was then offered $50 per acre for the farm
and refused it.
1T is well-recoGniZed fact that no
practical gardener or fruit grower attempts
to practice extensive cultivation on land
which is not thoroughly drained. either
naturally or by tiic-drainage. 1t would be
easy TO multiply examples OF the profits
Which accrue from the practice of soil
not only to the farmer W no drains
his land and cultivates it after il is drain
ed. but also to the capitalist who pur-
cliases land which is comparatively worth.
less without drainage and then drains ii as
an investment.
"What has been said. however. will he
Sufficient to indicate that nothing brings
a surer return for money invested than does
the drainage of rich sois.'