Butler citizen. [volume] (Butler, Pa.) 1877-1922, 1900-04-26
TILE DRAINAGE.
Views of Farmer Who Finds In Ii
MnnN ana La.tinE DeneAts.

Many ana Lasting BeneAts.
Some farmers appear to think the on
ly gain from undertaking is that the
soil is dry enough to work sooner after
hard rains and will yield better crops
when the season is wet. But this is by
no means all the benefit, according to
an Ohio Farmer correspondent who is
an enthusiastic advocate of tile drain
age. He names and comments upon
the following additional reasons for his
faith:
First, a better yield in dry seasons;
second, it is easier to keep the ground
clear of weeds; third vegetables, grass,
etc, are made more palatable; fourth,
wheat and clover do not heave out so
much by freezing and thawing; fifth,
the soil does not wash so much; sixth,
it makes the soil more fertile.
To say that dltching prevents dam
age by drought may seem strange to
those who have never tried underdrain-
ing their land, but those who have
tried it know that the crops over and
near a tile ditch are better n a dry
season than where no tile are used.
The droughts that do the most damage
are those where n dry summer and
fall follow an open winter and a wet
spring This Is caused by the wet
weather In the spring making the soil
run together and becoming compact.
When dry weather follows, it is more
injurious than if the soil is loose, as it
generally is over and near a tile ditch.
As to the second reason-it Is easier
to get rid of weeds-a little observation
will prove it to be correct 1t is in the
wet spots in the wheatfields where the
wheat is killed by the water that the
dock, ragweed, chess and other pests
are the worst. 1t is the same way in
the cornfield and potato patch. The
low, wet places are generally the most
difficult to keep clean.
The third advantage is that the prod
ucts of we'll drained land are more pal
atable than those grown on wet land
The same variety Of potatoes planted
in different soils will produce potatoes
of dissimilar qualities. Those grown
on well drained land will cook dry and
mealy, while those grown in a wet,
heavy, clay sell will be of an inferior
quality and will be soggy when cooked.
The fourth advantage claimed-that
wheat and clover are not injured so
much by the grounds freezing and
thawing- does not need explaining.
As to the fifth claim-that the soil
does not wash so much-I am not quite
so positive as | am about the others.
The loose soil over a tile ditch will
wash easily IL the tile does not have
the capacity to carry all the water that
runs to it.
As to the last claim-that it makes
the soil more fertile / mean by this
that it not only makes the land more
productive, but that it adds fertilizing
elements to the soil the same as we do
when we cover the ground with ma
nure or fertilizers. Some may inquire
when these elements are applied. The
answer is, every day in the year and
by the water and air that pass through
the soil.
While heavy coat of stable manure
may make better crops for six, eight or
ten years and an application of COM
mercial fertilizer will show for several
years, If they are not renewed the soil
will not show any gatn rrom them aft
er time, but the tile ditch, like "a
thing of beauty" is "a joy forever"