The News-Herald. [volume] (Hillsboro, Highland Co., Ohio) 1886-1973, 1900-02-22

known that wood or Stones form a very
respectable substitute for tile, perhaps
there would be more Improvement
along this line. Doubtless many are
deferred by the cost of tile. especially
in more remote sections where freight
rates are high. but il is in just such To-
cali;ies tha, the farmer has an abund-
ance of the other materials for con-
structing drains.
Large stones. if they have to be re-
moved from the fields. may be advan-
tageously used. In this case the ditch
es have to be dug wider at the bottom
and require the removal of more earth.
A row of stones should be laid on each
side of the ditch bottom. leaving an
open space through the middle which
is covered with fiat stones and then
plenty of smaller ones thrown in. If
smaller stones for filling are not to be
had, straw or some waste material
should be placed in before the dirt is
thrown back.
board drain is quickly made and
when carefully laid with durable wood
is very lasting. Oak and chestnut are
the most durable of our northern
woods. Chestnut is easily rived, and
rived boards last longer than sawed.
Cypress rives easily and when placed
under the ground where it is wet all
the time, almost indestructible. The
earth becomes packed around the
boards which being where they receive
no blows or jars retain an open passage
for water long after the material be-
gins to decay. A board six inches in
width should be nailed to one of the
same dimensions, and of any desirable
length, and laid along the bottom of
the drain like an inverted trough as at
a. If the material is rived and there
are some narrow boards. the narrow
ones may be nailed over two others as
shown in b.
The ditch need not be over spades
width on the bottom. It's depth is alto
gether a matter of circumstances. In
draining out low places you have to cut
the surrounding land deep enough to
get the minimum of fall. This mini
mum of fall for board drain is greater
than for round tile, and may be set
of drain. The deeper the drain the
farther it will drain, but it is not
thought to be of advantage to make
very deep drains in stiff clay soils. In
these kinds of soils the drain will not
do its best at first, but will improve
with years-the ground gradually be-
coming more porous. Two feet of stiff
clays and three feet for lighter soils
are good depths to work to. In laying
the boards. have them fit closely and
cover any holes with small pieces of
boards. so the dirt cannot get in. Be
sure to stop up the outlet with coarse
wire screening, SO as to keep out rats.
rabbits, etc.
In laying drains with boards it pays
to have the bottom even and straight
as possible and the grade uniform. 9TH
or fill up in places. In getting the grade
the assistance of an engineer is some
times advisable. but will describe be-
low an instrument which farmer of
ordinary ingenuity can make at home
and with it do his own grading. Many
practical ditchers make use of water
in the bottom to dig by. and where
there is plenty of fall for short dis
tances this does very well. But some
times there is no water and experience
has taught tha: in digging by the wa
ter the ditcher will get large fall, and
oftentimes it is of the greatest impor-
tance to get the minimum of fall.
Take straight pine board six feet
three inches long. as shown at c. and fix
it in the center and at right angles
another board one-half as long Al
ends of long arm fix sights and from the
center suspend plumb bob with string
thread The apparatus can be fastened
to Jacobs staff with thumb screw
and clamped in any position When the
instrument is clamped so that the
thread comedies with zero on the scale
then the sights on the long arm will
be level. The scale is divided by lines
one-sixteeuth of an inch apart. WheI
the instrument is moved so that the
thread covers one space, the line Of
sight will correspond to grade of two
inches to 100 feet. When moved two
spaces from zero the line Of sights viii
correspond to a grade Of four inches t.
100 feet. etc.-American Agriculturist
Sorghum bagasse is one of the very
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