The Fulton County news. [volume] (McConnellsburg, Pa.) 1899-current, 1905-07-19

ton that neads drainage. some of ii
is drained with open bitches which
are very unsatisfactory Very little use
has been made Of drain tile in this
State. 1t is time our people awakened
to the need and profit OF tile drain
age. The following on the subject is
from the Southern Farm Magazine:
The drain tile is an invention Of the
last century, and WAS first introduced
into the United States in 1886, but il
did not come into general use until
the rise in the price of land made II
more Improbable to increase the fer
tility and producing power of the
farm than TO extend the area.
The beneficial effects OF draining
soils intended for cultivation Were
known to the Romans. who were care
full to keep their arabic lands dry by
means of open trenches. and there are
some reasons for believing that they
employed covered drains for the same
purpose. There is no question about
the fact that they constructed under
ground channels by means Of tubes of
burned earthenware. Recent invcsti-
cations also show that the British
farmers used covered channels CEN
turies ago for drying their land.
But it was not until 1928 that James
Smith. of Deanston. put in practice
what Captain Walter Blithe suggested
two centuries before. BY his influence
and example a complete revolution in
the art of draining was effected, and
his system, with some notifications
is still practiced. 1t marked an era in
agricultural progress. Instead of at
tempting to dry extensive areas by a
few open cuts, he insisted that every
field should be provided with com
plete system of underground chan
nels running in the line of the great
est inclination Of the land. and placed
so near TO each other as to carry off
all surplus water through the drains.
He showed that .he distance be-
tween the drains must be regulated by
the absorptiveness or retentlveness of
the soil operated upon. and gave ten
feet as the minimum and forty feet as
the maximum of these distances. The
depth suggested by him for the par
allel drains was thirty inches rhe bot
toms Of these were filed with twelve
inches of stone small enough to pass
through three inch ring. The great
labor and cost of procuring stones in
sufficient quantity and of the proper
size, and the difficulty of carting them
in wet seasons. led to the substitu-
tion of tiles and soles of earthenware.
AT first the cost of these tiles was very
high. and for time this circumstance
checked the progress of the new sys-
TEN of drainage In the meantime the
Marquis of Tweedale and others in
vented tile making machine. there
by reducing the cost of tiles, and gave
a mighty stimulus to this fundamental
agricultural Improvement.
Draining is costly operation, and it
should be executed in way to be ef-
fectual and permanent. English writer's
advocate a minimum depth of four
feet for the drains, because it is alleged
that thirty inch drains in thousands
of instances have failed to dry the
land, and after all the outlay the al
ternative was presented Of having the
land imperfecty drained or Of execut-
ing the work anew. The distance
apart for the most retentive clays need
not be over eighteen feet 1t is
thought by the best English authori.
ties on the subject that with Il decided
porosity in the subso.l and in proper
tion to the degree of tina: pcroslty the
space between tln drains mov with
safety be increase d to twenty four,
thirty or thirty six feet
The practice III this country has been
toward greater width. The drains
are usually cut about two rods apart,
and the cost of draining when complet-
ed, is about $50 to $50 per acre. though
the cost may vary greatly with the
character of the subsoi, the presence
or absence of rocks. the price of labor,
tiles, etc. Throughout great portion
or New York, Ohio. Indiana and Illi-
nois tile-draininS is very common.
Fertile lands, which were formerly TOO
wet TO work until late in the spring.
have now, by regular system of tile.
draining, been fitted to plow as soon as
the frost disappears from the ground.
The value of the land has been
doubled. tripled and even quadrupled
in many instances. The entire cost for
draining is usually met within the per-
iod of three years by the increased
crops, TO say nothing OF the advan-
tage of having Il much earlier start in
spring.