The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1909-09-22


tee has not reported. There wer"
ecod and sufficient reasons why the
committee could not report before
Council adjourned regular meetings
mellowed throughout by the action of
drains and filed with fertilizing ma
terial carried down into it by the
rains, with the few inches or a foot at
most, of the same character of soil in
its natural state below which is stag
nant water. Would you not like to
scrape up and clean out your stables
and pen your cattle to get manure to
spread ON that deep mellow soil?
Think of the possibilities of only ten
acres of such land, enriched down to
the level Of the drains--growing
richer as time goes on. Such a ten
acre field would be a vertiable cotton
or corn factory if may so apply the
term.
Distance Apart of Drains.
What should be the proper distance
between drains, is a question that is
more difficult to answer. Deep drains
may he placed at wider intervals than
shallow drains. But while it is true
that depth and distance have some
relation to each other, we are not
to suppose as some have, that drains
may be placed at almost any distance
apart provided they are deep enough.
AS have before said-and indeed the
truth is self eWident--water finds its
way much more rapidly through some
soils than through others. so it should
not surprise you when 1 make the
statement that there are soils that
can be as we'll drained by placing the
lines of drains $50 to 200 feet apart
ms other soils would be with drains
at 40 to SO feet intervals. Irrespec-
tive Of cost clay soils can not have too
many drains, but economy demands
that there be enough and no more
The effect Of the drains in drying the
soil decreases as the distance from
the drains increases. At Just what
distance the vanishing point Of this
influence would be. may not be
known; but We should endeavor to so
adjust the intervals between the
drains that the going out from one
drain we would get within the in
fluence of the next before reaching
the distance of that vanishing point.
Experience is, after all, the only guide
to the correct solution of this prob
lem. The soil nearest the drains is
the first to dry; so in a drained field
the effect of the drains is seen in the
drying belts CT ground constantly
widening. that correspond in position
with the drains beneath. If the dry
ing belts of soil do not merge into
each other, or if they extend their
width too slowly after approaching
nearly to their limit, the drains are
too far apart. 1t is possible to locate
the drains within very few feet,
drying belts. Again. if the drains are
too far apart the crops are very
much better over and near the drains
than midway between them In max
ing these observations due regard
should be had for the age Of the
drainage work for, as l have before
shown, it requires several seasons for
drains in retentive soils to come into
full action. and their effect will ex-
tend as time goes on.
In the stiffest clay soils that have
come within my experience, three and
one-half feet drains at forty to fifty
feet intervals, in land generally too
wet for either cotton or corn, brought
such land into condition for high
class gardening. leaving nothing To be
: desired In the way OF drama ge.
Drainage less thorough than this
would, without doubt have increase q
very considerably the yield of the
| less tender and less discrimnatirg =
! field crops. as will appear further on.
| In creek bottom with clay subsoil
| drains three and One-half feet deep
and eighty feet apart gave excellent
results.
| We will settle upon four feet then
as the proper depth for underdrains.
| This depth should be secured where
not too expensive In working through
some mud flats l have had to content
myself with less than this depth. ow-
| ing to the tendency of the earth to
cave which at the greater depth
| would have made a sharing necessary.
Even the small difference in depth of
half foot makes great difference
i'm the tendency of soft earth TO