The Mount Holly news. [volume] (Mount Holly, Burlington Co., N.J.) 1891-1942, 1909-06-15
Making Money
On the Farm
drainage
BY c. v. GREGORY.
Agricultural Division. Iowa State College
Copyright. 1909. by American Prsss
Association

- N order to make money on the farm
it is first necessary to get the land
in shape to respond literally to
n the work put upon it. One of the
first and most important steps in get
ting it in such condition is to drain it
thoroughly. There are two general
types of drains-tile drains and open
bitches.
About the only place where an open
ditch can be used to advantage is In
draining large sections of the country
where natural drainage is insufficient
to carry of the surface water or to
provide an outlet for tile. Such a
ditch is really an artificial river. Its
large size prevents 1t from becoming
easily clogged. 1t should be made
deep enough to provide a good outlet
for tile systems from the farms trib-
utary to it. The sides should have
slope of at least one to one-run back
one foot for every foot of rise.
The Use of Tile.
The major portion of the drainage,
however. must be done with tile. In
starting out to tile farm 1t pays to go
at it systematically. Few farmers are
able to tile their whole farms at once,
but by planning the whole system be-
fore any work is done and then put
ting in as many rods as possible each
year the farm will in the end be thor
oughIy drained at much less expense
than II the work was gone at in hit
or miss fashion.
The proposed lines Of tile should be
laid off by a good engineer. He has
the tools and ability to do it properly,
and a little money spent in this way
will be made up many times over In
the added efficiency of the system.
The first money that is spent for tile
should be put where it will yield the
quickest returns. On almost every
farm there are sloughs and draws that
are too wet to work long after the rest
of the Geld is dry. The loss is not so
much from the land that Is taken up
by these sloughs, though that often
amounts to considerable, as to the
trouble and loss of time in working
around them line of tile can be run
up to such place to take out the wa
ter and laterals put in later to drain
the surrounding ground more thor
oughly.
often after the slough is drained
there will be strip of corn over the
tile that will be the best In the field,
while out a little farther the corn will
be small and yellow. The width of
this strip of corn is a very good indi-
cation of the distance apart that the
drains should be placed. The ground
over the tile is warmer and drier in
the spring than the other, and conse-
quently the corn gets a better start
Through the summer, when there Is
no water in the tile, air is flowing
down through them. This pulls air
down through the soil. making root
growth more rapid and the plants
more vigorous deep root system
means a large feeding ground and con-
sequently a larger yield. For these
reasons all low, fat lands should be
thoroughly undertake with rows of
tile, even though the surface water
never stands on them. A map showing
the exact location of the drains should
be kept so that they can be readily
found when it is desired to add later
ais to the system.
Planning the Drainage System.
In planning drainage system there
are three especially important consid
erations-the depth and size of the
tile and the distance apart Of the
drains. More tile drains are put in too
shallow than too deep. In most soils
four feet is about the right depth. IT