Clinch Valley news. [volume] (Jeffersonville, Va.) 18??-2019, 1909-07-09
MaN..'a'q Money
On thu, Farm
drainage \
BY 6. V. GREGORY.
Agricultural Division. Iowa State College
Copyright 1909 by American Pre.s
Association
Copyright 1909. by American Pre.s
Association

81 II IL first necessary To get the land
81 i'm shape Ia respond literally &"
the work put upon It. One Of the
first and most important steps In get
ting IL I'm such condition Is to drain It
thoroughly There are two general
types OF drainS-tilc drains and open
bitches.
About the only place where an open
ditch can be used To advantage Is I'm
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 II from becoming
easily clogged. IL should be made
deep enough to provide good outlet
for tile systems from the farms trib.
utary TO H. The sides should have n
slope or 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 It pays to go
ut II Systematically. Few farmers are
able To tile their whole farms ut once
but 10y planning the whole system be-
fore any work Is done and then put
ting In M many rods as possible each
year the farm will I'm the end be thor
oughly drained at much less expense
than IL the work was gone at In hit
or miss fashion.
The proposed lines OF tile should be
loi1 OF hx a .,I n hna
the tools and ability TO do II properly,
and little money spent I'm this way
Will be made up many times over in
the added efficiency OF the system.
The FIRST money that IL spent for tile
should be put where II will yield the
quickest returns. on almost every
farm there nre sloughs and draws that
are too wet To work long after the rest
OF the field is dry. The loss il not 30
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 I'm working
around them. \ line OF tile can be run
up TO such place 10 take out the wa
ter and laterals put In later 10 drain
the surrounding ground moro thor
| oughly.
Often after the slough Is drained
there VIII he II strip OF corn over the
tile that Will he the best I'm the field.
while ont n little farther the corn will
| be small and yellow The width OF
| this strip of corn Is Il very good lndi-
cation OF the distance apart that the
drains should Ice placed The ground
/ over the tile is warmer and dricr I'm
the spring than the other. and conse-
] quently the corn gets n better start
! Through the summer. when there il
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. A deep root system
means large feeding ground and con.
sequently a larger yield. For these
reasons all low. fiat 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 Il is desired to add later
ais 10 the system
Planning the Drainage System.
In planning drainage system there
are three especially important consId
erations-thc 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. In