Bonners Ferry herald. [volume] (Bonners Ferry, Idaho) 1904-current, 1909-03-06

FIG. RECOVERING THE TILE DITCH.
allow the water to filter down out Of
reach instead of retaining 1t for fu-
ture use, as do the clay soils.
The farmer cannot influence tho
amount Of rainfall, of course. After
the rain has fallen however, 1t be-
longs to him to do with as he sees 1T
The way he handles it from this time
on determines to large extent. the
size of the crop he will harvest when
fall comes.
The first problem is to get rid Of the
surplus ground water quickly, and the
second is to waste as little OF the cap
Hilary water as possible. An endeavof
should be made to lower the water
table to three or four feet below the
surface as soon as possible after each
rain. II this can be accomplished In
two or three days the growth OF the
crop will be interfered with very lit
tie. A few soils are so well drained
naturally that little artificial drainage
Is necessary. On almost any farm
there are hills and ridges where the
| natural drainage is sufficient. The
hollows between these elevations, how
ever. and all the fiat fields will yield
much larger crops IL tiled.
The distance a line of tile will draw
Is in sandy soils often as far as 100
feet on each side, while In heavy clay
soils Il may not be more than sixteen
| feet This distance is also affected by
the depth of the tile. The deeper they
| 60 fhnu will dra
Tile are usually placed at an average
depth of about three feet. though In
many instances four would be better.
The extre cost of digging the ditch
foot deeper is something of an objec-
ton. but is balanced by the fact that
the lines of tile do not need to be as
close together. Deep tile are not as
easily displaced by freezing, and a
deeper feeding ground for the roots Is
provided.
A mistake made more frequently
than that of not putting the drains In
deep enough is that of using too small
tile. The character Of the soil, the fall
and the amount of surface drained are
the factors which largely determine
the proper size to use. Almost every
book or bulletin Of tile drainage gives
tables for figuring the size of tile re
ouired under various conditions. Il
there is any doubt 1t always pays L
get a size too large rather than SIZE
too small, even If the cost Is LITTLE
more.
1t is usually better to let the job o
filing to contractor rather than to at
tempt to do it yourself There are re
liable Tiers in almost every localit.
who can be depended upon to lay tn
tile to grade and do first class job 4
every particular. Only the hard burn
ed tile should be USED These will las
:. for a lifetime or longer If properly pu
t In. When tile go within fifteen O
9 twenty feet of trees the joints shoul
e be cemented. Otherwise the tree root
r will find their way through the joint
e and fill up the drains to such an exter
s that the flow of water will be cut OF.
! The most important part of drail
e age system Is the outlet. The I'll
q should empty into a stream II possibl
8 Water should not be allowed to stan
8 over the mouth OF the outlet If 1t ca
u be avoided, as this checks the currel
l. and causes the drain to partly I'LL U
with silt, thus reducing Its capacii
II Just that much
e With a thorough system of tile drai
Is age In good working order the probe
'e of getting rid Of surplus water
y solved. Tiling also helps to solve t
er problem Of lack of water. The roc
p, go down 80 much deeper In TIL
Ip soil that they are in position to wit
stand a drought better than If tn
" were a foot or two farther above I
80 water table. Removing the surpi
e. water by drainage also hastens {
ht warming Of TIE sou In the spring