Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1909-08-06

lA-CoN EhlNo 4hE LILLE DilNh
the nrst problem Is to get rid or the
surplus ground water quickly. and the
second Is to waste as little Of the cap
Hilary water as possible. An endeavor
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 intcrfered 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 If tiled.
The distance Il 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
are placed the farther they will draw.
Tile are usually placed at an average
depth Of about three feet. though In
many instances four would be better
The extra 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
deeper feeding ground for the roots Is
provided.
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-
Quired under various conditions. II
there Is any doubt It always pays to
get size too large rather than u size
too small, even II the cost is little
more.
1t IS usually better to let the job Of
filing to n contractor rather than to at
tehipt W w IL } ouio Dull AhcAc uic Ac
liable Tiers In almost every locality
who can be depended upon to lay the
tile to grade and do a first class Job In
| every particular. Only the hard burn
cd tile should be used. These Will last
for lifetime or longer II properly put
In. When tile 60 within fifteen or
twenty feet Of trees the joints should
be cemented. otherwise the tree roots
will find their way through the joints
and fill up the drains to such an extent
that the flow Of water will be cut of.
The most important part Of u drain
age system Is the outlet. The tile
| should empty into a stream If possible.
Water should not be allowed to stand
over the mouth Of the outlet II 1t can
be avoided, as this checks the current
and causes the drain to partly fill up
with silt. thus reducing its capacity
| just that much.
With n thorough system Of tile drain
age In good working order the problem
Of getting rid Of surplus water Is
solved. Tiling also helps to solve the
problem Of lack OF water. The roots
go down so much deeper in n tiled
soil that they are in position to with
stand drought better than II they
were n foot or two farther above the
water table. Removing the surplus
water by drainage also hastens the
warming Of the soil in the spring.