The Ellensburg dawn. [volume] (Ellensburg, Wash.) 1898-1914, 1913-04-24
THE CONSTRUCTION
OF GROUND S|l0S

o. J. Berger, OF Eudora. Kansas.
writes: Il am on gumbo land. and It
Is not very we'll drained. I am told
this land would improve II properly
drained, and some say 1t can't be tiled.
for a paste forms around the tile and
the water can't get through It. How
would concrete tile do? Can you give
me any Information ON this subject?'
What we usually refer to a. gumbo
soil is a very heavy type Of soil. In
some localities is is very dark In color.
while in other places It 10 slightly
grayish in color. In the state OF Iowa
the gumbo soils are very dark and
usually very heavy, while In parts OF
Kansas, also other parts OF Iowa. the
gumbo is Of = light color. often Of .
reddish cast.
One Of the Arst steps to take In
attempting to handle gumbo lard u 70
see that It 10 we'll drained. The very
close grained, finely tsxtured gumbo
soils Of Iowa have been drained suc-
cessfuliy both BY using open bitches
and BY using tile drain. In fact. some
Of the gumbo soils that have been
tile drained often sell - high - 500
per acre The experience In handling
the heavy. sticky soils indicates that
It is not necessary to place the tile. -
one would naturally think. close to-
gether and as shallow a. nrst consid-
Grafton might indicate. The expert
ence Of farmers In the heavy. waxy
soils of Iowa shows that the tile lines
are often placed ten to twelve rods
apart, which 10 ample distance even
in some other types Of soil. The best
way to settle this matter. inasmueh -
these soils 7ary considerably, II to put
in a. many lines Of tile as you can con-
veniently and watch the effect. or uss
only one tile line and note the dis
lance 1t drains on either side. This
would take but . short time for the
effect can usually be noticed on close
observation.
II is highly important that you have
= good outlet In attempting to uss tile.
After the land is we'll drained. the
next important step 10 that Of tillage.
1t has been found that for all kinds q
conditions fall blowing IL the best for
gumbo soils. The action Of freesins
and thawing during the winter months
renders the seed bed much more friable
and reduces the clods in . way that
cannot be accomplished by mechanical
means. Care should b exercised not
to plow or to cultivate this type Of
soil when 1t IL unusually wet for u
puddles very quickly. forming eiods
which can be reduced only by freezing
and thawiAg.
One Of the Objectionable features q
gumbo soil 10 the tendency to shrink
when drying out, thus injur1ng the
crop materially. The time that this
occurs Il usually during ne summer
months. This objection may b over'
come by surface tillaSs. using The
spring-tooth. .peg-tooth or disk Aas-
rows, together with cultivators. o. aay
other means Of maintaining Q surface
mulch to . depth Of three Or four
inches.
Gumbo soils when we'll drained sAd
IN BOOo EAU VI COASAvSoOAAs -W1ACS
may be maintained. - stated shove,
give splendid Yields; in fact. better
than some other kinds Of soils in the
corn bolt. A frequent application OF
stable manure IL also beneficial 70
these soils, inasmuch - Il supplies
vegetable matter. thus rendering ne
soil lighter and putting Il IN . better
physical condition.
Some claim that the cement tile ars
more porous and thus permit . freer
movement of the water than the clay
tile, but in reality there 10 very little
difference. As far - the pores Of the
tile becoming filled 10 concerned, one
would probably all mp about a. quickly
as the other. A large percentage
of the water that enters the tile
goes through the joints and does not
soak directly through the tile. You
will find that we'll vitrified tile or
carefully made cement tile will serve
your purpose satisfactorily. In cases
where the trouble from alkali 10 ex-
ceptionally severe. II may be best to
use the clay tile in preference to the
cement.