The Redwood gazette. [volume] (Redwood Falls, Minn.) 1873-1940, 1916-03-01
Prof. J. 7. Stewart
Talks on DRAINAGE
Extracts from Address of Drain
age Expert Given at Clements
Meeting February 10

the address on drainage given
at Clements by Prof. J. T. Stew
art, the head of the drainage
department at the state agricul-
tural college. Through the kind
ness of one of the men who at
tended the meeting, the follow
ing information as given by
Prof. Stewart, is published.
water is admitted to drain
tile in two ways. The usual way
is by percolation through the
soil, entering the tile at the
joints. The other way is by
surface inlets or intakes, which
admit the surface water direct
ly to the tile line.
Some Dangers
''There are some disadvan-
tages to these intakes under GER
tain conditions. Unless proper
ly constructed they furnish a
ready means of admitting mud
and waste material to the tile
line, often completely blocking
it. Early in the spring a spell
of mild weather may occur,
which will often fill the tile COM
pletely with water from a sur
face inlet. Before this can run
off severe frOsts NAV occur,
freezing the water and bursting
the tile. Where tile is deep
enough to be below frost line,
this danger will not occur.
Provide Inlets
"In some dense, sticky soils wa
ter may not penetrate to the
tile with sufficient rapidity, in
which case it is good plan to
provide one or more closed in
lets as follows. Dig a trench
down to the tile, extending it
for several feet along the direc-
ton Of the tile line, and fill this
trench nearly to the top with
coarse gravel and small rock If
available. Where gravel is not
available, fair results have been
obtained by using corn cobs.
These closed inlets are a great
help in conducting the surface
water rapidly to the tile, and do
not interfere in any way with
the working of the land. If, in
the course of time they cease to
work freely, due to becoming
clogged with fine material, all
that is needed is to shovel them
out and then throw the gravel
in again, when they will be as
good as before. In the case of
using cobs, new ones would of
course be used.
Inspection Needed
Prot. Stewart spoke strong
ly of the need Of an adequate
system of inspection and main
tenance for both open and tile
bitches.
1T is mistake to suppose
that anything can be installed
so that it will work indefinitely
without attention, and drainage
is no exception to this rule.
Outlets Of tile should be peri
odically examined and kept I'M
obstructed and free from deb
ris, and the condition of each
branch noted by observing the
effectiveness of the drainage of
the land through which it is laid.
'Open bitches should be gone
over each fall, this being the
time they are usually the driest,
and small trees, rubbish, wire
fencing, sandbars and other OBJ
structions to the free flow of
water removed. This is done
yearly in Illinois, and at a cost
of a few cents per acre on the
benefited lands, the ditch is
maintained in practically as good
condition as when first exca-
waited.
Neglect Is Serious
when neglected, open ditch
es may become so obstructed in
two or three years as to be
practlcally worthless, and an ex-
pensive job of re-excavating is
required, costing anywhere from
ten to fifty per cent of the orig
inal expenditure.
Waste banks would be far
less Objectionable if they could
be .evelled sufficiently so they
could be seeded with grass. AS
usually left, they become breed
ing places for all kinds of weeds,
trees soon take root, and they
are left so rough that there is
no way of cleaning them at a
reasonable cost.
eff a farmer contemplates Go