The Mount Holly news. [volume] (Mount Holly, Burlington Co., N.J.) 1891-1942, 1916-08-08

the banks free from weeds. Tile drains
usually give more thorough drainage
They occupy no land surface and do
not interfere with farming operations
If properly constructed they are prac-
tically permanent and require almost
no expenditure for maintenance.
The farmer must decide the amount
OF money that he can invest for drain
age. Usually 1t Will be best to start
with that part of the farm where the
profits from drainage will be greatest
and to extend the system as more
funds are available. Often the first
work must include a main or outlet
for the whole farm and therefore Will
cost more per acre drained than future
work. If the drainage system for the
whole farm can be constructed at once
the work can sometimes be done at a
little less cost than If It Is done a part
at time. However, the plan of doing
part at time has the advantage of
permitting the farmer to observe the
results obtained and In the following
work to make any Improvements that
may be found expedient in the plan
1t also permits the farmer to estimate
closely whether it will be profitable to
invest the money necessary for COM
pleting the drainage system.
On rolling lands where only occasion
al wet spots are to be drained the ran
dom system is commonly used. On lev
ell lands needing artificial drainage a
Uniform system must be planned that
WI provide drains for the entire area.
The most economical arrangement of
such q system is one which permits the
use Of long lateras and requires the
shortest total length Of main drains.
No hard and fast rule can be given
Cor determining the sizes Of tile to be
used. Drains should be large enough
20 remove the surplus water before the
crops are injured, even after q heavy
rainfall in continued wet weather. II
as better to use sizes too large than too
small, and no tile less than four inches
inside diameter should be used.
The mains should be large enough to
take the flow from the laterals Actual
practice has shown that for the dark
silt loans Of Illinois and Iowa, where
the average annual rainfall is approx.
mately thirty-six inches, eight inch tile
having a fall of two inches in 100 feet
Will provide outlet drainage for forty
acres, seven inch tile for thirty acres,
six inch tile for nineteen acres, five
inch tile for ten acres and four inch
tile for six acres. On stiff soils with
equal rainfall the same sized outlets
Will be adequate, but on the level soils
Of the south Atlantic and gulf states,
where the annual rainfall Is approx
mately fifty inches, only about one-hah
the areas named above can be drained
with tile of these sizes.
The proper depth for tile drains de-
ponds upon the soil and varies from
two to four feet. In heavy silt loans
ana clays the depth should be from two
to three feet In more open soils II
ahould be greater. The best distance
between laterals when common farm
crops are to be grown is determined by
much the same conditions that deter
mine the proper depth. In close, TO
tenttve soils where the drains are
placed from two to three feet deep the
laterals should be placed from thirty
to fifty feet apart In open soils that
give up water readily and where the
drains are three to four feet deep the
lRterals may be from fifty to $50 feet
apart In very porous soils the spac-
ing may be even greater.