RURAL TEXT-BOOK
SERIES

TEXT-BOOK
OF LAND
DRAINAGE

JEFFERY

L. H. BAILEY

EDITOR

Ube IRurai UeiWBoofe Series

EDITED BY L. H. BAILEY

TEXT-BOOK OF LAND DRAINAGE

Ifrural SText^ooft Series

EDITED BY L. H. BAILEY

Carleton, THE SMALL GRAINS.

B. M. Duggar, PLANT PHYSIOLOGY, with
special reference to Plant Production.

J. F. Duggar, SOUTHERN FIELD CROPS.

Gay, THE BREEDS OP LIVE-STOCK.

Gay, THE PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICE OF
JUDGING LIVE-STOCK.

Goff, THE PRINCIPLES OP PLANT CULTURE,
Revised.

Harper, ANIMAL HUSBANDRY FOR SCHOOLS.

Harris and Stewart, THE PRINCIPLES OF
AGRONOMY.

Hitchcock, A TEXT -BOOK OF GRASSES.

Jeffery, TEXT-BOOK OF LAND DRAINAGE.

Livingston, FIELD CROP PRODUCTION.

Lyon, Pippin and Buckman, SOILS — THEIR
PROPERTIES AND MANAGEMENT.

Mann, BEGINNINGS IN AGRICULTURE.

Montgomery, THE CORN CROPS.

Piper, FORAGE PLANTS AND THEIR CULTURE.

Warren, ELEMENTS OF AGRICULTURE.

Warren, FARM MANAGEMENT.

Wheeler, MANURES AND FERTILIZERS.

White, PRINCIPLES OF FLORICULTURE.

Widtsoe, PRINCIPLES OF IRRIGATION PRAC-
TICE.

TEXT-BOOK

OF

LAND DRAINAGE

BY

JOSEPH A. JEFFERY

LAND COMMISSIONER DULUTH SOUTH SHORE AND ATLANTIC

RAILWAY ; FORMERLY PROFESSOR OF SOILS IN THE

MICHIGAN AGRICULTURAL COLLEGE

gorfc

THE MACMILLAN COMPANY
1916

All rights reserved

COPYRIGHT, 1916,
BY THE MACMILLAN COMPANY.

Set up and electrotyped. Published May, 1916.

• '- "1

Norton ot!

J. 8. Gushing Co. — Berwick & Smith Co.
Norwood, Mass., U.S.A.

AUTHOR'S PREFACE

THE low yields of farm crops in this country are
frequently used as a basis for speculation as to the
future limit of food supply. The causes for these
low yields are variously estimated. Bad management,
over-cropping, loss of soil fertility, washing away of
soils, "changing climatic conditions," and even "over-
drainage " are among the more prominent of the causes
named. " Bad management " is a very comprehensive
term. " Loss of soil fertility " is a much used expres-
sion, but indifferently understood. Sometimes it is
properly applied, but in many cases it probably does
not apply except in so far as it may be synonymous
with malnutrition of the crop.

The improper functioning of common soils, because
of the extended presence, at some time during each
year, of excessive amounts of water, is seldom men-
tioned ; and yet one needs but to travel through the
land with an observant eye in the cropping season to
discover areas (even in the so-called " garden spots ")
where half stands exist, fourth stands, and actually no
stands for a half field or whole field, indicating failure
in germination or very soon thereafter. He discovers
sickly full stands, half stands and less; also drowned
areas, and places where no crops have been planted —
" skipped areas " — in fields that in other parts have
a thrifty appearance of crops.

It is difficult, indeed, to estimate the losses resulting
from such conditions. There can be no doubt that if
many of these fields could function as well over their
whole areas as in their best parts, their average yields

vi AUTHOR'S PREFACE

would be very markedly increased. It is equally true
that if all the lands on all the farms were properly
drained and given the chance to do their best, total yields
and total averages would be enormously augmented.

These losses and the means of correcting them are
the theme of this text. In the preparation of the ma-
terial for the volume, an attempt has been made to put
into simple and concise terms the fundamentals of our
knowledge concerning the relation of water to agri-
culture, and of the relation of drainage to soil water.
The practical farmer has been in mind much more than
the engineer. Material has been introduced at the risk
of the charge of repetition, or even of the incorporation
of extraneous material, and for these reasons :

1. That many persons who may use the work will
not have had a sufficient knowledge of these matters
to appreciate the importance of drainage in agricultural
practice.

2. That many persons, including college men, who
may have taken courses in the physics of soils, will not
have sufficiently correlated the knowledge so acquired
to appreciate the inter-relations between the physical
conditions existing in soils, nor, consequently, the im-
portance of drainage in agricultural practice.

3. The constituency is various. While designed spe-
cially as a text for students, it is hoped that the book
will find a place with the working farmer.

Acknowledgments are due to various friends for in-
formation and suggestions in the preparation of the
manuscript. Acknowledgments are especially due to
Dr. George J. Bouyoucos and Charles H. Spurway, who
were at one time associated with the author in College

work< JOSEPH A JEFFERY.

DULUTH, MINN.,
December, 1915.

CONTENTS

CHAPTER I

PAGES

CHARACTERISTICS OF SOILS ....... 1-28

Chemical and physical composition of soils, 1 ; Phys-
ical condition of soil, 2. Temperature: Food require-
ments of plants, 3 ; Temperature and food preparation,
4 ; Chemical and physical activities, 5 ; Biological ac-
tivities, 6 ; Nitrogen preparation, 7 ; Temperature and
nitrification, 8 ; Nitrogen fixation, 9 ; Temperature and
germination, 10; Desirable temperature condition, 11;
Later effects, 12 ; A rare case, 13 ; Temperature and
root action, 14 ; Root pressure, 15 ; Root development,
16 ; Best temperature for root action, 17 ; Tempera-
ture and the rest-period, 18 ; Actual temperatures, 19.
Ventilation : Ventilation and food preparation, 20 ;
Prevention of food destruction, 21 ; Ventilation and
germination, 22 ; Ventilation and root action, 23 ; Re-
moval of objectionable products, 24. Soil Structure:
Ideal condition of structure, 25 ; Over-mellowness, 26 ;
Structure and germination, 27 ; Structure arid root
development, 28 ; Root development restricted by fis-
suring, 29 ; Injury to roots by fissuring, 30. Water :
Moisture and food preparation, 31 ; Moisture and ger-
mination, 32 ; Water the solvent and carrier, 33 ; Serv-
ice of water within the plant, 34 ; Quantities of water
required by crops, 35 ; Conditions of water, 36 ; Gravi-
tational water, 37 ; Capillary water, 38 ; Hygroscopic
water, 39; Movements of soil water, 40; Capillary
movements, 41 ; Surface tension, 42 ; Direction of cap-
illary movement, 43 ; Hygroscopic movements, 44.

Viii CONTENTS

CHAPTER II

PAGES

PHYSICAL INTER-RELATIONS IN SOILS ..... 29-57

Influence of Capillary Water on Other Physical Con-
ditions : Capillary water and soil structure, 46 ; Capil-
lary water and plowing, 46 ; Correct moisture condition
for plowing, 47 ; Effect of correct plowing on the later
preparation of the seed-bed, 48 ; Sources of soil heat,
49 ; Capillary water and soil temperature, 50 ; Specific
heat of soils, 51 ; Proper water content for agricultural
soils, 52 ; Effect of water on soil temperature, 53 ; Warm
and cold soils, 54 ; Over-wet soils are cold soils, 55 ;
Heat of vaporization, 56 ; A concrete example, 57 ; Cap-
illary water and ventilation, 58. Influence of Soil
Structure upon Other Physical Conditions: Agencies
active in soil ventilation, 69 ; Relation of soil structure
to soil ventilation, 60 ; Effects of life-forms, 61 ; Influ-
ence of soil structure on capillary water, 62 ; Influence
of soil structure on temperature, 63. Influence of Gravi-
tational Water on Other Physical Conditions : A replen-
isher of capillary water, 64 ; Assists in soil ventilation,
65 ; A cleanser of soils, 66 ; Standing water or gravita-
tional water in fields destroys soil structure, 67 ; Increased
labor required to fit puddled soils for crops, 68 ; Gravi-
tational water may interfere with ventilation, 69 ; Gravi-
tational water and food losses, 70 ; Gravitational water
and soil temperature, 71 ; Increased specific heat, 72 ;
Heat lost in the evaporation of gravitational water, 73 ;
The effects of gravitational water upon temperature
through bad soil structure, 74 ; The relations of capil-
lary water summarized, 75 ; The relations of gravita-
tional water summarized, 76. Drainage Effects : Effects
of the permanent removal of standing water, 77 ; The
way in which the changes take place, 78; Ventilation
plays a part, 79 ; Other agents, 80 ; Animal forms, 81 ;
Food-preparers, 82 ; The final results, 83.

CONTENTS ix

CHAPTER III

PAGES

HUMID AREAS AND THEIR RECLAMATION .... 58-68

Common swamps, 84 ; Alluvial plains, 85 ; Swamps
of the drift regions, 86 ; Marine marshes, 87 ; Reclama-
tion of common swamp lands, 88 ; Reclaiming delta
lands, 89 ; Size of the unit, 90 ; How the expense of
installing, operating, and upkeep is met, 91 ; Reclaim-
ing the swamp lands of the drift regions, 92 ; A diked
farm in Michigan, 93 ; Reclaiming marine marsh lands,
94 ; Economic oversights, 95 ; Areas of imperfect natu-
ral drainage, 96 ; Small wet areas, 97 ; Proportion of
waste land, 98.

CHAPTER IV
GENERAL DRAINAGE INFORMATION . . . 69-93

Lands requiring drainage, 99 ; Methods of drainage,
100 ; Open ditches, 101 ; Shallow open ditches, 102 ; Tile
drainage, 103. Tile : Kinds of tile, 104 ; Common clay
tile, 105 ; Glazed tile, 106 ; Cement tile, 107 ; Difficulties
with cement tile, 108 ; Precautions, 109 ; How water
enters the tile, 110; Tile systems, 111; Outlet, 112;
Depth of tile drain, 113 ; The distance apart of tile
drains, 114 ; How water approaches the tile drains, 115 ;
Size of tile to use, 116 ; Grade or fall, 117 ; Relation of
size of tile to the grade, 118 ; Uniformity of grade, 119 ;
Silt-basins, 120 ; How the silt-basin performs its work,
121 ; The construction of a silt-basin, 122 ; Finishing
the silt-basin, 123.

CHAPTER V
LEVELING . . . . ...'... 94-107

The level, 124 ; Cheaper levels, 125 ; Leveling rods,
126; Target, 127 ; Using the level, 128; Setting up the
level, 129; Cautions, 130; Determining the height of
the level, 131 ; Direct reading, 132 ; Target reading, 133 ;

CONTENTS

Back-sight reading and its use, 134 ; Elevation of other
points, 135 ; Fore-sight reading and its use, 136 ; Cau-
tions, 137 ; Records and computations, 138 ; Directions
and explanations, 139 ; Moving and resetting the instru-
-ment, 140; Using cheaper kinds of levels, 141 ; Simple
devices sometimes used in leveling, 142 ; The carpenter's
level, 143 ; The water level, 144 ; The hose level, 145.

CHAPTER VI

LAYING OUT A DRAIN OR SYSTEM 108-133

Establishing the point of outlet, 146 ; Laying out a
drain, 147 ; Grade stakes, 148 ; Finders, 149 ; Laying
out a main, 150 ; Fifty-foot intervals, 151 ; The relation
of angle of approach to the main to the actual distance
between laterals, 152 ; Laterals, 163 ; The angle of ap-
proach for laterals, 154 ; The location of the upper end
of mains and laterals, 155 ; Measurements, 156 ; Esti-
mate of and order for tile, 157 ; Hauling and distributing
tile, 158 ; Leveling for the drain, 159 ; Steps in the pro-
cedure, 160 ; Keeping notes, 161 ; Some convenient aids,
162 ; Leveling with cheaper levels, 163 ; Leveling with
a high-grade level, 164 ; Making the computations, 165 ;
Computations in detail, 166 ; A comparison of tables,
167 ; Preliminaries to establishing grade of ditch, cut,
and the like, 168 ; The grade or fall, 169 ; The depth
of cut, 170 ; Grade bars, 171 ; Boning line and boning
rod, 172 ; Determining height of bar above grade stake,
173 ; Using the data, 174.

CHAPTER VII
CONSTRUCTION ... . ...

Ditching tools, 175 ; Horse and power machines, 176 ;
Setting up grade bars, 177; Checking, 178; Begin the
work at the outlet, 179 ; Opening the ditch, 180 ; Re-
moving the soil, 181 ; Finishing the ditch, 182 ; Correct-
ing depth, 183 ; Laying the tile, 184 ; Making close
joints, 185 ; Fitting the joints, 186 ; Blinding, 187 ;
Closing the upper end of the drain, 188 ; Filling the

134-151

CONTENTS

XI

ditch, 189 ; Finishing the outlet, 190 ; Screen, 191 ;
Trap, 192 ; Laterals, 193 ; Leveling for laterals, 194 ;
Making provision for lateral outlet when laying the
main, 195 ; Joining laterals to mains, 196 ; Side con-
nection, 197 ; Top connection, 198 ; Angles, 199 ; Mak-
ing openings through tile, 200 ; Designating the sub-
mains and laterals in the records, 201.

CHAPTER VIII

OTHER CONDITIONS AND PROBLEMS

Underground outlets, 202 ; Drain heads, 203 ; Drain-
age by wells, 204 ; Quicksand, 205 ; Protection to joints
against quicksand, 206 ; Boggy and springy places, 207 ;
To remove excessive surface water, 208 ; Tile in muck
soil should be laid deep, 209 ; Gravitational water in
irrigated lands, 210; Cost of tiling, 211; Order of steps
in tiling, 212.

CHAPTER IX

THE HOSE-LEVEL .

Accuracy of reading, 213 ; Availability and cost, 214 ;
Materials needed, 215 ; Suggestions, 216 ; Constructing
the hose-level, 217 ; Introducing the water, 218 ; Re-
moving air bubbles from the hose-level, 219; Checking
up the instrument, 220 ; Leveling rods, 221 ; Construc-
tion of rods, 222 ; System of reading, 223 ; To use the
apparatus, 224 ; How to read height of column, 225 ;
The reading, 226 ; Moving, 227 ; Recording data, 228 ;
Positive readings, 229 ; Negative readings, 230 ; Com-
puting elevations, 231 ; The rule is apparent, 232 ; Re-
cording reading taken, in feet and inches, 233 ; Relation
of values, 234.

CHAPTER X

USING THE HOSE-LEVEL WITHOUT LEVELING RODS . \
Long stakes, 235 ; To establish datum plane, 236 ;
Leveling, 237 ; The height of grade bars, 238 ; To deter-
mine fall by hose-level, 239 ; Computations, 240 ; Plac-

152-164

165-179

180-186

Xll

CONTENTS

ing the marks for grade bars, 241 ; Checking up on
depth of ditch, 242 ; Breaking the grade, 243 ; Placing
the grade bars, 244 ; Checking the bars, 245 ; Grade
stakes and finders not needed, 246 ; For more extensive
work, 247.

CHAPTER XI

DRAINAGE INDICATIONS

Low flat areas of light soil, 248 ; Considerable slopes
of light soil, 249; Extended flat or even moderately
rolling areas of heavy soils, 250; Limited flat or de-
pressed areas on slopes, 251 ; Limited flat or depressed
areas on hilltops, 252 ; Springy low flat areas, 253 ;
Springy areas upon slopes, 254 ; Muck or swamp areas,
255 ; Small muck areas without natural outlets, 256 ;
Shallow ponds resting upon muck beds, 257 ; Shallow
ponds resting on other than muck beds, 258 ; Shallow
ponds not having sufficient fall or natural outlet, 259 ;
Low flat areas whose surfaces lie only slightly above
that of an adjacent stream or lake, which cannot be
lowered by drainage, 260 ; Situations already referred
to, 261.

CHAPTER XII
DRAINAGE AND THE GROUND WATER SUPPLY

The ground water-table is falling, 262 ; Interesting
facts concerning ground water-tables, 263 ; Chief causes
resulting in lowering of ground water, 264 ; Increasing
the run-off, 265 ; Increasing evaporation, 266 ; The re-
moval of surface reservoirs, 267 ; Direct draft upon
underground waters, 268 ; The interpretations placed
on the fact of a falling ground water-table, 269 ; Crop
needs, 270 ; Animal needs, 271 ; The meaning of the
lowering of the ground water-table in terms of rainfall,
272 ; Intelligent soil management needed, 273 ; The case
not serious, 274 ; The real relation of drainage to capil-
lary and ground water, 275 ; The experience of other
countries, 276 ; Optimism, 277.

187-199

200-207

CONTENTS

Xlll

CHAPTER XIII

DRAINAGE AND CLIMATE . v .... .

Diminishing rainfall, 278; Floods and their relation
to rainfall, 279 ; The relation of forests to floods, 280 ;
The relation of drainage to floods, 281 ; Observations
concerning rainfall, 282 ; Drainage and rainfall, 283 ;
Changing temperature, 284 ; Changes in frost dates,
285 ; Wooded areas and frosts, 286 ; Drainage and sur-
face temperature, 287.

PAGES

208-214

CHAPTER XIV
DRAINAGE LAWS . . . -. . . . .

The right of the individual to drain his property when
it lies adjacent to a natural water course, 288 ; The right
of an individual to drain his property when not lying
adjacent to natural water courses, 289 ; The right of a
group of individuals to drain, 290 ; A petition must be
prepared, 291 ; Action upon the petition, 292 ; Objec-
tions must be heard, 293 ; The proposed district must
be examined, 294 ; The organization of the district must
be authorized, 295 ; The work of construction, 296 ;
Grievances, 297; Time a factor, 298; Records, 299;
Mutual agreements, 300 ; Unlawful acts ; penalties, 301.

215-224

APPENDIX

LABORATORY PRACTICE

225-245

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

1. Drawing to show how the plant receives its several food

elements .......... 4

2. Effects of temperature on germination 9

3. Effects of ventilation on germination 15

4. Effects of ventilation on germination . . . . .16

5. Effects of ventilation on germination . ... .17

6. Effects of ventilation on germination ..... 18

7. A mass of soil particles surrounded by capillary film, shown

in section 27

8. A mass of sandy loam formed under pressure of the hand

and held in shape by capillary moisture .... 30

9. Same soil as shown in Fig. 8, but after a slight pressure of

the fingers was applied 30

10. A mass of the same soil as is shown in Fig. 8, but with an

over-amount of capillary moisture, as is proven in Fig. 11 31

11. Same soil as is shown in Fig. 10 32

12. Illustrating soil crumbs 32

13. Chart indicating diagrammatically the number of English

heat units required to raise the amount of water, the
amount of dry soil, and the combinations of soil and
water, respectively, shown in the lower part of the chart,
33° in temperature 35

14. Chart showing the effect of a given amount of heat in raising

the temperature of soils with different water content . 37

15. Chart showing the temperature effects of the heat required

to raise three types of soil with their normal water con-
tent from 32° F. to 65° F. of temperature ... 38

16. The effect of lumps lying on the surface of a field . . 42

17. A mass of sand loam held in shape by a capillary film . . 45

18. Pyramid of sandy loam held in position by a capillary film . 45

19. The appearance of a recently plowed soil mass when the

plowing has been performed with the soil in proper
capillary moisture condition ... . . . 46

xvi LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

FIGURE PAGE

20. The appearance of soil plowed in an over-dry condition . 47

21. A column of heavy clay showing the cleavages which take

place upon air drying . . . . . ; . . 55

22. Map of township in La Fourche Parish, Louisiana, showing

the way in which the early French Acadian s plotted
their farms on the naturally drained margins of the
rivers and bayous 59

23. A 1760-acre unit diked for reclamation . 63

24. A system of parallel drains 77

25. A system comprising a main with laterals approaching

obliquely ......... 78

26. A system in which the laterals are laid at right angles to the

main .......... 79

27. A combination of the systems shown in Figs. 24 and 25 . 80

28. A system which has been in operation for a number of years 81

29. A system which has been developed solely by the require-

ments of the field 82

30. Showing the way in which the water table is changed by the

insertion of the tile midway between two others . . 84

31. Showing how water approaches the tile, when the tiles are

laid in a rather heavy soil underlaid by a more open

subsoil ... . . . . - . 85

32. Economizing in the size of tile ...... 87

33. Silt-basin built of brick 90

34. Silt-basin of concrete and sewer tile . . . . .91

35. Silt-basin built of concrete ....... 92

36. Drainage level v / . 95

37. Cheaper forms of drainage or grade levels . .... 96

38. Leveling rods . . 97

39. Drainage engineer's leveling rod .... .. > . 98

40. Target 98

41. Illustrating how a carpenter's level may be mounted on a

stand and used for leveling ... . . , . . 105

42. Illustrating the water level in use . . . . . 106

43. Closer view of water level and carpenter's level . . .107

44. Relation of the angle of approach to the distance between

drains ... ,. . 112

45. Profile of a portion of field through which a tile drain is to

be laid . ., .' .

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS xvii

FIGURE PAGE

46. Profile of a portion of field with stakes in place . . .119

47. Profile of a portion of field with levels in place . . .121

48. Diagram to determine fall and depth of ditch . . . 125

49. Diagram drawn on common note paper to determine fall and

depth of ditch . 127

60. Same as Fig. 46 with grade bars and ditch shown . . 132

51. Ditching tools .135

52. Tile hook 135

53. Nailing a grade bar in place 137

54. Showing line of grade bars in place ready for digging to begin 138

55. Showing steps in digging and finishing ditch . . . 139

56. End section of ditch, showing in diagram the bottom of

ditch formed to receive the tile 141

57. Showing the way in which bolts may be imbedded in the

concrete or other outlet protection by which strips of
wood may be bolted in place to carry screen to protect

mouth of outlet from vermin, etc. ..... 144

58. Showing a galvanized iron trap suspended by hinge to pro-

tect the mouth of the outlet from entrance of vermin . 146

59. Five-inch tile with small opening, and hammer used in

making the opening . . . . . . . 147

60. Five-inch tile shown in Fig. 59, with the opening enlarged

to receive 3-inch tile , 148

61. Shows the connection when the 3-inch tile is fitted in place . 149

62. A top connection in cross section . . . . . .150

63. Sections of tile, showing also T and angle .... 160

64. The way of constructing well for drainage downward into

underlying gravel 150

65. Plan for removing drainage water by means of a stone filled

well and tile 154

66. Steel shield used to hold back quicksand .... 165

67. Plan for permitting excess of surface water to reach tile

drain by filling a section of ditch with crushed stone

or cobble stone ........ 158

68. Plan for removing water by way of silt-basin and tile system 159

69. Hose-level 165

70. Ends of hose-level showing the way in which the height of

the column should, be read 166

71. Leveling rods used with the hose-level . . »',"".•* ' 17°

xviii LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

FIGUKB PAGE

72. Detailed drawing of the zero section of leveling rods . . 171

73. Hose-level in use . .174

74. Nearer view of the hose-level in use . . . . , . 175

75. Profile of field to be drained 181

76. Profile of field with long stakes and datum plane shown . 182

77. Soil underlaid by clay or hard-pan . . . . . 188

78. Soil on slope underlaid by hard-pan 189

79. Heavy clay soil 189

80. Depression in heavy clay on hill slope 190

81. Depression of soil underlaid by heavy clay on hill slope . 190

82. Limited flat area of heavy clay on hill top .... 191

83. Limited area of soil underlaid by heavy clay on hill top . 191

84. Springy low flat area due to underlying heavy clay or hard-

pan 192

86. Springy low flat area due to water rising through clay or

hard-pan 192

86. Showing a method for draining single spring . . . 193

87. Springy area on slope ........ 194

88. Springy area on slope supplied with water from rock forma-

tion 194

89. Small muck area without natural outlet .... 195

90. Shallow pond resting on muck area 197

91. Threaded section of brass tubing for studying distribution

of water in soil columns ....... 226

92. Apparatus for studying shrinkage of soils .... 235

93. Apparatus for studying movement of water through tile

walls, position of water-table in tiled soils, the influence
of an inch of rainfall upon the height of ground water-
table, and the percentage of pore-space in soil . . 238

94. Detail of part of Fig. 93 . . . ... .239

95. Detail of part of Fig. 93 . . . ... . 241

LIST OF TABLES

I. Plant-food Elements 3

II. Range of Temperatures at which Seeds have been Found

to Germinate 7

III. Days Required for Radicle to Appear when Seeds are

Planted and Kept at the Temperatures Indicated . 7

IV. Soil and Air Temperatures ...... 13

V. Crop Needs for Water 24

VI. Relation of Size of Tile and Fall to Capacity to Convey

Water 86

VII. Number of Acres from which One-fourth Inch of Water
will be Removed in Twenty-four Hours by Outlet
Tile Drains of Different Diameters and Different

Lengths with Different Grades 89

VIII. Form for Leveling Notes 102

IX. Form for Leveling Notes 103

X. Form for Leveling Notes ....... 105

XI. Relation of Angle of Approach to Main to Distance be-
tween Laterals, when Laterals Enter Main 100 Feet
Apart . . . ... . . .111

XII. Form for Field Notes . . . . . . .117

XIII. Form for Field Notes with Distances, Back-sights and

Fore-sights Introduced with Cheaper Levels . . 120

XIV. Form for Field Notes with Distances, Back-sights and

Fore-sights, Height of Instrument and One Elevation

Introduced ... . . . . . 122

XV. Same as Table XIII with Elevations Introduced » . 124

XVI. Same as Table XIII with Computations Completed . . 130

XX LIST OF TABLES

TABLE PAGE

XVII. Approximate Cost to a Rod of Digging Ditch, Laying

Tile and Blinding 162

XVIII. Readings in Inches, Eighths and Sixteenths Transposed

to Decimals of a Foot . . -. . . . 172

XIX. Table for Hose-level Data . . ... . 176

XX. Form for Field Notes, Hose-level .-..,. . 179

XXI. Data Completed, Hose-level . . . . . . 184

TEXT-BOOK OF LAND DRAINAGE

LAKD DRAINAGE

CHAPTER I
CHARACTERISTICS OF SOILS

NEXT to the soil itself, water is the most important
factor in crop production. Without it, crops cannot be
grown. Its abundance is desirable, but its control is
more important than its abundance. Its control is impor-
tant not only because of the immediate functions of the
water, but because also of the degree to which its presence
or absence may affect other factors essential in crop pro-
duction. A brief study of these relations is essential to
an understanding of the subject before us.

1. Chemical and physical composition of soils. — A
soil of good chemical composition is one in which all of
the food elements which crops obtain directly from the
soil are found in abundance.

A soil of good physical composition is one in which
organic matter (chiefly vegetable materials) and the
various kinds of mineral matter — sands, silt, and clay
— exist in desirable proportions.

A soil lacking in chemical and physical composition
cannot normally produce a good crop. On the other hand,
it does not follow .that fit chemical and physical compo-
B 1

; -1 -^o1; «,*•>«* •;•'•>. a

v3^:??3-:-?*fi ?•-?« « ?

2 LAND DRAINAGE

sition of a soil will insure a crop. A soil may be of good
character in these respects and yet fail absolutely to pro-
duce a good return.

2. Physical condition of soil. — The physical condition
of any soil bears a profound relation to its ability to pro-
duce a crop. It is undoubtedly safe to assert that soils
more frequently fail to produce large or even satisfactory
yields because of improper physical condition, than be-
cause of improper chemical or physical composition.
The physical conditions of soil upon which plant growth
most largely depends are : proper temperature ; proper
ventilation ; proper structure, or tilth ; proper moisture.

TEMPERATURE

There are three lines of activity within the soil having
to do with the welfare of the crop : (1) food prepara-
tion, (2) germination, (3) root activity ; to which may be
added (4) recuperation.

3. Food requirements of plants. — The chief food ele-
ments required by plants are : carbon, oxygen, hydro-
gen, nitrogen, potassium, phosphorus, calcium, magnesium,
sulfur, chlorine, and iron. Each of these is always com-
bined with one or more other elements before plants can
use it for food. The carbon is combined with oxygen,
forming carbon dioxide; the calcium is combined with
carbon and oxygen, forming calcium carbonate 1 ; the
nitrogen is combined first with hydrogen and oxygen,
forming nitric acid (HNO3), and then exchanging the
hydrogen for some other element, such as calcium or
potassium, to form calcium nitrate (Ca(NO3)2), or potas-
sium nitrate (KNO3).

1 Probably changed to nitrates before reaching the plant.

CHARACTERISTICS OF SOILS

TABLE I

PLANT-FOOD

ELEMENT

SYMBOL

FORM IN WHICH WE ABE
MOST LIKELY TO

THINK OF IT

FORMULA

Carbon .

c

Carbon dioxide

C02

Oxygen . . .
Hydrogen . .

o\

HJ

Water

H2O

Nitrogen

N

Nitrates

Ca(N03)2-KN03

Potassium . .

K

Potash

K2O

Phosphorus

P

Phosphoric acid

P205

Calcium . .

Ca

Lime

CaO

Magnesium

Mg

Magnesia

MgO

Sulfur . . .

S

Sulfuric acid

H2S04

Chlorine . .

Cl

Common salt

NaCl

Iron ....

Fe

Iron oxide

Fe203

The plant secures its carbon as carbon dioxide, which is
a gas, from the air through its leaves.

All other foods the plant secures from the soil through
its roots. (Fig. 1.)

4. Temperature and food preparation. — The wise
farmer begins the preparation of a field some time, if
possible, before he expects to plant the crop. He has
learned that with a reasonable period given to such prepa-
ration, the crop responds more quickly after planting,
grows better and yields better, than if the period of prep-
aration is shortened. One of the reasons for this better
behavior of the crop is that the period of preparation makes
it possible, under normal conditions, to develop and store
in the soil an abundant supply of available plant-food
prior to the time of planting. Plants resemble animals
in some of their food demands. They need a proper
supply of food in the earlier days of their existence.
Like animals, they are likely to show, during the remainder

4 LAND DRAINAGE

of their lives, the effect of an abundance or a shortage of
food in these earlier days.

5. Chemical and physical activities. — All the mineral
plant-food elements are found in all normal soils, and are

FIG. 1. — Drawing to show how the plant receives its several food
elements. Each is always combined with one or more others.

taken by the plant from the soil through its roots. Each
element exists as a chemical component of some one or
more of the mineral 1 parts of the soil. Before they can

1 "The few elements which exist free as constituents of rock,
together with many definite compounds of elements which
naturally take the solid form, are minerals." — BLACKWELDER
AND BARROWS.

CHARACTERISTICS OF SOILS 5

be used by the plants, these food elements must be sepa-
rated from the mineral particles and be dissolved in the
soil water. Whether these changes are chemical or
physical, they take place more readily and more rapidly
under high than under low soil temperatures.

6. Biological activities. — The plant secures its nitro-
gen supply from the soil also, and appropriates it by way
of its roots. The greater part of this nitrogen supply
must be in the form of nitric acid, usually after the acid
has combined with some mineral element, such as calcium
or potassium, thus forming what is called a nitrate. The
greater part of the nitrogen supply in the soil is in some
form other than nitric acid or nitrate. It is chiefly
locked up in the organic matter; or it is found as free
nitrogen in the air in the soil.1 There is some ammonia
and some nitrous acid in the soil, and these are nitrogen
compounds.

7. Nitrogen preparation. — Before the nitrogen of
the organic matter in the soil can be used for food by grow-
ing crops, it must enter into new combinations with other
elements. The greater part of the nitrogen, by a series
of changes, is finally combined with hydrogen and oxygen
to form nitric acid (HNO3), which in turn combines with
some base to form a salt. It is in this form chiefly that
nitrogen is used for food by plants.2

1 Air is composed of a mixture of gases, of which mixture
oxygen constitutes 23.22 %, nitrogen 75.55 %, and carbon dioxide
.045%-.06% by weight. — HILGARD, Soils, p. 16.

2 Recent investigation indicates that plants use, to some extent
at least, other forms of nitrogen than nitric and ammonia nitro-
gen. See article of H. B. Hutchinson and N. H. Miller of the
Rothamstedt Experiment Station, which appears in the Journal
of Agricultural Science, Vol. 3, part 2, 1909. See also Bulletin 87,
Bureau of Soils, U. S. Dept. Agr.

6 LAND DRAINAGE

8. Temperature and nitrification. — All the changes
by which organic nitrogen is put into form for use by
plants are accomplished chiefly by bacteria. It has been
found, according to Schloessing and Miintz and other
authorities, that these changes proceed very slowly when
the temperature of the soil is not higher than 54° F.
They proceed most rapidly when the soil temperature is
near 98° F. Recent research seems to indicate an opti-
mum temperature as low as 85° F.

9. Nitrogen fixation. — On the roots of all legu-
minous plants, under normal conditions, are found colonies
of another class of life forms, usually spoken of as bac-
teria, which possess the power to appropriate the free
nitrogen of the soil air and combine it with hydrogen and
oxygen to produce a form of nitrogen which the host
plant can and does use for food. These forms are called
nitrogen-fixers, and the process is sometimes called nitro-
gen fixation. They work most rapidly when the soil tem-
perature ranges from 90° to 100°. These bacteria are in
enlargements of tissue known as nodules.

There are probably other forms of bacteria and some
forms of molds in soils that have this power of nitrogen
fixation, and their rate of work is greatly affected by
temperature conditions.

10. Temperature and germination. — Most crops are
grown from seed. There is a temperature below which
seeds will not germinate. There is also, for each kind of
seed, a temperature at which it will germinate most
quickly. In Table II are shown some of the findings of
Sachs and Van Tiegham regarding the lowest, highest,
and best temperatures for the germination of the seeds
indicated. See also Table III.

CHARACTERISTICS OF SOILS

TABLE II

RANGE OF TEMPERATURES AT WHICH SEEDS HAVE BEEN FOUND
TO GERMINATE

LOWEST TEMPERATURE

TEMPERATURE AT

TEMPERATURE

KIND OP SEED

AT WHICH THE SEED

WAS FOUND TO

WHICH THE SEED
GERMINATED

ABOVE WHICH
SEEDS WOULD

GERMINATE

MOST QUICKLY

NOT GERMINATE

Wheat . . .

41° F.

81° F.

104° F.

Barley .

41°

83°

104°

Peas . . v .

44£°

84°

102°

Maize • .

48°

93°

115°

Squash .

54°

115°

Red clover . ,

42° Van Tiegham

70°

TABLE III

DAYS REQUIRED FOR RADICLE TO APPEAR WHEN SEEDS ARE
PLANTED AND KEPT AT THE TEMPERATURES INDICATED l

DAYS AT TEMPERATURES INDICATED

40° F.

51° F.

60° F.

65° F.

Barley and wheat . . .
Beans . . . v . , .
Clover red

6

7
74

3

6^
3

2
4|
11

If
41
1

Flax

8

41

2

2

111

31

3

Oats ...

7

31

21

2

Peas

5

3

If

If

Pumpkin

lOf

4

Rve

4

21

1

1

Sugar beets
Timothy

22

9
6i

3|
31

3i

3

1 A part of Haberlandt's findings as quoted in Warington's
Physical Properties of Soil, p. 140.

8 LAND DRAINAGE

The days indicated under the several temperatures,
and after the seeds, undoubtedly indicate the time re-
quired for the radicle to burst through the coat of the seed,
not the time required for the radicle to appear above
ground. (See Fig. 4.)

More recent investigators assert that some of these
seeds do germinate occasionally at temperatures lower
than those indicated in the above tables. The late
C. F. Wheeler found that chess seed would germinate when
lying on a cake of ice in a refrigerator, and send roots f
inch into the ice. Wheat and other grains are not infre-
quently sown, in the Northwest, when the soils are
thawed but six or even four inches deep in the spring;
they germinate in a short time, long before the frost has
entirely disappeared below the seed-bed. In such cases,
the seed-bed possesses a temperature much above that
of the frozen ground below.

11. Desirable temperature condition. — The best and
most desirable temperature is one ranging from 70° to
90° F. The question that should be uppermost in the
farmer's mind is not " at how low temperature will seed
germinate/' but rather "what means may T employ to
bring the temperature of the seed-bed to most nearly
approximate the ideal ? " In Fig. 2 are shown the
effects of temperature on germination. The three j ars were
prepared alike, and each had ten kernels of corn, from the
same ear, planted in it. The jars were then placed one
in a temperature of 55° F., one in a temperature of 70° F.,
and one in a temperature of 85° F. The photograph was
taken on the eighth day from planting.

12. Later effects. — If, on the eighth day, the jars
shown in Fig. 2 were placed together, and allowed to remain
in a temperature of 75° to 85°, most, probably all, of the

CHARACTERISTICS OF SOILS 9

seeds in the jar marked 55° would germinate. If the seed
used in all the jars were of inferior quality, undoubtedly
a smaller percentage of them would germinate in jar
marked 55°, than germinated in either of the other jars.
It is more than probable that in their later growth, these
corn plants would never overtake the plants in jar marked

FIG. 2. — Effects of temperature on germination. The jars have indi-
cated upon their sides the temperatures — 55°, 70°, and 85° respec-
tively — at which the jars were kept after the corn was planted in
them. The picture was taken 8 days after planting.

85°, and would never show the vigor and healthfulness
of the plants in that jar. It is also probable that the
plants resulting from the germinations occurring at 70°
would never fully overtake the plants resulting from the
germinations at 85°, or show the same vigor.

13. A rare case. — Some years ago, in southern Wis-
consin, a field unusually well prepared, in a season of
very favorable temperature conditions, was planted to
corn. In three days the young corn plants were above
ground sufficiently to be easily " rowed " diagonally, as

10 LAND DRAINAGE

well as lengthwise and crosswise. A duplication of this
incident has not been discovered in forty years of observa-
tion. The later behavior of the crop was entirely in
accord with these early days of its history — a seemingly
uninterrupted growth, early crop maturity, and an abun-
dant yield. This example illustrates the importance of a
good start, due to many favorable conditions.

14. Temperature and root action. — The plant receives
all of its food, excepting carbon, through its roots. This
food can be taken only after it is dissolved in large quanti-
ties of water. The plants on an acre of oats, yielding
50 bushels of grain, would take through their roots dur-
ing their growth at least 700 tons — 1,400,000 pounds
of water.1 This water is required to dissolve the plant-
food, to assist it to reach its place in the plant, and gen-
erally to assist in promoting the well-being of the plant.
The part the roots play in taking in this great quantity
of water is involuntary, excepting as they place them-
selves in position to receive it. The process by which
this soil water enters the roots is called osmosis ; that by
which the foods in solution move inward to be used by
the plant, diffusion. Both water and food enter the
roots from the soil chiefly, if not entirely, by way of the
root-hairs. It is important, therefore, that the plants
develop extensive and vigorous root systems. In all of
this, temperature becomes an important factor.

15. Root pressure. — When a soil is over-cold, the
rate at which water enters the roots growing upon it may
be so slow that the plants assume a wilted appearance.

1 This is in accord with the best service of water reported by
King, but is much below that obtained under arid conditions
and under very close control by Briggs and Shantz, and reported
in No. 1, Vol. Ill, Journal of Agricultural Research.

CHARACTERISTICS OF SOILS 11

Every one acquainted with crops will recall how rigid —
even to tender crispness — are the leaves of a corn plant
in the early morning, when growing in warm moist soil.
The leaves would not be so crisp, and might even appear
wilted, if the soil were too cold.

16. Root development. — As the part of the plant
above ground develops from the seedling to the mature
plant, its demands for food and anchorage increase;
since the part of the plant underground must furnish
both, there must be adequate development underground
also. Few realize how great this development is. King,
in what seems to be a conservative estimate,1 has shown
that the roots of a single healthy corn plant, placed end
to end, would amount in length to not less than one-
fourth mile, and probably would often much exceed this.
It is only when the soil temperature is correct that this
great development can be most satisfactorily made.

17. Best temperature for root action. — The tempera-
tures best suited to food preparation and for germination
are also good for root activity as regards both growth
and feeding. Hall gives 83.6° F. as the optimum soil
temperature for growth of barley and wheat, and 92.6° F.
as the optimum for maize and kidney beans. He gives
93° F. as the temperature at which maize roots made
their maximum growth — 55 millimeters in 24 hours.2
These temperatures, with a single exception, are higher
than the highest averages of observed temperatures shown
in Table IV. The exception is for 1 inch deep in Ne-
braska soil.

18. Temperature and the rest-period. — The period
elapsing between the harvesting of one crop and the plant-

1 King, The Soil, p. 210. 2Hall, The Soil, p. 114.

12 LAND DRAINAGE

ing of the next is no doubt often thought of as one of rest
as synonymous with idleness. It is not often considered
as a period of rest in the sense of recuperation, as it should
be. After producing certain crops, and especially under
abnormal weather conditions, the soil is found to be in a
very unsatisfactory physical condition, and one in which
the evils are cumulative, or may easily become so if proper
precautions are not taken. Who has not seen the wheat
field, the oat field, and even the bean field, so baked and
scorched as to make it seemingly impossible of prepara-
tion for an immediate crop ? In this condition of intensely
high temperature and dryness, not only are certain im-
portant processes suspended, but undoubtedly much of
the desirable microscopic flora is destroyed.

19. Actual temperatures. — In the humid part of the
United States, soils under normal weather conditions are
seldom, if ever, too warm for the ordinary crops. The
opposite is more likely to be true, so that when the tiller
has exercised his highest art in soil management, the
temperature still ranges too low for the best results in
cropping. In Table IV data have been assembled to show
average soil temperatures for the growing months as
gathered at rather widely distributed points and under
different conditions. Note the average soil temperature
for 6 inches deep in parts 1, 2, 3, and 6 of the table.
Observe that in no case does the average reach the opti-
mum for seed germination. This <Ioes not occur even at
1 inch deep in Nebraska, nor at 3 inches deep in Geneva.

It should be borne in mind, however, that these tem-
peratures are expressed as monthly averages. On some
days the maximum temperature would much exceed the
average of the month, and even at 6 inches deep might
approach optimum.

CHARACTERISTICS OF SOILS

13

The average air temperatures for Nebraska, Tubingen
(Germany) , and Geneva (Switzerland) are lower than sur-
face and near surface temperatures. The Michigan air
temperatures were recorded by an instrument not shaded
from the direct rays of the sun.

TABLE IV

CONDITIONS

APRIL

MAY

JUNE

JULY

AUGUST

SEPT.

1. Temperature averages for 12 years at the Nebraska station

Air temperatures . .
Soil at 1 inch

52.1
57.5

61.9

68.7

71.0

78.1

76.0
85.1

74.5

82.9

67.6

73.8

Soil at 6 inches . .

53.3

65.1

75.7

81.6

80.1

72.0

Soil at 12 inches . .

49.3

60.7

69.9

75.7

75.7

69.2

2. Temperature averages for 5 years, Pennsylvania station (Frear)

Soil at 6 inches
Soil at 12 inches . .

43.08
42.69

54.72
53.83

66.34
65.03

69.75

68.89

68.49
68.66

61.70
62.73

3. Temperature averages for 4 years, Munich, Germany
(Ebermeyer)

Soil at 5.9 inches
Soil at 11.8 inches

44.65
44.31

56.79
57.51

61.11

60.06

67.26
66.16

64.09
63.61

58.21

57.88

4. Midday temperature averages on fine days for two seasons,
Tubingen, Germany (Schiibler)

Surface of soil .

121.6

131.2

139.8

146.3

130.1

119.8

Air

61.7

67.3

75.2

81.3

68.9

68.0

Excess of surface over

air

59.9

63.9

64.6

65.0

61.2

51.8

14

LAND DRAINAGE

5. Geneva Society — Variable weather averages for one season,
Geneva (Schiibler)

Surface

78.9

80.1

89.1

93.4

960

828

Soil at 3 inches . .

60.7

64.4

73.6

73.3

76.9

70.2

Air in shade

50.1

55.9

60.9

63.2

65.8

62.4

Surface over air

28.8

24.2

28.2

30.2

30.2

20.4

3 inches deep over air

10.6

8.5

12.7

10.1

11.1

7.8

6. Temperature averages for one season, Mich. Exp. Station
(Bouyoucos)

Loam soil 6 inches
Loam soil 12 inches .

39.16
37.47

55.07
53.02

66.28
63.88

72.40
70.55

67.82
67.00

65.76

65.82

Clay soil 6 inches
Clay soil 12 inches

40.20
38.44

56.00
53.43

66.51
63.89

72.20
70.15

68.01
66.92

65.56
65.56

Peat soil 6 inches
Peat soil 12 inches

34.04

35.48

55.61
52.00

67.15
64.24

73.30

68.56

68.60
67.22

66.37
66.44

Air in sunshine . .

50.22

62.00

70.78

75.77

72.34

68.90

VENTILATION

Soil ventilation does not differ essentially from house
ventilation. It involves the displacement of bad or viti-
ated air by pure air. There are several reasons why a
soil should be ventilated.

20. Ventilation and food preparation. — The breaking
down of the minerals of the soil and the consequent libera-
tion of contained plant-foods are favored by the presence
of the oxygen of the air. The processes referred to in
paragraphs 7 and 9 by which the nitrogen is changed,
step by step, from non-usable to usable forms, can take
place normally only when an abundant supply of oxygen

CHARACTERISTICS OF SOILS 15

is present. The germs that bring about these changes
cannot work without oxygen. The nitrogen-fixation bac-
teria must have free nitrogen to work with and oxygen
to assist them.

21. Prevention of food destruction. — Probably most
soils contain certain kinds of bacteria that, while they
require oxygen for their well-being, are not entirely de-

FIG. 3. — The effect of ventilation on germination. The air was
excluded from the soil in right jar by flooding to a depth of f an inch
with water. Picture taken 7 days from planting. One hundred
per cent of the kernels in left jar germinated.

pendent upon air for their oxygen supply. In the absence
of air oxygen, they have the power to destroy certain
chemical compounds for the oxygen these compounds
contain. The nitrates are among the compounds they
can destroy. Nitrates, it will be remembered, are the
forms of nitrogen that are most used by growing crops.

When the air is excluded from a soil containing nitrates,
the germs attack the nitrates and remove the oxygen
from them, and by this act render the nitrogen of the
nitrates useless for the crops. The rate at which this

16 LAND DRAINAGE

destruction takes place may be very rapid. The germs
have been known to destroy, in two weeks, enough nitrate
to produce a crop of wheat.1 The process is called de-
nitrification, and the germs, denitrifiers.

22. Ventilation and germination. — The seeds of plants
cannot germinate in the absence of oxygen. Corn kept

FIG. 4. — The effects of ventilation on germination. The plant at the
right is taken from left jar, Fig. 3. The two kernels in the center
were taken from right jar, Fig. 3. They show absolutely no indica-
tions of germination. The kernel at the left was taken from a ger-
minator after 3 days. It shows the radicle making healthy growth.

in a completely water-logged soil will never germinate.
If, before the vitality of the kernels is destroyed, the water
is removed from the soil and air permitted to come to the
kernels, they will germinate, but the vigor of the resulting
plant is likely to be impaired, perhaps seriously if the
germination has been much delayed. The partial exclu-
sion of air from seeds must retard germination, and often

1 The writer has found that under water-logged conditions,
scarcely a trace of nitrates remained after 72 hours, where
originally large quantities existed.

CHARACTERISTICS OF SOILS

17

(See

seems to reduce the vitality of the resulting plants.
Figs. 3, 4, 5, and 6.)

23. Ventilation and root action. — In the absence of
oxygen, the roots of common plants not only cannot per-
form their functions, but they quickly die. If all the
roots die, the remainder of the plant also dies, and if any

FIG. 5. — Effects of ventilation on germination. Same as Fig. 3, 11
days from planting ; 4 days after the excess of water had been re-
moved from right jar. Fifty per cent only of the kernels have
germinated. In the upper right quarter of the cut is shown a ker-
nel of corn with the embryo exposed.

considerable part of the root system is destroyed, the
remainder of the plant must suffer, even if it is not killed.
Most crops drown very quickly, for the same reason that
animals do. Mention was made in paragraph 16 of the
great development made by the root system of the corn
plant. The root systems of all our crops are extensive.
In the absence of oxygen, the roots die. When the supply

18

LAND DRAINAGE

of oxygen is restricted, the growth of roots is retarded
and the crops suffer.

24. Removal of objectionable products. — All growth
results in the production of carbon dioxide. Animals
throw this gas from their lungs into the air. The roots

FIG. 6. — Effects of ventilation on germination. — Same as Fig. 3, 14
days from planting ; 7 days after water was removed from right jar.
Seventy per cent only of the kernels have germinated.

of plants and the lower plant forms growing in the soil
produce carbon dioxide (CO2) and liberate it in the soil.
The presence of carbon dioxide (CO2) interferes with the
life in the soil, as does its presence with animal life in a
room. When, therefore, there is an unbalanced condi-
tion of air in the soil, — too little oxygen, too much car-
bon dioxide, — the balance must be reestablished before
plant life can thrive.

CHARACTERISTICS OF SOILS 19

SOIL STRUCTURE

Soil texture has reference to the sizes of the soil particles
and the proportions in which the various sizes of particles
exist in the soil. Texture is not greatly subject to modi-
fication or control, and is rather stable.

Soil structure has reference to the manner of arrange-
ment of the soil particles. The particles in a soil mass
may lie in very close contact with each other. Under
some conditions the soil particles may be cemented to-
gether by certain salts existing in the soil. Except possi-
bly in coarse soils, the former condition is very undesir-
able. The latter condition is undesirable in any soil.
It is best illustrated in puddled or " baked " soil, and in
the hard-pans.

25. Ideal condition of structure. — When a soil proper
crumbles readily into a soft mass under the pressure of
the hands, and readily becomes loose — mellow — from
the action of tilling and stirring tools, it may be said to
approximate the ideal condition of structure, or tilth.

While the subsoil will seldom break down in the same
way, it should crumble also, but usually into somewhat
larger masses, cuboid in shape. This would indicate
that the whole mass of the subsoil, as it lies in position,
is already separated into these small cubes (cuboids) by
a very great number of cleavage planes. More will be
said of these planes in another paragraph, (47) .

26. Over-mellowness. — Some soils, and especially
those in arid or semi-arid climates, possess a structure
such that the plow renders them over-mellow for immedi-
ate planting. Such soils must be plowed some time
before planting the crops upon them, — frequently in the
fall when the planting is to be done the following spring.

20 LAND DRAINAGE

On such soils, except when a sod is to be turned down, the
disk harrow is to be preferred to the plow, when the plant-
ing must be done at once. The same discussion may
apply to very sandy soils also.

27. Structure and germination. — On clay soils or
heavy loams, a severe rain, just after the seed has been
planted, will frequently so pack the soil that many of the
seeds will fail to germinate, or the germination may be
greatly delayed. Of the seeds that germinate, many will
fail to thrust the parts out of the ground, and many others
will be greatly delayed.

Seeds planted in over-loose or in over-lumpy soil may
fail to germinate, or may be so delayed that at harvest
time some plants will have ripened their seed, while others
will have brought them only to the milk stage, or even
to the flowering stage. (See Fig. 20.) Obviously soil
structure plays an important part in germination.

28. Structure and root development. — Mention has
already been made of the extent of the development of
the root systems of our domestic plants, and of the need
of the plant for such root development to secure both
food and moisture. The tender tips of the developing
rootlets can penetrate a hard or compact soil but slowly,
and, therefore, for but relatively short distances. The
root system developed under such conditions will be
marked by short roots and fewer of them. Therefore
the crop suffers.

29. Root development restricted by fissuring. — In a
soil (or subsoil) checked by large fissures or cracks, a
root may advance to the fissure and grow out into it,
but will find difficulty in making an entrance into the
opposite wall, especially if the soil of the opposite wall
is hard as is almost sure to be the case where large cleavages

CHARACTERISTICS OF SOILS 21

occur. The roots are more likely to advance along the
fissure, and most of their usefulness to the plant is thus
lost.

30. Injury to roots by fissuring. — When fissuring or
cracking occurs in soils or subsoils already filled with active
roots, all those roots lying across the plane of the fissure
are almost sure to be broken, and their service beyond
the breaks, and that of all their branches is lost to
the plants to which they belong. Crops, therefore, may
suffer greatly from soil fissuring.

WATER

Water is the great servant of nature. It is also the
great servant of agriculture, and its usefulness is propor-
tional to the degree of its successful control. Its functions
are many.

31. Moisture and food preparation. — In the prepara-
tion of food, water plays a most important part. Few,
if any, chemical reactions can take place in the absence
of moisture. Moisture, in contact with the surface of
the soil particles, assists in the actions resulting in the
liberation of the plant-food which the soil particles may
hold.

Those germs, usually designated as nitrifiers, whose
important function it is to transform the unusable nitrogen
of the organic matter of the soil into usable nitrogen, can-
not perform their work without moisture ; nor can they
grow and multiply without moisture. The forms engaged
in nitrogen fixation cannot work in the absence of mois-
ture. These are the forms which we know best, as they
are found established on the roots of the clovers, beans,
alfalfa, and other legumes.

22 LAND DRAINAGE

A soil constantly deficient in moisture is almost sure
to be deficient in all these useful nitrogen preparers, as
well as one which is over supplied with water.

32. Moisture and germination. — Water plays a very
important and interesting part in germination. Seeds
would lie indefinitely in a dry soil without germinating;
but where there is proper moisture, and correct condi-
tions of temperature and ventilation, the water makes its
way through the seed-coat and causes the seed to swell
till it bursts its coat. At the same time the presence of
the water in the seed promotes certain changes by which
the food stored in the seed is made ready for the use of
the young plant (more correctly called a plantlet or
embryo). (See Fig. 5.) It uses the food, begins to grow
out through the ruptured coat, and is soon established
in the soil. By the time, or even before, it has used up
the supply of food stored for it in the seed, it is ready to
use the food supply provided in the soil.

33. Water the solvent and carrier. — Before the
young plant can use the foods stored for it in the seed or
in the soil, the food must first be prepared and then
dissolved in the soil water. The water thus becomes the
carrier of the foods. The food-laden water may move
considerable distances through the soil to the roots. On
the other hand, when the soil is in proper physical condi-
tion, the roots develop remarkably, as was indicated in
paragraph 16. They reach out considerable distances,
and at the same time their branches become very
numerous,1 so that there is not a cubic inch of soil for
some feet from the plant that is not penetrated or trav-
ersed by at least one root — more usually by several.

1 There are few of our common crops that fail to produce roots
as much as three feet in length, and some exceed ten feet.

CHARACTERISTICS OF SOILS 23

Only a brief outline can be given, in this discussion, of
the way in which this feeding process takes place. This
general statement is sufficient to indicate the general
part that water plays in the work.

34. Service of water within the plant. — Within the
plant, the water continues to be the carrier of the food.
It delivers its load to the leaves. There the food is
elaborated and much of the water is dismissed into the
air by way of openings in the leaf walls. Some of the
water is still retained, a part of it to be used by. the plant
as food, and the remainder to continue its service as
carrier ; but its burden now is elaborated food, and its
function is to distribute this food to the parts requiring it
for growth or storage. Some of it is carried to the stems,
some to the leaves, some to the maturing seeds, and some
even to the extreme ends of the roots.

35. Quantities of water required by crops. — Most of
the plant-foods are only slightly soluble in water ; that is,
a large quantity of water is required to dissolve a small
quantity of food. Storer states that, in ordinary soils,
a thousand pounds of water can dissolve from one half
to one and one half pounds of mixed organic and mineral
matters.1 For this and other reasons, large quantities of
water are required to produce a good crop yield. When
the water supply is short, the crop yields are necessarily
lowered. Table V is a modification from King and has
been prepared chiefly to show the least possible amount
of water that may be expected to produce the yields
indicated in the first column of the table. The required
amounts are expressed both in tons and in inches of
rainfall. These amounts include the losses by evapora-
tion from the surface of the ground in the growing season,

1 Storer, Agriculture, Vol. I, p. 285.

24

LAND DRAINAGE

which must be kept at a minimum. Few farmers, how-
ever, obtain this service from water.

TABLE V

CROP AND YIELD TO THE ACRE

ACRE-INCHES

TONS OP
WATER

LARGEST
POSSIBLE
YIELD FROM
8 INCHES
RAINFALL

20 bu. wheat . . . .
35 bu. wheat ....
40 bu oats ....

6.0
10.5
627

680.0

1190.0
710 6

26.66
51 02

10.19

1154.0

30 bu. barley ....
45 bu. barley ....
40 bu corn.

6.42
9.63
672

727.4
1091.40
761 5

37.38
47 62

65 bu corn ....

1092

1237 00

100 bu. potatoes .
300 bu. potatoes ... .

2.07
6.2

234.62
702.60

386.47

In the fourth column of the table are shown the yields
of the several crops that should be obtained from eight
inches of rainfall under the same conditions of efficiency.

36. Conditions of water. — Water may exist in the
soil in any one of three conditions; as gravitational,
as capillary, and as hygroscopic water.

37. Gravitational water. — That water in the soil
which, if opportunity be given it, will flow downward
or away through the soil because of its own weight, is
gravitational water. Its tendency is to flow directly
downward. Obstructions and restrictions of various
kinds will turn it out of its course and cause it to flow
in other directions — even upward, as is seen in a boiling
spring (the stream of water rising out of the ground -
not from heat). Water which in the soil would be grav-

CHARACTERISTICS OF SOILS 25

itational water is surface water before it enters the soil.
Surface water is that which stands upon or moves off
over the surface of the ground. It must very often be
taken into account in planning a system of drainage.

38. Capillary water. — The water that remains cling-
ing to the walls of the soil particles with sufficient force
to withstand the pull of its own weight is €apillary water.
It is often defined as the water that remains clinging to
the walls of the soil particles after all gravitational water
has moved away. It covers the walls in very thin layers.
Just as the outer molecules of the water of a dew-drop
hold the mass in a spherical shape, so the outer molecules
of the capillary water covering the soil grains hold the
water about the grains.

39. Hygroscopic water. — The water that is found in
soil after it becomes air-dry is hygroscopic water. The
amount of hygroscopic water in a given weight of soil
usually depends upon three things, viz. the fineness of
the soil particles, the temperature of the soil, and the
humidity of the air in contact with the soil particles.
The amount of organic matter in the soil becomes a fourth
factor if it is not included in the first named. The humid-
ity of the air may be roughly defined as the readiness
with which it gives up its moisture. Some days the
pitcher and the pump-spout " sweat " ; some days they
do not, depending upon the humidity of the air and the
temperature of pitcher and spout.

The dust that rises from the road on a hot, sunshiny
July day at noon, dry as it may appear, carries a measur-
able amount of hygroscopic moisture.

Opinions are not agreed as to the value of hygroscopic
water in agriculture. It is probable that its presence
results only in good.

26 LAND DRAINAGE

40. Movements of soil water. — Mention has been
made of three conditions in which water may exist in the
soil. There are three movements of soil water — one
each for these three conditions. Movements of gravita-
tional water are known as gravitational movements ; those
of capillary water, as capillary movements; while move-
ments of hygroscopic water are known as thermal move-
ments. These movements are very distinct as regards
their causes, characteristics, and agricultural importance.
For the present, gravitational movements have been
sufficiently discussed in paragraph (37).

41. Capillary movements. — Agriculturally, capillary
water is preeminent. Its control, Which is very desirable,
is accomplished largely through the control of its move-
ments, and this control depends largely upon a knowledge
of their causes and character and the factors modifying
them. Movements of capillary soil water are due chiefly
to surface tension, and entirely so after the soil particles
are invested by capillary water.

42. Surface tension. — When the rubber membrane of
a toy balloon is inflated with gas, it assumes a spherical
form, due to the pull of the membrane in its effort to
contract. This lessens the volume of the gas, and be-
cause the pull is uniform, the balloon assumes a spherical
form. (If some part of the rubber membrane were
weaker or stronger than the rest, the form of the balloon
would not be exactly spherical.) If a part of the inclosed
gas were permitted to escape, the volume of the balloon
would be reduced, but its form would not be changed.

The dew-drop, suspended from the blade of grass, does
not go to pieces for the reason that the molecules of
water covering the surface of the mass act in much the
same way as the rubber membrane of the toy balloon.

CHARACTERISTICS OF SOILS

27

If the dew-drop could be caused to stand in space, and
freed from the pull of gravity, it would assume a perfectly
spherical form. If any part of the water of the dew-drop
could be removed, its size would be reduced, but its form
would at once become spherical again, because of the pull

w

FIG. 7. — A mass of soil particles surrounded by capillary film, shown in
section. GG represents the ground line ; S, soil particles in section ;
W, water film ; A , the air spaces surrounded by capillary films which
in turn also surround the soil particles.

of the surface molecules. As a matter of fact, the dew-
drop is not spherical as it hangs to the blade of grass.
It is symmetrical, and its free surfaces are curved ; the re-
moval or the addition of water does not change these facts.
Its new form will be symmetrical and its free surfaces
curved, all due to the pull of the surface molecules.

When soil particles, or masses of soil particles, are
invested with capillary water, the surfaces of the water

28 LAND DRAINAGE

are always symmetrical, and are always exercising a
compressing stress as they do in the dew-drop.

43. Direction of capillary movement. — If, therefore,
capillary water is removed at some point in or on a soil
mass, this compressing stress causes the remaining water
to readjust itself so that the proportions of the thickness
of water layer and the symmetry of the surfaces are the
same as before the water was disturbed. (See Fig. 7.)
In this readjustment of capillary water, the movement
is along the surfaces of the soil particles and is always
toward the point where the water has been removed,
regardless of direction. If water is added at any point,
a readjustment will take place and the movement will
be away from that point, and out through the mass.

44. Hygroscopic movements. — These movements of
water are called thermal movements, because heat is
the chief factor involved in them. They take place from
the surface of the soil particles into the surrounding air,
or from the surrounding air to the surface of the soil
particle.

CHAPTER II
PHYSICAL INTER-RELATIONS IN SOILS

A VERY intimate relation exists between each of the
four fundamental physical soil conditions and all the
others, and between gravitational water and all four con-
ditions. So important are these relations that they should
be very thoroughly understood. A brief description of
them follows in the order of sequence as they appear to
the writer.

INFLUENCE OF CAPILLARY WATER ON OTHER PHYSICAL
CONDITIONS

45. Capillary water and soil structure. — The physical
structure of a cultivated soil depends on four things, —
the method of cropping, the organic matter present, the
use of tools on the soil, and the moisture content through-
out the year. This discussion permits the consideration
of but one of these four categories, and but one phase of
this — the function of capillary water.

46. Capillary water and plowing. — One of the uses of
the plow is to mellow the soil. If a clay or a loam soil
is plowed when over-wet, the earth is puddled or packed by
the pressure of the mold-board upon it. The effect is
much the same as if an over-wet piece of the same soil
were squeezed in one's hand, or were rolled between the
two hands. In either case, the soil so puddled is com-

29

30

LAND DRAINAGE

pacted and dries more quickly than the unpuddled soil.
In the field this puddling interferes (1) with the further

ft

FIG. 8. — A mass of sandy loam formed under pressure of the hand
and held in shape by capillary moisture. The capillary condition is
ideal, as is proved in Fig. 9.

proper preparation of the seed-bed, (2) with proper plant-
ing of seed, (3) with germination, and (4) with root

FIG. 9. — Same soil as shown in Fig. 8, but after a slight pressure of
the ringers was applied. The soil has crumbled to a mellow mass.

development. The bad effects of a single plowing in over-
wet soil may sometimes be apparent for several years
following.

PHYSICAL INTER-RELATIONS IN SOILS 31

When a clay or loam soil is permitted to become over-
dry, the plow turns it over in lumps, and no amount of
work can properly fit it for an immediate crop. (See
Fig. 20.)

47. Correct moisture condition for plowing. — Some-
where between the over-wet and the over-dry condition
is the ideal moisture point. In clay soils and loams this
is a capillary moisture condition, and is not the same for

FIG. 10. — A mass of the same soil as is shown in Fig. 8, but with an
over amount of capillary moisture, as is proved in Fig. 11.

every soil. Every experienced farmer recognizes this
proper state of moisture and takes advantage of it, even
resorting to artificial means to prolong its period until
he can complete his plowing. When plowed in this con-
dition, with the exception of the heavy clays, the normal
soil falls away from the mold-board in a rather uniformly
mellow mass. (See Fig. 19.) When in this state, a
mass of the soil firmly crushed in the hand will retain its
position when the pressure is removed, but when a rolling
pressure is applied to it with the fingers, it readily crumbles.
(See Figs. 8, 9, 10, and 11.)

32

LAND DRAINAGE

48. Effect of correct plowing on the later preparation of
the seed-bed. — When the soil is plowed under proper

FIG. 11. — Same soil as is shown in Fig. 10. The excessive amount
of capillary water prevents its crumbling. Pressure fails to crumble
the soil. Instead it retains a waxy appearance and consistency.

moisture conditions, the seed-bed can be perfected in the
shortest possible time, and with the least labor. There is

an absence of lumps; the
soil feels soft and is crumby.
These crumbs are not soil
grains, as they are sometimes
supposed to be, but rather
masses of grains, or particles,
held together somewhat as is
the corn in a popcorn ball.
The chief difference is that in
the case of the soil crumbs,
the particles are held together
chiefly by a film of capillary
water. (See Fig. 12.) If
there had been too much water at plowing, the soil par-
ticles would have been rolled closer together by the action
of the plow. With the correct amount of capillary water,

FIG. 12. — Illustrating soil
crumbs. C, soil crumbs con-
sisting of soil particles held in
mass by capillary film. O,
openings between the crumbs.

PHYSICAL INTER-RELATIONS IN SOILS 33

the particles were first loosened by being rolled over each
other, and then rolled into crumbs to be held together by
films of water. If the soil had been over-dry, the plow
could not have caused the soil particles to separate and
be re-crumbed. (Compare Figs. 19 and 20.)

49. Sources of soil heat. — The sun is the great source
of heat, and its heat comes to the earth as radiant energy.
A part of the sun's heat is intercepted by clouds and other
air moisture ; a part of it is thrown back into the atmos-
phere from the earth's surface. Some heat comes from
the interior of the earth and, under certain conditions,
plays an important part in the behavior of soils.

50. Capillary water and soil temperature. — Mention
has already been made of the importance of heat in crop-
growing, and reference has been made to Table IV showing
the average temperature of soils in different localities for
the growing months. Capillary water plays a large and
important part in modifying soil temperatures.

51. Specific heat of soils. — The amount of heat re-
quired to raise the temperature of a pound of soil one
degree, as compared with the amount of heat required to
raise the temperature of a pound of water one degree, is
called the specific heat of that soil. The specific heat is
more concisely defined as the " number of calories needed
to raise one gram of a substance 1° C." Here, however,
metric units are used, though the specific heat values
obtained will be the same.

Bouyoucos, working with Michigan soils,1 found :

The specific heat of sand to be .1929.

The specific heat of clay to be .2059 approximately •§•.

1 Page 495, Report of Michigan State Board of Agriculture,
1913.

34 LAND DRAINAGE

The specific heat of loam to be .2154.

The specific heat of peat to be .2525.

The specific heat of water is 1.0000.

Roughly, the dry sand, dry clay, and dry loam require
one-fifth as much heat to warm a given weight of them
through one degree as does water. The fact is more
impressive, usually, when conversely stated : it requires
five times as much heat to raise the temperature of a
pound of water one degree as to raise the temperature
of a pound of these soils one degree.

52. Proper water content for agricultural soils. — Hell-
riegel found that when soils experimented with contained
50 per cent to 60 per cent of the water they were capable
of holding, their moisture condition was best for producing
crops. If his findings are accepted, a soil may be said to
be in best moisture condition to support crops when it
contains a trifle over 50 per cent of the water it would be
holding if all of the space between its soil grains were full.
For sandy soils this will not be far from 15 per cent of their
own dry weight ; for loams, about 20 per cent ; for clays,
about 30 per cent ; and for the finer clays, perhaps as much
as 35 per cent. These amounts should be kept constant
during the germinating and growing periods of the crop.

53. Effect of water on soil temperature. — For loams,
the best quantity of water for crop production is near 20
per cent, or one-fifth of the dry weight of the soil. Thus
an amount of loam soil that would weigh 100 pounds
dry, should carry 20 pounds of capillary water, and with
this water would weigh 120 pounds. One hundred pounds
of water requires five times as much heat to raise its tem-
perature one degree as does 100 pounds of soil. Twenty
pounds of water requires just the same amount of heat to
raise its temperature one degree as does the 100 pounds

PHYSICAL INTER-RELATIONS IN SOILS 35

of loam which it would properly moisten. In other words,
the properly moistened loam requires just twice as much

1906

I80C

/70(
160,
ISodt
/M

1300

OE

FIG. 13. — Chart indicating diagrammatically the number of English
heat units required to raise the amount of water, the amount of
dry soil, and the combinations of soil and water, respectively, shown
in the lower part of the chart, 33° in temperature ; that is, from 32° F.
to 65° F. 65° F. is the minimum desirable temperature for soils
for the germination of the seeds of crops. The extreme left column
represents 20 Ib. of water ; the next, 100 Ib. loam soil ; while the
others represent 100 Ib. of soil with increasing amounts of water.
The oblique line indicates the heat units required.

heat to raise its temperature one degree as would the same
soil dry.

36 LAND DRAINAGE

54. Warm and cold soils. — Since the sands normally
carry less capillary water than do the loams, a given
amount of heat will raise the temperature of 100 pounds
of sandy soil, with its best water content, higher than
that of 100 pounds of loam. Therefore it is said that
the sands are warmer than the loams. (See Fig. 13.)

Since clays normally carry more capillary water than
do the loams, a given amount of heat cannot raise the tem-
perature of 100 pounds of clay soil, with its best capillary
water content, as high as it will raise the temperature of
100 pounds of loam with its best moisture content. It is
said of clay soils, that they are colder than the loams.
Examine Figs. 14 and 15.

55. Over-wet soils are cold soils. — When a loam soil
carries 30 per cent of water instead of 20 per cent, it has
a half more water than it should carry. It will require
one-fourth more heat to raise the temperature of 100 pounds
of loam and 30 pounds of water one degree, than will be
required for 100 pounds of loam, and its 20 pounds of
water. The amount of heat required to raise the latter
combination ten degrees in temperature, would raise the
former combination only eight degrees.

Soils are seldom too warm in temperate climates.
They are often too cold because of the presence of unde-
sirable quantities of water. An increase of water in a soil
increases the specific heat of the combination ; that is, it
increases the amount of heat required to raise its tem-
perature one degree.

56. Heat of vaporization. — Wherever evaporation
takes place, heat disappears (is rendered latent). This is
equally true whether it takes place from the surface of
a field, a block of ice, in a steam boiler, or from the moistened
finger held above the head for the purpose of detecting

PHYSICAL INTER-RELATIONS IN SOILS 37

N

*

1

V)
N

0

\

\

\

\

\

\

\

\

\

\

\

\

N.

Ny

Ny

\"

N^

^\

<\

tX^f

\.

^~v^

X

^v^

NS

""*-\

\^

^^v^.^

Xy^

**5

— 1

^N

^ — ^

'J^Z"

~"~"~" — .

^^

.

— '

""^-^^^^

^

^^z^_

^^^.^^^^

• — —

• — -*-—

— • — .

^ 1

Percent of Wafer Content-

FIG. 14. — Chart showing the effect of a given amount of heat in raising
the temperature of soils with different water content. Curve A
shows the temperature effect produced by the amount of heat that
would raise the temperature of 100 Ib. of dry soil 10°. Observe
that this amount of heat would raise the same soil with 20 % of
water but 5°, and with 50% of water, less than 3°. Curve B shows
the temperature effect of the amount of heat that would raise 100
Ib. of soil with 20% of water 10°. Observe that if the same soil
contained but 15% of water, its temperature would be raised nearly
lli°, but if it contained 40 % of water, it would be raised only 6.6°.

38

LAND DRAINAGE

'gSiB £g 8^«^1

IfrUiglH**

il*.808J?.& *•« S

&$£": ^*os.og-§

o
soil
pect
l wa
orm
, in
tent
t no
be
the

n
als
on
un
uld
of

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f^lSsllo*

o^ggoso^Sfl^^a

jiil.lll*.f8ll

§*!*!I1|!

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ll"^!!8!?!!^

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?8jS4^|jSillKI

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«»/ >^/<?/- Canfenf.

FIG. 15.

wate
tivel
respe
thro
the a
raise
it ca
that rai
tempera
F show
evapora
6 inches

PHYSICAL INTER-RELATIONS IN SOILS 39

the direction of the wind. The laws controlling evapora-
tion are definite.

The heat apparently disappearing in the evaporation of
one pound of water would raise the temperature of 966.6
pounds of water one degree F.

57. A concrete example. — An acre-foot of dry loam
soil weighs about 2000 tons. Moisture is continually
passing by evaporation from the surface into the atmos-
phere. Normally, from uncropped, uncultivated sur-
faces, the rate of this evaporation may amount to 5 to 10
tons an acre in 24 hours. Some condition or mismanage-
ment may readily increase the rate of loss by 2 tons every
24 hours. It is not infrequently increased five times this
amount.

In the evaporation of this extra 2 tons of water, enough
heat is used to raise the temperature of (966.6 X 2 =)
1933.2 tons of water one degree. The amount of heat
that would raise the temperature of 1933.2 tons of water
one degree would raise that of five times that number of
tons of dry loam one degree. 1933.2 tons X 5 = 9666.0
tons.

The heat that would raise the temperature of 9666 tons
of loam one degree would raise that of an acre-foot of
loam, weighing 2000 tons, (fU<H) 4.8333°, and it would
raise the acre-foot of loam, with its best capillary water
content, one-half of 4.833°, or 2.416°.

The same heat applied to the upper six inches of the
acre-foot would raise its temperature (2.416° X 2 = )
4.832° F. ; applied to the upper four inches of the acre-
foot, it would raise its temperature (2.416° X 3 = )
7.248° F. Since the upper soil, being less compact than
the lower soils, weighs less to an acre-inch than do the
lower soils, the warming of the upper six inches and the

40 LAND DRAINAGE

upper four inches would be really greater than these
figures show.

These figures are given rather to emphasize the magni-
tude of the forces involved, and their possibilities when
properly directed, than to arrive at absolutely accurate
results in practice.

58. Capillary water and ventilation. — Hellriegell found,
as has previously been stated, that when a soil contained
more than 60 per cent of the water it was capable of hold-
ing, the results in crop-growing were not so satisfactory
as when the water content was kept between 50 and 60
per cent. The reason offered is that with more than
60 per cent of water present, too little room is left within
the soil mass for the proper movement of the air, — for
ventilation. Note that with the pore space of the soil
half occupied by water, there is left an equal amount of
space for the occupation and circulation of air.

INFLUENCE OF SOIL STRUCTURE UPON OTHER PHYSICAL
CONDITIONS

While a proper soil structure is greatly dependent
on other factors, such as water, organic matter, use of
tools, and the like, it in turn becomes a most important
factor in the modification and control of other physical
conditions.

59. Agencies active in soil ventilation. — Nature em-
ploys several agencies by which to cause inward and
outward movement of air in the soil, in the process of
soil ventilation. The chief agencies concerned in pro-
ducing these movements are : (1) diffusion, (2) changing
soil temperatures, (3) barometric changes, (4) changing
wind velocities, and (5) gravitational water. Each of

PHYSICAL INTER-RELATIONS IN SOILS 41

these agencies is distinctive in its action and might
operate alone. All work together, however, and each
undoubtedly modifies to some extent the operation of the
others ; this is especially true of the last-named agency.

60. Relation of soil structure to soil ventilation. —
An important part of any system of house ventilation
is a capacious set of flues, for both the intake and outlet of
air. When the flues are insufficient or when stopped or
clogged, the system will fail to do proper work. A soil too
compact fails to permit the ready and proper passage, in-
ward and outward, of air. A soil of open structure possesses
a greater capacity for air than does a soil of close or compact
structure. The structure of the soil, therefore, has a very
direct relation to soil ventilation, and observation reveals
the fact that crop-life suffers much from improper and
insufficient ventilation.

61. Effects of life-forms. — Ventilation is greatly pro-
moted by the burrows of lower animal forms, especially
earthworms and ants. These creatures are found in
great numbers in soils in which the physical conditions are
correct, and burrow to considerable depths. The roots
of some plants decompose rather rapidly after the plant
has been killed, and thus leave numerous openings or
tunnels through the soil. The size of these roots and
the depth of penetration depend much on the physical
condition of the soil. Every agent active in soil ventila-
tion is assisted by the work of these forms of life in the
accomplishment of its function.

62. Influence of soil structure on capillary water. — It
is a matter of common observation that of two fields of
the same soil formation, the same topography, and the
same exposure, one will produce a good crop of corn or
wheat in a rather dry year, while the other will produce

42 LAND DRAINAGE

only an indifferent crop in a year of ordinary rainfall,
and will yield a very poor crop, or may even fail utterly,
in a dry year. The reasons for this difference may be
very briefly summed up as follows :

The physical structure of the former field is good, that
of the latter is poor. When the structure of a soil is good,
its capacity to hold capillary water is greater than when

FIG. 16. — The effect of lumps lying on the surface of a field. In all
cases the lumps reflect a part of the sun's radiation. Of the radia-
tion which enters the lump, portions are distributed and radiated
from the surface of the lump above ground. When the lump rests
upon other smaller lumps, leaving air cushions between the lower
surface and the soil, other losses occur. That part of the soil surface
heavily shaded receives no direct radiation.

it is bad — the storage capacity is greater. The soil of
good structure is able to retain its supply of capillary
water from evaporation much more successfully than can
the soil of poor structure. It offers a much better oppor-
tunity for the development of the root system of the crop
than does the soil of poor structure. Hence it is that a
soil of good physical structure has been known to produce
a large crop of wheat without rainfall between planting
and harvest, when adjacent fields failed.

PHYSICAL INTER-RELATIONS IN SOILS 43

63. Influence of soil structure on temperature. — In
comparing a soil of good physical structure with one of
poor structure, the following facts are offered in favor of
the former : it is not subject to such extremes of tem-
perature; it does not cool so rapidly by radiation; it
receives more heat from the sun than does a lumpy soil
(see Fig. 16) ; in weather of average rainfall less water
evaporates from the soil of good structure, and therefore it
is able to utilize more of the sun's heat ; it is the warmer soil.

INFLUENCE OF GRAVITATIONAL WATER ON OTHER PHYSICAL
CONDITIONS

Mention has already been made of gravitational water,
its nature and movements. Its relations to other factors
in agriculture and its own individual functions now call
for specific attention. In three respects, gravitational
water plays a very important part in crop production.
In several particulars its extended presence is undesirable,
for reasons set forth in this chapter.

64. A replenisher of capillary water. — The water-
table is the surface of the water fully occupying the pore
space in the soil. It is sometimes spoken of as the surface
of the standing water in the soil. It determines the sur-
face of the water in the well. While water will rise in a
soil to a considerable height above the water-table by
capillarity, the rate of rise and the height to which it will
rise are not sufficient to supply the ordinary crops in an
average soil. The capillary supply, therefore, must be
replenished in another way. It is accomplished by the
passage into, or through the soils, of gravitational water.
When a rain occurs, the water therefrom passes down into
the soil as gravitational water. If the quantity is rela-

44 LAND DRAINAGE

tively small, and the capillary supply in the soil has been
reduced, it distributes itself, as it moves downward over
the walls of the soil particles, as capillary water. If the
quantity is large, it distributes itself in the same manner
until all the soil particles are fully invested with capillary
water, after which any residue moves downward as gravi-
tational water. The capillary supply is thus brought
to maximum.

65. Assists in soil ventilation. — One of nature's agents
in soil ventilation is gravitational water. This water,
entering the soil, fills all the open space, thus driving out
the air which previously occupied the open space. As
the gravitational water passes downward, fresh air enters
to take its place. The operation results in the removal
of the air in the soil and replacing it with a supply of
new air — a complete change of air.

66. A cleanser of soils. — It is said that in the dis-
integration of soils, and in the activities of plant life in the
soil, there develop certain salts, conventionally spoken of
as alkalies, and possibly poisonous by-products of plants,
sometimes spoken of as toxines,1 which, if permitted to
accumulate, would work injury to growing crops. In
regions of fair rainfall, the frequent passage of gravita-
tional water prevents the accumulation of any injurious
salts and, to some extent at least, the poisonous by-
products of plants.

67. Standing water or gravitational water in fields
destroys soil structure. — It has been previously stated
that the crumby condition, so desirable and so charac-
teristic of a mellow soil, is due, in large measure, to the
capillary water investing the soil particles, which in turn
make up soil crumbs. The outer film of the capillary

1 Schreiner and Skinner, Bui. 70, Bureau of Soils.

PHYSICAL INTER-RELATIONS IN SOILS 45

water acts as a membrane holding
the particles of the crumbs loosely
together. (See Figs. 12, 17, and 18.)
When the pore-space in loam or
clay soils is filled with water, as it
is when gravitational or surface
water is present, the films of capil-
lary water, which may have held
the soil in crumbs, can no longer

exist, and the

particles,

which may

have been held

in crumbs,

FIG. 18. — Pyramid of proceed to fall

sandy loam held in apart an(J then
position by capillary

film. It was formed to Settle to-

by pouring a fine gether, as the FIG. 17. — A mass of

steady stream of the

soil into a dish in which particles

had been previously

placed a small amount

of water. As the pour-

sand loam held n

a
film (about twice the

Set-

to tne
. „

bottom of the
ing continued, the glags (part 5 Qf Exp 5 p 230), Or
water climbed up the '

mass of soil slowly as when the pyramid collapsed
enough so that the (part 2&, Exp. 7, p. 231). Every

tension of the film held 2e \

it in place. The pour- farmer who has worked clay or
ing was continued till ioam sons Or observed their be-

the water was entirely .

transformed into capil- havior, knows what happens when
lary water. The col- ^ey become saturated with water

umn stands 2£ inches

in height. The column even tor a tew hours. JNo matter
retained its form in an jlow excellent the condition of mel-

open room several

hours after being lowness may have been, they at
formed and illustrates once begin to puddle or pack. The

the strength of the

capillary film.

j j-

longer the saturated condition exists,

46 LAND DRAINAGE

the more compact the soil becomes, until finally all the
mellowing effects brought about by capillary water, tools,
roots, and the burrowings of animal forms, are overcome
and the mass of soil and subsoil have their pore-space
reduced to a minimum, and are left in the poorest possible

FIG. 19. — The appearance of a recently plowed soil mass when the
plowing has been performed with the soil in proper capillary mois-
ture condition.

condition of structure to support plant growth. This
is the condition of all soils upon or in which water stands
for extended periods.

68. Increased labor required to fit puddled soils for
crops. — A soil whose physical condition has been thus
compacted by the presence of standing water is subject to
more rapid evaporation losses when relieved of its gravita-
tional water. As a result, it is difficult, sometimes impos-

PHYSICAL INTER-RELATIONS IN SOILS 47

sible, to take advantage of the proper moisture condition
for plowing and the consequent partial re-mellowing that
might come therefrom. The plow, therefore, leaves the
soil in a very lumpy condition. King, in his "The Soil," 1
gives a very striking illustration of the extra expenditure

FIG. 20. — The appearance of soil plowed in an overdry condition, and
especially after it has been subjected to standing water for some
time. The mellowing tools following the plow will produce a zone
of mellow soil as shown. They cannot, however, mellow the soil
to the bottom of the furrow, and crops planted upon soil in such
a condition must fail wholly or in part.

of labor required to develop a proper condition of tilth
which, after all, was then only an approximate condition.
Complete restoration, even under the less aggravated
initial condition which he there describes, was probably
impossible for that season. (See Figs. 19 and 20.)

1 King's The Soil, p. 189.

48 LAND DRAINAGE

69. Gravitational water may interfere with ventilation.
-The effect of gravitational water upon soil ventilation

may be direct or indirect. When water occupies all the
pore-space within a soil, practically all air is thereby ex-
cluded, — a direct effect. Seeds cannot germinate under
such a condition and crops previously occupying the soil
quickly die.

Whenever the physical structure of a soil is affected by
the presence of gravitational water to the extent of
compacting the surface or reducing the pore-space, ven-
tilation is thereby restricted. This restriction of ven-
tilation may be sufficient to interfere with all those proc-
esses dependent upon soil ventilation. These effects
would be called indirect effects.

70. Gravitational water and food losses. — Gravita-
tional water, as it moves downward through the soil,
dissolves and carries away more or less of the soluble plant-
foods that have been prepared within the soils. The more
slowly gravitational water moves downward, the larger
the amount of soluble plant-food it takes with it. The
converse is equally true.

Indirectly, the presence of gravitational water causes
the destruction and therefore the loss of prepared or
partially prepared nitrogen compounds, by the process
of denitrification, already described and several times
alluded to. Denitrification takes place when air is ex-
cluded from the soils.

71. Gravitational water and soil temperature. — The
presence of gravitational water in a soil directly affects
its temperature in two ways : (1) it increases the amount
of heat required to warm the soil; (2) it causes great
losses of heat that might otherwise be used in warming
the soil. Indirectly, there results to the soil later great

PHYSICAL INTER-RELATIONS IN SOILS 49

losses of heat because of improper physical conditions
resulting from the long-continued presence of gravita-
tional water. (See Fig. 16.)

72. Increased specific heat. — It has already been
shown (paragraph 51) that practically five times as much
heat is required to raise the temperature of one pound of
water one degree, as for one pound of clay or loam soil,
and that, therefore, two times the amount of heat is
required to raise the temperature of a given weight of
soil with a 20 per cent water content one degree as for a soil
with no water content. The presence of any amount
of water in a soil above the best amount for crop-growing is
undesirable. It appropriates heat that would otherwise
be used, in part at least, in warming the soil with its proper
water content. In Fig. 14 are charted the temperatures
to which the same amounts of heat would raise 100 pounds
of the same soil but with different water contents. Curve
A shows the temperature effect of the amount of heat that
would raise 100 pounds of the dry loam soil ten degrees
in temperature, if the same heat were applied to the same
soil with any one of the water contents indicated ; curve
B, that which would raise 100 pounds of soil and its 20
pounds of water content 10° F. ; curve C (Fig. 15), that
which would raise 100 pounds of loam soil with its 20 per
cent water content from 32° F. to 65° F. ; curve D (Fig.
15), that which would raise the temperature of 100 pounds
of clay soil with a 30 per cent water content from 32° F.
to 65° F. ; curve E (Fig. 15), that which would raise the
temperature of 100 pounds of a sandy soil with its 15 per
cent (best) water content from 32° F. to 65° F. The
steepnesses of the curves emphasize the meaning of the
terms " warm soils " and " cold soils." They emphasize,
too, the agricultural importance of preventing the presence,

50 LAND DRAINAGE

in the soil, of unnecessary amounts of even capillary
water.

As the curves approach that part of the chart indicating
a saturated condition of soil, they indicate a very low
temperature.

73. Heat lost in the evaporation of gravitational water.
— In paragraph 56 it was pointed out that evaporation
of water always results in the loss of heat, that the amount
of heat used in the evaporation of unit weight of water
is constant, and that the heat rendered latent in the evap-
oration of two tons of water from an acre of soil is suffi-
cient to warm an acre-foot with its normal (20 per cent)
content of water 2.416° F.

King and his assistant found that from the unculti-
vated surface of a sandy loam, placed in cylinders and
exposed in an open field for a period of thirty-seven
days, losses by evaporation occurred at the rate of 7.24
tons to the acre for twenty-four hours. In this case,
the water-table averaged 20 inches below the sur-
face of the soil. The series of experiments of which
this was a part showed that the evaporation losses vary
with the kind of soil and with the time it has been under
cultivation.1

In the Michigan Agricultural College soil laboratories,
in experiments with loam soils repeated through a
period of fourteen years, the losses by evaporation from
uncultivated surfaces 24 inches above the water-table
differed very little from 10 tons to the acre for twenty-four
hours.

King concluded, from experiments in the open field,
that from very wet soils in April and May, the evaporation
losses frequently amount to 28 tons to 33 tons to the

1 Report Wisconsin Exp. Station, 1898, p. 134.

PHYSICAL INTER-RELATIONS IN SOILS 51

acre in twenty-four hours.1 The averages of these losses
from very wet soils exceed that from normally moist
soil mentioned above, by over 20 tons to the acre for
twenty-four hours. In the conversion of this amount
of water into vapor-, heat was rendered latent sufficient
to raise an acre-foot of loam soil, with its normal 20 per
cent of capillary water, by 24.16° F. Curve F in Fig. 15
shows the temperature effects of the heat here involved if
applied to one acre-foot of soil of varying water content, at
a temperature of 32° F. When a saturated condition of
soil exists through a considerable period, the losses of heat
are practically multiplied by the days of the period. It
should be borne in mind, however, that if these losses were
prevented, not all the heat thus conserved would be
stored in the soil ; for there are other factors involved that
limit the rise of soil temperatures. These factors, never-
theless, would permit a very considerable rise of tem-
perature; indeed they would permit an approximate
approach to optimum conditions which cannot take place
while such losses occur from evaporation of gravitational
water. The figures are given especially to call attention
to the tremendous misdirection of the heat supply under
the conditions indicated.

74. The effects of gravitational water upon temperature
through bad soil structure. — Mention has already been
made of the serious extent to which puddling may take place
in clay and loam soils that remain, even for a relatively
short time, in a saturated condition (paragraphs 67 and 68),
and of the effects of such physical condition upon crops
planted in such soil, and of the large amount of labor re-
quired to reduce the lumpy condition after plowing.

1 Report Wise. Exp. Station, 1891, p. 100, and Report Wise.
Exp. Station, 1890, p. 149.

52 LAND DRAINAGE

Such attempts at lump reduction are usually only indif-
ferently successful, and the degree of failure is often
indicated by the number of lumps lying upon the surface
of the field. The writer has found that at 10 : 00 A.M.
on a sunshiny morning in late June, the temperature of a
lump-covered soil was 6° F. lower than that of a similar
near-by soil in proper tilth, at a depth two inches below
the surface in each case. Fig. 16 illustrates how the sun's
rays are intercepted as they approach the lump-covered
surface and, in considerable degree, reflected and radiated
back into the air.

75. The relations of capillary water summarized. —
Capillary water is helpful in agriculture. It performs a
variety of functions :

A solvent of foods ;
A carrier of foods,

To the plant,

Through the plant ;
A food for the plant ;
A factor in soil structure ;
Assists in the preparation of foods ;
Affects temperature of soils ;
Affects ventilation of soils.

In excess :

It may affect temperature unfavorably ;
It is likely to affect ventilation unfavorably.

76. The relations of gravitational water summarized. —
Three helpful functions of gravitational water are :

To replenish the capillary supply ;
To assist in soil ventilation (in quick passages down-
ward through the soil) ;

PHYSICAL INTER-RELATIONS IN SOILS 53

To wash from the soil objectionable salts which, if
allowed to accumulate, might do harm to plant life.

Aside from the desirable functions named above, the
presence of gravitational water in a soil works harm
rather than good, and the list of resulting evils is long and
coextensive. The continued presence of gravitational
water in a soil :

Destroys soil structure, which results in a number of
associated evils, and increases the labor required in
preparing the seed-bed, and in performing many of the
operations necessary in caring for and harvesting the
crop.

Interferes with soil ventilation either directly by par-
tially or wholly occupying the pore-space of the soil, or
indirectly by modifying the soil structure. In either case
there follows a partial or complete interruption of germina-
tion, plant growth, and food preparation. There follows,
also, food removal and food destruction.

Reduces temperature, because of the removal of heat
from the soil, or the diversion of heat that would other-
wise get to the soil. The result here is interruption or
prevention of (1) germination, (2) root action, (3) food
preparation (chemical, physical, biological). The ulti-
mate result is (1) increased labor, (2) increased incon-
venience, (3) decreased yields, and even (4) total failure of
crops.

It is evident, therefore, that the presence of gravi-
tational water in agricultural soils, even for moderately
extended periods, is undesirable, and that, when neces-
sary, means should be provided to prevent such presence.

54 LAND DRAINAGE

DRAINAGE EFFECTS

The steps in soil improvement to be expected from
proper tile drainage are summarized in the following para-
graphs. They are presented here to bring the facts into
perspective.

77. Effects of the permanent removal of standing water.
— It has been shown that no matter how excellent the
structure of a soil may be, the excellence cannot be main-
tained if the soil is subjected for a time to a state of satura-
tion. It has been shown why, and to what an extreme, the
packing or puddling may proceed under such adverse
moisture conditions. It might seem that where the clay
loams and clays have been subjected to the presence of
standing water for years, or even throughout the major
part of each year for a series of years, the soils would be-
come so compacted as to render it impossible to develop
in them the physical conditions so essential to crop pro-
duction. This, however, is not the case. The rapidity
with which these desirable physical conditions develop,
after provision has been made for the quick removal of
all gravitational or standing water, is frequently surprising.

78. The way in which the changes take place. — When
the ground water is permanently lowered to three or four
feet below the surface, where previously it stood almost
permanently at or near the surface, one of the first
effects of the lowering is the development of many cleav-
ages or cracks, such as are seen in Fig. 21. These cleav-
ages occur because of the shrinking of the soil as it gives
down the excess of water filling its pore space. This
statement may seem to contradict the statement in para-
graph 67 concerning the degree to which the pore space
is reduced in persistently saturated soils. All saturated

PHYSICAL INTER-RELATIONS IN SOILS 55

clays, after their pore space has been reduced far below
that desirable or necessary to permit the support of crops,
shrink when their
water content is
reduced. The cleav-
ages extend in differ-
ent directions but at
first chiefly verti-
cally. The chief re-
sult is that the mass
of drying soil is thus
reduced to blocks,
app r oxim ately
cubes, in form.

With the next
thorough wetting of
the soil that occurs
because of a heavy
rain or melting snow
or flooding (for ir-
rigation purposes),
these cubes of soil
will swell until most
of the cracks are
closed or nearly so.

FIG. 21. — A column of heavy clay, showing
the cleavages which take place upon air
drying. It illustrates the way in which
saturated clays check upon the removal of
the excess of moisture. It also indicates
that this soil would respond readily to
tile drainage. With successive wettings
and dryings the checking would multiply.

They will not be

closed so tightly,

however, but that,

as the excess of

water causing the

wetting passes downward, these cracks will open again.

With this second shrinking, new cleavages occur so that,

when this shrinking ceases, the blocks of soil will be

56 LAND DRAINAGE

broken into smaller blocks. As succeeding wettings and
dryings occur, the subdividing of the masses of soil con-
tinues until they become very small.

79. Ventilation plays a part. — As the cleavages in the
soil occur, air enters and comes in contact with the soil
masses ; the degree of ventilation, therefore, is determined
by the extent of the cleavaging. The contact of the
oxygen of the air with the soil particles in the walls of
the masses results in chemical reactions which mean
further soil and food preparation. The surface layer is
thus made ready to respond to the action of tools in its
preparation for the reception of the seed.

80. Other agents. — Crops may now be planted. Their
roots, developing, reach outward and downward. Root
progress is favored by the crumbling and mellowing al-
ready mentioned as having occurred. But these roots,
as they progress, wedge apart, disintegrate, and arch the
soil particles, with the result that, at the close of the sea-
son, the whole soil mass is more mellow and open because
of their presence. Then, as they later decay, the chemical
products resulting probably cause further soil ameliora-
tion.

81. Animal-forms. — The conditions have now become
propitious also for various forms of animal life to take up
their abode in the soil. Earthworms, ants, and other
creatures burrow in the soil, filling it with openings which
become passageways for both drainage and ventilation.
The materials removed from these passageways, chiefly
mineral matter, are deposited upon the surface to be sub-
jected to the direct action of sunshine and air, and to
cover the fragments of organic matter already lying upon
the surface. Again these creatures, for purposes which
may be attributed to them as economic, convey from the

PHYSICAL INTER-RELATIONS IN SOILS 57

surface to their burrows, great quantities of fragments of
organic (chiefly vegetable) material, the greater part of
which remains there to become a part of the soil and per-
form important functions in developing desirable physical
conditions. There -thus arise various cycles of activities,
all of which result in the mellowing, deepening, and per-
fecting of the soils.

82. Food-preparers. — At the same time there gradu-
ally come in and develop such vegetable forms as the nitri-
fiers and nitrogen fixers, and other food-preparers. In
the absence of air they cannot exsist ; at low temperatures,
they work not at all or only feebly. With the mellowing
of the soil, opportunity is afforded for the distributing and
multiplying of their colonies. With the more complete
access of air and increasing temperature, and with the
gradual accumulation of organic matter from the decom-
position of roots or from the improved condition of the
organic matter which may already be present, the activi-
ties and products of the nitrifiers and free nitrogen fixers
are greatly increased. Moreover, those processes, whether
physical, chemical, or biological, by which the mineral
foods are prepared, are greatly favored by these same
conditions.

83. The final results. — Under adverse conditions
evil results seem to be cumulative, and usually really are
so. It is equally true that if the removal of undesirable
ground water is supplemented with rational practice, the
beneficial results are cumulative. As the changes above
described take place, every other desirable physical con-
dition is favored. Optimum temperature, optimum ven-
tilation, optimum capillarity are all approached, and all
mutually cooperate as is always the case when condi-
tions are correct or favorable.

CHAPTER III

HUMID AREAS AND THEIR RECLAMATION

THERE are large areas, at the present time, unavailable
for cropping because of the presence of excessive amounts
of water. In the United States they probably aggregate
over 135,000 square miles. According to the Depart-
ment of Agriculture,1 there are in the United States
79,000,000 acres of land, exclusive of tidal marshes, that
cannot be cultivated because of excessive moisture. This
aggregate is reclassified in part as follows : 52,665,000
acres continually wet ; 6,826,000 acres wet grazing lands ;
14,000,000 acres periodically overflowed ; 4,766,000 acres
farm lands periodically swampy. It is asserted that all
of this land could be drained at a net profit of
$1,594,000,000 measured by increase in land values,
with an increased annual income of $273,000,000. They
are all called swamp land, and are variously classified.

84. Common swamps. — There are still left some ex-
tended areas of flat prairie lands which function imper-
fectly or negatively, because of the presence of excessive
water.

On the Atlantic slope there are some very large fresh-
water swamp areas, of which the Dismal Swamp in Vir-
ginia is an example. These swamps aggregate many
thousand square miles in area.

85. Alluvial plains. — There are considerable areas of
alluvial lands liable, at times, to overflow, but at all

1 Year Book, Dept. of Agriculture, 1912, p. 226.
58

HUMID AREAS AND THEIR RECLAMATION 59
&- <?/ . £,

FIG. 22. — Map of Township in La Fourche Parish, Louisiana, showing
the way in which the early French Acadians plotted their farms on
the naturally drained margins of the rivers and bayous. Back of
these parcels of land is marsh.

times subject to freshets because of rains or of melting
snow. The fact that, in their lower stretches at least,
the surfaces of these plains slope away from their rivers
rather than toward them, results in extended flooded
areas, at first well back from the river near the edge of
the valleys. The areas increase in extent as the outlet
of the river is approached, until often the greater part, or
all, of the region, excepting a fringe along the stream, is

60 LAND DRAINAGE

swamp. This is true of the great Mississippi Delta region.
The state of Louisiana has approximately 10,000,000
acres of swamp lands. The map (Fig. 22) shows a section
of the Bayou La Fourche, at one time a mouth of the
Mississippi, and how the farms of the descendants of the
early French Acadians occupy the only naturally drained
lands at the time of their coming. The farms are very
narrow and lie practically at right angles to the stream.
They range from one mile to one-and-a-half miles in
length, and touch or include marsh land at their rear.
For a distance of forty miles south of Lockport, Louisiana,
these farms are said to average less than 250 feet in width.

These alluvial areas are among the richest lands on
the globe and are full of agricultural potentiality.

86. Swamps of the drift regions. — Throughout the
regions of glacial drift, there are areas of swamp or marsh-
lands, ranging in size from a few square rods to thousands
of acres, and even hundreds of square miles. They range
in quality of soil from the so-called black ash and cedar
swamp, which, while rich in organic matter, contains large
quantities of mineral, to deposits of almost pure organic
matter, in many cases but slightly decayed. They run
in depth from a few inches to many feet. They possess
a considerable range of agricultural values, depending
upon depth, composition, underlying subsoil, and the like.
The soils that have made Kalamazoo, Michigan, famous
for the celery sent out to the world, belong to this class,
as do also the soils that have made Michigan famous as a
producer of peppermint and spearmint oils.1

1 Michigan produces 88 per cent of the peppermint oil pro-
duced in the United States and 60 per cent of the peppermint
oil produced in the world. R. S. Shaw, Spec. Bui. 70, Mich.
Agr. Col. Exp. St.

HUMID AREAS AND THEIR RECLAMATION 61

All these marsh soils have been formed under excessive
moisture conditions. Their formation, classification, and
characteristics are very interesting.1 Their agricultural
value depends finally upon the removal of the excess of
water and upon their later management.

87. Marine marshes. — These marshes have been pro-
duced by the filling of arms of the sea by dense growths
of marine vegetation. To this mass have been added con-
siderable amounts of silt and the shells and skeletons of
marine life by the action of the tides. Many of these
marshes are very rich and when reclaimed prove very
productive. Shaler places the area of the marine marshes
of the United States, " including only the deposits which
are bared at half tide, and which owe their formation
mainly to the growth of grass-like plants," at nearly 10,000
square miles, over 6,000,000 acres.2

88. Reclamation of common swamp lands. — The adap-
tation of these over-wet areas for agriculture has brought
forth numerous and extensive reclamation projects. For
many years the drainage of large areas of flat prairies, by
extensive open ditch or canal systems, has been in progress
in Illinois, Iowa, and other prairie states. One such area
in Illinois is known as Vermilion River District. Its
main ditch is 10 miles in length, 70 feet wide at bottom
and 9 feet deep. In most cases the great main ditches of
these prairie drainage enterprises find an outlet by gravity
into some natural waterway, such as a stream or river,
as is the case with the Vermilion District. In some cases,
however, dikes must be built, and pumping stations pro-
vided to lift the water out.

1 See Davis on Peat. — State Dept. of Geology, Mich.

2 12th Annual Report Director U. S. Geological Survey, p.
319.

62 LAND DRAINAGE

89. Reclaiming delta lands. — These lands have been
built up and are still being added to by the great rivers
flowing through them. They are very low, being in many
cases only a few feet above sea level. They are lower
than the banks of their rivers and in many cases lower
than the surface of the rivers at normal flood. Much of
the surface of these lands is under water all the year,
and in some cases is occupied by shallow lakes. The soil
is very deep and rich. In the vicinity of New Orleans,
the alluvial deposits are said to reach a depth of 2000
feet. In some parts the surface is covered with grass-
like growth, in others by great forests of sycamore timber.

At one time these lands were considered almost worth-
less for agricultural purposes, and thousands of acres
were purchased at a price as low as 12| cents an acre.
At the present time (1915), values have advanced to
$10 to $30 an acre.

Great drainage projects are already in operation, and
others are under way. The method is to inclose a tract
of this land by dike, in getting the material for which a
ditch of considerable size is excavated inside the dike.
The ditch therefore encircles the tract. The area to be
thus diked in is selected abutting a natural water course,
or some large drainage canal. If it is not so located, it
must have a ditch or canal dug to it. The ditch encircling
the tract is given a fall such that the bottom is lowest at
some point adjacent to the water course or drainage canal.
Ditches are next cut across the tract at intervals from the
encircling ditch, and again other branches are dug back
from these, dividing the tract in units of forty acres or
less. All the ditches have such fall that the water in
them will gravitate from the smaller to the larger and
finally to the lowest point in the encircling ditch.

HUMID AREAS AND THEIR RECLAMATION 63

Upon the dike
at the lowest point
in the encircling
ditch a pumping
plant is installed,
with a capacity
sufficient to lift
over the dike and
deliver into the
wrater course or
outside canal, in
twenty-four hours,
an amount of water
equal to 1^ inches
of water over the
whole area of the
tract.

90. Size of the
unit . — These
tracts so diked in
are called units,
and a few years
ago comprised
about 1000 acres.
At this time the
unit is consider-
ably larger. Fig.
23 shows a unit
containing 1760
acres in process of
reclamation.

On February 13,
1915, the pumps

64 LAND DRAINAGE

were put in operation that will drain a tract of 40,000
acres adjacent to and including a part of the city of New
Orleans. There are five of these pumps and together
they are said to lift 1,000,000 gallons of water a minute.
Such enterprises as this are but the children of those in-
augurated by the people of Holland in reclaiming the
lands of their country a century ago. The chief differ-
ence between parent and child lies in the wonderfully
greater efficiency of the centrifugal pumps now used as
compared with those used by the Hollanders at the
climax of their work. The draining of Harlem Lake in
Holland, liberated to agriculture over 44,000 acres of
land. The plans for the enterprise were adopted in
1839 ; the dike was completed in 1843 ; the actual work
of pumping began in May, 1849; the lake was dry in
July, 1852. The actual pumping time was nineteen and
one-half months and the actual water lifted was over
900,000,000 tons. The ditches were completed in 1856.

91. How the expense of installing, operating and up-
keep is met. — When the reclaimed delta lands are sold
to farmers, a price to the acre is charged for the land,
sufficient to cover the cost of installation. The ditching,
diking, and the cost of machinery may frequently be as
low as $25 an acre. Additional tile draining may be
found necessary later. The writer has seen large areas
of these lands functioning perfectly without drains other
than the systems above described.

When a party purchases any number of acres in one
of these reclaimed units, he automatically becomes a
stock-holder in the drainage plant of the unit, with a
vote and a financial responsibility in its operation pro-
portional to the number of acres he owns within the
unit.

HUMID AREAS AND THEIR RECLAMATION 65

92. Reclaiming the swamp lands of the drift regions.

- Minnesota is probably leading the other states in the
reclamation of swamp lands of drift regions. This is due,
in part at least, to the peculiar nature of its drainage laws,
and the organization of her drainage commission. Up to
the present time, the work of reclamation has consisted
chiefly in the construction of large drainage ditches and
in the straightening and deepening of the natural water-
courses traversing the areas requiring draining.

The Michigan system, which is practically a county
system, proves very efficient as a method for accomplish-
ing district drainage.

93. A diked farm in Michigan. — The Owosso Sugar
Company's farm, located eighteen miles south of Saginaw,
Michigan, is peculiarly situated at the confluence of two
considerable sized rivers, and for this reason, and because
of the flatness of the country, if unprotected, would be
very subject to overflow. The farm consists of 10,000
acres, and is now inclosed by 27 miles of dike, with en-
circling ditch outside and inside the dike. This dike
ranges from 8 to 20 feet in height, and from this fact
alone was much more expensive to construct than the
dikes of the delta regions. The first " unit " of this farm,
opened up, consisted of 4000 acres ; and to drain the water
from it to one corner, 75 miles of open ditch were dug.
The four pumps used in lifting the drainage water over
the dike from this 4000 acres have a capacity of 40,000
gallons a minute, 2,400,000 gallons an hour. The open
ditches divide the " unit " into 40-acre tracts.

94. Reclaiming marine marsh lands. — The work of
reclaiming marine marsh lands, up to the present time
in this country, has been accomplished by diking out the
sea and digging a system of open ditches. Twenty-five

66 LAND DRAINAGE

years ago the drainage waters were removed by gravity
through sluice gates in the dike opened at low tide. The
shrinkage of these marine marsh soils is considerable, and
it is probably only a matter of time when pumping sys-
tems for removing the drainage water must replace the
gravity systems already installed.1 The rate at which
the saline materials disappear from these soils, after an
effective drainage system is installed, is rapid. Shaler
says, " These changes will spontaneously take place in
the course of 3 to 5 years after the sea is excluded from
the marsh, but by breaking up the surface with a plow
and cutting frequent ditches through the plain, a single
year will often suffice to bring the soil into the state where
any of our domesticated plants will grow upon it." 2

95. Economic oversights. — Where large areas of land
are wholly or largely submerged or saturated, the necessity
for drainage is apparent, and effective reclamation methods
are applied. The land is thus brought at once to a rather
high degree of agricultural efficiency. But there are at
least two classes of soils whose service is partially or
wholly lost to actual crop production.

96. Areas of imperfect natural drainage. — The first
class includes a large number of areas of soil, ranging in
size from a fraction of an acre to many acres, which are
saturated or submerged a sufficient period each year
seriously to affect the physical structure of the soils, and
therefore directly, or indirectly, to affect all their other
important physical conditions — temperature, ventilation,
and capillary moisture capacity. The over-wet condi-
tions usually occur in the spring and thus interfere with

1 Bulletin 240, Office of Experiment Stations, U. S. Depart-
ment of Agriculture.

2 Shaler, 12th Report U. S. Geological Survey, Part 1, p. 321.

HUMID AREAS AND THEIR RECLAMATION 67

the work of preparing the soil for the crop. The labor
of preparation is usually increased, and the planting
delayed. The results of the delayed seeding and the
injured physical conditions are: (1) reduced yields of
crops; (2) increased labor in handling the crops; and
(3) again increased labor in the later preparation of the
soil for succeeding crops. Instead of net profits, there
are realized net losses. The fact that these soils produce
" crops " is the chief reason why their owners do not resort
to artificial means for preventing the continued presence
of saturating water in them. The prevention of standing
water would mean net profits instead of net losses from the
crops produced. Elevation is not always a factor in the
natural control of the water in these soils.

97. Small wet areas. — The second class includes a
large number of small areas, perennially covered or filled
with water. These areas comprise small shallow ponds ;
small muck lands, sometimes producing cattails only;
small springy areas sometimes on low grounds, and some-
times well up on a slope; small bog lands with streams
flowing through them. Sometimes one or more of these
tracts lie within a cultivated field, interfering with practi-
cally every agricultural operation performed. Sometimes
they lie apart, fenced out from the field. Sometimes,
when they are fenced out, they have with them a portion
of good ground set off in squaring up the field from which
they are fenced. Their presence (1) means waste, direct
or indirect, (2) lessens the attractiveness of the farm,
(3) lowers its value an acre, and (4) may prove a men-
ace to the lives of the animals on the place, and the
health of the owner and his family. They remain un-
drained because (1) their owners become used to them,
(2) of their small area, and therefore small direct value,

68 LAND DRAINAGE

(3) of lack of understanding how to undertake the work
of reclamation.

98. Proportion of waste land. — It is not possible, with
the data gathered at the present time, to estimate the
ratio which the imperfectly functioning soils of the first
class, or which the negatively functioning soils of the second
class, bears to the total arable lands of the country. In
some parts of the country, it is very large, and there are
few portions of humid regions where these areas are not in
evidence. The economic losses due to their presence are
not appreciated. Neither are the ease of their reclamation,
nor their possibilities in crop production, when so re-
claimed. It is the existence of these areas and the economic
losses therefrom that have prompted the preparation of
this volume.

CHAPTER IV
GENERAL DRAINAGE INFORMATION

DRAINAGE may be defined as any artificial means by
which the removal of surface or ground water is hastened.

Need for drainage is indicated when water stands at
or near the surface of the soil sufficiently long (1) to
interfere with farm operations in the way of tillage, plant-
ing or harvesting, or (2) to render the soil soggy or compact.

A discussion is hardly necessary to enforce the impor-
tance of performing every operation on the farm with
promptness and dispatch. If the reader has followed
carefully the discussion of the relation of water to agricul-
ture, as set forth on the previous pages, he will understand
why soggy or compact soils are undesirable.

99. Lands requiring drainage. — Lands most likely to
require drainage fall under one or more of the following
heads :

1. Low-lying flat areas, and especially those more or
less surrounded by hills.

2. Higher areas of open soil with comparatively slight
slopes and underlaid by rather impervious subsoils.

3. Heavy clay soils, even though they have apparently
considerable natural surface drainage, but more especially
when the surface is marked by slight depressions from
which the water cannot drain readily.

4. It frequently happens that in regions generally
well drained, there occur small areas underlaid by nearly

69

70 LAND DRAINAGE

impervious strata of clay subsoil. These* areas are fre-
quently well up on the sides of slopes, and not infrequently
on the top of the highest parts of fields. Such areas
may comprise but a few square rods, and yet so persistently
is the water held that planting is delayed and, in some
cases, actually prevented. Such areas are very common
in glacial formations.

, 5. Springy places that occur at the foot of slopes and
not infrequently high up on the sides of slopes.

100. Methods of drainage. — The method to be em-
ployed in removing surface water will depend on a number
of things, such as: (1) the area to be drained; (2) the
nature of the soil ; (3) topography ; (4) the natural
facilities for outlet ; and (5) cost of labor and material.

Three methods of drainage are common. They are
open ditching, shallow surface drainage and tile drainage,
to which may be added a fourth, the use of wells. The
latter is sometimes employed in connection with tile
draining.

101. Open ditches. — Open ditches are employed in
extensive flat countries where the amount of water to be
removed is large, and where the fall is slight. In such
cases the ditches are often of considerable width and
depth, and the nature of the work in laying out and
developing such drainage systems is such as to require
the training and direction of a professional engineer.
After the main ditches have been completed in such sys-
tems, it is possible to use tile drainage in the smaller units.

102. Shallow open ditches. — The shallow, open, or
surface ditch is employed where the soil is so impervious
as to prevent the ready passage of the water downward to
drains laid at ordinary depths in tiling, or where natural
or artificial outlets cannot be had, or in new sections of

GENERAL DRAINAGE INFORMATION 71

the country. They are sometimes used in conjunction
with tile drains, in heavy soils, and especially where the
topography is such as to bring the surface drainage into
depressions over or adjacent to main tile drains.

103. Tile drainage. — On most upland soils, except
in extended flat areas and in occasional cases of impervious
soils, tile drainage may be employed and is to be much
preferred.

TILE

104. Kinds of tile. — Two general kinds of tile are
found on the market : (1) The common porous clay tile
and (2) vitrified tile. Vitrified tile, when glazed, as it
is sometimes, is often designated as a third kind. Drain
tiles are made in lengths of 12 inches and in diameters
ranging from 2 inches to 15 inches or more. Tiles less
than 3 inches in diameter are seldom used in modern
drainage practice. Any saving in cost that may come
from using 2-inch tile is more than counterbalanced by its
lack in efficiency as compared with 3-inch tile.

105. Common clay tile. — The ordinary clay tile is
made of the same material and in much the same way
that clay brick are made, and, after burning, possesses
much the same texture as the brick made of the same clay.
When made of good quality of clay and properly burned,
the tile is very durable, and after sixty to seventy years
in the soil, if it has been placed below the frost line, shows
no evidences of deterioration. If, however, the tile is
placed above the frost line, the walls are likely to shale,
and in a very short time to collapse.

106. Vitrified tile. — Vitrified tile differs from common
tile in two respects: (1) The kind and quality of the
material and (2) the degree of heat to which it is sub-

72 LAND DRAINAGE

jected in burning. The heat is sufficient partially to
fuse or melt the material, and thus to render the walls
stronger and much more impervious to water. Vitrified
tile, like other kinds, when placed above the frost line,
may become filled with water which, in freezing, expands
and shatters them. At present, vitrified tile is made not
only round, as is the common clay tile, but also in hex-
agonal shape. It is a question whether hexagonal shapes
are desirable, for reasons which will appear when the
discussion of the laying of tile is taken up. Note com-
ments in paragraph 109.

107. Cement tile. — Within the past few years the
manufacture of cement tile has become common, and
numerous machines are to be secured on the market for
their manufacture.

108. Difficulties with cement tile. — While much is
claimed for the efficiency and durability of cement tile,
it has not yet been proved that they may be used suc-
cessfully even on upland soils. On lowland and muck
soils, numerous cases have been observed of their failure
to endure. Several instances have come to the writer's
attention where, within three months after laying in com-
mon muck soils, the cement tile were found to have seri-
ously crumbled and, in many cases, to have collapsed.
This may have been due to improper mixing. It did
not appear to be due to a lack of richness in cement. The
uniformity with which cement tile in muck soil crumbled
on the upper surface seemed to indicate that the crumbling
was not a mere matter of accident, but rather an indication
of the presence of a solvent in the downward moving
soil-water. A number of instances are reported in which
cement tile have shown a similar crumbling in loam and
sandy soils. Patten and Musselman, of the Michigan

GENERAL DRAINAGE INFORMATION 73

Station, recently issued a note to be appended to Special
Bulletin 59 of that station, which reads :

" Badly disintegrated tile have been found in muck,
sand and sandy loam soils. We have found no satis-
factory explanation to account for the trouble, as yet,
since tile showing no disintegration have been found in
the same types of soil. It may be due to poor construc-
tion, insufficient curing, or to the action of the soil and
soil solution on the tile."

Numerous users of cement tile, who enthusiastically
champion their use, base their opinion upon several years
of experience. Some of these claim even to have used
successfully cement tile in muck and bog soils. Elliott,
in " Engineering for Farm Drainage," page 125, says :
" Abundant examples of tile now in service prove quite
conclusively that well-made cement tile meet every re-
quirement in drainage. Any failure of them indicates
imperfections in their manufacture which need not have
occurred " ; and again, " It is clear that first class Portland
cement and good sand should be used and that they should
be properly mixed."

109. Precautions. — The maker of cement tile should
observe three things : (1) to use only clean, sharp sand
with the cement and gravel; (2) to use a mixture of
cement not more lean than 4 to 1 ; and (3) to exercise
care in moistening, tamping or packing. Some of our ex-
periment stations are now making a careful study of the
value and durability of cement tile. Elliott says : " In
order to obtain a dense, non-porous tile, the mixture should
be wet, as opposed to what is known as 'dry mixture.'
The proportion of 1 part good Portland cement to 3 parts
good sand, well mixed, produces a good tile." 1

1 Engineering for Land Drainage, p. 125=

74 LAND DRAINAGE

On the precautions to be exercised in the choice of
drain tile, Fippin writes as follows : l

" The preeminent material for modern land drainage is
tile. It comes in different shapes and quality. By a
process of evolution we have come to prefer round or
hexagonal tiles because they are easiest to lay and least
likely to clog. They may be made of burned clay or of
concrete. Clay tile may be either vitrified or unverified.
The former is the more durable because its walls are less
porous. The difference lies in the quality of clay used
and the degree of heat applied in burning. Vitrification
means partial melting of the clay particles, which run
together in a very dense mass. A low degree of porosity
coincident with a moderate degree of vitrification is
especially desired where the tile is likely to freeze. In
the soil the pores in the tile become filled with water,
and if it freezes in this condition the walls of the tile
may be fractured and broken up into scales. If even
one or two tiles in a long line are thus destroyed, the
service of the drain is jeopardized. Since vitrified tile
costs no more on the average than soft tile, there is no
excuse for taking the risk in using the soft tile. The
drainage efficiency of the tile is not affected by the dif-
ference in the porosity of the walls, since the water enters
at the joints.

" Cement tile that are of fairly good quality may be
made by hand or in machines. It is doubtful whether
they can be made as durable as the best clay tile. They
should be carefully made of a rich mixture. Sand that is a
little loamy improves the quality, if the mixing is thorough,
as it reduces the amount of pore space. Whether cement
tile can be made at prices to compete with clay tile depends
1 Cornell Reading-Courses, iv. No. 78 (1914).

GENERAL DRAINAGE INFORMATION 75

on the size made and on the local situation in labor and
materials for the two kinds of tile.

" Only sound tile giving a true ring should be put in
the ground. The ends should be reasonably square and
smooth, so that a good joint can be made. This is most
important when laying tile in soil of a quicksand nature.
Here special precautions against clogging are necessary."

110. How water enters the tile. — There is only one
way, in the case of glazed tile, for water to enter and that,
of course, is by way of the joints.

In the case of porous tile, in all but the heavier soils,
the greater part of the water enters by way of the joints ;
this is probably true even in the case of the heavy soils.

In the Soils Laboratory of the Michigan Agricultural
College, very careful tests showed that in the case of
common 6-inch tile, laid 4 rods apart, the rate at which
water entered through the walls was 2 tons to the acre in
30 hours, while in the case of 4-inch tile, laid in the same
way, the rate was 1.55 tons in 30 hours. A 4-inch tile,
of apparently more porous type, laid in the same way,
permitted water to flow through the walls at the rate of
1.66 tons to the acre in 30 hours.

In the case of most cement tile, as they are commonly
made, water passed through the walls with great readiness.
Cement tile was also used in the tests referred to above,
and water was found to enter through the wall of 4-inch
cement tile, laid in the same manner and under the same
conditions as the common tile, at the rate of 1224 tons to
the acre in 30 hours. This is equivalent to over 8.6 acre
inches in 24 hours.1 The readiness with which water
passes through the walls of the cement tile, as ordinarily

1 Special Bulletin 56, Mich. Agr. College Experiment Station,
p. 5.

76 LAND DRAINAGE

made, may be easily observed if one will hold a tile so that
one can see along the inner surface and then slowly pour
water upon the upper outer surface. It requires but a
few seconds for the water to pass through and hang in
large drops on the inside of the tile. In heavy soils, a
tile possessing the porosity of the cement is greatly to be
desired. Undoubtedly Elliott would disapprove of the
use of cement tile of so open structure.

111. Tile systems. — In the draining of a piece of land,
there are several things that should be carefully considered.
It may be that a single line of tile will be sufficient to re-
move the surplus water from the area to be drained. This
is likely to be the case if the area is not over 100 to 150
feet wide, provided the soil is relatively open. If the
width is greater than 150 feet, or if it is as little as 100
feet, with a relatively impervious soil, it is probable that
more than one line of tile will be required. If the one line
is not sufficient, then a system should be introduced, the
style of which will depend upon the surface and shape of
the area and, possibly, on the notion of the one who is
installing the system.

Two general systems employed in tile drainage are illus-
trated in Figs. 24, 25, 26. All kinds of combinations of
these are found in actual practice. (See Figs. 27, 28, and
29.) In any system of tile, that line which receives the
water from all the other parts of the system is called the
main, and all the lines receiving the water directly from the
soil and conveying it to a main are called laterals. If
there should be more than one system of laterals, each
system flowing into another line than the main, which in
turn carries the water to the main, each of these lines
is called a sub-main. Figures 27 and 28 illustrate this
point.

*

A

41

*
A

4*

A

*
*.

^

jfc.

0*

gk

«ai

4

4±

4*.

41

41

^

4-

+.

*

^

<A

,£

A

^

^

A

4*

^

4

-di.

JL

4

^S^

J

*

X.

4*

*

«*.

«*

/^

FIG. 24. — A system of parallel drains.

FIG. 25. — A system comprising a main, and laterals approaching
obliquely.

*

A-

A

A

*

FIG. 26. — A system in which the laterals are laid at right angles to the

main.

80

LAND DRAINAGE

112. Outlet. —The point at
which the main discharges its
water is called the outlet. The
efficiency of a tile system and the
expense of installing will depend
very much on the location and
construction of the outlet. The
outlet may discharge its water
into any natural water-way or
stream, ravine or drainage ditch.
Generally it should be so located
that the main shall extend
through the lowest portion of
the area to be drained, and so
that it may be placed with the
least amount of digging and
have the fewest possible angles
in its course. This outlet should
be so situated that the ordinary
outside water should not stand
as high as the bottom of the tile.

113. Depth of tile drain. — It
is desirable that tile drains shall
lie, generally, not less than three
feet below the surface. Occa-
sionally a farmer is met who
believes that tile drains should
be laid as deep as four feet.
Waring favored a depth of four
feet. According to Elliott, 4
to 4J feet is deep, 3 feet is

FIG. 27. — A combination of the sys-
tems shown in Figs. 24 and 25.

GENERAL DRAINAGE INFORMATION

81

FIG. 28. — A system which has been in operation for a number of years.
It conforms in plan and efficiency to the requirements of the to-
pography of the field. The north section, after having been in
service some 15 years, was lowered two feet because of the lowering
of the surface from shrinkage from various causes.

82

LAND DRAINAGE

FIG. 29. — A system which has been developed solely by the require-
ments of the field. Originally, the system comprised only that part
occupying the marsh area in the southwest corner of the field.
Later, the branches running into the east end of the field were
laid. Next, the small branch leading to the small marsh area in
the upper central part of the field ; and this later was extended into
the marsh area in the upper left hand corner.

GENERAL DRAINAGE INFORMATION 83

medium and 2 to 2-^ is shallow. It sometimes happens
that in fields with uneven surfaces, or where it is diffi-
cult to get the proper amount of fall, the tile must be
laid in places as close to the surface as 18 inches. Tile
placed too near the surface are subject to freezing, and
freezing is almost sure to result in the cracking of the
tile, or in causing it to shale, which is likely to result
in its complete collapse. A depth of less than 3 feet
fails to give to the roots of most crops a sufficient
amount of room for development and forage. Greater
depth than 3 feet increases the effectiveness of drainage.
The champions of deep laying of tile offer three reasons
for the practice : (1) root room, (2) capillary water sup-
ply, (3) food development.

114. The distance apart of tile drains. — There is a
rather close relation between the depths to which the
tile are laid and the distance that may exist between tile
lines. Other things being equal, according to common
theory, the deeper the drains are placed, the greater the
distance that may lie between them, and vice versa. The
largest factor, however, in determining the distance apart
of drain lines is the character of the soil.

In very heavy clays, it may be necessary to place tile
drains not over 30 feet apart, while in very open soils they
may be placed as far as 150 to 200 feet or more apart. In
muck soils they may be placed from 60 to 80 feet apart,
and in ordinary loams 70 to 100 feet. Eighty-five feet
apart is probably a fair average.

Where soil is underlaid with a heavier subsoil, lying
so near the surface that the tile must be set down into it,
the drains must be placed closer together than would be
necessary if the subsoil more nearly resembled the soil
above in openness. (See Fig. 30.)

84 LAND DRAINAGE

\A \ "~1

a

115. How water approaches

s

the tile drains. — In approaching

' "^

X5
>> d

drains, the ground water un-

Jfl

11

doubtedly moves in such a way

/ i\

11

as to reach the drain by lines of

(' /

rSg

least resistance. When a heavy

/

•^ o

<D ^

soil is underlaid by a porous or

/ /

1+3 ^2
**H n3

sandy soil at or near the plane

1 / <

O o

of the tile, the water will meet

r r r

15

less resistance by following paths

i

II

indicated by the arrows in Fig.

i \

'o!

31. If, however, the heavy soil

\ \

^2

extended a foot or more below

v \\

^J

the plane of the tile, the water

!XM

II

would undoubtedly move toward

j§ jj

the tile in lines much more direct.

" " Of

02 ^

Water will not enter a tile

Svi

II

when no part of the surface of

'' / '

its zone of saturation lies higher

/ /! /

0) W

o3 f-i

than the bottom of the tile. In

/ /

other words, water will not enter

I

|w

a tile drain except by its own

i \\
L> Ijisx

1 i

gravity or when forced toward

* \h p

?<*•

the drain by some pressure ex-

V I

*>» »

terior to itself.

1 \ ''

ei

116. Size of tile to use. -

|°

Ordinary drain tile ranges in size

\ \ \

d° S

from 2 inches in diameter up to

\vv \l

0 J

12 and even 15 inches. The

^^

^ "o

capacity of different sizes of tile

''/*

'. ^

to carry water, with rate of flow

^ / 1

s

constant, varies as to the square

/ / 1 J

d

£

of their diameters. The square

GENERAL DRAINAGE INFORMATION

85

of the diameter is the product
of the diameter multiplied by
itself. When water in them has
the same rate of flow, 3-ineh
tile will carry 2 J times as much
water, as will 2-inch tile. To
illustrate : 3X3 = 9, 2X2 = 4;
9 is 2j times 4; 2j represents
the relation of the amount of
water that will flow through
3-inch tile as compared with the
amount of water that will flow
through 2-inch tile when they
have the same fall. A 5-inch
tile will carry 1^ times as much
water at the same rate of flow
as a 4-inch tile. To illustrate
again : the square of 5 is 25,
the square of 4 is 16, 25 divided
by 16 equals 1^-.

The size of tile to be used in
any instance will depend on the
area from which it is to carry
water, and whether it is to carry
away only the excess of water
due to rainfall on the area, or
whether there is added other
water brought in by springs, or
surface drainage, or seepage
from adjacent areas.

It is hardly advisable to use
tile so small as 2 inches in
diameter. The following gen-

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ft,'1

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if

fefcsfc<

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il

^:

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fc

i

86

LAND DRAINAGE

eral statements are quoted from C. G. Elliott, recognized
as one of the foremost drainage engineers in this country.
These statements apply to average conditions :

" When drains are laid so that there shall be a fall of 3
inches in 100 feet, a 3-inch tile will drain 5 acres, and
should not be of greater length than 1000 feet.

TABLE VI

RELATION OF SIZE OF TILE AND FALL TO CAPACITY TO CONVEY

WATER

WITH A FALL OP

3"

2"

1"

A 4-inch tile will drain ....

14.5 A.

12.8 A.

11

A.

A 5-inch tile will drain ....

25 A.

22 A.

19

A.

A 6-inch tile will drain ....

39.6 A.

34.8 A.

30.0

A.

A 7-inch tile will drain ....

58 A.

51 A.

44

A.

An 8-inch tile will drain ....

80 A.

71 A.

61

A.

" These are maximum capacities where the drain does
not exceed 1000 feet in length.

" A long drain has a less carrying capacity than a short
drain of the same size laid upon the same grade."

It is not difficult to see that if a long drain is to be laid,
and especially if this drain is a main receiving water from
laterals or other sub-mains, it will be necessary, from time
to time, to increase the size of the tile laid as the drain
approaches the outlet. Fig. 32 illustrates this point.

By giving careful attention to the capacity of the
various sizes, it is possible to exercise considerable economy
in the use of tile laid in any system.

The tendency of the day, according to Fippin, is to
increase rather than decrease the minimum size of the

GENERAL

DRAINAGE INFORMATIO

FIG. 32. — To illustrate Table VI. The 726-foot section of 8-inch tile has a capacity sufficient to carry the water
delivered by its own laterals and also that delivered from the field above. The 594-foot section of 7-inch
tile has a capacity sufficient to carry the water delivered by its own laterals and that delivered to it from the
remaining portions of the 58 acres above. A part of the 825-foot section of 5-inch tile might have been ^
laid in 4-inch. 4-inch tile is sometimes used for mains. -<I

5?

3 *^
J *

1

<;

i

<r> f

I

.

5

)

!

0

rS

1

"1

Q

J

1

— !
(

^

•i

c

j

3

c

5

1

*

^

O

.cE

o

fc

1 '

§

88 LAND DRAINAGE

tile used. " From the minimum size the tile will increase
in size according to the extent of the system. It is now
not uncommon for tile as large as two feet in diameter to
be used. Three-inch tile in lines not more than six
hundred feet long are usually best for lateral drains.
For drains up to fifteen hundred feet in length, four-inch
tile may be used, provided the grade is not less than four
inches per hundred feet. It is difficult to make an exact
statement concerning the proper size of main drains. In
general they should be capable of removing one-fourth of
an inch of water from the drainage area in twenty-four
hours."

117. Grade or fall. — Every line of tile should be so
laid that there is a gradual fall from the extreme end of
the drain to the outlet. This fall is usually spoken of
as the grade. It is desirable, when possible, to have a
fall of as much as 3 inches in every 100 feet. A carefully
constructed line of tile will work successfully on a much
less fall than this. Two inches is a common grade, and
in very flat areas a fall as slight as 1 inch to the hundred
feet is used ; and occasionally a fall of \ inch to the hun-
dred feet for tile as large as 8 inches.

118. Relation of size of tile to the grade. — The less
the fall, the greater must be the care exercised in laying
the tile, and the less will be its capacity to remove the
water and therefore the larger must be the tile. Elliott
says : " If we double the grade per hundred feet of the
drain we increase its carrying capacity about one-third."
If this be true, then if we lower the grade by half we
should decrease the carrying capacity by one-fourth.

The following figures, from Fippin, give some idea of the
area of land drained by some common sizes of tile when
laid at different grades :

GENERAL DRAINAGE INFORMATION

TABLE VII

89

NUMBER OF ACRES FROM WHICH ONE FOURTH INCH OF WATER
WILL BE REMOVED IN TWENTY-FOUR HOURS BY OUTLET
TILE DRAINS OF DIFFERENT DIAMETERS AND DIFFERENT
LENGTHS WITH DIFFERENT GRADES

DIAME-
TER OP
TILE IN
INCHES

GRADE IN INCHES PER 100 FEET

1

2

3

6

9

Length of drain in feet

1,000 | 2,000

1,000

2,000

1,000

2,000

1,000

2,000

1,000

2,000

Acres of land drained by different sizes of tile

5 . .
6 . .

7 . .

19.1
29.9
44.1

15.7

24.8
36.4

22.1
34.8
31.1

19.4
30.5

44.8

25.1
39.6
58.0

22.7
35.9

52.8

32.0
30.5
74.0

30.3

47.8
70.1

37.7
59.4

87.1

36.3
57.3
84.1

8 . .
9 . .
10 . .

61.4

82.2
106.7

50.7
68.1
88.5

71.2
95.3
123.9

62.6
83.8
108.9

80.9
108.4
140.6

73.6
89.6
128.1

103.3
138.1
179.2

98.0
131.3
170.5

121.4
162.6
211.1

117.3
157.1
204.4

119. Uniformity of grade. — It is desirable to have the
grade uniform throughout the length of each line of tile.
This is not always possible for reasons which will appear
later. When changes in grade must be made, it is still
desirable to make them as few as possible, and to keep
the grade uniform in as large sections as possible.

There is no objection whatever to changing the grade
from any rate of fall to a greater grade, but care must be
observed. The water moving through the drain carries
with it more or less fine material which has worked its
way through the joints of the tile. This material is spoken
of as silt. The particles of silt are sometimes so large as
to be moved but slowly by the running water in the tile —
so slowly indeed that if the rate of flow of the water should
be decreased by ever so little, its force will then be insuffi-

90

LAND DRAINAGE

cient to continue to move the particles. If, then, in a line
of tile the fall were lessened at some point, it might happen
that considerable quantities of this silt would accumulate
at the point of change. Sometimes this happens to the

FIG. 33. — Silt-basin built of brick.

extent that the tile is clogged. Means should be pro-
vided, therefore, to prevent such a contingency.

120. Silt-basins. — To prevent the clogging of tiles
by the accumulation of silt, chambers or openings, such
as are illustrated by Figs. 33, 34, and 35, are established
at intervals along the tile drain. They are commonly
called silt-basins. These are placed wherever in a line
of tile the grade is changed from a higher to a lower
rate of fall, and especially where it is evident that the

GENERAL DRAINAGE INFORMATION

91

movement of the water below the point of change is likely
to be so slow as to find difficulty in moving the particles
of silt. They are also placed where a sub-main unites
with a main, and where a long lateral unites with a main

FIG. 34. — Silt-basin of concrete and sewer tile.

or a sub-main, and at intervals along any considerable
line of tile, whether it is lateral, sub-main, or main. In
the last named case, the purpose is not only to gather
the silt moving down the line, but also as a provision for
examining the condition of the tile drain. By such a
distribution of silt-basins, the line or system is divided
into units, and if a mishap, resulting in the clogging of
any portion of the system, occurs, the unit in which it is
located can usually be established by examining the silt-

92

LAND DRAINAGE

basins and noting the flow of the water into and out from
them.

121. How the silt-basin performs its work. — The
bottom of the silt-basin should stand at least a foot
below the lower edge of the tile running from the basin.

FIG. 35. — Silt-basin built of concrete.

The basin should be at least 12 inches in diameter or 18
to 24 inches for large tile. As the water enters the silt-
basin from the tile, its velocity is suddenly decreased and
its capacity to carry silt is thus reduced. Therefore
most of the silt settles to the bottom of the silt basin as
the water passes through and into the out-leading tile.
When the silt has accumulated sufficiently in the bottom
of the silt basin, it may be removed with a shovel or hoe.

GENERAL DRAINAGE INFORMATION 93

122. The construction of a silt-basin. — A very com-
mon method of constructing a silt-basin is to dig an open-
ing to a depth of at least 12 inches below the bottom of the
outgoing tile, and from 20 to 30 inches in diameter, de-
pending on the size of the tile leading into and from the
basin. This opening is then walled or curbed with com-
mon brick to the top of the ground. (See Fig. 33.) Some-
times the opening is walled with brick to just above the
top of the tile and then a piece of sewer pipe of sufficient
diameter is placed on end upon the brick. Cement may
be used in place of the brick. (See Fig. 34.) In re-
gions where stone, and especially flat stone, is abundant,
this material is much used in building walls of silt-basins.

In these days of cement, a very simple method of con-
structing a silt-basin is to dig an opening of proper size
and then build in a wooden form, and fill the space between
the form and the walls of the opening with a mixture of
one part of cement to five or six of sandy gravel. (See
Fig. 35.)

123. Finishing the silt-basin. — In most cases, it is
desirable to carry the basin wall to a few inches above
ground. Sometimes, however, where the field is culti-
vated, the top of the wall is stopped at 12 inches below
the surface of the ground. A heavy covering is then placed
on the top of the wall and the soil is filled in above it. In
this case it is necessary to use some special means for
locating the silt-basin.

Where the wall is brought to or above the surface of
the ground, it should have placed upon it a substantial
cover of wood, concrete, or iron. Iron gratings are used
when it is desired to remove surface water by way of
the tile drains (see paragraph 208).

CHAPTER V
LEVELING

LEVELING is a process by which the heights or elevations
of definite points in a line or in an area above an arbitrarily
adopted plane are determined. This is called the datum
plane, and is usually so located as to lie lower than the
lowest point whose elevation is sought. In the ordinary
practice of leveling, for drainage purposes, this plane is
so established that the point at which the leveling begins
lies just 10 feet above it, — " 10 feet above datum."

It will be seen that if the datum plane is itself level,
and if the height of each point is determined, in a line or
in an area, above the datum plane, it is then an easy matter
to determine the difference in elevation between any point
and any other point, or to determine the fall between
any two points.

124. The level. — The level shown in Fig. 36 con-
sists of a telescope mounted on a spindle, which is in
turn mounted on a tripod. The telescope carries a spirit
level which is so carefully adjusted that when the bubble
stands in the center the telescope stands level for that
direction. When the tripod is set, the spindle can be ad-
justed so that the telescope swinging upon the spindle is
always level.

As one looks through the telescope, one sees apparently
near the far end two lines — one horizontal and the other
perpendicular — crossing each other at the center of the

94

LEVELING 95

opening. These lines are called the cross-hairs. When
the telescope stands level, i.e., when the level attached
to the telescope indicates level :

1. A line passing from the eye of the observer through
the small opening through which he looks, and through

FIG. 36. — Level commonly used in drainage work. A, telescope; B,
spindle; C, spirit level; D, eye-piece; E, leveling head; F, ratchet
to adjust objective ; O, objective ; S, leveling screws.

the horizontal cross-hair, is also level and is parallel to
the datum plane.

2. The distance of the horizontal cross-hair above the
datum plane is called also the height of the instrument.

3. Every point that falls directly back of, or behind the
horizontal cross-hair, as the observer looks through the

96 LAND DRAINAGE

telescope, is the same height above the datum plane as is
the instrument.

125. Cheaper levels. — The instrument shown in Fig.
36 is rather expensive for one who has only a limited
amount of draining. A number of cheaper levels, also

FIG. 37. — Cheaper forms of drainage or grade levels. Reading from
left to right, Gurley, Jackson, Queen.

called drainage levels, can be secured. Some of these
are also called grade levels. They are not as accurately
made as the more expensive instrument, but they are
sufficiently accurate for use where there is a fair fall, or
grade, and for others than professional drainage engineers.
Three such levels are shown in Fig. 37.

LEVELING

97

FIG. 38. — Leveling rods, a and 6, two views of an
architect's rod. c, view of a cheap rod accom-
panying the Jackson level.

126. Leveling rods. — With the level there should be
a leveling rod. Figure 38 shows two such

rods ; one (a) is known as the sliding rod.
It is catalogued as an architect's rod. It
consists of two parts, each in this case 5^
feet long, fitted together and clamped in
such a way that the parts may be extended
to form a rod 10 feet long. A rod like a
is shown extended in b. The other rod
c, a simple affair, consists of a single
piece f inch by If inches by 8 feet long.
These rods are graduated to feet, yV foot
and I^-Q foot. Rods are sometimes gradu-
ated to feet, inches, and fractions of an
inch. Figure 39 shows a standard drain-
age engineer's leveling rod.

Sometimes the face of the rod is spaced
or blocked in colors, the spaces or blocks
representing fractions of a foot, so that
the graduated face can be read at a dis-
tance and especially through the telescope
of the level. The face of one rod in Fig.
38 shows this spacing.

127. Target. — Each of the rods shown
in Figs. 38 and 39 is equipped with a
target. The target is a circular plate
divided into quarters by a horizontal and
a perpendicular line, and the quarters
painted red and white as shown. The
target is constructed to slide up and down

98

LAND DRAINAGE

gineer's leveling rod.

in grooves on the rod, or upon
guides, and is fitted with a clamp-
ing screw. The target is open in
the center to expose a portion of
the face of the rod. (See Fig. 40.)

128. Using the level.
— In using the level

observe that:

1. There is always a
starting point whose
elevation above datum
is known, or arbitrarily
established or, to put
it more correctly, be-
low which a datum
plane is arbitrarily es-
tablished. Ordinarily
in simple drainage
work, this arbitrary
height or elevation is
10 feet.

2. There are one or
more other points
whose elevations are
not known, but which
it is desired to deter-
mine. The procedure
is about as follows :

129. Setting up the
level. - - The level is
set up :

1. At a convenient
within range of a

LEVELING 99

point whose elevation is known, or has been established ;
it is set, with the legs of the tripod spread in such a way
that when they are firmly set in the soil, the lower plate
of the leveling head E, Fig. 36, is approximately level.

2. The upper plate and spindle are then adjusted by
the use of the thumb-screws of the leveling head, so that
the spirit level indicates level in whatever direction the
telescope is turned. In practice, the telescope is turned
so that it stands in line with two opposite thumb-screws,
and adjustment is made to bring the telescope to level. It
is then turned so that it stands in line with the other
pair of thumb-screws and adjusted as before. The
telescope is now turned back to its first position for re-
adjustment, then reversed, then turned to its second posi-
tion and reversed, and in each case the thumb-screws
are used, if necessary, to perfect the adjustment to bring
the telescope to level. When thus adjusted, the telescope
should stand level in all positions.

130. Cautions. — The following cautions should be
observed in setting up the level :

1. Tighten the thumb-screws only sufficiently to hold
the telescope firmly. More than this is likely to do injury
to screws and plates.

2. Remember that once the level is carefully adjusted,
continual care must be exercised to keep it in adjustment.
It should not be struck; one should not stand too near
the feet of the tripods; the bubble of the spirit level
should be frequently observed.

131. Determining the height of the level. — The
height of the instrument is determined in the following
manner :

1. A leveling rod is held by an assistant, or rodman,
on a point whose elevation is known, or has been es-

100 LAND DRAINAGE

tablished. The rod should be held perpendicular with
the face toward the level.

2. The person in charge of the adjusted level turns the
telescope toward the rod, places the eye at the eye piece,
and moves the objective out or in until the figures upon
the face of the leveling rod are clearly seen or, if the rod
is too far away for that, till the view of the target is clear
cut. The eye piece may need adjusting to bring out clearly
the cross-hair. He should look now to see that the spirit
level indicates level and, if necessary, adjust.

132. Direct reading. — If the figures on the leveling
rod appear sufficiently clear to the one in charge of the
level, as he looks through the telescope, he should read
and record the height on the rod at which the horizontal
cross-hair crosses the face of the rod.

133. Target reading. — If the figures on the leveling
rod do not appear sufficiently clear to be read by the person
in charge of the level, then the rodman must raise or lower
the target as directed by signs from the person in charge
of the level, until the horizontal bisecting line of the target
lies exactly behind the horizontal cross-hair of the telescope
as seen through the telescope. The rodman should now
carefully tighten the set screw of the target and then read
to the level-man the height at which the horizontal bisect-
ing line of the target crosses the face of the rod. This
height the level man should carefully record. The
rodman may record the reading.

134. Back-sight reading and its use. — This reading is
called the back-sight, and is the name always given to
the reading taken at the point whose elevation is known,
or assumed, and is always taken to determine the height
of the instrument. Let us suppose the reading just
taken to be 4.95 feet. This means that the instrument is

LEVELING 101

4.95 feet above the point at which the rod was held. Let
us suppose also the height of the point at which the
rod is held to be 11.35 feet above datum. If, now, we
add 4.95 feet to 11.35 feet, we have 16.30 feet as the
height of the instrument above datum.

135. Elevation of other points. — The height or ele-
vation of other points within range of the level are de-
termined in the following way :

1. The rodman carries the rod and holds it, face to-
ward the level, upon one of the points whose height is
sought.

2. The telescope is turned toward the rod in its new
position and focused to bring out, most clearly, the figures
on the face of the rod. The reading is taken as in (133)
above and recorded.

136. Fore-sight reading and its use. — This reading is
called a fore-sight, which is the name given to any reading
taken at the point whose elevation is to be determined.
Let us suppose that this fore-sight reading is 4.22 feet.
It means that the point at which the rod is held, and whose
elevation is sought, is 4.22 feet lower than the instrument,

— 4.22 feet nearer the datum plane than is the instrument.
If, then, we subtract 4.22 feet (the fore-sight reading)
from 16.30 feet (the height of the instrument), we obtain
12.08 feet as the elevation of the new point.

In like manner the rod should be placed at other points
within the range of the instrument, and fore-sight readings
taken. In each case, subtracting its fore-sight reading
from the height of the instrument gives the elevation
of the point at which the fore-sight reading was taken.
Let us suppose three other fore-sight readings are taken
at three other points, respectively, and that these three
readings are 3.75 feet, 3.06 feet and 3.11 feet.

102

LAND DRAINAGE

137. Cautions. — In taking a reading, the following
cautions should be observed :

1. Always before recording a reading, observe the
bubble in the spirit level to be sure that the telescope is
level.

2. If at any time the level should be disturbed, it should
be properly set and its height redetermined before taking
other fore-sight readings. In establishing the new height
of instrument, a reading may be taken to any point whose
elevation is known.

138. Records and computations. — Every reading
should be carefully recorded in its proper place in a table
provided for the purpose. If it is desired merely to find
the elevation of several points, the form of table given
below will serve the purpose. (See Table VIII.) Usually
the figures are introduced into the table as they are
obtained in the work of leveling, and the computations
are made later.

TABLE VIII

POINT OR STAKE

BACK-SIGHT

HEIGHT OF
INSTRUMENT

FORE-SIGHT

ELEVATION

1

4.95

11.35

2

—

—

4.22

—

3

—

. —

3.75

—

4

—

—

3.06

—

5

—

—

3.11

—

139. Directions and explanations. — The following
points should be observed :

1. That the elevation of point 1 had already been
established or assumed. It should be recorded after point
1, under elevation.

LEVELING

103

2. The back-sight was taken at point 1. It is always
taken at a point whose elevation has been established.

3. Each fore-sight reading is recorded after the point
at which it was taken.

4. In making computations for determining the elevation
of the other four points, the back-sight reading 4.95 feet
is added to the elevation of point 1, which in this case is
11.35 feet. This gives 16.3 feet as the height of the in-
strument above datum and this is introduced after the
back-sight reading under height of instrument, as appears
in Table IX.

5. The elevation of each point is found by subtracting
its fore-sight reading from the height of the instrument,
and when all the elevations are thus found and introduced
the completed table appears as is shown in Table IX.

TABLE IX
TABLE VIII COMPLETED

POINT OR STAKE

BACK-SIGHT

HEIGHT OF

INSTRUMENT

FORE-SIGHT

ELEVATION

1

4.95

16.30

11.35

2

—

—

4.22

12.08

3

—

—

3.75

12.55

4

—

—

3.06

13.24

5

—

—

3.11

13.19

140. Moving and resetting the instrument. — If there
are other points too high, or too low, or too far away to
fall within the range of the level, it must be moved and
set at a new place, so that one or more of the other points
shall fall within its range, and such that one of the points
whose elevations have already been found shall also lie

104 LAND DRAINAGE

within range of the level. The height of the instrument
at this new position is now determined, the back-sight
reading being taken at a point within range, and whose
elevation is already found, or whose elevation can be found
from data already obtained. If the new points whose
elevations are sought are in the same line of stakes as those
already found, it is desirable to take the back-sight read-
ing at the stake whose elevation was last found. The
work from this point proceeds as above described.

141. Using cheaper kinds of levels. — The cheaper
kinds of drainage levels are of necessity more crudely
made and cannot, therefore, be so delicately adjusted as
the better made and more expensive instruments.

In leveling with these cheaper instruments, usually only
one fore-sight reading is taken with each setting up.
One back-sight reading must also be taken, because this
is necessary to determine the height of the instrument.
In using the cheaper level, the precaution should always
be observed of setting the instrument nearly equidistant
from the point whose elevation is known and the point
whose elevation is to be determined. In practice, in
leveling for drains where the fall is large, it is possible,
with care, to take two, three, or even four fore-sight read-
ings with each setting up of the instrument. But here,
as above, the level should be set very nearly midway be-
tween the point whose elevation is known and the farthest
point whose elevation is to be determined with this setting
of the instrument.

If but one fore-sight reading were taken with each set-
ting up of the instrument in determining the elevations
of the points recorded in the tables above, the readings
would appear as seen in the following table :

LEVELING
TABLE X

105

POINT OR STAKE

BACK-SIGHT

HEIGHT OP
INSTRUMENT

FORE-SIGHT

ELEVATION

1

4.95

_

_

11.35

2

4.87

16.30

4.22

12.08

3

5.07

16.95

4.40

12.55

4

4.66

17.62

4.38

13.24

5

— •

17.90

4.71

13.19

142. Simple devices sometimes used in leveling. —
Where tile of good size is to be laid with a fair fall, rather
crude devices are sometimes used for leveling, with satis-

FIG. 41. — Illustrating how a carpenter's level may be mounted on a
stand and used for leveling.

factory results. There are frequently found advertised
in our agricultural journals, cheaper leveling devices,
ranging from $5 to $10 apiece.

143. The carpenter's level. — A device sometimes used
is illustrated in Fig. 41. It consists of a one-legged stand
with the lower end of the leg sharpened so that it can be
pushed into the ground sufficiently to hold the stand firmly
upright, and so that the top of the stand shall be approxi-
mately level. Upon the top a carpenter's level is placed

106 LAND DRAINAGE

and, by the use of wide thin wedges, adjusted to level.
Over the top of the level thus adjusted the operator may
sight. Figure 41 shows the level in use.

144. The water level. — Figure 42 shows what is some-
times spoken of as the water level. It consists, in this
case, of two glass tubes firmly clamped to a bar which in
turn is firmly fastened to a sharpened leg. The lower

FIG. 42. — Illustrating the water level in use.

ends of the tubes are connected by a piece of rubber tub-
ing. A colored fluid is introduced through one of the
tubes until it stands within an inch of the tops of the
glass tubes, care being taken to have the bar nearly
horizontal. In accordance with a law of fluids, the tops
of the columns of colored liquid in the glass tubes stand
at the same level. A line passing over the tops of the
columns of fluid, therefore, when the fluid has come to
rest, is level. Sometimes horizontal sliding sights are
set on the tubes. When the fluid comes to rest, each sight
is set even with the top of the column of fluid in its tube.
The sighting is then done over these sights. (See also
Fig. 43.)

With these home-made devices there must also be used
a leveling rod, which is also usually home-made, the
making of which will vary with the notions of the maker.

LEVELING 107

145. The hose level. — In Chapter IX there is described
a device for leveling which is cheap to construct, simple
to operate, and accurate in results obtained. It consists
of a piece of inch or f-inch or even J-inch garden hose
about 60 feet long, into the ends of which have been

FIG. 43. — Closer view of water level and carpenter's level.

clamped 12-inch pieces of water gauge tubing. With the
ends brought near together arid held in an upright posi-
tion, water is introduced till the hose is filled and the
water stands in the tubes half their lengths. The two
columns of water stand at the same height as shown in
Fig. 67 regardless of the position of the hose.

CHAPTER VI
LAYING OUT A DRAIN OR SYSTEM

WHEN • the tile draining ranges from a single line of
tile to a system draining a moderate area, with reasonable
facilities for an outlet, and with a fair fall, it is entirely
practicable for the farmer to do the work himself. On
the other hand, when the area to be drained is large, and
especially when the fall must of necessity be very slight, -
it is usually better to place the work in the hands of a
practical drainage engineer. In any case the work should
be taken up much as outlined below.

146. Establishing the point of outlet. — The first
thing to be done is to determine the point at which the
drain, or system, shall discharge its water. We have
already indicated in paragraph 112 how important a
matter this is. Upon it depends not only the regular
and proper disposal of the water discharged from the
system, but the plan and efficiency of the system itself,
and the economy that may be exercised in its construc-
tion. A tile drain or a tile system should be planned not
for a few years, but for generations of service.

147. Laying out a drain. — If the drain is to be single
or simple, one should begin at the point determined upon
for the outlet, and establish the line of the drain by driving
stakes at intervals of 50 feet.1 Two kinds of stakes
should be provided.

148. Grade stakes. — These stakes should be about
1 inch by 1| inches, 10 inches long, and pointed. In

1 With many engineers 100 feet is preferred.
108

LAYING OUT A DRAIN OR SYSTEM 109

clay soils 8 inches is long enough for the grade stakes,
while in looser soils, such as mucks, the length should be
12 to 15 inches. The grade stakes should be driven in
straight lines, 2 inches back from the intended edge of
the ditch. If the ditch is not to be straight throughout
its entire length, the breaks should be made if possible
at a point or points established by the grade stakes.
They should all be driven on the same side of the ditch ;
at least this should be true for any one section of the
drain. They should be driven so that the tops stand
about \ inch above the ground in each case, and to secure
uniformity in height above the ground, it is a good plan
to carry a small piece of J-inch board, 6 inches by 12 inches,
and to lay this board on the ground next to the stake and
drive the stake until its top shall stand just even with
the upper surface of the board. In this way the effects
of the little inequalities in the soil are overcome. These
stakes should be driven so that their greatest width
stands parallel with the edge of the drain.

149. Finders. — About 6 inches back from each grade
stake should be driven another stake, commonly called
a finder. This should be 18 inches to 2 feet long, |- inch
thick, and 2 to 3 inches wide, and should be driven from
4 to 6 inches into the ground. The finder assists in the
subsequent locating of the grade stakes, and sometimes
has recorded upon it data concerning the ditch. These
data are usually placed upon the finder for the benefit
of the man who digs the ditch, and may include such items
as the depth of the ditch at this point, the distance of
the stake from the terminal of the ditch, the height of
the grade bar, the boning line, and the like.

150. Laying out a main. — The procedure in laying
out a main will not differ from that in laying out a single

110 LAND DRAINAGE

or simple ditch, excepting that the grade stakes may be
driven at intervals other than 50 feet. In laying out the
main, the grade stake usually establishes also the point
at which the laterals connect with the main and, there-
fore, the starting point of the laterals. If the laterals
are to be located at intervals of 100 feet, and the laterals
on opposite sides of the main are to alternate and to lie
at right angles to the main, as shown in Fig. 26, then 50
feet is the proper interval to be adopted between grade
stakes. If the laterals on one side of the main are to be
located at intervals of 60 feet, and are to lie at right
angles to the main, then the grade stakes should be set
at intervals of 30 feet. In other words, the interval be-
tween any two grade stakes is one-half the interval be-
tween any two laterals on one side of the main. This
is, of course, under the assumption that the intervals
between laterals are uniform.

151. Fifty-foot intervals. — The 50-foot interval be-
tween grade stakes is chiefly desirable because in thinking
of, and discussing, the fall of drains, the fall in inches
is almost invariably compared with 100 feet of length of
drain. When a drain is said to have a fall of three inches,
a fall of three inches in 100 feet of drain is meant. Fifty
feet is just one-half of 100 feet, and if the rate of fall is
3 inches for 100 feet, then the fall in 50 feet is 1| inches.
If the interval between stakes is any other than 50 feet,
some other factor than one-half must be used in deter-
mining the fall between stakes. The next easiest dis-
tance to use for intervals between stakes is 25 feet, which
is one-quarter of 100 feet, and the next is 33 feet 4 inches,
which is one- third of 100 feet.

152. The relation of angle of approach to the main
to the actual distance between laterals. — In some

LAYING OUT A DRAIN OR SYSTEM

111

respects it is desirable that the laterals lie at angles less
than 90° to the main: (1) with an angle less than 90°,
it is not necessary to introduce a curve or angle at the
outlet end of the lateral ; (2) in very many cases the
outlet of the area to be drained is other than square,
and can be more economically served by the lateral if
it lies at an angle less than 90 degrees to the main.

When two laterals, entering the main at an interval of
100 feet, lie at an angle of 30 degrees to the main, they
are just 50 feet apart. If two laterals, entering the main
100 feet apart, lie at an angle of 60 degrees to the main,
their distance apart is nearly 86 feet, 7 inches. If two
laterals, entering a main 100 feet apart, lie at an angle of
45 degrees, the distance between them is nearly 70 feet,
8 inches. (See Fig. 44, also Table XL)

TABLE XI

RELATION OP ANGLE OF APPROACH TO MAIN TO DISTANCE BETWEEN
LATERALS, WHEN LATERALS ENTER MAIN 100 FT. APART

ANGLE

DISTANCE BETWEEN DRAINS

RELATION

Feet

Feet and Inches

30°

50

500

.50

35

57.358

57 4^

.5736

40

64.279

64 3|

.6428

45

70.711

70 8£

.7070

50

76.604

767

.7660

55

81.915

81 11

.8192

60

86.603

867

.8660

65

90.631

90 1\

.9063

70

93.969

93 \\\

.9367

75

96.593

967

.9659

80

98.481

986

.9848

85

99.619

99 7£

.9962

FIG. 44. — Relation of the angle of approach to the distance between
drains. See Table XL

LAYING OUT A DRAIN OR SYSTEM 113

To determine the distance between laterals when they
enter the main at a distance other than 100 feet, multiply
distance by the relation factor of the angle at which they
approach the main. Example : If laterals enter at
distance 70 feet and approach at an angle of 50° (the
factor for 50° is .766), 70 X. 766 = 53.620 feet. The dis-
tance between laterals is 53.62 feet or 53 feet 7| inches
nearly.

153. Laterals. — The laying out of a lateral is in no way
different from that of a simple drain, as described in
paragraph 146, excepting that the laterals discharge at
their lower terminal into the main or sub-main, and not
at an outlet. It is most convenient to drive the grade
stakes at intervals of 50 feet, for reasons given in para-
graph 147, and for the further reason that a greater dis-
tance than 50 feet increases the difficulty in using the
boning line.

154. The angle of approach for laterals. — It is com-
mon, in systems like that illustrated in Fig. 25, to locate
the laterals so that their upper angle to the main shall
be less than 90 degrees. If, however, it should be deemed
advisable to run the lateral at right angles to the main,
as shown in Fig. 26, then they should be turned slightly
as they approach the main so as to enter at an angle of
less than 90 degrees, the reason being that if the water
from the lateral is discharged into the main at an angle
of 90 degrees, it is likely to interfere with the movements
of the water and also with the ready movement of the silt
which may be carried by the waters of the main. An-
other factor, however, that must enter into the angle of
approach is the position and shape of the area requiring
drainage. (See Figs. 28 and 29.) The angle of approach
must be determined by the needs of the land and economy

114 LAND DRAINAGE

in labor. The angle of discharge should be governed by
the suggestions above.

155. The location of the upper end of mains and
laterals. — It is not necessary to carry the end of either
main or lateral to the very edge of the area to be drained.
The water in the soil will move toward the end as readily
as it will toward any other point in the drain. The line
of equal influence of the drain at this point is the arc of
a circle whose center is the end of the drain.

156. Measurements. — Due care should be exercised
in laying out each simple drain, main and lateral. The
distance between stakes should be carefully measured,
and the distance of each stake from the lower end of the
drain carefully recorded. This information will be needed
(1) in determining the grades, and (2) in estimating the
size and the amount of tile needed.

157. Estimate of tile and order for it. — If a preliminary
survey and estimate of the size and amount of tile needed
has not already been made, this should be done now, and
the tile ordered. Paragraph 116 should be studied to
assist in making these estimates.

Many of the manufacturers of glazed tile manufacture
also angles for connecting laterals to mains and sub-
mains. When glazed tile is used, it is well to purchase
these angles for connections, and the number and sizes
needed should be included in the order.

158. Hauling and distributing tile. — While not ab-
solutely necessary, it is desirable that the tile be hauled
upon the ground and distributed near the lines in which
it is to be used, before the leveling begins. The driving
of teams and the handling of the tile is likely to result
in disturbing the grade stakes, and these should not be
disturbed from the time the leveling is completed till

LAYING OUT A DRAIN OR SYSTEM 115

the tile is laid in the bottom of the ditch. It is not so
convenient, and it is more expensive, to distribute the
tile after the digging of the ditch has begun.

159. Leveling for the drain. — If there is a system of
drains to install, the work of leveling begins with the
main. If there is only a single drain, the work of leveling
will proceed in much the same manner. The object of
the leveling is to determine the elevation above datum
of the surface of the field at each stake along the proposed
drain,, or at each stake in the proposed system, as the
case may be. The reasons for this will appear later. The
manner of doing the work of leveling will be the same as
was described in paragraphs 128-140.

160. Steps in the procedure. — The work of leveling
will begin at the stake driven at, or nearest to, the pro-
posed outlet. This stake is numbered 1.

a. If the level to be used is a high class instrument,
and the drain is not over 60 rods long, it may be set up
at about the middle of the length of the drain. The
elevation of stake 1 will be assumed to be 10 feet above
datum and recorded as such in the proper column, after
stake 1 in the notes.

The first reading will be a back-sight reading taken at
stake 1 and will be recorded in the proper column, after
stake 1 in the notes. This back-sight reading, added to
the recorded height of stake 1, gives the height of the
instrument. A fore-sight reading should now be taken at
every other stake within the range of the level along the
proposed drain. Each fore-sight reading should be
recorded in the notes after the number of the stake at
which it is taken. If all the stakes of the drain do not
fall within range of the instrument, one or more re-
settings will be necessary.

116 LAND DRAINAGE

Each of these fore-sight readings, subtracted from the
height of the instrument, gives the elevation of the stake
at which the reading was taken.

Observe the cautions suggested in paragraphs 130 and
137.

b. If the level to be used is not a high class instrument,
it should be set a little to one side of the proposed drain,
and about equidistant from stakes 1 and 2. As above,
the elevation of stake 1 is assumed to be 10 feet above
datum, and is recorded in the proper column after stake

1 in the notes.

A back-sight reading should be taken with the rod on
stake 1, and recorded in the proper column after stake 1
in notes. This reading, added to the height of stake 1,
will give height of instrument.

A fore-sight reading should be taken with the rod on
stake 2, and recorded in the proper column, after stake

2 in notes. This reading, subtracted from the height of
instrument, will give elevation of stake 2.

In like manner the instrument should be set in a
similar position between stakes 2 and 3, a back-sight
reading should be taken at stake 2, and a fore-sight
reading at stake 3. The back-sight reading, added to
the elevation of stake 2, will give the height of instrument
in the new position, and subtracting the new fore-sight
reading from this new height of instrument will give the
elevation of stake 3.

Proceed in this way, taking a back-sight and a fore-
sight reading between each two stakes, till the fore-sight
reading is taken on the last stake.

As stated in paragraph 141, where there is a fair fall,
these cheaper levels may be set up to take 3, and even
5 or 7 fore-sight readings for each back-sight reading. In

LAYING OUT A DRAIN OR SYSTEM

117

any case, the instrument should be set so that it shall
stand approximately mid-way between the stake at which
the back-sight reading is taken, and that at which the
last fore-sight reading is to be taken.

NOTE : Observe carefully the cautions suggested in
paragraph 137.

161. Keeping notes. — A more extensive form must
now be employed for keeping records of readings, and the
like, than was shown in paragraph 138. A table like the
following is suggested :

TABLE XII

No. OF

STAKE

DIS-
TANCE

BACK-
SIGHT

HEIGHT
OF IN-
STRU-
MENT

FORE-
SIGHT

ELEVA-
TION

FALL

ELEVA-
TION OF
BOTTOM

OF

DITCH

DEPTH

OF

DITCH

HEIGHT

OF

LINE

1

__

_

__

__

_

_

_

2

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

3

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

4

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

In column (1 are recorded the stake numbers in order.
In column 2 is recorded the distance of each stake from
stake 1. With these distances the distance between any
two stakes may be found.

As the work of leveling progresses, the back-sight
readings should be properly recorded in column 3, and the
fore-sight readings in column 5.

Usually, though not necessarily, all readings are taken
before computations to determine the elevations of the
several stakes are begun. This, of course, includes the
determination of the height of instrument after each
back-sight reading.

118

LAND DRAINAGE

II II

162. Some convenient aids. —
To make the succeeding steps
more clear, and to illustrate
some simple means to assist
the operator in establishing
grades, and the like, let us
take up a piece of actual work,
with diagram and the data
used in carrying it to comple-
tion.

In Fig. 45, A-B represents
the profile of the surface of
a portion of a field in which
it was necessary to place a
tile drain. The distance A to
B is 500 feet. In the original
drawing, 2 inches horizontally
equaled 100 feet, while J inch
vertically equaled one foot.
Using different scales for the
two dimensions destroys the
proportions and requires some
use of the imagination. A-C
represents a fall which provides
a good outlet.

Figure 46 represents the same
surface with the grade stakes
driven 50 feet apart, accord-
ing to directions in paragraph
150, and numbered (1-11).
Only one finder is shown in
place, and that at grade stake
7.

LAYING OUT A DRAIN OR SYSTEM

119

163. Leveling with cheaper
levels. — Figure 47 shows a cheaper
form of level described in para-
graph 125, in three positions, that si
is, first, between stakes 1 and 2,
second, between stakes 2 and 3,
and third, between stakes 3 and
4. It shows, also, the leveling
rod in positions successively at
which it would be held to ob-
tain the three back-sight and the
three fore-sight readings spoken
of in paragraphs 134 and 136.
There are shown, also, the direc-
tions in which the three back-
sight and the three fore-sight
readings were taken, with their
values. These readings will be
found in columns 3 and 5 in the
table on the following page.

There will be found in columns 3
and 5, also, the readings taken for
determining the elevations of the
remaining stakes. In column 1 of
the table are the numbers of the
stakes 1 to 11, in column 2 is shown
the distance of each stake from
stake 1. In this case the stakes
are located 50 feet apart, so that
stake 2 is 50 feet from stake 1,
and stake 3 is 100 feet from stake
1, and so on up to stake 11,
which is 500 feet from stake 1.

120

LAND DRAINAGE

With these data properly recorded in the table we are
able later, by a series of computations, to obtain all the
facts called for in the other columns of the table, and thus
to obtain all the figures necessary to the proper construc-
tion of the drain.

TABLE XIII
SAME AS TABLE XII WITH BACK-SIGHT AND FORE-SIGHT READING

AND DISTANCES INTRODUCED

No. OF

STAKE

DIS-
TANCE

BACK-
SIGHT

HEIGHT
OF IN-

STKU-
MENT

FORE-
SIGHT

ELEVA-
TION

FALL

ELEVA-
TION OF
BOT-
TOM OF
DITCH

DEPTH

OF

DITCH

HEIGHT

OF

LINE

1

0

4.75

_

_

_

_

2

50

5.00

4.25

—

—

—

—

—

3

100

5.50

5.17

—

—

—

—

—

4

150

4.83

3.58

—

—

—

—

—

5

200

5.06

4.13

—

—

—

—

—

6

250

4.65

5.51

—

—

—

—

— .

7

300

4.92

5.91

—

—

—

—

—

8

350

5.75

4.31

—

—

—

—

—

9

400

4.80

3.30

—

—

—

—

—

10

450

3.78

3.70

—

—

—

—

—

11

500

—

4.98

—

—

—

—

—

164. Leveling with a high-grade level. — Figure 47 shows
a high-grade instrument in position to take levels for the
same drain. It is located near the center of the drain.
The leveling rod is shown in position to take the single
back-sight and also the first fore-sight reading, and the last
fore-sight reading, with their values. The data obtained,
including the remaining fore-sights, appear in their proper
places in the following table, which is identical with
Table XIII above:

LAYING OUT A DRAIN OR SYSTEM

121

122

LAND DRAINAGE

TABLE XIV

No. OF
STAKE

DIS-
TANCE

BACK-
SIGHT

HEIGHT
OF IN-
STRU-
MENT

FORE-
SIGHT

ELEVA-
TION

FALL

ELEVA-
TION OF
BOT-
TOM OF
DITCH

DEPTH

OF

DITCH

HEIGHT

OF

LINE

1

0

6.23

16.23

_

10

_

_

_

_

2

50

—

—

5.73

—

—

—

—

—

3

100

—

—

5.90

—

—

—

—

—

4

150

—

—

3.98

—

—

—

—

—

5

200

—

—

3.28

—

—

- —

—

—

6

250

—

—

3.73

—

—

—

—

7

300

—

—

4.99

—

—

—

—

—

8

350

—

—

4.38

—

—

—

—

—

9

400

—

—

1.93

—

—

—

—

—

10

450

—

—

0.83

—

—

—

—

—

11

500

—

—

2.03

—

—

—

—

—

It will be observed, however, that there is but one back-
sight reading in this case to be introduced into the back-
sight column, and that after the number of the stake at
which the back-sight reading was taken.

165. Making the computations. — With the fore-sight
and back-sight readings recorded in the table, the first
step is to determine the elevations of the several stakes.
Since the cheaper instrument is the one most likely
to be used except by professional engineers, let us
use the data in Table XIII for the determination of
the elevations of the stakes. If the reader is sure
that he understands the processes of determining the
elevations, he may disregard what follows in paragraph
166. If he is not sure, it is suggested that he refer to
Table XIII, in which there is entered all the data de-
veloped to this point in the work, and that, following
directions below, he determine the proper values and

LAYING OUT A DRAIN OR SYSTEM 123

enter them in columns 4 and 6 of the table ; or he may
rule a table for the purpose.

166. Computations in detail. — Observe that the back-
sight reading taken at stake 1 is introduced on the line
belonging to stake 1, and that in like manner each back-
sight reading is introduced on the line of the stake at
which it is taken. Observe, also, that each fore-sight
reading is introduced upon the line of the stake at which
it was taken.

1. We assume the elevation of stake 1 to be 10 feet
above datum. This we record on line 1 in column 6.
Figure 47 shows the location of the datum plane.

2. Add the first back-sight reading, 4.75 feet, to the
elevation of stake 1. This gives 14.75 feet as the height
of the instrument above datum. The height should be
recorded on line 2 in column 4. Subtract the fore-sight
reading, 4.25 feet, from this height of instrument. This
gives 10.50 feet as the elevation of stake 2. This eleva-
tion we record on line 2 in column 6.

3. Add the back-sight reading, 5 feet, to the eleva-
tion of stake 2. This gives the height of the instrument,
15.50 feet, in its second position. Record properly.
Subtract from 15.50 feet the fore-sight reading, 5.17,
and we have 10.33 feet as the elevation of stake 3. This
elevation we record on line 3 in column 6.

Observe (1) That with each setting of the instru-
ment one back-sight and one fore-sight reading were
taken. (2) That adding the back-sight reading to the
elevation of the stake at which it was taken, and subtract-
ing from this sum the fore-sight reading, gives the eleva-
tion of the stake at which the fore-sight reading was taken.

Proceed in this manner until the elevations of all
the stakes have been found, in each case recording the

124

LAND DRAINAGE

height of instrument and elevation of stake in the proper
places.

At this point compare the results with those recorded
in Table XV below. If they do not agree in all cases
go over the work to discover and correct the difficulty.

TABLE XV

SAME AS TABLE XIII — ELEVATIONS INTRODUCED

No. OP

STAKE

DIS-
TANCE

BACK-
SIGHT

HEIGHT
OP IN-
STRU-
MENT

FORE-
SIGHT

ELEVA-
TION

FALL

ELE-
VATION
OF BOT-
TOM OF
DITCH

DEPTH

OF

DITCH

HEIGHT

OF

GRADE
BAR

1

0

4.75

10ft.

_

_

_

_

2

50

5.00

14.75

4.25

10.50

—

—

—

—

3

100

5.50

15.50

5.17

10.33

—

—

—

—

4

150

4.83

15.83

3.58

12.25

—

—

—

—

5

200

5.06

17.08

4.13

12.95

—

—

—

—

6

250

4.65

18.01

5.51

12.50

—

—

—

— •

7

300

4.92

17.15

5.91

11.24

—

8

350

5.75

16.16

4.31

11.85

—

—

—

—

9

400

4.80

17.60

3.30

14.30

—

—

—

—

10

450

3.78

19.10

3.70

15.40

—

—

—

—

11

500

—

19.18

4.98

14.20

—

—

—

—

167. A comparison of tables. — The data shown in
Table XIV are those obtained for the same drain with a
high-grade instrument. Observe that the single back-
sight reading is introduced on the line of stake 1. The
elevation of stake 1 is 10 feet, as in the other case. The
back-sight reading is 6.23, which, added to the elevation
of stake 1, gives the height of the instrument as 16.23.
Subtracting any fore-sight reading from the height of
the instrument gives the elevation of the stake at which

LAYING OUT A DRAIN OR SYSTEM

125

the fore-sight reading
was taken. If the
proper subtractions are
made in Table XIV and
the elevations properly
introduced in the
column for elevations,
it will be observed that
the elevations of the
several stakes are iden-
tical with those for the
same stakes as recorded
in Table XV.

168. Preliminaries
to establishing grade of
ditch, cut, and the like.
—We are now ready to
establish the depth of
the ditch at certain
points, and to determine
the fall. To help in
these computations, a
diagram or profile, sim-
ilar to that shown in
Fig. 48, should be used.
This diagram is drawn
upon ordinary profile
paper. Figure 49 shows
how the same work
may be accomplished
with a crude diagram
drawn upon letter paper
or rough note paper.

y

0 , l

i

i

1

i

1

..

1 •<§

x*=*

N K
II

126 LAND DRAINAGE

In this work we use the elevations as they now appear
in Table XV. Two precautions are to be observed in
this part of the work :

1. Not to have the ditch unnecessarily deep at any one
or more points. Unnecessary depth means added ex-
pense in digging and filling.

2. To have the ditch sufficiently deep. Insufficient
depth would endanger the tile from frost or even from
plow points, and it would very likely fail to lower the
ground water sufficiently for best results.

169. The grade or fall. — A good method of procedure
is something as follows :

(a) Referring to Fig. 49, we find that conditions will
permit a depth of 3 feet at stake 1, which is practically
the outlet. Three feet is a satisfactory depth. Let us
establish on our diagram, Fig. 49, point a, 3 feet below
stake 1.

(b) For trial let us establish a point, b, 3 feet below the
top of stake 11.

(c) If the fall in our ditch is to be constant, from point
b to point a, a straight line connecting the two points
will indicate the bottom of the ditch. We draw such a
line.

It is very evident, as one looks at the diagram, after
drawing the line ab, that this plan brings the drain very
close to the surface at stakes 7 and 8. At either stake, if
one applies the scale, the depth is found to be not over
18 inches, and, while drains are sometimes laid as shallow
as this, a greater depth is desirable. It is further found
that this drain would be only 27 inches deep at stake 3.

(d)' Let us establish a point at c, 3 feet below the top
of stake 7, and draw a dotted line from a to c and From c
to 6. We have now indicated the bottom of a drain that

LAYING OUT A DRAIN OR SYSTEM

127

IF007

/O6

3.OO

^ & C; ^ o; 5;

FIG. 49. — Diagram drawn on common note paper, but for the same
purpose as that illustrated in Fig. 48. The space between lines rep-
resents one foot perpendicular. \ of an inch on the original repre-
sented 50 feet. The purpose of this figure is to show the value of
such a diagram in forming a rather accurate estimate of the depth
of the ditch at any point for any proposed initial depth and fall.
The position of the lines on the note paper is indicated by the
figures 1 to 16.

128 LAND DRAINAGE

is little less than 3 feet deep at any point. But it is 5
feet deep at stake 5 and nearly 5 feet deep at stake 9.
A 5-foot cut makes rather expensive digging. A compro-
mise would be better in this case.

(e) Let us establish a new point, d, 2j feet below the
top of stake 7 and a new point, e, 1\ feet below top of
stake 11, and draw a new line d to e, to represent the
bottom of a drain from stake 7 to stake 11. This mate-
rially lessens the amount of digging at stakes 9 and 10.

(/) Let us adopt the line ade as the bottom of the
drain.

Observe that the drain will be 3 feet deep at stake 1,
2| feet deep at stake 7, and 2J feet deep at stake 11.
These depths we have established for convenience and
economy in the work of digging. If this were a main
drain it might be necessary, because of the laterals, to
make the line (acb) the bottom of the drain. If, how-
ever, this drain were to be a lateral instead of a main,
the line (ade) would be better for the bottom of a drain.

Observe, also, that the diagram we are using for this
purpose brings out, more clearly, the relative depths of
the drain at the several points.

(g) Introduce these depths in column 9 of the table —
3 feet on line 1, 2.5 feet on line 7, and 2.5 feet on line 11.

(h) If the depth is 3 feet at stake 1, the bottom of the
ditch is 3 feet below the top of stake 1, or it is 3 feet lower
than stake 1. If then we subtract the depth of the ditch,
3 feet, from the elevation of the stake, we have (10 feet —
3 feet = ) 7 feet as the elevation of the bottom of the
ditch, at stake 1, above datum. Subtracting the depth
of the ditch, 2j feet, at stake 7, from the elevation at 7,
gives 8.74 feet as the elevation of the bottom of the ditch
at stake 7. Subtracting the depth of the ditch at stake

LAYING OUT A DRAIN OR SYSTEM 129

11, from the elevation of stake 11, gives 11.70 feet as
the elevation of the bottom of the ditch at that point.

(i) Introduce these ditch-bottom elevations into column
8 of Table XV on their proper lines, — 7 feet on line 1,
8.74 feet on line 7, and 11.70 feet on line 11.

(j) Before we can go further in finding values for columns
8 and 9, we must determine the fall or grade of the drain.

The elevation of bottom of ditch at stake 11 is 11.70 feet.
The elevation of bottom of ditch at stake 7 is 8.74 feet.
The fall of the drain from stake 11 to stake 7 is 2.96.
The distance from stake 11 to stake 7 is (500 feet — 300

feet = ) 200 feet.

The fall to a 100 feet of this distance is (2.96 feet-i-2 = )
1.48.

Notice the way in which this fall is introduced in
Table XVI.

The stakes along this drain are 50 feet apart, so that the
fall from one stake to another is one-half of 1.48 feet, or
.74 feet. In other words the bottom of the ditch at stake
10 will be .74 feet lower than at stake 11 and .74 feet
lower at stake 9 than at stake 10 and so on.

11.70 feet = elevation of bottom of ditch at 11.

.74
10.96 feet = elevation of bottom of ditch at 10.

.74
10.22 feet = elevation of bottom of ditch at 9.

.74
9.48 feet = elevation of bottom of ditch at 8.

.74

8.74 feet = elevation of bottom of ditch at 7.

130

LAND DRAINAGE

Observe, that our last remainder, 8.74 feet, is the
elevation of bottom of ditch already indicated in column

8, which indicates that the subtractions to this point are
correct.

Introduce the elevations of ditch bottoms at stakes 8,

9, and 10 in column 8 of Table XV.

The elevation of bottom of ditch at stake 7 is 8.74 feet.
The elevation of bottom of ditch at stake 1 is 7.00 feet.
The fall from stake 7 to stake 1 is 1.74 feet.

Find the fall to a hundred feet from stake 7 to stake
1 and record in column 7 in Table XV and compare
your result with that in Table XVI.

Find the fall also for 50 feet and determine the eleva-
tions of bottom of ditch at stakes 6, 5, 4, 3, and 2. In-
troduce these elevations into the proper places in column
8. Then compare your results in column 8 with those in
column 8 of Table XVI.

TABLE XVI

No. OF

STAKE

DIS-
TANCE

BACK-
SIGHT

HEIGHT
OF IN-
STRU-
MENT

FORE-
SIGHT

ELEVA-
TION

FALL

ELEVA-
TION OF
BOT-
TOM OF
DITCH

DEPTH

OF

DITCH

HEIGHT

OF

GRADE
BAR

1

0

4.75

10ft.

7

3

2.5

2

50

5.00

14.75

4.25

10.50

.3

7.29

3.21

2.29

3

100

5.50

15.50

5.17

10.33

"t £

7.58

2.75

2.75

4

150

4.83

15.83

3.58

12.25

«S o

7.87

4.38

1.12

5

200

5.06

17.08

4.13

12.95

S iH

8.16

4.79

.71

6

250

4.65

18.01

5.51

12.50

8.45

4.05

1.45

7

300

4.92

17.15

5.91

11.24

—

8.74

2.5

3.00

8

350

5.75

16.16

4.31

11.85

+a £

9.48

2.37

3.13

9

400

4.80

17.60

3.30

14.30

oo °

10.22

4.08

1.42

10

450

3.78

19.10

3.70

15.40

TH S

10.96

4.44

1.06

11

500

—

19.18

4.98

14.20

-.a

11.70

2.5

3.00

LAYING OUT A DRAIN OR SYSTEM 131

170. The depth of cut. — We are now ready to deter-
mine the depth of the ditch at the stakes where the depths
have not yet been determined. In column 6 of the table
we have the elevations of all the stakes, while in column
8 we have the elevations of the bottom of the ditch at all
the stakes. .If now the elevation of the bottom of the
ditch at any point is subtracted from the elevation of
the stake at that point, the result will be the depth of
the ditch. Make the proper subtractions and enter
results in column 9. Compare results with the values
recorded in column 9 of Table XVI.

171. Grade bars. — We have thus determined the
depth the ditch must be dug at each grade stake. It is
necessary to provide some simple means (1) by which
we may know just how deep to dig at every point, and
(2) by which we may finish the bottom of the ditch so
that the fall shall be constant from one grade stake to
the next, above or below. In Fig. 50 are shown what
are known as grade bars, more commonly called, batter
boards. These grade bars are set up over each grade
stake, and the top of each grade bar is set at the same
height above the proposed bottom of the ditch and hori-
zontally. This height is usually 5| feet. Some workmen
prefer to have it 6 feet, and some would probably have it
5 feet.

172. Boning line and boning rod. — A light strong
cord, drawn tight and resting on the tops of these bars,
will stand parallel to the proposed bottom of the ditch.
If, then, the cord stands above the center of the ditch,
and 5| feet above the desired line of bottom, the workman
finishing the bottom can, with a light rod bearing a 5.5-
foot mark, by placing the rod on the bottom of the ditch
at any point, and holding the rod perpendicular with the

132

LAND DRAINAGE

II II

Ift

£o

; s

W) O

/1-, ft

LAYING OUT A DRAIN OR SYSTEM 133

top against the line, tell when he has brought the bottom
of the ditch to the proper depth.

173. Determining height of bar above grade stake. —
The height of the grade bar above any stake is found by
subtracting the depth of the ditch at that stake from the
height the line is to stand above the bottom of the ditch
(5.5 feet in common practice). These heights are shown
in column 10, Table XVI. Verify the figures in column
10 from those in columns 8 and 9.

174. Using the data. — When the work is to be super-
vised closely by the person developing the data, it is
sufficient to rely upon the tables as they are completed.
In some cases the depth of ditch, height of grade bar,
with the distance of the grade stake from the outlet, and
other data, are recorded upon its finder. Sometimes
this information is introduced upon the profile diagram
used in determining the grade, depth of ditch, and so on
or upon one drawn for the purpose. (See Fig. 49.)

CHAPTER VII
CONSTRUCTION

WITH the computations completed, we are now ready
to dig the ditch. If up to this point the work has been
carefully and accurately done, the work of construction
may proceed smoothly. Due care must be exercised in
the work that is to follow. No part of the work may be
carelessly done, if successful results are to be secured.
Proper tools are important, but proper judgment and
careful, intelligent work are even more important. Here,
again, it must be remembered that this work should be
installed for generations of service. Economy in con-
struction must not be overlooked.

175. Ditching tools. — Three tools, especially made
for tile ditching, are the ditching spade, tile scoop, and
tile hook.

The ditching spade, Fig. 51, is made in different sizes
for different kinds of soil. In general the blade is long
and narrow, partly to lessen the number of spade depths or
cuts necessary to dig the ditch, and partly that the spade
full of soil is less likely to slip from the blade in lifting the
soil to the surface.

The work of digging and finishing the ditch can be, and
often is, done with common spade and shovel, though the
tile scoop is desirable for finishing the bottom of the ditch.

The tile scoop, also called drain cleaner, Fig. 51, is
used in shaping the bottom of the ditch to receive the tile.

134

CONSTRUCTION

135

It is made in different sizes, to correspond more
or less closely to the size of tile to be laid.

The tile hook is used to lift and properly set the
tile in place, and is used chiefly when the operator
works from the surface of the ground. It consists
of a long wooden handle, carrying a rectangular
hook of J-inch round iron 10 inches long. (Fig.
52.)

It is desirable also to have a common spade, a
common long handle shovel,
and sometimes a pick, especially
when a heavy clay subsoil or
stone is likely to be encountered.

It will be necessary also to
have a few hundred feet of
strong light cord, a few light
sharp stakes 2 feet in length,
and material to be used in set-
ting grade bars.

176. Horse and power
machines. — There are a num-
ber of horse and power machines
now on the market that may
sometimes be used to advantage FIG. 51 —Ditching tools, a, a,

. and b, ditching spades ; c,

in tarm drainage. On these, tile scoop, or drain cleaner.

Fippin writes :

" The use of horse and machine powers reduces the
difficulty of construction somewhat. If the land is very
stony or full of roots, hand labor must be employed, per-

FIG. 52. — Tile hook.

136 LAND DRAINAGE

haps with the use of dynamite. On land that is not too
stony, the ditching plow drawn by one or more teams is
very helpful. There are on the market a number of plows
that are very useful for this purpose. Next in complexity
is the large ditching plow equipped with wheels and drawn
by several teams. This plow tears up the soil and ele-
vates it out of the ditch. There are two or three machines
of this type, such as the Cyclone and the Bennett.
Finally, there are the large engine-driven ditching tractors,
including the Buckeye, the Austin, and the Pawling
machines, which cost upward of twenty-five hundred
dollars.

" The large plow is suitable for the individual farmer
who has a considerable area to drain and has the horses
for other purposes. The tractor ditcher costs so much
that it is seldom a single farm is large enough to justify
its purchase. It may be purchased conjointly by a
number of farmers who have drains to be constructed,
or it may be purchased by one person and the ditches
may be dug by contract. Machines of this kind have
been put into several communities for this purpose."

177. Setting up grade bars. — This is sometimes put off
till after the digging is well under way. The objection to
this delay is that the grade stakes are likely to be dis-
turbed by the workman when the digging begins.

The grade bar, sometimes called batter board, should
be 4 to 6 feet long, of f-inch material, with one straight
edge. With each bar there must be two stakes, pref-
erably J inch by 4 inches, sharpened at one end, and
sufficiently long to stand higher, when they are driven
into the ground, than the height of the bar at that stake.
The two stakes should be driven firmly into the ground,
one on each side of the ditch, so that they will stand out

CONSTRUCTION

137

at least one foot from the edge, and so that together with
the grade stake, they shall stand in a straight line at right
angles to the ditch.

When the stakes are in place, a leveling rod should be
set upon the grade stake. Then the grade bar, straight
edge up, should be placed against the stakes, with its
upper edge at the proper height as measured upon the

FIG. 53. — Nailing a grade bar in place.

rod. By the use of a spirit level, laid upon the upper
edge of the bar, the bar is brought to horizontal and should
then be held firmly against the stakes and nailed in place.
(See Fig. 53.) All the- bars should be nailed upon the
same side of their stakes, that is, all facing toward the
outlet, or all facing toward the upper end of the drain.
The proper height of each bar above its grade stake is
found in column 10 of Table XVI.

178. Checking. — When the bars of any section of the
drain are up, their upper edges should lie in the same plane,
as one sights over them. If the upper edge of any bar

138 LAND DRAINAGE

does not lie in this plane, a mistake has been made some-
where, either in the computations or in the work. The
mistake should be found at once and corrected. (See
Figs. 50 and 54.)

179. Begin the work at the outlet. — The work of
digging the ditch should begin at the outlet and should
proceed toward the upper end. A careful observation of

FIG. 54. — Showing line of grade bars in place ready for digging to begin.
Observe also the tile lying in place. Those in the immediate fore-
ground are the tile for the main.

certain details will undoubtedly make the work easier
for the beginner.

180. Opening the ditch. — A line should be stretched
about two inches out from the grade stakes to mark the
edge of the ditch, and along this line the surface should
be cut three inches deep with a sharp spade. The chief
purpose of the line is to insure a straight edge for the
ditch. This edge should be carefully worked to.

Usually it is not necessary, except with beginners, to
stretch a line to locate the other edge of the ditch. The
spade should be used to establish it by cutting about three
inches into the surface.

Care should be exercised not to open the ditch too wide.

CONSTRUCTION

139

The professional ditch
digger seldom opens a
3-foot ditch more than
10 to 11 inches wide,
and 16 inches would be
abundantly wide for
a 6-foot ditch. The
wider the ditch, the
more soil must be
handled. (See Fig. 56.)

181. Removing the
soil. — With the edges
of the ditch established,
the removal of the top
soil begins, and in this
work a common spade
or shovel is generally
used, for one cut deep.
Several rods of ditch
may be opened in this
way. The next cut is
made with the ditching
spade, following the
first cut its entire length.

In like manner a
second cut will be
made, and as many
more as may be neces-
sary (using the ditch-
ing spade) to bring the
ditch to within a few
inches of the proper
depth. It is usually

K.2 K

S'S*I

i

i

1111

T3 a
£8

"111

* o

d - °

ff!

140 LAND DRAINAGE

best to throw all the soil to one side of the ditch. Some-
times the top soil is thrown upon one side and the lower
soil upon the other.

After any cut, if for any reason a considerable quantity
of loose soil lies in the ditch, it should be removed with a
long-handled shovel before the next cut is begun, or, if
the last cut has been made, before starting to use the tile
scoop. (See Fig. 55.)

182. Finishing the ditch. — Before beginning the last
cut with the ditching spade, the boning line should be
tightly stretched over the top of the bars and just over
the straight edge of the ditch, and the rod brought
into use to guard against digging the ditch too deep
at any point. If in stretching the line, the ends are
tied to the end grade bars, braces should be placed in
front of the stakes; otherwise the bars and their
stakes will be drawn out of place, and the line will be
both sagged and lowered. A better way is to drive a
stake into the ground beyond the end bars, wrap the
line once around each end grade bar, and then tie to
the stake just driven.

When the ditch has been dug to within two inches of
the bottom, as above described, the line above the bars
should be carefully moved out over the center of the ditch,
and again sufficiently tightened to remove all sagging.
From time to time the line should be examined and, if
sagging is resulting from the stretching of the line, it
should be retightened. With the tile scoop and rod, a
trough or hollow is dug along the center of the ditch and
finished so that at all points it shall measure just 5.5 feet
below the line. This requires careful work and frequent
use of the boning rod bearing the 5.5-foot mark, pre-
viously mentioned. (See Fig. 56.)

CONSTRUCTION 141

183. Correcting depth. — If at any point too much
earth is removed and the ditch made too deep thereby, a
sufficient amount must be returned and carefully molded
into place with the scoop, to bring the bottom up to grade.
The less the fall, the greater is the care that must be
exercised in finishing the bottom. This part of the work
is not difficult, although it requires care and judgment.
It is sometimes done from the surface. Usually, how-
ever, the workman stands in the ditch.

FIG. 56. — End section of ditch, showing in diagram the bottom of ditch
formed to receive the tile. Note the width of the top of the ditch
as compared with the 12-inch length of tile resting on its edges.

184. Laying the tile. — The laying of the tile should
begin at the outlet and proceed toward the upper end. It
is usually best to lay the sections of tile as rapidly as the
bottom of the ditch is made ready with the tile scoop to
receive them. Some workmen lay the tile by hand and
some use the tile hook; some stand upon the surface to
finish the bottom of the ditch and to lay the tile.

185. Making close joints. — It will be found that the
ends of the tile are frequently not square, — are not at
right angles to the sides, and that the tile is sometimes
warped, or bowed, thus throwing the ends out of square.
There are sometimes little inequalities in the bottom of

142 LAND DRAINAGE

the ditch. Because of these three facts it will be found
that if a lot of tile is laid promiscuously, end to end
in the hollow at the bottom of the ditch, many of the
joints will be so open that sand will very readily drop
through into the tile drain; consequently if the tile are
left in this position, and the ditch , filled, the drain will be
clogged in a very short time. There should be no open
joints.

" The tile is sometimes clogged by the development of
roots that gain entrance through the joints of the tile.
The depth at which the tile are laid has very little to do
with this difficulty. It is determined by the presence of
a perpetual flow of -water in the tile from some spring. In
dry periods this water seeps from the joints and moistens
the soil, which condition attracts the roots. Protection
of the upper half of the joint against the admission of
silt is some aid in preventing the entrance of roots into
the tile." — FIPPIN.

186. Fitting the joints. — If, when a section of tile
is laid in place, it does not fit tightly against that al-
ready laid, it is usually found that by rolling it to the
right or left, it can be made to fit so tightly as practically
to prevent the passage of soil particles except quicksand
or fine silt. Sometimes this cannot be done, in which
case a new piece of tile must be substituted. A piece
that cannot be made to fit in one place will frequently
readily fit in another place in the same line of tile.

187. Blinding. — As the work of laying the tile pro-
gresses, the workman should shovel in a sufficient amount
of loose soil to settle down about the sides and partly, or
wholly, cover the tile. This holds the tile in place until
the filling can begin. Sometimes, instead of shoveling
in the soil from the surface, some earth is loosened from

CONSTRUCTION 143

the walls of the ditch to fall upon the tile and accomplish
the same results. This covering and anchoring of the
tile is called blinding. (See Fig. 55.)

188. Closing the upper end of the drain. — When the
last tile of any drain is laid, a stone, or piece of brick, or
pieces of broken tile, or other solid material should be
laid against the upper end and earth shoveled against it
to hold it in place. This, later, prevents the soil from
working into the end of the tile.

189. Filling the ditch. — The filling may proceed as
rapidly as the tile are laid and anchored. It may be
deferred a few days, or several days, depending upon
circumstances. Delay is likely to result in caving of
the walls. In the cases of mains or sub-mains, the com-
plete filling is delayed until the laying of the tile in the
laterals is started. Usually the grade bars are removed
before the filling begins. Sometimes the filling is done
by hand ; sometimes it is hastened and cheapened by
the use of the plow or scraper. When a plow is used, an
evener must be provided that is sufficiently long to allow
the horses to walk on opposite sides of the ditch. When
the plow is used, the bars and stakes must first be removed.
The team is driven the length of the ditch, or for a con-
siderable part of it at a time, and the soil is plowed back
into the ditch.

Only the board scraper is convenient for filling. The
team works on one side of the ditch and the man and the
scraper on the other. A chain or rope must be used be-
tween the team and scraper, which must be long enough
so that the team shall not be backed sufficiently near the
ditch to result in accident.

When the plow or scraper is used, it is usually necessary
for a workman with a shovel to finish the work.

144

LAND DRAINAGE

190. Finishing the outlet. — The outlet of the main
should be completed with two objects in view :

1. Provision should be made against its destruction
by frost, flood, tramping of live-stock, and the like.

^

^%: •fe^V^^X^)^

FIG. 57. — Showing the way in which bolts may be imbedded in the
concrete or other outlet protection by which strips of wood may be
bolted in place to carry screen to protect mouth of outlet from vermin,
etc. This shows piece of screen nailed over the outlet. The width
of face of outlet will depend much upon the nature of the soil,
height, and slope. The face in this figure is but 18 inches wide.
Ordinarily the face proper should probably range from 30 to 60
inches.

2. Usually it is best to replace the lower 8 to 12 feet
of tile with glazed sewer pipe, or with a piece of cast-
iron pipe of proper size. (See Fig. 55.) This should be
done, of course, when the work of laying the tile begins.

CONSTRUCTION

145

To prevent the washing or tramping of earth about the
outlet, and to give strength, a wall of masonry or concrete
should be built something as shown in Fig. 55.

FIG. 58. — Two devices for protecting drain outlets. A, trap of galvan-
ized iron hung by common door hinges. The serious objection to
the trap is that it interferes with the entrance of air to the tile sys-
tem. B, screen of j-inch iron rods, hung, in this case, by chain
links. Devices of this nature are especially desirable when surface
water is let into the tile system.

191. Screen. — Means should be provided to prevent
vermin, such as rats, from entering the mouth of the drain.
To accomplish this, a screen of woven wire, or a grate of
iron bars mounted on or in a strong wooden frame, should
be firmly set against the outlet. (See Fig. 57.) It will

146 LAND DRAINAGE

be well, in building the cement work, to set in bolts to
hold the frame carrying the screen or bars in place, as
shown in Fig. 57.

192. Trap. — A trap of galvanized iron, like that
shown in Fig. 58, will prove effective. A better device
is that of a screen of i-inch iron rods suspended by
hinge or chain links. The hinged trap or screen is espe-
cially desirable when surface water enters the tile above,
by way of silt-basins or otherwise.

193. Laterals. — As has already been stated, the work
of placing laterals does not differ materially from that of
laying single lines of tile or mains. The leveling is done
in the same way, excepting that usually the lateral con-
nects with the main at one of the original grade stakes.
This is not necessary, but it is convenient. This grade
stake becomes stake 1 of the lateral, and its elevation as
determined for the main is retained as that of stake 1 of
the lateral. This is desirable since by it the elevations
of all points in the system are referred to the same datum
plane, and a basis is thus given for comparing the actual
elevation of the lateral, or any point in the lateral, with
any other point in the system.

194. Leveling for laterals. — The leveling for the
laterals is often done immediately after that for the main
is completed. Sometimes it is deferred till the work of
digging and laying the tile of the main is nearly finished.
In the former case the levels for a lateral may help to
determine the proper depth of the main, and may thus
increase the efficiency of the lateral. In the latter case,
the danger from inaccuracies, due to disturbing grade
stakes along the laterals after the leveling has been done,
is greatly lessened.

The depth of the outlet of the lateral is determined by

CONSTRUCTION 147

the depth of the main at the point of connection. (See
paragraphs 197-199.) This fact may modify both the
grade and the general depth of the lateral.

195. Making provision for lateral outlet when laying
the main. — As the digging of the main proceeds, and
as the tile are laid, provision should be made for the outlet

FIG. 59. — Five-inch tile with small opening, and hammer used in mak-
ing the opening.

of each lateral. The connection should be introduced
and an obstruction placed over the outer end till the laying
of the lateral is begun.

196. Joining laterals to mains. — Mention has already
been made of the angle at which the laterals should be
brought to the main. Three general methods of making
connections are suggested ; namely, side, top, and angle
connection.

197. Side connection. — By the first method the lateral
discharges into the side of the main. In this case the
center of the lateral should come even with the center of
the main. This means that if the lateral has a smaller

148 LAND DRAINAGE

diameter than the main tile, the bottom of the lateral
ditch must be planned to approach the bottom of the
main ditch at a height of one-half the difference between
the outside diameter of the main and of the lateral tile.
To make connection, a hole should be picked in the wall
of the main at the proper point (see Fig. 59), and made
of sufficient size and shape to permit the entrance of the

FIG. 60. — Five-inch tile shown in Fig. 59, with the opening enlarged to
receive 3-inch tile. The 3-inch tile is shown with end shaped to
set in the opening in the larger tile. In this particular case the
opening and trimming are done for a 90-degree connection. A 60-
degree connection would require a larger opening and more trimming
of the 3-inch tile.

lateral tile at the proper angle. The end of the lateral
should be rounded back and shaped so that the end,
when the tile is in place, shall stand flush with the inner
wall of the main. (See Figs. 60 and 61.) When the
lateral thus fitted is set into place, fragments of broken
tile should be carefully laid in over the joint and earth
packed about it. This is to prevent the working in of
soil material.

198. Top connection. — By the second method, the
lateral discharges its water down through the top of the

CONSTRUCTION 149

main. In this case an opening is made through the top
of the main and through the bottom of the lateral. In
digging the lateral ditch, the bottom should stand suffi-
ciently high above that of the main ditch, so that the
center of the lateral tile shall stand even with the top of
the inside diameter of the main tile. The end of the
lateral tile should project over the main and should be
plugged to prevent the entrance of soil material. (See

FIG. 61. — Shows the connection when the 3-inch tile is fitted in place.
It will be observed that the connection is a 90-degree connection.

Fig. 62.) The same precautions should be taken as indi-
cated above to close the joint sufficiently to prevent the
soil from working through.

199. Angles. — Some manufacturers of glazed tile
are now manufacturing, also, angles and T's in various
sizes for making connections between drains. When
these can be secured they are desirable, since they reduce
labor and insure good connections. In most cases these
would be side connections. (See Fig. 63.) The differ-
ence in elevation of bottom of main and that of the con-

150

LAND DRAINAGE

necting lateral will be governed, as above, by the sizes of
tiles used.

200. Making openings through tile. — An opening
through the wall of a section of tile is easiest made with

FIG. 62. — A top connection in cross-section. A stone closes the lower
end of the lateral.

what is called a tile pick. With care the opening can be
made with a small-headed hammer, such as is shown in
Fig. 59, by first knocking a small opening in the wall
about where the center of the finished opening should be,
and then carefully chipping away the edges of the opening
by light blows with the hammer until it is made suffi-

FIG. 63. — A, a vitrified 6-inch tile with angle for connection for 4-inch
lateral. T, section of 6-inch vitrified tile with T for 4-inch connec-
tion. The other sections are of common tile.

ciently large. A small hammer is much to be preferred
to a larger one in this work. The larger the hammer, the
greater the danger of cracking the tile from the jarring.
With the smaller sizes of tile, the section should be held
in one hand while the opening is being made with the
hammer. (See Figs. 59, 60, and 61.)
201. Designating the sub-mains and laterals in the

CONSTRUCTION 151

records. — In keeping field notes it is desirable to have
some definite method of indicating mains, sub-mains, and
the several laterals. The main is usually designated
simply as main. If there is more than one system of tile
drains on a farm, the systems should be numbered or
lettered, so that the main of any system would be indi-
cated, main of " system A " or " system 1." A sub-main
is simplest designated by the stake in the main at which it
discharges its water. If a sub-main united with a main
at stake 5 of the main, it would be designated as " sub-
main 5." A lateral is simplest indicated by the stake of
the sub-main or main at which it empties its water. A
lateral uniting with a main at stake 11 of the main may
be designated "lateral 11." A lateral emptying its
water at stake 13 of a sub-main would be designated
lateral from stake 13 of sub-main, if there was but one
sub-main; if more than one, the number of the sub-
main would need to be indicated. (See Table XX.)

CHAPTER VIII
OTHER CONDITIONS AND PROBLEMS

VARIOUS questions arise in the course of the installing
of a tile system. In many cases the problem will suggest
its own solution. In other cases, solutions can be offered
only by those who have theoretical knowledge of condi-
tions or who have had a large practical experience. The
science and art of drainage have been matters of growth,
and of rather slow growth. There are many questions
yet to solve. A few of the more common questions will
be discussed in this chapter.

202. Underground outlets. — It sometimes happens
that a low area requires draining but has no outlet through
which the water can be taken off, or is surrounded by
ground so uniformly high as to make it expensive, or
even impossible, to secure a proper outlet. Not infre-
quently it will be found that the soil of this low area is
underlaid by a heavy clay, and that the clay in turn is
underlaid by an open gravel, or an open gravelly sand,
in which the water-table stands at a considerable distance
below the clay. Under such conditions, if a well three feet
in diameter is dug through the clay into the gravel, all
the water from this low area may be drained into the
well, and from this well the water will disappear down
through the gravel. The well should be dug to a depth
of at least one foot below the clay, and should be filled with
field stone to above the point where the outlet of the drain

152

OTHER CONDITIONS AND PROBLEMS 153

is turned into it. The top stones should be small, and
upon these should be placed gravel, then sand, then the
regular soil of the field. The writer has in mind one such
arrangement in which a tile system, draining something
like 160 acres, discharges its water and has been in success-
ful operation for many years. In depressions of limited
area, such a well at the lowest point and with the stone
coming to the top is
frequently sufficient to
carry away the excess
of water without the
aid of tile. (See Figs.
64 and 65.)

203. Drain heads. —
Instead of construct-
ing a well, as above
described, the practice
is becoming somewhat
general of installing a
vertical system of tile.
Six-inch tile are usually
used, and upon these
is sometimes set what
is known as a drain
head, a device rather

commonly advertised in agricultural papers. When the
vertical tile system is used, the horizontal drains are
dispensed with. Instead, a number of vertical systems
are introduced, if one is not sufficient to drain the whole
area.

204. Drainage by wells. — Vertical drainage, probably
beginning in formations of drift origin, has been extended
to soils overlying other than drift deposits.

FIG. 64. — The way of constructing well
for drainage downward into under-
lying gravel.

154

LAND DRAINAGE

FIG. 65. — Plan, described in Bulletin 229, Wisconsin Experiment Sta-
tion, for removing drainage water by means of a gravel-filled well
and tile.

The following facts are gathered from one of the Water
Supply Papers of the United States Geological Survey.1

1 Fuller. Water Supply Paper No. 258. 1910. U. S. Geol.
Survey.

OTHER CONDITIONS AND PROBLEMS 155

In Michigan and Minnesota, drainage outlets are secured
by way of wells drilled into sandstone ; in Georgia, Indiana,
Kentucky, Tennessee and Virginia, and other states,
by the use of drilled wells in limestone.

The efficiency of such a drainage well is usually depend-
ent upon the depth of the well. It is dependent also upon
the nature of the material ; for it varies with the same
material. In gravelly sand and sandstone the size of
the openings (pore space) rather than the percentage of
pore space is important. In limestone the size of crevices
is the important item.

205. Quicksand. — It sometimes happens that quick-
sand is encountered at or near the bottom of the ditch in

FIG. 66. — Steel shield used to hold back quicksand ; 28 inches long,
12 inches high, width governed by size of ditch.

laying the tile. In such case it will usually be necessary
to use some kind of guard to hold back the quicksand while
the bottom of the ditch is being completed to receive the
tile. Figure 66 shows a shield of iron used for this purpose.
In the use of the shield, the ditch is dug to the quicksand.
The shield is then placed so as to include that portion of
the ditch in which the next sections of tile are to be laid.
The -workman can usually press it down into the quick-

156 LAND DRAINAGE

sand by his own weight sufficiently to bring it even with
or a little below the bottom of the ditch when it is com-
plete ; or if his weight is not sufficient, he may remove a
portion of the sand and then place his weight upon the
shield and lower it little by little to the bottom of the
ditch. With a tile scoop, the bottom of the ditch can
then be properly formed and the tile laid in place. The
shield is then lifted and moved ahead sufficiently to pre-
pare the bottom for the next section. It would not be
difficult to make a shield of wood that could be operated
in much the same way.

Where the ditch is deep and the quicksand is found to
stand to some height above the bottom of the ditch,
planks or boards should be used to hold the banks from
falling in and great care should be taken to avoid accidents
from caving.

206. Protection to joints against quicksand. — When
tile is laid in quicksand or in very fine ordinary sand or
silt, it is usually necessary to provide some means to pre-
vent the fine particles from entering the tile through the
joints. It is sometimes recommended that marsh hay
be laid over the tile before any soil is introduced into
the ditch. Strips of strong building paper are sometimes
laid over the joints before the earth is introduced. An
inch or more of top soil or fine clay, laid over the joints,
will prove fully as satisfactory as grass or paper, and much
more enduring.

207. Boggy and springy places. — Sometimes in laying
tile through muck soils, springs are discovered which cause
such a degree of softness in the muck at the bottom of
the ditch that it is very difficult to lay the tile with any
degree of evenness. In such cases it is recommended by
successful drainage engineers that the ditch be dug

OTHER CONDITIONS AND PROBLEMS 157

sufficiently deep to lay a six-inch board in the bottom so
that the upper surface of the board shall lie at the proper
depth and upon this the tile be laid and the earth intro-
duced about the tile. Boards thus used will resist decay
for many years.

208. To remove excessive surface water. — It some-
times happens that the topography of a tile-drained area is
marked by depressions which, in times of heavy rain,
become filled with surface water. This means that an
amount of water which, if distributed uniformly over
the drained area, would be removed in reasonable time
by the tile system, must, because of the relatively greater
quantity over a restricted low area, require an unusual
or extended time to make its way through the soil to the
drains. The result may easily be the drowning of a crop,
injury to the structure of the soil, the washing away of
plant-food, or the destruction of food by denitrification.
Again, a tile-drained area may lie subject to the overflow
from surface drainage from adjacent higher areas, or ad-
jacent slopes, and therefore to the same consequent ills
as those named above. Both Elliott and Waring suggest
provision for the quick removal of such surface water by
ducts, or other means, by which the surface water is con-
veyed below ground to the tile. Wherever, in an area
to be tile-drained, surface depressions occur, in which the
surface water may gather in large quantities, the system
should be planned so that a main or lateral crosses it.
If a lateral crosses the area, and the area is of consid-
erable size, the size of the tile in the lateral should be
larger than that used in the ordinary lateral of similar
length.

To provide means for the passage of the water from the
surface to the tile, one of the schemes suggested is to lay

158

LAND DRAINAGE

the tile, for 3 to 8 feet, with the upper joint very open,
and then to fill the ditch with broken stones of 3 to 4
inches in diameter, or with cobble stones of the same
dimension. Another is to construct a shallow silt-basin
of rather large diameter to receive the excess of sur-
face water, with a siphon to remove this water to the
tile below. A shallow open ditch gathers the surface

FIG. 67. — Plan for permitting excess of surface water to reach tile
drain by filling a section of ditch with crushed stone or cobble stone.

water and delivers it to the silt-basin. (See Figs. 67
and 68.)

209. Tile in muck soil should be laid deep. — Muck
soils settle rapidly after they are tile-drained. This
settling is due, in part, to a natural shrinkage because of
the reduction of moisture present, and probably to chemi-
cal changes which take place because of the more ready
access of air to the organic material. These changes are
commonly spoken of as oxidation. In the course of a few
years, the surface of a tiled muck area may have settled
until the tile lies within the frost zone, and not infre-
quently lies so near the surface as to be disturbed by the
plow-point. The effect of freezing is to shale the tile, if of
the ordinary clay kind, even to the extent of causing them

OTHER CONDITIONS AND PROBLEMS

159

to collapse. One considerable area of muck soil on the
Michigan Agricultural College farm had so seriously settled
in this way in twelve years, that the tile in the whole area
had to be relaid. Except where truck-farming is prac-
ticed, therefore, tile should be laid more than three feet
deep in muck soils, if outlet conditions will permit.
210. Gravitational water in irrigated lands. — Much

FIG. 68. — Plan for moving surface water by way of silt-basin and the
tile system, adapted from Bulletin No. 199, Wisconsin Agricultural
Experiment Station.

has been said and written of the injury done to lands by
seepage waters. It has almost invariably been charged
that these waters, coming from higher areas, where they
have been used in excess to water lands, or by seepage
from supply canals, passing down or out to lower areas,
become charged with alkali salts ; that, as they come to
the surface of these lower areas, and evaporate, they leave
their burden of salts to incrust the surface and later to
work injury or death to crops planted thereon. In 1890
Shaler described the destruction of the very fertile area

160 LAND DRAINAGE

adjacent to the Jordan River in Utah, by seepage waters
from higher adjacent irrigated areas.1 In a similar
manner it was charged that the raisin grape industry in the
vicinity of Fresno, California, was ruined.2

Extended areas of vineyard have been discarded and
planted to grasses, which contribute some feed to dairy
animals. Land values of these orchards have fallen from
$350 to $15 an acre. The destruction of the vines was
charged to the presence of alkalies. Investigation has
shown that the ground water now stands within three
feet of the surface. A recent investigator says : " But
it is clear that the alkalinity of the soil alone would
have done little damage had it not been for the rise of
ground water so near to the surface. Sixty thousand
acres have thus been affected. It has been found that
this same difficulty occurs in irrigated areas where the
presence of alkalies do not exist in injurious amounts.
It is admitted, however, that where alkali salts do
occur in seepage ground waters, they undoubtedly do
injury, and especially from the incrustations resulting
from surface evaporation, and that this incrustation
may be so severe as to require heavy flowing of water
for a few times in irrigating. It has been found that
where drainage methods can be established, and the
ground water lowered, even a few feet, beneficial effects
are quickly apparent."

The installing of tile drains on such lands will not differ
materially from that in other lands. The following facts
are offered :

It is not advisable to use less than 4-inch tile for

*Part 1, 12th Annual Report, United States Geological
Survey.

2 Bulletin 217, Office Exp. Station.

OTHER CONDITIONS AND PROBLEMS 161

laterals, and all tile should range larger than for similarly
placed tile in ordinary systems in humid regions.

Tile should not be laid, generally, less than 4.5 feet deep.

The fall in any case should not be less than 0.1 foot
for 8-inch tile and 0.2 foot for 4-inch tile.

Long lines of tile should be avoided. Silt basins should
be installed at frequent intervals.

Flooding is frequently necessary to remove accumula-
tions of salts, and where hard pans exist, blasting is fre-
quently necessary to facilitate the leeching.

The drainage waters of most of these systems must be
lifted by pumps.

Tile drains under orchards, vineyards, and other
perennial vegetation are subject to clogging from roots.
When installing such a system, provision should be made
for the future cleaning of the drains. Silt basins should
be placed at reasonable intervals, and in each line be-
tween basins there should be placed, when laying the
tile, a small steel cable. When evidences of root clogging
appear, a steel brush of proper size is hitched to (usually)
the lower end of the cable and drawn through the line of
tile. A second cable is first attached to the brush to be
drawn through after it to replace the cable thus pulled
out. A frame carrying a pulley set opposite the opening
of the tile drains should be placed in silt basins to carry
the cable and prevent its injuring the tile.

Tile drains are likely to clog if water-table is permitted
to remain too high.

211. Cost of tiling. — The cost of tile and of hauling and
distributing it are matters that can be fairly easily de-
termined for any particular job. The cost of tile laid down
at the nearest station will depend upon its distance from
the factory. The cost of hauling will depend on the dis-

162

LAND DRAINAGE

tance of the farm from the station and the condition or
quality of the roads.

The cost of digging the ditch, laying the tile, and filling
the ditch is subject to considerable variation due to the
nature of the soil and the cost of labor. Elliot estimates
that where : (1) the earth is readily spaded and no pick
or bar is required in the digging, and (2) the wages for
good diggers is 25 cents an hour and for expert ditchers
is 35 cents an hour (the last representing half the labor
required and including superintendence), the cost of
digging the ditch, laying the tile, and blinding will approxi-
mate the figures shown in the table below :

TABLE XVII

APPROXIMATE COST TO A ROD OF DIGGING DITCH, LAYING TILE,
AND BLINDING UNDER CONDITIONS NAMED ABOVE

DEFPH OF DITCH

FOR 4-INCH, 5-INCH,

OR 6-iNCH TILE

FOR 8-iNCH TILE

FOR 10-INCH TlLB

2 feet

25 cents

34 cents

42 cents

2% feet
3 feet
3£ feet

28 cents
32 cents
35 cents

38 cents
42 £ cents
48 cents

47 cents
53 cents
60 cents

4 feet
4 £ feet
5 feet

40 cents
45 £ cents
52 cents

54 1 cents
62 cents
70 cents

68 cents
77 cents
87 cents

When the ground is so hard as to require a considerable
use of the pick or bar, the cost may reach double that in-
dicated in the table.

The filling of a 3-foot ditch will cost three cents a rod
when a team and plow or scraper are used, or six cents a
rod when performed by hand labor. The cost of filling

OTHER CONDITIONS AND PROBLEMS 163

other sizes will vary from these figures according to the
depth and width of the ditch, and will be about propor-
tional to the cross section of the ditch.

A workman, reliable and expert in laying tile, and who
did most of the work " by the rod," estimated that he
could dig a 3-foot ditch, lay and blind the tile (3-inch and
4-inch), as follows :

In clay soil, requiring some "picking" . . 6 rods a day;

In sandy or loam soils 9 rods a day ; and

In muck soils 12 rods a day.

In Lenawee County, Michigan, a common practice
has been to charge by the foot for digging the ditch and
laying the tile. When the drains average 3 feet deep,
the price is 1^ cents a foot for laying different sizes up to
and including 4-inch tile, while the price is 2 cents a foot
for 5- and 6-inch tile. Above 6-inch tile, wages are usually
paid by the day.

212. Order of steps in tiling. — If the following order
is observed in installing a system of tile drains, numerous
difficulties may be obviated :

1. Study the ground.

2. Establish the outlet.

3. Locate the main.

4. Determine the number and locate the lines of the
laterals.

5. Estimate the amount and kind of tile required and
place order.

6. Place the grade stakes with finders, if that has not
already been done.

7. Haul and distribute tile.

8. Do the leveling, at least for the main. The leveling

*#•

164 LAND DRAINAGE

for the sub-mains and laterals may proceed just sufficiently
rapidly to keep in advance of the digging.
9. Make computations.

10. Set up grade bars.

11. Do the rough digging, following closely with

12. Finishing the bottom, laying the tile, and blinding.

13. Fill.

CHAPTER IX
THE HOSE-LEVEL

THE author has recently used a simple
device for drainage leveling with excellent
success. This device is shown in Fig. 69.
It consists of a piece of garden hose,
with a water gauge tube tightly inserted
in each end, and the ends held up.
Water is carefully introduced into the
hose halfway to the top of the tubes.
When proper care is exercised to prevent
the presence of air bubbles in the water
in the hose (and this is easily accom-
plished), and when the upper ends of the
tubes are open, the two columns of water
stand at the same height (or level) no
matter how irregularly the hose may
lie upon the ground or other surface.
"Liquids seek their level." (See Fig.
70.)

213. Accuracy of reading. — Far greater
accuracy in reading can
be obtained with this_
device than with any of
the so-called cheaper
levels; and so far as he
has used it, the author FIG. 69. — Hose-level.

165

166

LAND DRAINAGE

has been able to check as closely with it as with the
higher-priced instruments. It is sometimes used by
architects and builders for checking
up the level of foundations for large
buildings, and in leveling shafting
where an intercepting wall prevents
the use of the ordinary level. As
a drainage level, its chief limitation
is that the distance over which a
single reading may be taken is
relatively short.

214. Availability and cost. -
Garden hose is readily obtained in
most towns and villages. Indeed
it is used on many farms, so that
frequently it is already owned or is
easily obtained by the party desir-
ing to use it to construct a level.
Water gauge tubes, twelve inches
long, are not difficult to obtain
through the local hardware man,
who is likely to have them in stock.

215. Materials needed. — To
construct a hose-level one should
have the following material :

Sixty feet of garden hose ;
Two 12-inch glass water gauge
tubes ;

A few feet of strong copper wire
or flexible steel wire to close tightly
the ends of the hose about the gauge
tubes, and form a hook at each end of the hose by which the
end may be suspended when not in use, or for other reasons ;

FIG. 70. — Ends of hose-
level, showing the way
in which the height of
column should be read.
The meniscus in each
case, that is, the upper
end of the water in the
tube, is U-shaped. The
reading should always
be made to the bottom
of this U or meniscus.

THE HOSE-LEVEL 167

A good pair of combination nipper pliers for handling
and cutting the wire, and so on ;

A few gallons of clear water free from oil, sediment,
and the like.

216. Suggestions. — Half-inch hose is preferable to a
larger size.

Sixty feet of hose is sufficient where the grade stakes are
not over 50 feet apart.

The gauge tubes should have an outside diameter suffi-
ciently large to cause them to fit fairly snugly in the ends
of the hose.

The gauge tubes should have the same inside diameter.
If they differ materially, the water wrill rise higher in the
tube having the smaller inside diameter.

There are to be procured on the market, at reasonable
prices, coupling-clamps, which are simple and easier to
use than wire in closing the ends of the hose about the
tubes.

217. Constructing the hose-level. — A tube should be
inserted in one end of the hose and firmly clamped. If
wire is used to clamp in the tube, the piece should be cut
long enough so that after the clamping is accomplished,
the end of the wire may be bent into a hook, by which to
hang up the end of the level. If a coupling clamp is used
to close the hose about the tube, the wire hook should be
provided also.

It is best not to insert the tube at the other end till
after the hose has been filled with water ; but wire and tube
(or clamp and tube and wire) should be made ready to
complete the end, as in the former case, as soon as the hose
is filled with water.

218. Introducing the water. — Before starting to fill,
it is desirable that the hose be stretched straight upon

168 LAND DRAINAGE

an even surface — ground or floor — preferably upon
a slope or incline, and parallel to the slope. The upper
end, with tube inserted and clamped in place, should
be suspended, or held, tube up, about three feet above
the floor.

The water should be introduced at the lower end (first
removing the tube if it has been inserted). At first the
end should be held low while the water is being introduced.
The water should be poured in slowly, with a care not to
introduce air with it. As the filling proceeds and the water
fills the hose, the end should be raised until the hose is
filled to the upper tube. The tube should now be inserted
at the filling end and clamped in place, and enough more
water added to bring the water to about the middle of
both tubes, which means, of course, that the tubes must
be brought to the same level.

The hose could be better and more quickly filled if an
end could be tightly fastened over the end of a water tap,
having water free from air, and with some pressure. In
this case the water should be allowed to flow through the
hose for a few minutes after it is full.

A funnel properly used would help where the hose is
filled by hand, from a receptacle.

219. Removing air bubbles from the hose-level. -
However filled, there is a possibility of the presence of
bubbles of air at various points in the hose, and for the
purpose of removing them a scheme something like the
following should be employed :

Lower one end of the hose till the water begins to
overflow the tube. Place the thumb firmly over the end
of the tube and lower to the ground. Having first sus-
pended the other end of the hose at a height of 5 or
6 feet, have a second party place his hand under the hose

THE HOSE-LEVEL 169

6 feet from the end held to the ground, lift the hose to
the height of 5 feet above the ground, hold it in that posi-
tion for fifteen seconds, and then, holding the hand shoulder
high, move it very slowly under the hose to the farther
end. Any bubbles of air which may have been held by
the water in the hose should follow the upper bend in
the hose produced by the hand passing under it, and should
be liberated through the tube at the farther end. The
end near the ground may be lifted any time after enough
hose has passed so that some portion shall touch the ground
between the end and the hand moving the air bubbles.
It is well to keep the thumb held tightly over the end of
the tube until the hand reaches the farther end. Exercise
care not to remove the thumb until the tubes are brought
to the same height. Water will probably have to be added
now to bring up the water in the tubes. If added slowly,
no air need be introduced below the tubes.

220. Checking up the instrument. — After introducing
the water and removing any air present, the two ends of
the apparatus should be brought together, side by side,
against some vertical surface upon which is drawn a
horizontal line or which may have a horizontal upper edge,
approximately shoulder high. Raise or lower one of the
ends until the top of the water column stands even with
the line or edge. The column at the other end should also
stand even with the line or straight edge. Repeat the
test after disturbing the main portion of the hose by
lifting it at different points or partly or wholly stretch-
ing out a part or all of it. If the columns stand at the
same height in each of three trials, it may be put into
use at once.

If in any trial the columns fail to stand at the same
height, this indicates the presence of air in the hose ; the

170 LAND DRAINAGE

hose should be then manipulated as sug-
gested above until the air is removed, as
indicated by the heights of the columns
in checking./

221. Leveling rods. — In determining
elevations with the hose-level, two rods
are needed, one approximately 4 feet
long and the other 3 feet longer, and both
of 1-inch X Ij-inch material. (See Figs.
71 and 72.)

Observe (1) that only the long rod
bears a scale; (2) that both rods have a
zero mark at the height of 3j feet (42
inches) ; and (3) that the long rod has a
double scale — one numbering down from
the zero mark and one numbering up
from the zero mark.1

222. Construction of rods. — At pres-
ent, these rods cannot be bought on the
market and must, therefore, be home
made. For scales, it is convenient to
use yardsticks, and in the first attempts
made in using this method of leveling,
the cheap yardstick, so common for ad-
vertising purposes, was used. In con-
structing these rods, the following simple
directions should be observed :

1. Have the rods straight and their
lower ends square ;

1 The zero mark may be located at any
height, but must be at the same height on both
rods.

FIG. 71. — Leveling rods used with the hose-level.
The short rod bears the zero mark only.

THE HOSE-LEVEL

171

-H

2. Be careful to have the
zero at the same height on
both rods (see Fig. 72) ;

3. Have the two scales
on the long rod meet at the
zero mark, and the edge of
one scale in line with the
similar edge of the other.

223. System of reading.
- It is not easy to buy
rules or scales graduated to
tenths and hundredths of
feet, and while these can
be procured, they are ex-
pensive. Most persons pre-
fer to use scales graduated
to inches, quarters, eighths,
and sixteenths. Indeed,
some of the standard level-
ing rods are so graduated.
The decimal graduations
are easiest handled after
one becomes acquainted
with them. For the con-
venience of persons desiring
to use the hose-level with
decimal reading, Table
XVII has been prepared.
By reference to the table,
any reading in inches,
eighths, and sixteenths can

FIG. 72. — Detailed drawing of
Fig. 71.

172

LAND DRAINAGE

TABLE XVIII

READINGS IN INCHES, EIGHTHS, AND SIXTEENTHS TRANSPOSED
TO DECIMALS OF A FOOT (HOSE-LEVEL)

INCHES-
EIGHTHS

DECIMAL
OF FOOT

INCHES
EIGHTHS

DECIMAL,
OF FOOT

INCHES
EIGHTHS

DECIMAL
OF FOOT

INCHES
EIGHTHS

DECIMAL
OF FOOT

1

0-1

.0052
.0104

M

3-1

.2552
.2604

M

6-1

.5052
.5104

9-1
9-1

.7552
.7604

1

2

.0156
.0208

i

2

.2656
.2708

2

.5156
.5208

2

.7656

.7708

i

3

.0260
.0312

3

.2760
.2812

3

.5260
.5312

3

.7760

.7812

i

4

.0364
.0417

4

.2864
.2917

4

.5364
.5417

4

. 7864
.7917

i

5

.0469
.0521

5

.2969
.3021

5

.5469
.5521

5

.7969
.8021

I
6

.0573
.0625

6

.3073
.3125

6

.5573
.5625

6

.8073
.8125

i

7

.0677
.0729

7

.3177
.3230

7

.5677
.5729

7

.8177
.8230

i

1-0

.0781
.0833

4-0

.3282
.3333

7-0

.5781
.5833

10-0

.8282
.8333

1

1-1

.0885
.0937

4-1

.3385
.3437

7-1

.5885
.5937

10-1

.8385
.8437

i

2

.0989
.1041

2

.3489
.3542

2

.5989
.6041

2

.8489
.8542

i

3

.1093
.1146

3

.3594
.3646

3

.6093
.6146

3

.8594
.8646

i

4

.1198
.1250

4

.3698
.3750

4

.6198
.6250

4

.8698
.8750

i

5

.1302
.1354

5

.3802
.3854

5

.6302
.6354

5

.8802
.8854

i

6

.1406
.1458

6

.3906
.3958

6

.6406
.6458

6

.8906

.8958

i

7

.1510
.1562

7

.4010
.4062

7

.6510
.6562

7

.9010
.9062

THE HOSE-LEVEL

173

READINGS IN INCHES, EIGHTHS, AND SIXTEENTHS TRANSPOSED
TO DECIMALS OF A FOOT (HOSE-LEVEL) — Continued

INCHES
EIGHTHS

DECIMAL
OF FOOT

INCHES
EIGHTHS

DECIMAL
OF FOOT

INCHES
EIGHTHS

DECIMAL
OF FOOT

INCHES
EIGHTHS

DECIMAL
OF FOOT

i

2-0

.1614
.1666

5-0

.4114
.4166

8-0

.6614
.6666

ll-O

.9114
.9166

1
2-1

.1718
.1771

5-1

.4218
.4270

8-1

.6718
.6771

11-1

.9218
.9270

\
2

.1823
.1875

2

.4322
.4375

2

.6823

.6875

2

.9322
.9375

i

3

.1927
.1979

3

.4427
.4479

3

.6927
.6979

3

.9427
.9479

i

4

.2031
.2083

4

.4531
.4583

4

.7031
.7083

4

.9531
.9583

}

5

.2135

.2187

5

.4635
.4687

5

.7135

.7187

5

.9635

.9687

\
6

.2239
.2292

6

.4739
.4792

6

.7239
.7292

6

.9739
.9792

I

7

.2344
.2396

7

.4844
.4896

7

.7344
.7396

7

.9844
.9896

1
3-0

.2448
.2500

6-0

.4948
.5000

9-0

.7448
.7500

12-0

.9948
1.0000

be readily transformed to tenths and hundredths of
feet.

224. To use the apparatus. — The way in which the
hose-level is used is illustrated in Figs. 73 and 74. It is de-
sirable to start the leveling from a stake whose elevation
is known or assumed, as is the custom with the ordinary
drainage level. The leveling proceeds as follows :

(a) The attendant, whom we will call the short-rod man,
moves with the short rod and one end of the hose-level to
stake 2. (In moving, he should be careful to hold a thumb
firmly over the end of the tube.) He places the short

174

LAND DRAINAGE

rod upon grade stake 2 and carefully holding it in a per-
pendicular position, brings the tube against the side of
the rod, and raises or lowers the tube until the top of
the water column comes to rest even with, or at the zero
mark.

(6) At the same time the other party, whom we will
call the long-rod man, places the long rod upon grade

FIG. 73. — Hose-level in use.

stake 1, holds it carefully in a perpendicular position, and
brings the tube of his end of the level against the scale side
of the rod and, if necessary, raises or lowers the tube to
permit the short-rod man to bring the column at his end
to the zero. (See and study Fig. 70.) The short-rod
end should be held so that the bottom of the curve
(meniscus) of end of the water column stands even with
the zero line.

225. How to read height of column. — When the short-
rod man indicates that the water column at his end is at
zero, the long-rod man should read the height of the water
column, as indicated by the bottom of the curve (menis-
cus). This reading is used to determine the height of
stake 2.

THE HOSE-LEVEL 175

226. The reading. — When the top of the water column
stands at zero on the short rod :

(a) If the top of the water column stands at zero on
the long rod, the stakes stand at the same height above
datum, and the reading is zero.

FIG. 74. — Nearer view of the hose-level in use.

(b) If the top of the water column stands above zero,
on the long rod, it is because stake 2 stands higher above
datum than stake 1, and the reading is a positive reading.

(c) If the top of the water column stands below zero
on the long rod, it is because stake 2 does not stand so
high above datum as stake 1 (is lower than stake 1)
and the reading is a negative one.

227. Moving. — After the reading has been made and
properly recorded, the short-rod man, grasping his end
of the level, moves to stake 3 and places the short rod

176

LAND DRAINAGE

on grade stake 3, while the long-rod man moves to stake 2
and places the long rod upon stake 2. A reading is ob-
tained in the same manner as before and properly recorded.
This reading is used to determine the height of stake 3.

228. Recording data. — The table used for recording
these readings will be somewhat different in form from
Table XII. Table XIX illustrates the form to be used.
In columns 3 and 4, of Table XIX, will be found the
readings as they would have been obtained if the hose-
level had been used in leveling for the drain shown in
Fig. 47, and if a rod with decimal scale had been used.
In all other respects Table XIX is like Tables XIII and
XVI.

TABLE XIX

STAKE

DIS-
TANCE

LEVEL
READINGS

ELEVA-
TION

FALL

ELEVA-
TION OP
BOTTOM
OF DITCH

DEPTH
OP DITCH

HEIGHT
OF GRADE
BAR ,

(+)
Above

B&w

1

0

10.00

2

50

.50

3

100

.17

4

150

1.92

5

200

.70

•..;

6

250

.45

7

300

1.26

8

350

.61

9

400

2.45

10

450

1.10

11

500

1.20

229. Positive readings. — A positive reading indicates
that the stake for which it was taken (the stake upon
which the short rod rested) is higher than the stake from
which it was taken (the stake upon which the long rod
rested), or that the stake upon which the short rod stood

THE HOSE-LEVEL 111

for the reading is higher than the one on which the long
rod stood. It should be introduced into the column in
the table for positive readings, and after the number of
the stake for which it was taken.

230. Negative readings. — A negative reading indicates
that the stake for which it was taken is lower than the stake
from which it was taken. It should be introduced into
the column for negative readings in the table and after
the number of the stake for which it was taken, — the
stake upon which the short rod stood.

231. Computing elevations. — Computing the eleva-
tions of the several grade stakes becomes a very simple
matter with the readings obtained by the hose-level.
The reading for any stake indicates how much higher or
lower it is than the stake from which the reading was taken.
There is no height of instrument to determine or to work
from.

In Table XIX the level reading for stake 2 is positive
.50 foot. This reading was taken from stake 1, and the
fact that it is a positive reading indicates that stake 2 is
.50 foot higher than stake 1. Adding this reading to the
elevation of stake 1 gives 10.50 feet as the elevation of
stake 2. The reading for stake 3 is negative .17 foot,
and the fact that it is a negative reading indicates that
stake 3 is .17 foot lower than stake 2, from which the
reading for stake 3 was taken. Substracting this reading,
.17 foot, from the elevation of stake 2 gives 10.33 feet.

232. The rule is apparent. — To determine the eleva-
tion of a stake, add its reading, if positive, to or subtract
its reading, if negative, from the elevation of the stake
from which its reading was taken.

When the elevations have been correctly computed
from the readings in Table XIX, they are found to corre-

178 LAND DRAINAGE

spond with the elevations as determined from the readings
for the same drain in Table XV.

233. Recording reading taken, in feet and inches. -
When scales graduated to feet, inches, quarters, eighths,
and sixteenths are used, the writer has found it most
satisfactory to read and record all fractions of the inches
in terms of eighths only. For example :

-^Q inch = J eighth inch.

-J- inch = 2 eighths inch.

f inch = 4 eighths inch.
YQ inch = 3J eighths inch,
-j-f inch = 6| eighths inch.

Three feet 7y^ inches are recorded in the table as
3-7-6J.

In practice, one quickly becomes used to this plan of
expressing values and recording them, and finds little
difficulty in using them in making his computations.

Table XX is a reproduction of level readings as ]they
appear in notes for two drains 300 feet and 250 feet in
length, respectively. Note in columns 3 and 4 the rela-
tive positions in the column of (1) the figures expressing
feet, (2) those expressing inches, and (3) those express-
ing the fractions of an inch (always expressed in eighths
of an inch).

234. Relation of values. — An eighth of an inch is a
trifle more than one one-hundredth of a foot (.0104). A
sixteenth of an inch is a little more than five thousandths
of a foot (.0052). When one works as close as one-
sixteenth of an inch, in ordinary drain work, one is doing
well, and this is closer than can be done with the ordinary
cheap drainage level. One can, with care, work to one-
sixteenth of an inch with the hose-level.

THE HOSE-LEVEL

179

TABLE XX

LATERAL FROM STAKE 4 OF MAIN

|

DISTANCE

READINGS

ELEVATION
OF STAKES

GRADE

ELEVATION
OF BOTTOM
OF DITCH

J

H tf
M •<

(+) Above
Ft. in. f s

(-) Below
Ft. in. fa

1

0

12-5-1

2

50

-1-2J

3

100

-2-0

4

150

3-6^

5

200

1-0

6

250

7-0

7

200

-3-6i

LATERAL FROM STAKE 5 OF MAIN

1

0

12-9-J

2

50

-4-

3

100

- H-3£

4

150

i-o-U

5

200

l-l-6i

6

250

-9-7J

CHAPTER X

USING THE HOSE-LEVEL WITHOUT LEVELING

RODS

FOK drains of moderate length, when the surface of the
land is fairly regular, and when the fall does not exceed
three feet for the whole line, a very simple procedure may
be followed. Figure 75 represents the profile of a piece of
field in which a 400-foot lateral is to be laid. The lateral
must be 40 inches (3 feet 4 inches) deep at the main. The
grade stakes are in place (50 feet apart) as shown in the
figure. Stake 1 was a grade stake of the main and the
depth of the main at that stake has determined the depth
of the lateral at that point.

235. Long stakes. — Two inches back from each grade
stake, there must be driven firmly into the ground one of
the stakes that will later be needed to carry the grade bar
(or " batter board " as it is sometimes called). This
stake should be 1 X 4 inches, and after driving, should
stand out of the ground 3 to 5 or more feet, depending
upon its location in the line and the fall of the land and
of the drain. Each stake must be as high as the level
of the grade bar at the head of the drain will stand. When
in place, it should be perpendicular and its face should
stand at right angles to the line of the drain. These
stakes are shown in Fig. 76.

236. To establish datum plane. —The depth of the
drain at its upper end should now be determined. That

180

THE HOSE-LEVEL 181

depth subtracted from 5 feet 6 inches1
gives the height of the top of the grade
bar above the grade stake. Let us sup-
pose that in this case the depth of the
drain is to be 3 feet; 3 feet subtracted
from 5 feet 6 inches gives 2 feet 6 inches
as the height of the bar above grade
stake. On the inner edge of the long
stake, by pencil, chisel, or some other 1 £
mark, the height of the grade bar is in- Kt^ ij §
dicated (2 feet 6 inches in this case). 1 § x ^

237. Leveling. — With the hose-level, I 3 Jf 1
the leveling begins at the end stake
(stake 9 in this case). In this case the
leveling proceeds down instead of up the
drain. The hose-level is stretched be-

K t£$

tween stakes 9 and 8 and the tubes of Jj^ «g

the level are placed one against the tall

stake 9 and one against tall stake 8.

The tube at 9 is brought into position

so that the top of its water column

stands even with the mark on the edge 1 o

of the stake indicating the proper height

of the grade bar. The man at stake 8

now carefully marks on the edge of stake

8 the height of water column in the tube

at his end of the level. The level is

now placed between stakes 8 and 7, and

the tubes brought against the edges of

the stakes ; the tube against the edge of

8 is brought into position so that the top

1 In the computations for this drain, feet,
inches, and fraction of the inch will be used.

182

LAND DRAINAGE

ff-e-o,

of its water column
stands even with the
mark just placed upon
it. Then the man at
stake 7 carefully marks
on the inner edge of
stake 7 the height of
the top of the water
column. In like man-
ner the height of the
mark on stake 7 is in-
dicated on stake 6, and
that on stake 6 is in-
dicated on stake 5, and
so on till a similar mark
is placed upon stake 1.
It is not necessary to
explain that all of the
marks so placed on the
inner edges of the stakes
are in the same hori-
zontal plane and on
the same level. This
plane is a datum plane
and from it we make
our actual computa-
tions.

238. The height of
grade bars. — The
height at which the
grade bar should stand
at stake 1 is now de-
termined and marked

THE HOSE-LEVEL 183

on the inner edge of stake 1. In this case the depth of
the ditch at stake 1 is to be 40 inches as previously stated.
Forty inches equals 3 feet 4 inches, and this subtracted
from 5 feet 6 inches gives us 2 feet 2 inches, and this
height above grade stake is now marked on the inner
edge of the long stake at 1, as it was on stake 9.

239. To determine fall by hose-level. — Referring now
to Fig. 76, if we draw a straight line connecting points
Lg and LI, this line passes through all the other level
marks on the several other stakes. It is level. If we
connect the point Z9, which is also the height of the grade
bar on stake 9, with the point B\, which is the height of
the grade bar on stake 1, with a straight line, that line
represents the fall of the drain from stake 9 to stake 1.
(It shows the location of the boning line.)

240. Computations. — The distance from the point
LI to the point BI represents the actual fall or drop of
the drain between stake 9 and stake 1. This measuring
may be done with an ordinary rule or yardstick. In
this case the distance from Ll to BI is found to be 2 feet
If inches, or 2-1-4. This is the total fall whether it
is regular or broken.

The length of drain is 400 feet, divided by the grade
stakes into eight 50-foot intervals or sections. If the
fall is constant and the total fall from stake 9 to stake 1
is 2 feet 1-f- inches, the fall from stake 9 to stake 8 — indeed
the fall from any stake to the stake next below it — is one
eighth of 2 feet 1-f- inches. Dividing, we find that fall to
be 3 inches and 1^ eighths (2-1-4) -r-8 = (0-3-1-J). At
stake 8, then, the grade bar will stand 3 inches and 1-^
eighths below the level mark. At stake 7 the grade bar
will stand twice 3 inches and 1^ eighths below the level
mark ; at stake 6 the grade bar will stand three times 3

184

LAND DRAINAGE

inches and 1-^ eighths below the level mark, and so on
down to stake 1.

TABLE XXI

STAKE

DISTANCE

FALL FOR
50 FT.

DISTANCE OP
GRADE BAR

BELOW

LEVEL,

HEIGHT OF
GRADE BAR
(ABOVE
GRADE
STAKE)

DEPTH OF
DITCH

1

0

0-3-H

2-1-4

2-2-0

3-4-0

2

50

1-10-2^

1-8-0

3-10-0

3

100

1-7-1

1-4-4

4-1-4

4

150

l-3-7|

1-4-4

4-1-4

5

200

1-0-6

-10-4

4-7-4

6

250

0-9-4^

1-7-5

3-10-3

7

300

0-6-3

l-6-£

3-11-7^

8

350

0-3-1 \

1-10-4

3-7-4

9

400

0-0-0

2-6-0

3-0-0

241. Placing the marks for grade bars. — A permanent
mark (with pencil, chisel, or knife) should be made on the
inner edge of each stake to indicate the proper height of
grade bar. And this height is obtained for any stake by
carefully measuring down from the datum plane on that
stake, with a rule or yardstick, the distance indicated
for that stake in column 4 of the table.

242. Checking up on depth of ditch. — Before putting
up the grade bars, it will be well to check up on the depths
of the ditch at a few points along the line, and, if the ground
is rather irregular, at all points. It may be that a con-
stant grade, or fall, from stake 9 to stake 1 may call for
too great a depth of ditch at some point, or too shallow
a depth at some other. The bottom of the finished ditch
stands 5 feet 6 inches below the boning line. With a
rule or yardstick, determine the distance at stake 2 from

THE HOSE-LEVEL 185

the grade bar mark to the grade stake, and record in column
5 of your notes. Then pass to stake 3 and determine
distance from grade bar mark to grade stake, and so on
to stake 8. In the case in hand, these measurements,
if correctly made, would appear in the notes as in column
5 of Table XXI.

243. Breaking the grade. — The depth of ditch at any
point is found by subtracting the height of the grade bar
from 5 feet 6 inches. The depths as shown in column 5 of
Table XXI range as great as 4 feet 1| inches. This is
not objectionable except for the extra expense in digging.
Raising the grade bar 4 inches at stake 5 would mean a
break at that point in the grade or fall of the drain, but
would still leave a good fall for the upper half of the drain.
Such a change would require another set of computations.
But such computations are simple.1 It would require also
that a new set of marks be established for the grade bars.

244. Placing the grade bars. — With the grade or fall
definitely established, the computations completed and
the proper heights for the grade bars marked on the inner
edges of the stakes, the grade bars should be placed. At
each stake, and three to four feet from it, on the opposite
side of the proposed ditch, should be driven a second
stake of proper height. The grade bar, in each case
straight edge up with a spirit level resting upon it, should
be brought into position against the front side of the
stakes so that, when level, the upper edge rests even with
the mark previously put upon the inner edge of the first

1 If the mark B5 at 5 were raised 4 inches, the distance from
Z/s to B5 would then be (0-8-6) and this would represent the
fall from B9 to B$. The fall from B5 to BI would be (2-1-4)
less (0-8-6) = (1-4-6). (0-8-6) 4- 4 = (0-2-l|), the fall per
50 feet between stake 9 and stake 5, while (1-4-6) -5- 4 =
(0-4-1^), the fall per 50 feet between stake 5 and stake 1.

186 LAND DRAINAGE

long stake to mark the proper height of bar at that stake.
In this position the bar should be nailed to the two stakes.

245. Checking the bars. — After the bars are in place,
one should sight over them to see that their tops are in
line. The drainage work proceeds from this point in the
ordinary way, except that in opening the ditch its edge
should not be cut nearer than one foot to the tall stakes.

246. Grade stakes and finders not needed. — As is
readily seen, in using such a scheme as that above de-
scribed, the grade stake is of little service, and may be
dispensed with. When the grade stake is dispensed with,
care should be exercised to have the long stakes stand in
fair alignment, and one foot back from where it is desired
to have the edge of the ditch. The finder is also unneces-
sary. Any data may be recorded on the long stake.

247. For more extensive work. — For drains of con-
siderable length, and on lands of considerable roughness
of contour, the leveling may be done with the hose-level,
without rods, but some modifications must be introduced.
Under such conditions, it might be necessary to divide the
drain, into sections and to level for each section separately.
The fall (in surface) for each section might be determined
separately. This would most likely result in a break in
grade between sections, and it would be necessary to ob-
serve the precautions previously indicated regarding the use
of silt basins at breaks in grade. It is entirely practical,
however, to level and find the fall for each section sepa-
rately, and to combine the falls and establish a constant
grade for the entire drain or to establish breaks in grade
at other than section points — to conform grade to the
contour of the line of the drain, as in any other case.
In establishing grade, proper corrections must be made in
passing from one section to another.

CHAPTER XI
DRAINAGE INDICATIONS

IT seems desirable to set forth, specifically, a few of the
more important situations that indicate when drainage
is necessary. It often occurs that conditions exist which
produce effects in the way of crop failure, unsatisfactory
soil conditions, and the like ; and the farmer is unable to
comprehend the cause, or if so, he still fails to determine
upon the remedy and to apply it. The following para-
graphs will set forth, briefly, some of these conditions.

248. Low flat areas of light soil. — Probably the
commonest case is that of rather flat, low-lying areas,
where surface water does not lie long upon the ground.
It runs away largely as surface drainage or sinks quickly
into the ground. Because of this rapid disappearance,
and the absence of small long-standing pools upon the
surface of the ground, it is assumed that the land is well
drained. An examination, however, with spade or auger
may show that the water-table stands within two feet,
and often within a few inches of the surface of the land.

It is not unusual to find areas of this sort with surface
soil a sand or sandy loam, which helps to mislead one as to
the real causes of misbehavior of the land. Recently an
appeal came from a farmer to the soils department of an
agricultural college, setting forth the peculiar behavior of
a field, and asking for advice as to methods of soil man-
agement to be employed and the brand of fertilizer that

187

188 LAND DRAINAGE

should be used. A representative of the college visited
the farm. He found that the crop (corn) growing upon
the field was very pale and lacking in vigor. The symp-
toms all indicated a wet soil. The owner was sure the
land was naturally well drained. An examination re-
vealed the fact that in many places the water-table stood
within a foot of the surface.

The difficulty in these cases is due to the presence of
an underlying impervious layer of subsoil. It is most fre-
quently a stratum of clay. It is sometimes a layer of

^^^^^^^^^^^^^s^^

FIG. 77. — To illustrate the conditions described in paragraph 248. S
represents soil, which may range from a few inches to several feet in
thickness. /, impervious or semi-pervious layer. It may be clay,
hard-pan, or rock, which may range from a few inches to many feet
in thickness. It usually occupies horizontal position.

sand-iron hard-pan. Sometimes it lies within two or three
feet of the surface. If within three feet, it is usually
desirable to set the tile down in this subsoil sufficiently
to give to the drain a total depth of at least three feet.
(See Fig. 77.)

249. Considerable slopes of light soil. — In Fig. 78 is
illustrated an interesting case. The soil occupies an
irregular slope and is a rich sandy loam underlaid, as
shown, by a sandy hard-pan. The hard-pan permitted
only slight movements of water downward, and while the
soil was a sandy loam and, therefore, fairly open, it did
not permit a sufficiently rapid movement of soil water,
laterally to provide the necessary drainage. The result
was that while the field appeared to have excellent natural

DRAINAGE INDICATIONS

189

drainage, and while the soil was apparently of excellent
quality, it actually was very unproductive because of the
over-wet condition of the soil.

250. Extended flat or even moderately rolling areas of
heavy soils. — On these areas, after a rain or during and

FIG. 78. — To illustrate the condition existing in a field drained in October,
1914. S, the soil ranged from 18 inches to 36 inches in depth. /,
a sandy hard-pan averaging 6 inches thick, and underlaid by a coarser
sandy soil, which in turn extends down to the underlying lime stone.
Several areas in the field were very wet before the field was drained.

after spring thaws, the water stands on the flat parts or
in the surface depressions. Frequently the higher parts
of rolling fields may be ready for the harrow or plow, but
work is deferred because of the wetness of the low places
or depressions. Not infrequently the beginning of field

FIG. 79. — The condition described in paragraph 250. The soil S.I is
a heavy clay, which allows but slow movement of water through it.

operations is thus so greatly delayed that under the action
of sun and winds, the soil of much of the higher parts of
the field becomes over-dry before it can be (or is) subjected
to harrow or plow, and may even thus become unfitted
to receive the seeding which follows.

This undesirable moisture condition is due to the heavy
or impervious nature of soil and usually the immediate

190

LAND DRAINAGE

subsoil. Proper drainage produces a more pervious con-
dition of both soil and subsoil, which eventually, usually
shortly, results in the immediate removal of all surplus
water (Fig. 79).

FIG. 80. — To illustrate the first conditions described in paragraph 251.
S.I, a clay soil. If the area be not too wide, a tile laid at T, the center
of the area and at right angles to the slope, will remove the water.

251. Limited flat or depressed areas on slopes. —
Two cases are illustrated by Figs. 80 and 81. In the first
the soil is a heavy clay or till. In the second example
the soil, a sand or loam, is underlaid by a heavy clay or
till, which, partly because of its imperviousness, and

FIG. 81. — To illustrate the second condition mentioned in paragraph 251.
S is an ordinary soil underlaid by /, an imperVious or semi-pervious
layer. The actual condition might vary considerably from that
shown in the cut, but the general results would be the same. If
the area be not too wide, a tile laid at T, under the foot of the upper
slope and at right angles to it, will take care of the water.

partly because of its saucer-like shape, holds the water,
and thus renders the soil above unproductive. In the
first case, the water is held upon the surface until it has
slowly disappeared, partly down through the soil, and
partly by evaporation. In the second case, the water is

DRAINAGE INDICATIONS

191

held below the surface until it is removed by the same
processes. In both cases, injury is worked to both soil
and crop.

252. Limited flat or depressed areas on hilltops. — The
soil conditions in this case do not differ from the last

FIG. 82. — To show how a heavy clay soil, surmounting a hill top, as
described in paragraph 252, might retain a large amount of water
and require draining.

named except in position. (See Figs. 82 and 83.) A
case of this class is mentioned in a previous paragraph.
An area of this kind amounting to a half acre was so wet
that it could not be spring-plowed in time for a crop.

^ lORods _ J

FIG. 83. — To show another condition that would result in the over-wet
hill top mentioned in paragraph 252. S, any fairly open to open
soil. /, an impervious or semi-pervious layer ranging from a few
inches to several feet in thickness. It may be underlaid by a very
open soil.

Later in the season a simple system of tile was laid with
its outlet 50 yards down the slope, and close to the line
fence. After a few years the outlet was connected to a
near-by lateral of another tile system. No trouble has
been experienced from wet ground on the hill top since
the system was installed.

192

LAND DRAINAGE

253. Springy low flat areas. — The springs in low flat
areas occur because the underground water, moving from
other higher areas, cannot escape downward sufficiently
rapidly because of underlying clay, hard-pan, or rock.

FIG. 84. — To show how a springy condition might be produced. The
clay or hard-pan / would divert the water sinking through the soil
S, and cause it to saturate and rise through the low lying soil (ab).
See paragraph 253.

The water, therefore, comes to the surface as springs.
(See Fig. 84.) Sometimes this underground water ap-
proaches between two impervious layers as is illustrated
in Fig. 85. Such a condition as this was discovered, to

FIG. 85. — To illustrate the second condition mentioned in paragraph
253. S, any fairly open soil. 7, /, clay or hard-pan. G, a sand or
gravel layer filled with water gathered at some higher point. This
water is under pressure, and, therefore, rises through any opening
that may occur in the upper layer of clay or hard-pan.

exist over an extended area in England, and led to a very
interesting and successful line of tile drainage in that
country as early as the year 1764.

A line or system of tile, properly placed, intercepts and
carries off the water which otherwise would rise to the
surface and keep the soil wet and cold. The amount of

DRAINAGE INDICATIONS 193

tiling required will depend on the size of the area. If it
were found that but one spring existed in the tract, an
arrangement like that shown in Fig. 86 would remove
the water. If there were several springs, a line or a
system of tile might be required, depending upon the
relative location of the springs and the nature of soil of
the area and its size. If the condition were like that
shown in Fig. 84, a single line of tile, laid at proper depth,
and along the base of the slope (under a), and at right
angles to it would intercept and carry off the water.

^tfC^::^

FIG. 86. — To show how the well, mentioned in paragraph 253, two feet
in diameter, may be sunk, and filled with stone to permit the ready
passage of the water of a spring to the drain tile and so increase
the efficiency of the tile. The dimensions shown in the figure must
of course vary with conditions. The size of tile required will vary
with the size of the spring.

254. Springy areas upon slopes. — A springy area
well up on a considerable slope is a rather common thing,
especially in the drift soils. Sometimes the area is small ;
sometimes it includes several acres. The presence of
the springs is due to conditions similar to those producing
springs on the low areas. The situation and the facts
are presented only to show that the causes and the remedy
are the same, and as simple as in the previous case. (See
Fig. 87.) In limestone formations, a condition occurs
which is illustrated by Fig. 88, taken from Fippin, Cornell
Reading Course. It is self-explanatory.

194

LAND DRAINAGE

255. Muck or swamp areas. — The muck soils vary
greatly in depth, the range being from a few inches to

FIG. 87. — To show how springs may occur on slopes, as mentioned in
paragraph 254. Water sinking through soil S is deflected by the
layer of clay or hard-pan /, and caused to appear at the surface at
a, and to saturate the surface as far at least as 6.

many feet. When the area does not exceed forty to eighty
acres, and when it lies adjacent to a fairly deep natural
waterway or to a good open ditch, the drainage needs and

FIG. 88. — Sectional view of soil and rock formation, showing the under-
ground movement of water and the position of resulting wet areas
on the surface. In addition to the springy places, the soil is kept
wet by the seepage of water along the top of the compact subsoil.
This figure also illustrates the reason for locating a cross drain above
the springy area in order to effect drainage. This method cuts off
the water supply. (Fippin, Cornell Reading Course.)

DRAINAGE INDICATIONS 195

operations are simple. The chief precaution is to set the
tile at a good depth, remembering that muck soils lose
greatly in volume when drained, with the result that after
a few years the surface settles so near the tile that they
may be endangered from frost and agricultural tools. The
writer has been under the necessity of lowering a number
of systems of tile in muck soils because of the shrinking
of the mass and consequent settling of the surface.

256. Small muck areas without natural outlets. — It
frequently happens, especially in the glacial drift areas,
that one to several small muck areas occur on a single

FIG. 89. — To illustrate the isolated muck areas mentioned in paragraph
256. The line of tile laid to drain the area is shown. S, soil ; M ,
muck ; /, underlying clay.

farm. They may range from one-fourth acre to five
acres, entirely surrounded by higher land. When the
surface of the muck area stands higher than an adjacent
low area, as it often does, and when the horizontal dis-
tance between the two is not great, it may be drained
by laying a line of tile through the high ground, separat-
ing it from the adjacent low area, to the low ground.
This line may discharge into a line of tile in the lower
area (see Fig. 89) or into a natural water way or open
ditch.

When the surface of the area is so low that sufficient
fall cannot be secured in draining to an adjacent area,
or where the horizontal distance is great or the separating
ridge is high, but one possible economical means of drain-

196 LAND DRAINAGE

age is left — that by well. The feasibility of draining
by well can be determined only by trial. (See paragraph
202.) Figure 89 shows a muck which was drained by tile
drain. The area drained was about two acres. The
depth of cut at ab was 13 feet. The price paid for digging
15 rods, laying the tile and filling of the cut was $2 a
rod. It was considered a good investment. In another
instance $1 a rod was paid for digging, laying tile, and
filling 25 rods of outlet to 8 acres of muck swamp.

257. Shallow ponds resting upon muck beds. — In
some cases these shallow ponds are permanent, occupying
their beds the year through. In some cases their beds
are dry a part of the year. The description of an experi-
ence in draining such a pond may be helpful. The pond
in question had an area of perhaps two acres and was
permanent. Its bed occupied a part of a 6-acre muck area.
A shallow open ditch, extending 40 rods through an ad-
jacent field, was dug to drain the water from its bed.
Later the same open ditch was lowered and extended the
length of the muck area, and at a maximum depth of 18
inches. It was discovered that the muck was very shallow
and rested upon a heavy clay subsoil. The bottom of
the 18-inch ditch rested in the clay subsoil at practically
every point. After the open ditch had been in operation
two years, the muck area was tiled, the main line of the
tile occupying the line of the last mentioned open ditch
through the muck area. The outlet was accomplished
by a line of tile not following the original open drain in
the adjoining field. The obtainable fall was so slight
that the depth of the main tile drain in the muck area
did not exceed three feet at any point, while at some
points it did not exceed two feet. The tile drain has
been in successful operation ever since its installation

DRAINAGE INDICATIONS

six years ago. Figure 90 shows a
profile section through the center of
the pond bed.

258. Shallow ponds resting on other
than muck beds. — The nature of the
soil comprising the bed of the pond
is not so material as whether there is
sufficient natural fall to a water course
or to an open ditch. Where the con-
dition of fall and outlet are correct,
the pond can usually be drained.

259. Shallow ponds not having
sufficient fall or natural outlet. -
Shallow ponds sometimes occur both
upon muck beds and upon clay or
loam beds, where conditions do not
permit tile drainage. There may not
be sufficient fall ; the distance over
which the drain must extend and the
depth of digging required may be too
great. In either case there remains
the possibility of draining by well.
(See paragraph 202.) A very inter-
esting case of this kind is reported in
Water Supply Paper 258, United
States Geological Survey.

260. Low flat areas whose surfaces
lie only slightly above that of an ad-
jacent stream or lake, which cannot
be lowered by drainage. — In 1894
the Wisconsin Experiment Station
undertook an interesting experiment
in draining a 10-acre area of muck

xv«^|

m

198 LAND DRAINAGE

soil.1 The area lay adjacent to a stream which emptied
into Lake Mendota less than half a mile away. The
stream could not, therefore, be lowered. The method of
procedure was somewhat as follows :

1. The area to be drained was cut off from the bank of
the stream by cutting a narrow trench, parallel to the
stream and probably four feet deep (the depth is not given
in the report). This trench was filled with clayey soil
hauled from higher ground near by, so that when the
earth was fully settled and the hauling completed, the
top of the dike thus formed stood 18 inches above the
surface of the stream. This artificial dike was to prevent
the passage of water from the stream to the drained area
either by seepage or overflow.

2. At one corner of the area, just in from the dike, a
reservoir or sump, 40 feet by 60 feet and 4 feet deep, was
dug. An open ditch dug parallel to the dike and ten
feet from it opened into the reservoir. Later, tile drains
were laid two rods apart, emptying into the opened
ditch; a few of them opened into the reservoir, so that
the drainage water from the whole system gravitated to
the reservoir. Between the reservoir and the dike a
well 4 feet deep was dug, walled with brick, and connected
with the reservoir by a line of 6-inch sewer tile. " Over
the well was placed a fourteen foot eclipse windmill,
carried on a forty-foot tower. The pump rod of the
windmill was attached to an eight by twelve inch iron
pump placed low down in the well." By this means the
drainage water was lifted over the dike from the well.
For several years the windmill, which was in gear all the
time, removed the drainage water from the 10-acre area.

1 Twelfth Annual Report Wisconsin Experiment Station, p.
232.

DRAINAGE INDICATIONS 199

Arrangements were made for an extra pump, but it was
seldom if ever used.

The drainage sytem has now been in operation twenty-
one years. " The old windmill has worn out and we now
have an electric motor to run the pump. About twenty
acres on the west side of the creek has been added to the
project and the water from it is brought into the old
reservoir by an iron pipe under the creek. The tile run
practically all of the time. A float on the water in the
reservoir starts the motor as soon as the water is high
enough to reach the bottom of the tile and it stops auto-
matically as soon as the reservoir is empty. The system
is a success in every way." — E. R. JONES.

261. Situations akeady referred to. — The laying of
tile through quicksand, the removing of water directly
from springs met with in draining boggy places, and the
utilizing of special means to remove excessive accumula-
tions of surface water to underground drains have been
discussed in paragraphs 207, 208, and 209 respectively.
While they have been treated as matters pertaining to
construction, in another sense they are closely allied to
the matters discussed in this chapter.

CHAPTER XII
DRAINAGE AND THE GROUND WATER SUPPLY

ALARM is expressed from time to time over what is looked
upon as a diminishing ground water supply. Both open
ditching and tile draining are charged with removing
water which otherwise would wholly, or in part, sink into
the lower soil to retain the ground water at normal con-
dition.

262. The ground water-table is falling. — In many
parts of the United States, it is a matter of common knowl-
edge that for years springs have been drying up or dimin-
ishing in volume. Streams that once flowed in consider-
able volume have disappeared. In some cases they still
flow for a short distance over their old beds and finally
disappear below the surface. Wells that once furnished an
abundant supply of water at 10 to 30 feet below the
surface have failed in their supply, to be, in some cases,
supplanted by other wells of twice their depth. These
in turn have sometimes failed, and have given place to
drilled wells of much greater depth. The depth of water
of many of the deep-drilled wells is said to be decreasing.
From data gathered upon nearly 29,000 wells located in
forty-eight states, McGee l shows that in some regions
there is a considerable fall in the ground water level, and
that the fall is greater in dug than in drilled wells. From

1 W J McGee, BuUetin 92, Bureau of Soils, "Wells and Sub-
soil Water."

200

DRAINAGE AND GROUND WATER SUPPLY 201

the rather more complete data obtained on nearly 21,000
of these wells, the following conclusions are drawn :

46.2 per cent show change in water level ;

53.8 per cent show no change in water level.

A part of these were dug wells and a part were drilled
wells.

Of the dug wells 53.6 per cent showed change ;

Of the drilled wells only 23.4 per cent showed change.

Of the dug wells, for the period covered by the data :

45.5 per cent showed a mean lowering of 4.31 feet ;

17.5 per cent showed a mean rise of 3.68 feet.

Of the drilled wells, for the period covered by the data :

21.25 per cent lowered to the mean amount of 12.83
feet;

3.3 per cent gave a mean rise of 11.08 feet.

" The minimum lowering per decade for the entire
country is but 0.677 for the dug wells, and over three times
as much, or 2.167 feet for the drilled wells."

263. Interesting facts concerning ground water-tables.
— Of the nearly 29,000 wells, over 61 per cent have their

water-table within 30 feet of the surface, and only 5.7
per cent (1635 wells) have their water-table below 100
feet from the surface, and nearly one-fifth of these (307)
are in one state.

264. Chief causes resulting in lowering of ground
water. — Several causes are suggested as probably having
a part in producing the lowering of ground water. The
ones most commonly offered may be grouped as : (1)
those resulting in increased losses by surface drainage —
in increasing the run-off ; (2) those resulting in increased
losses by evaporation — increasing the fly-off ; (3) the
removal of natural surface reservoirs; and (4) a direct
draft upon the waters themselves.

202 LAND DRAINAGE

265. Increasing the run-off. — The removal of forests,
the breaking of prairies, and careless cropping and indif-
ferent tillage of lands after they are brought under culti-
vation all tend to increase the percentage of precipitation
which fails to enter the ground, but instead runs off as
surface drainage. Natural vegetation, whether forest or
prairie, with the resulting earth covering, permits the
excess of precipitation to move off so slowly that a very
considerable portion of it enters the soil to become ground
water — and thus, to become " cut-off " water instead of
" run-off " water. The absence of the forest and prairie
conditions, and the compacted or puddled soil which is
likely to result from bad soil management, increases the
run-off and decreases the cut-off.1

266. Increasing evaporation. — The removal of forest
and prairie vegetation and the indifferent management of
cultivated land undoubtedly result in great losses by
surface evaporation. It may be questioned, however,
whether the mere removal of forest and prairie vegetation
need increase evaporation losses, if honest, intelligent
soil management were followed. But it too often is not.

267. The removal of surface reservoirs. — It is con-
tended by some that the draining of ponds and swamps
by open ditch or tile drain removes water, much of which
would eventually find its way, by gravity, to become a
part of the great underground supply, and that as a part
of this supply it would eventually become distributed to
points quite remote from its original point of storage.
This is probably correct, in part at least. It may very
reasonably be questioned, however, whether this replen-
ishment of the underground water supply would prove of

1 For definition of cut-off, run-off, and fly-off, see F. K. Cam-
eron, The Soil Solution, p. 22.

DRAINAGE AND GROUND WATER SUPPLY 203

as great economic value to human kind as will the land
thus reclaimed by drainage. Where the drainage of such
areas is accomplished by means of wells, both contentions
are satisfied.

Even ordinary tile drainage, practiced for the purpose
of permitting soils to do reasonable service agriculturally,
is regarded with suspicion by those who are jealous for the
future safety of the nation — as depending upon future
food and water supply.

268. Direct draft upon underground waters. — This
draft is brought about : (a) in the draining of mines by
pumps or tunnels ; (b) in the action of artesian wells, es-
pecially where they are permitted to operate uncontrolled ;
and (c) in the procuring of a city's water supply by means
of municipal wells. The draining of mines, the digging
of artesian wells, and of city and other wells are all legiti-
mate, and could hardly be forbidden by law. It would
seem, however, that the reckless wastefulness, practiced
in some of the artesian basins of our country, might be,
and should be, restricted by law.

269. The interpretations placed on the fact of a falling
ground water-table. — We are frequently startled by the
appearance of an article in the public press,1 or a public
utterance prophesying a serious future condition because
of a failing water supply. Such prophecies might be con-
sidered seriously if there were positive assurances that the
past and present falling of the ground water-table must
continue. The history of older countries in this regard,
however, does not warrant such prophecies. A review
at the expense of repetition may be desirable in the way of
a comparison of water demand and water supply.

1 Literary Digest, Vol. 48, No. 2, p. 59.

204 LAND DRAINAGE

270. Crop needs. — McGee says, " In ordinary farm-
ing, the agricultural duty of water is to produce one
thousandth of its weight in useful crops " and " on ordi-
nary soils the water required for full productivity is about
60 inches (5 feet) per year." 1

England leads the nations in acre yields of grains.
The average yield of wheat (1902-1911 inclusive) was
33 Winchester bushels (41.25 American bushels) to the
acre.

B. C. Wallis says, " In England wheat is not grown well
where the -rainfall exceeds thirty inches," and again,
" As regards rainfall, the annual precipitation of Ohio is
greater than that of Cheshire " (England). The maxi-
mum average yield of wheat in Ohio for any year 1870-
1911, occurred in 1910, and was 16.2 bushels to the acre.2
Undoubtedly during the same period there occurred, in
Ohio, individual yields exceeding 40 bushels to the acre,
indicating the possibilities with present actual rainfall.

According to King, 12 acre-inches, under the most
favorable conditions, may be expected to produce 40
bushels of wheat to the acre. It would produce over 70
bushels of corn, or about 78 bushels of oats, or about 55
bushels of barley to the acre.3 These citations are made
to show the range of possible water service, in ordinary,
good, and ideal practice in crop production.

271. Animal needs. — The average adult person prob-
ably uses less than one ton of water per annum for food
and drink. Assuming that he used a barrel of water a

1 Subsoil Water of Central United States, Yearbook, 1911, pp.
479-490. Also the Agricultural Duty of Water, Yearbook 1910,
pp. 169-175.

2 Yearbook, 1911, p. 535.

3 King's Physics of Agriculture, p. 141.

DRAINAGE AND GROUND WATER SUPPLY 205

week, for all other purposes, the total water used for an
individual would amount to 10 tons per annum.

Farm animals consume from 100 to 150 pounds of water
daily for each 1000 pounds of animal. Dairy animals
producing milk probably consume not far from 100 pounds
of water daily for each 1000 pounds of weight. It is
probably liberal to allow 100 pounds of water a day for
each 1000 pounds of meat produced on the farm up to
the time it is marketed.

For the purpose of bringing the water thus used on the
farm into comparison with the rainfall of a region, and
without attempt at accuracy, except to make our allow-
ances for water-use sufficiently large, let us assume a
condition for an 80-acre farm.

(a) Dairy animals aggregating 1000 pounds for each
acre of farm ; or

(b) Meat-or wool-producing animals or horses aggregat-
ing 1000 pounds to an acre of farm, in either case requiring
100 pounds of water a day, or 18.25 tons of water an acre
for the year ;

(c) That there are on the farm eight persons, and that
each person shall be allowed 10 tons of water annually,
the adult allowance for drinking and other purposes.
This amounts to 1 ton to the acre for the whole farm, which,
added to the amount allowed for the live-stock, makes a
total of 19.25 tons of water to the acre annually. This
is equivalent to a little more than one-sixth (-J-) of an inch
of rainfall.1 Very few farms are so heavily stocked, and
relatively few will be for many years to come. As a
matter of fact much of the water used by both persons and
animals finds its way back to the soil and is therefore not
lost to it.

1 Compare McGee, Bulletin No. 92, Bureau of Soils, p. 180.

206 LAND DRAINAGE

272. The meaning of the lowering of the ground
water-table in terms of rainfall. — The greatest mean
lowering of ground water-table in any state recorded by
McGee is 4.663 feet for ten years,1 or 5.5956 inches a year.
This 5.5956 inches of fall would be counteracted by from
1 inch 2 to 1 .4 inches of rain, depending upon the amount
of pore space existing in subsoil or rock.

273. Intelligent soil management needed. — It is very
likely that with the most intelligent soil management
during the transformation of great regions from a state
of nature to a state of domestication (agricultural pro-
duction), there would have been a readjustment of the
underlying ground water-table; but even with the non-
agricultural agencies at work (artesian well, mines, muni-
cipal wells and the like) the change would not have been
so great as it has been had more intelligent and less selfish
methods been employed in the agricultural practice of
these regions.

274. The case not serious. — But the case is not so
serious as many alarmists would have us believe. The
rainfall much exceeds that required for our present acreage
yields, doubled, trebled, and in some cases quadrupled,
in our humid areas. A better seasonal distribution of
precipitation, in some regions, could be desired; but
even unsatisfactory seasonal distribution may be partly,
if not wholly, counteracted by proper soil management
methods. The methods to be employed for this purpose
will undoubtedly go far toward arresting a further lower-
ing of the ground water-table, and should go far in restor-
ing it toward its original position. The run-off must be
decreased ; and cut-off must and can be increased.

1 Bulletin 92, Bureau of Soils, p. 175.

2 Waring, Draining for Profit, etc., p. 23.

DRAINAGE AND GROUND WATER SJJPPLY 207

275. The real relation of drainage to capillary and
ground water. — The actual effect of drainage will be to
assist to increase both capillary soil water and ground water
for reasons that have been discussed in an earlier chapter,
but which may be briefly stated as follows :

The largest exclusion of water from the soil occurs where
the soil is improperly drained, with proportionate losses
by run-off and fly-off (evaporation).

Larger absorption of water occurs where soils are properly
drained. The cut-off is increased.

Proper drainage not only brings about a more open struc-
ture of the upper soils, but eventually of the lower subsoils
as well, so that while the cut-off is greatly increased, a larger
percentage of the cut-off will find its way below the tile.

Better tillage is the natural accompaniment of proper
drainage, and absorption (cut-off) is further increased, and
evaporation (fly-off) is diminished.

276. The experience of other countries. — In England
tile drainage has been practiced since 1764, and is one of
the factors placing that country first among the countries
of the world in acre yields of cereals. The greatest
agricultural countries of continental Europe have been
champions of drainage for many years. A lowering water-
table is not, at the present time, a matter of alarm with
any of them.

277. Optimism. — " The chief cause of the lowering of
subsoil water is remediable ... is bound to be remedied.
It [the lowering] can be prevented ... it is prevented in
every carefully worked garden, on every intensively cul-
tivated farm, on every well kept lawn, . . . Each farm
should be made to take care of all the water falling on it
during the entire year." 1

1 McGee, Bulletin 92, Bureau of Soils, U. S. Dept. Agric.

CHAPTER XIII
DRAINAGE AND CLIMATE

A RATHER general opinion is current that the climate of
this country, or at least of certain parts of it, is under-
going a change. But while there is general agreement
that change is taking place, there is a variety of opinion
as to the kinds of change and the causes thereof. This
opinion includes :

Changing rainfall — in some cases increasing and in
some cases diminishing;

Changing temperature — summers are hotter or colder,
the winters are colder or warmer.

278. Diminishing rainfall. — The theory that our annual
rainfall is decreasing seems to be very commonly accepted.
In certain parts of the Upper Missouri Valley, however,
the opinion is prevalent that the annual precipitation is
increasing, that the " rain belt," as they say, is moving
westward, so that regions once lacking sufficient rainfall
to support a reasonable crop are now able to produce
fair returns.

Where a decreasing rainfall is supposed to be occurring,
the decrease is charged to one or all of three things :
(1) the destruction of forests; (2) the transformation
of great prairie into agricultural areas ; (3) the draining
of areas, large and small, of wet and semi-wet lands, and
of ponds and lakes.

The chief reasons offered in proof of a diminishing

208

DRAINAGE AND CLIMATE 209

rainfall are : (1) the apparently insufficient moisture
supply during most growing seasons ; and (2) the falling
ground water-table and drying up of springs, discussed
in a previous chapter.

Unquestionably, the insufficient water supply for grow-
ing crops must be charged, very largely, to carelessness
and the unintelligent methods employed in soil and crop
management. The falling of the ground water-table
and the failing of springs are not necessarily due to
diminishing rainfall, as was shown in previous chapter.

279. Floods and their relation to rainfall. — The occur-
rence of floods is sometimes offered as a proof of an in-
creasing rainfall. Summer floods, and sometimes winter
floods, are the results of erratic or unusual rainfall, ex-
cessive or long continued or both. The Paris flood of
January, 1910, was due to heavy rainfall which had been
preceded by rains sufficiently heavy and long continued
completely to saturate the soil.1 The magnitude of this
flood was such that the Seine River carried thirty times
its normal volume of water at twenty times its usual speed.
At the time of the Dayton flood in March, 1913, a rainfall
of 5 inches occurred in one 24-hour period over the Miami
basin, and a total of 8.8 inches in one week.2 On June
17, 1915, at one point in the middle Missouri Valley flood
district, 5.78 inches of rain fell in nine hours.3 For the
month of June the rainfall at Columbia, Missouri, was 9.11
inches ; at Topeka, Kansas, 9.10 inches ; at lola, Kansas,
8.56 inches and at Kansas City, 7.88 inches. These erratic
rainfalls, however, cannot be accepted as evidence that the
mean rainfall of any region is increasing. Erratic rain-

1 Scientific American, Vol. Oil, No. 8, p. 164.

2 A. J. Henry, Weather Bureau, Bui. Z, 1913.

3 P. Conner, M.W.R., Vol. XLIII, No. 6, p. 28.

210 LAND DRAINAGE

falls apparently have always occurred and may be ex-
pected to continue to occur.

280. The relation of forests to floods. — " The most
important effect of forests on climate is the economic
conservation of precipitation, diminishing the intensity of
floods by the restriction of flow-off [run-off], and by shad-
ing the snow deposited during the winter from the in-
creasing sun of spring and early summer. . . . Investigation
in Germany and India seems to indicate that there is an
appreciable increase in rainfall as a result of reforesta-
tion." 1 Moore, however, does not give figures and uses
the term " seem to indicate."

Unwise deforestation is, in numerous cases, a serious
factor in augmenting the destructiveness of floods.

281. The relation of drainage to floods. — It is some-
times charged that drainage, both open and tile, increases
the destructiveness of floods. It is possible that this
assertion might be proved in a few cases. In general,
drainage should materially lessen the destructiveness of
floods. Drainage increases the cut-off. With good
methods of tillage, the cut-off is further increased. With
ordinary rains, the complete and long continued satura-
tion ofc the above-tile soil is prevented ; so that the net
cut-off is increased and the net run-off is considerably
controlled by the tile, and even by the open drain. (See
paragraphs 77-83.)

282. Observations concerning rainfall. — " There are
few places in the Western Division [of England] where
the rainfall is less than 35 inches ... in the low ground
about the mouth of the Thames estuary, and around the
wash, the mean annual rainfall is less than 25 inches." 2

1 Willis L. Moore, Cyclopedia Americana, Vol. 5.

2 Encyclopaedia Britannica, Climate of England.

DRAINAGE AND CLIMATE 211

The mean annual rainfall at the Greenwich Royal Ob-
servatory, according to the records 1815 to 1865 (55
years),1 was 24.98 inches, and if the five-year period 1820
to 1824 is omitted, the mean rainfall was 24.4 inches.
The mean rainfall at Greenwich, 1825 to 1869 inclusive
(45 years), was 24.05 inches. It may be objected that
England is small in area and subjected, in large measure,
to ocean environment.

A study of precipitation records reveals the fact that
mean annual rainfall varies in large cycles and that
apparently the mean of one cycle differs little from that
of another. The ground, therefore, for passing judgment
on diminishing or increasing rainfall is insufficient.

283. Drainage and rainfall. — The weather records of
Great Britain do not indicate a diminishing rainfall.
Meteorologists of this country do not admit an actually
diminishing rainfall in any part of the country, due to
drainage or any other cause. The only relation, there-
fore, that seems possible between drainage and rainfall
is that previously expressed, viz. : the conservation and
utilization of the precipitation that comes in the form
of rain or snow.

284. Changing temperature. — Students of climate
assert that there are no marked permanent changes occur-
ring in the mean temperature of any part of the world,
so far as records show. There may occur very marked
variations for a year or month. Taken in ten-year
periods for a series of years, the means for these periods
will not vary greatly from each other. The same may
be said of the temperature of any month by periods. The
following table includes the mean temperatures for the

1 Dempsey and Clark, Drainage of Lands, etc., p. 101.

212

LAND DRAINAGE

months of December, January and February in New
York City for thirty-six years, 1872 to 1907 11

TABLE XXII

MEAN TEMPERATURE FOR THE MONTHS OF DECEMBER, JANUARY,
AND FEBRUARY

1872 .

. . 29.8° F.

1890 . .

. 40.7° F.

1873 .

. . 28.1° F.

1891 . .

. 34.5° F.

1874 .

. . 34.1° F.

1892 . .

. 35.0° F.

1875 .

. . 27.4° F.

1893 . .

. 28.1° F.

1876 .

. . 32.9° F.

1894 . .

. 33.1° F.

1877 .

. . 29.4° F.

1895 . .

. 30.7° F.

1878 .

. . 35.3° F.

1896 . .

. 31.6° F.

1879 .

. . 28.9° F.

1897 . .,

. 31.4° F.

1880 .

. . 37.8° F.

1898 . .

. 33.7° F.

1881 .

. . 27.7° F.

1899 . .

. 30.7° F.

1882 .

. . 35.6° F.

1900 . .

. 33.7° F.

1883 .

. . 30.5° F.

1901 . .

. 30.8° F.

1884 .

. . 31.7° F.

1902 . .

. 30.7° F.

1885 .

. . 29.0° F.

1903 . .

. 32.4° F.

1886 .

. . 31.0° F.

1904 . .

. 26.4° F.

1887 .

. . 31.5° F.

t905 . .

. 26.8° F.

1888 .

. . 31.3° F.

1906 . .

. 35.4° F.

1889 .

. . 33.9° F.

1907

. 29.8° F.

These means are again averaged for ten-year periods and
stand as follows :

1872 to 1881 . ... . V . . 31.14° F.

1882 to 1891 32.97° F.

1892 to 1901 31.88° F.

1898 to 1907 31.04° F.

It may be argued that the nearness of the ocean might
equalize the temperature of New York City. The follow-
ing table is even more interesting than the one above :

1 Walter H. F. Grau. Harper's Weekly, Vol. 52, No. 2713,

(1908), p. 8.

DRAINAGE AND CLIMATE

213

TABLE XXIII

MEAN TEMPERATURE FOR THE MONTHS OF DECEMBER, JANUARY,
AND FEBRUARY

1854-5 TO 78-9

79-80 TO 1903-4

Cincinnati

34.8

34

St Louis

33 5

33 5

Cleveland

28.2

28.2

New Orleans

55.2

55.5

Chicago

250

25.5

New Bedford, Mass
Washington, D.C
Charleston

29.1
34.2
51.1

29.5
34.9
51.31

285. Changes in frost dates. — It is said by old resi-
dents of southern and central Michigan and other
originally forested parts of our country, that with the
cutting away of the timber and draining of the lands of
these regions, the periods between late spring and early
fall frosts have been greatly lengthened, so that certain
crops can now be grown that could not be grown in pioneer
days. Records are not easily found to verify these claims.
The claims, however, do not seem unreasonable. Very
definite relation exists between air drainage and the
occurrence of frosts. The practical orchard ist recognizes
the great importance of air drainage in the selection of
an orchard site. After the first light frost, the affected
areas are found to occupy the depressions and ravines of
the field, and are as clearly defined as would be the shores

1 Walter H. F. Grau, Harper's Weekly, Vol. 152, No. 2713, p. 8.

Data procured in part from "reliable private records," and
from those of voluntary observers cooperating with the Smith-
sonian Institution.

214 LAND DRAINAGE

of ponds in the depressions and streams in the ravines, and
the more severe the frost, the higher the shore line, all
of which shows that 32-degree air gravitates and displaces
air of higher temperature.

286. Wooded areas and frosts. — Obstructions to the
ready gravitational movements of air increase the tend-
ency to frosts, whether these are ridges of land or
stretches of wood. In cultivated areas, surrounded by
woods, frosts often occur that probably would not if the
timber on the lower side were removed.

287. Drainage and surface temperature. — While
drainage might not be expected appreciably to affect
the mean temperature of a region, it undoubtedly does
very materially affect the temperature of the surface
soil, by greatly reducing the loss of heat by evaporation,
and by lowering its specific heat ; and it is not unreason-
able to conclude that this all might result in lengthening
the period between late spring and early fall frosts. (See
paragraphs 56 and 57.)

CHAPTER XIV
DRAINAGE LAWS

NUMEROUS questions arise concerning the rights of in-
dividuals who desire to drain their lands. An attempt
will be made in the following pages to state, briefly,
certain facts in law concerning the rights of property
owners to drain their lands, and the methods of procedure
under certain conditions.

288. The right of the individual to drain his property
when it lies adjacent to a natural water course. — The
law of Iowa reads : " Owners of land may drain the
same in the general course of natural drainage, by con-
structing open or covered drains, discharging the same
into any natural water course, or into any natural
depression, whereby the water will be carried into some
natural water course, and when such drainage is wholly
upon the owner's land he shall not be liable in damages
therefor to any person or persons, or corporation."
The law of Illinois is identical, except that it specifies
also that the drainage may be discharged " into some
drain on the public highway with the consent of the
Commissioners thereto."

The right of an owner of land to discharge the drainage
waters from his farm into natural water courses, after
the manner indicated in the above quoted law, would
probably be sustained in most states, if not in every state.
It is probable, however, that if any owner of land should

215

216 LAND DRAINAGE

discharge the sewage of his home or barns into his drain
system, the discharge of such drainage into a natural
waterway could be prevented by due process of law.

289. The right of an individual to drain his property
when not lying adjacent to natural water courses. — In
some states at least, the law gives the owner of land the
right, when necessary, to drain across the property of
another party in order to reach a natural water course or
drain. Usually this is done by the use of tile drains. It is
frequently possible for the party having land to drain,
and the party through whose land the drainage must be
conducted, to arrive at an agreement by which the work
may be done. It would be a wiser pecaution, always,
to have such an agreement in writing and properly wit-
nessed. It should be properly signed at least.

When such an agreement cannot be entered into, or the
party across whose land the drainage must be conducted
objects, the law usually provides a procedure that must
be followed. The procedure must be before a court or an
arbitration commission. This court or commission must
decide first, whether it is necessary for the party desiring
to drain his land, to cross his neighbor's land for an outlet
and if they decide affirmatively, they must determine,
directly or otherwise (through an employed engineer,
" viewers/' or other), the course the drain shall take and
the damages the neighbor shall receive for the crossing of
his land. The law gives to the land-owner the right,
directly or through a contractor, to construct the drain,
and at seasonable times thereafter to enter the neighbor's
premises to inspect and repair the drain.

There are two provisions in the law of New York for
the drainage of wet land for agricultural purposes, as
explained by Fippin in the Cornell Reading Course.

DRAINAGE LAWS 217

" The first of these is under the Agricultural Drainage
Statute, Consolidated Laws of the State of New York,
chapter 15, as amended by chapter 624 of the Laws of
1910. The second provision is contained in the act estab-
lishing the State Conservation Commission, Consoli-
dated Laws, chapter 65, article 8. The general procedure
is the same under both acts, and the cost of securing the
right of way and constructing the drainage ditch is assessed
against the land benefited. These laws usually deal with
the large outlet canals, but are applicable in securing an
outlet for the drain from a single farm.

" In a general way, advantage may be taken of the natural
fall of the land in establishing an outlet for a drainage
system, and adjoining property owners must provide
for the drainage water so discharged as surface water. As
yet no such obligation is recognized to apply to water
collected and discharged by tile drains except as it reaches
the adjoining property as surface water in a natural drain-
age course. There are very few cases of drainage that are
not provided for in the existing drainage laws of the
State."

290. The right of a group of individuals to drain. —
When a tract of land, embracing the holdings of more than
one person, requires drainage, and when few, if any, of
the holdings lie adjacent to a natural water-way or drainage
course, and where the topography is such that they must,
or may, discharge their drainage waters along a common
course, this tract may be organized into a drainage dis-
trict. The purposes of such a procedure include
economy, efficiency and justice, both in construction and
up-keep. Several things must be considered. The size
of the mains or sub-mains increases as they approach the
outlet for the district. In some, probably most, cases

218 LAND DRAINAGE

the mains become open ditches, often of considerable
size, and the expense of building or installing may be
great, both because of their size and depth. Sometimes
a drain must cross a farm that will derive little, if any,
benefit from the system, or even if it should derive bene-
fit, the right of way for the ditch, if it is an open ditch,
may require a considerable acreage of land, or may cross
the farm in such a way as to interfere with the operations
of the farm and in this, and other ways, result in lessening
the value of the farm. Some of the land-owners may ob-
ject to the expense to the district; some may feel they
would derive no benefit from such a system of drains.

The laws governing the procedure in establishing and
putting into operation a drainage district are drawn to
equalize cost and assure justice to all concerned. Ex-
cepting in minor details, the method of procedure is very
similar in the several states, and is about as follows :

291. A petition must be prepared. — A petition must
be signed, in most states, by a majority of the land-owners
of the proposed district. In Illinois the petition must be
signed by at least one-half of the land-owners who to-
gether must own at least two-thirds of the land of the
district, or by at least two-thirds of the land-owners who
together must own at least one-half of the land of the
district. In Iowa the petition may be signed " by one or
more land-owners whose lands will be affected by or as-
sessed for " ; in Minnesota by " one or more of the land-
owners whose lands will be liable to be affected by or
assessed for the construction of the same," or "by the
supervisors of any township " and so on. In Michigan
the number of petitioners must equal one-third of the
number of persons owning land through which the pro-
posed drain will pass, and they must be freeholders liable

DRAINAGE LAWS 219

to assessment if the drain is built. Usually certain de-
tails must be observed. In some cases the petition must
be accompanied by, or must contain, a description of the
lands to be affected or benefited by such a drainage sys-
tem. In some cases it must declare that it is the opinion
of the petitioners that the enterprise is necessary to the
public good, or possibly the public health. In some cases
it must be accompanied by a guaranty that the prelimi-
nary expense will be met by the petitioners, if, after due
examination, the petition is denied. In Iowa this petition
must be presented to the county board through the county
auditor ; in Minnesota, to the county board or a district
judge, depending upon whether the drainage district lies
within one county or in two or more counties. In
Illinois, the petition is presented through the town clerk
to the highway commissioner of the town or towns in
which the proposed district lies. This in counties under
township organization. In counties not under township
organization the petition must be presented to the clerk
of the probate court. In Michigan the petition must be
presented to the county drain commissioner.

292. Action upon the petition. — The law usually
makes provision for the calling of a meeting which may
be followed by others, called or adjourned. Lawful
notice of such meeting must be posted, published, or
mailed, with a view to having all parties directly interested
informed of the time and place of the meeting. At the
first meeting the legality of the petition must be estab-
lished. Usually, if there are any errors, provision is
found in the law for their rectification. In some states,
any person who has not already signed the petition may
do so, but no person who has signed the petition may
withdraw his name, unless he can show that he signed it

220 LAND DRAINAGE

through misunderstanding, or because of some misrep-
resentation. If fraud is discovered in the petition, or if
it has not been prepared in accordance with law, it must
be dismissed or denied.

293. Objections must be heard. — In all cases, objec-
tions to the proposed system must be heard and con-
sidered. Usually these objections may be offered only
by parties whose lands will be assessed in case the system
is constructed or who feel that the enterprise will work
injury to their lands. In Illinois, and probably other
states, no person who has signed a petition may offer
objections. In Illinois, the commissioners may administer
oath and listen to controversial evidence.

294. The proposed district must be examined. — If
the body or person to whom the petition is presented
favors the petition, provision is made for the examination
of the proposed district. Sometimes this is done directly
by the petitioned body and sometimes by an engineer
or commission appointed for the purpose. In this ex-
amination, changes may be made in the outline of the
district. Lands may be included not indicated in the
petition, and in certain instances, lands may be excluded
that were indicated in the petition. The proposed course
of the mains should be examined into and may be changed.
Usually a map of the district and an estimate of costs
are prepared; all of which must be submitted to the
deciding body or person.

295. The organization of the district must be au-
thorized. — With the results of the examination, map of
the district, and estimates of cost at hand, if it appears
that the expense of organizing the district and construct-
ing the system of drainage exceed the benefits to be de-
rived therefrom, the petition should be finally denied. If

DRAINAGE LAWS 221

the benefits to be derived exceed such expenses, the peti-
tion should be granted, and the legal organization of the
district authorized, and all parties whose property will
be taxed in the execution of the work must be legally
notified.

296. The work of construction. — The execution of
the work of construction must be done under authority.
It includes the perfecting of the plans for the system of
drainage; the construction work, directly or through
contractors; the levying and collecting of taxes to pay
for the same ; sometimes the borrowing of money and the
issuing of bonds for the same; the auditing and the au-
thorizing of the paying of bills, or certain parts of them as
they become due. After the work is completed, the re-
pair and up-keep of the system must be looked after. A
district drainage enterprise is sometimes both extensive
and expensive, so that it is impractical to meet the ex-
pense by a single tax levy. In such a case, the payment
may extend over a number of years, and since the work
must be paid for as rapidly as completed, it becomes
necessary, in such cases, to borrow money and issue a
bond, or bonds, for the payment of the same. In Michigan
all of this work is looked after by the county drain com-
missioner. In Illinois three drainage commissioners are
elected for this purpose. In Iowa, the county board of
supervisors directs the finances and employs an engineer to
supervise the work. In Minnesota the county board directs
the finances, while the construction is supervised by an
engineer appointed by the county board or district judge.
The later supervision and up-keep is in the hands of the
county drain commissioner in Michigan; of a board of
three commissioners elected by the district in Illinois ; by
the board of county supervisors in Minnesota.

222 LAND DRAINAGE

297. Grievances. — The law usually makes abundant
provision for the satisfying of aggrieved parties. An
owner of land who thinks that he is not offered proper
compensation for right of way privileges, or other damages
resulting from the passage of a drain through his property,
or who may think that the taxes apportioned to him are
unjust, will find provision in the law by which he may
appeal from the first decisions. In some cases appraisers
are appointed to pass upon the question of damages. In
some cases provision is made for taking the matter before
a court and jury. When assessment and apportionment
of taxes are questioned, the matter is sometimes decided
by a board of review. It is probably usually true that
when, in cases of appeals of this kind, the damages are
not increased, or the taxes are not reduced, the party so
appealing must stand the expense resulting therefrom.
It is true in some states at least.

298. Time a factor. — Time seems always to be rec-
ognized as an important factor in the proceedings leading
to the establishment of a drainage district. The law
prescribes a minimum, and frequently a maximum period
of time that must elapse in the calling of meetings, in the
sending or publishing of notices, in the execution of work
of committees, commissions, or engineers, in the filing
of claims for damages, and in the time that must elapse
from the time of the dismissal of one petition until an-
other petition for a similar enterprise may be filed.

299. Records. — The law recognizes the importance
of accurate and complete records. It is probably true
that in all cases, petitions, with all supplemental informa-
tion and data required with them, must be filed or re-
corded. The same thing is true of the minutes of meetings,
hearings, protests, claims, estimates, maps, and the like.

DRAINAGE LAWS 223

300. Mutual agreements. — In some, if not in all,
states the law gives to any group of freeholders, desiring
to organize a drainage district, the right to enter into a
mutual agreement for the organization of such, and for
the laying out of the system and the execution of the work
and payment therefore. It is probably true that such
an agreement must in all cases become a matter of record,
and should be drawn with care, and be specific in the points
of agreement. The work of construction in such cases is
usually, if not always, required to be done under the same
authority as in cases in which petitions are presented and
the work carried out in the ordinary way. In the case
of mutual agreement, however, time and expense and
annoyance are saved.

301. Unlawful acts ; penalties. — Certain acts relating
to draining and drainage are unlawful in most states,
and are classed as misdemeanors. In Minnesota it is
not lawful :

To willfully or negligently obstruct or injure any work
constructed under the provision of certain drainage
laws;

To allow such work to be injured or obstructed by live-
stock ;

To divert water from its proper channel;

To change location of, or markings on, stakes set and
marked by the engineer in charge of any drainage work
(unless authorized by said engineer to make such changes) ;

To dig or construct, or cause to be dug or constructed,
drains emptying their water into county or district drains,
without having first obtained proper permission to do so.

To attempt to prevent or interfere with the entrance
upon any tract of land by the viewers, county com-
missioners, and the engineers to do any act necessary

224 LAND DRAINAGE

in connection with their duties in any piece of drainage
work.

Persons committing any of these acts may be found
guilty of a misdemeanor and may also be held liable for
losses that may result to any individual or corporation from
such act, even to treble damages.

An officer who neglects, or fails, or refuses to perform
duties imposed upon him by law, may be guilty of mis-
demeanor, and may be liable to all persons or corporations
by such act, even in treble damages.

APPENDIX
LABORATORY PRACTICE

THE following eighteen experiments, some of which have
more than one part, are prepared to demonstrate some of
the more important facts concerning soil conditions and
drainage, and these are likely to suggest others to both
teacher and student. They have been used, slightly
modified in some cases, by the writer.

EXPERIMENT 1

Distribution of Capillary Water in Columns of Soil

(A) The material required for this experiment consists
of:

1. A number of threaded 6-inch sections of IJ-inch
brass tubing as illustrated in Fig. 91.

2. Three-inch circular filter paper.

3. Small pieces of strong cheese-cloth, 4 inches square.

4. Light strong cord.

5. A small strong granite-ware pan with creased
bottom. Instead of a granite-ware pan, a small block of
some non-absorptive material may be used.

6. A f-inch round soft-wood rod, 10 or 12 inches long.

(B) To perform the experiment :

1. Carefully vaseline the base of the threads of twelve
of the threaded sections of tubing and screw them to-
Q 225

226 APPENDIX

gether. This will make a cylinder 6 feet long. It may
be desirable in some cases to use fourteen or even eighteen
sections.

2. Place a piece of filter paper over the lower end of
the cylinder, and over this place a piece of cheese-cloth,
bringing the edges of both filter paper and cheese-cloth
up over the cylinder, and strongly tie in place.

FIG. 91. — Threaded section of brass tubing used in studying distribu-
tion of water in soil columns.

3. With colored pencil, number the sections of the
cylinder 1, 2, 3, and so on from top to bottom.

4. Fasten the cylinder in an upright position with the
bottom resting upon a pan, or other support.

5. Fill the cylinder with graded fine sand and settle by
tapping until settling ceases. For uniformity of filling,
an excellent method is td introduce the end of a large
funnel into the top of the cylinder and introduce the sand
into the cylinder through the funnel, pouring the sand
into the funnel at such a rate that the funnel will not
become empty at any time during the filling. If the
funnel can be held, during this process, so that the lower
end of the stem shall be just below the top of the cylinder,
the filling of the upper section will be more nearly uniform
with that of the lower sections. To produce the settling,

LABORATORY PRACTICE 227

tap the walls of the cylinder with the wood rod, distributing
the tapping over the whole length of the cylinder. The
tapping should not be severe enough to batter the walls of
the cylinder.

6. After the settling has ceased, carefully brush the
threading of the top section, carefully vaseline at the base,
and add two empty sections.

7. Introduce water into the top of cylinder, being care-
ful to keep the upper sections nearly full of water, until
water begins to percolate from the bottom.

8. Place a piece of cheese-cloth, or some other covering,
over the top of the cylinder and allow to stand 48 hours.

9. At the end of 48 hours, carefully and quickly separate
the sections by unscrewing ; carefully wipe vaseline from
joints.

10. Place each section in a dry tared tray, numbered to
correspond with the number of the section.

11. Carefully weigh each tray with contents and care-
fully record weight.

12. Dry to constant weight and weigh and record
weight of each tray and contents.

13. Remove, carefully wipe and weigh each section, and
carefully record its weight.

14. From the data thus obtained determine :

(a) The weight of dry soil in each section.

(b) The weight of water contained in each section before
drying.

(c) The percentage of water in each section. (The per-
centage is obtained by dividing the water lost in drying
by the dry weight of soil.)

15. Plot curve of distribution of water in the column
of soil in the cylinder at the end of 48 hours after satura-
tion.

228 APPENDIX

EXPERIMENT 2

The Influence of Subsoil on the Distribution of Capillary
Water in the Overlying Soil

Conduct the experiment in every particular as in Ex-
periment 1, already explained, except that in paragraph 4
of directions, the cylinder be placed .on the surface of a
bucket full of dry sand of the same kind and grade as that
used in the cylinder.

EXPERIMENT 3

The Influence of a Heavy Subsoil on the Distribution
of Capillary Water in the Overlying Soil

Conduct the experiment in every particular as in Ex-
periment 1, except that in paragraph 4 of directions, the
cylinder be placed upon heavy clay. (If the cylinder
can be placed upon bare ground, of a nature heavier than
the sand in the cylinder, preferably heavy clay, the same
or similar results should be obtained. In this case the
filter paper may be dispensed with.)

EXPERIMENT 4

The Influence of a Layer of Gravel or Coarse Material on
the Distribution of Capillary Water in the Overlying Soil

Conduct the experiment in every particular as in
Experiment 1, except that the fourth section from the
bottom be filled with very fine gravel, or very coarse
sand, and that the gravel or sand be moistened before it is
introduced. In this experiment, the lower four sections

LABORATORY PRACTICE 229

should be put together, the filter paper and cheese-cloth
carefully tied in place, and the lower three sections filled
with sand and settled, adding enough sand so that the
settled sand shall stand slightly above the joint between
sections 3 and 4 from the bottom. Then the fourth section
should be filled with the gravel or coarse sand. After this,
the remaining sections which have been properly put
together should be screwed on to section 4 from bottom,
first being careful to clean and vaseline the upper threads
of section 4.

EXPERIMENT 5
Surface Tension

(A) The materials needed for this experiment are :

1. A small dish of fine sand.

2. A shallow dish or watch glass.

3. A beaker of water.

4. A heated clean iron surface.

(B) To perform the experiment :

1. Place a small quantity of water in the dish or watch
glass.

2. Slowly pour fine sand into the water in the dish
until more sand has been poured in than the water will
moisten.

3. After thirty seconds invert the dish to permit the
unmoistened portion of the sand to fall away.

Observe : The dish may be held in any position and
the moistened sand will not fall away from it. Why ?

4. Set the dish in position and with a sharpened pencil
or rod break the sand into small masses of various sizes.
It will be found that masses of considerable size may be
lifted upon the point of the pencil or rod without breaking.

230 APPENDIX

Why ? Draw a sketch to illustrate your idea of how the
particles of sand are held together. (See Fig. 17.)

5. Place one of the masses of wet sand upon the hot
iron surface and note its behavior. After a few seconds
the mass begins to collapse. Sometimes it collapses a
part at a time. Sometimes the whole mass suddenly
collapses. In either case the grains of sand fall apart and
scatter about over the heated surface. Why?

6. Lift a mass of the wet sand upon the point of a
pencil and carefully bring it over a vessel full of water ;
then slowly and carefully lower the mass till some point of
it comes just in contact with the surface of the water, and
note what happens. Suddenly a portion of the mass, or
possibly all of the mass, breaks away from the point of the
pencil and settles to the bottom of the glass, but it will
be observed that within the body of water the grains
of sand become independent of each other and spread apart
as they settle.

Why do they break away from the pencil ?
Why do they spread apart as they settle ?

EXPERIMENT 6

Surface Tension

The experiment (5) may be repeated using loam and fine
clay. If fine clay and frequently if fine loam be used,
the behavior of the moist mass, when placed upon the
hot surface, will be different from that of the mass of fine
sand, and will illustrate another very important action of
the capillary film.

LABORATORY PRACTICE 231

EXPERIMENT 7

Surface Tension

(A) 1. Introduce a small amount of water (one or two
grams) into a watch glass or other shallow dish.

2. Pour sand steadily, and in a small stream at one
point, into the water until the water is completely taken
up by sand. Pour in an excess of dry sand. The sand
mass will be found to take a form similar to that shown
in Fig. 18 of the text.

3. After 15 seconds, the dish should be slowly inverted
to permit the dry sand to fall away from the surface of
the mass in the dish.

4. The dish may now be held in any position and the
pyramid of moist sand will usually not break. Why ?

5. Draw a diagram or sketch to show the manner in
which, as you understand it, the pyramid is kept in posi-
tion.

(B) 1. Place the dish in position on a stand or table.

2. Pour a very small amount of water down the inner
surface of the dish. The pyramid of moist sand will
collapse. Why ?

EXPERIMENT 8

Specific Heat of Wet and Dry Soils

Where the apparatus is available, determine the specific
heat of wet and dry soils, using Hosier and Gustafson's
method as described on page 40 of their Soil Physics
Laboratory Manual, or McCall's, as described in his
Physical Properties of Soil, p. 74.

232 APPENDIX

EXPERIMENT 9

Effect of Evaporation on Soil Temperature

1. Fill to within a quarter inch of the top, three 1 -quart
granite-ware pans (or any three vessels of equal size and
shape), with any soil of the same kind, preferably a sandy
loam for this experiment.

2. With wax pencil or otherwise mark the pans 1, 2,
and 3.

3. Place a small piece of filter paper upon the surface
of the soil in pans 2 and 3.

4. Upon the filter paper in pan 2, pour an amount of
water equal to 20 per cent of the weight of the soil in the
pan.

5. Upon the filter paper in pan 3, pour water until the
soil is slightly more than saturated.

6. Place a cover on each of the three pans and set the
pans together, either in the laboratory or out-of-doors,
where the temperature will remain fairly constant, and
permit to stand till the following morning.

7. Remove covers and determine the temperature of
the soil in each pan by inserting a thermometer bulb
just below the surface, and record temperature in each
case. It is desirable to have a thermometer for each pan
and to allow it to remain in position during the period of
the experiment.

8. At the end of each hour, for three to six hours if
possible, again determine the temperature of the soil in
the same manner and record temperature.

9. Plot curves of temperature for the three pans.

LABORATORY PRACTICE 233

EXPERIMENT 10
Effect of Drainage on Germination

1. Have prepared a galvanized iron pan 1 foot by 2 feet
by 6 inches deep.

2. Have prepared a frame of galvanized iron 1 foot by
2 feet by 6 inches deep. This frame will be, in construc-
tion, in every way like the pan described in 1, except that
it has no bottom.

3. Preferably out-of-doors, excavate in a loam soil two
openings of sufficient size, one to receive the pan and the
other the frame, so that the upper edge of pan and frame
lie just flush with the surface of the ground, being care-
ful also to have selected a spot so that when the pan and
frame are placed, their tops shall stand absolutely level.

4. Thoroughly mellow and mix the soil that was re-
moved in excavating, and introduce a sufficient amount
into the pan and frame to well fill, packing lightly in the
filling.

5. After pan and frame have been filled a few hours,
determine the temperature of the surface soil of each by
inserting the bulb of a thermometer to the same depth
below the surface — say f of an inch. Record tempera-
ture.

6. Carefully measure or weigh into the pan a sufficient
amount of water thoroughly to saturate the soil and record
the amount of water so introduced.

7. Introduce slowly and uniformly into the soil in the
frame an amount of water equal to that introduced into
the soil in the pan.

8. Lay off the surface of the soil in pan and frame into
six-inch squares.

234 APPENDIX

9. (a) In the four squares on one side of the pan plant
seeds as follows : In the first, 6 good grains of wheat ; in
the second, 6 good grains of oats ; in the third, 4 good beans ;
and in the fourth, 4 grains of corn. In the other four plant
seeds as follows : In the first, which will be adjacent to the
wheat, plant 4 grains of corn ; in the next, which will be
adjacent to the oats, plant 4 beans; in the next, which
will be adjacent to the beans, plant 6 grains of oats ; and
in the next, which will be adjacent to the corn, plant 6
grains of wheat. In planting the seeds place the wheat
and oats | inch below the surface ; place the corn and
beans 1 inch below the surface.

(6) Plant the squares in the frame to the same seeds,
and in the same order.

10. On the second day after planting, determine and
record the temperature for each of the squares in the pan
and in the frame.

11. (a) On the 4th, 8th, and 12th days from planting,
measure into the soil in the pan enough water to bring
the soil to saturation, and record the amount of water
used.

(6) Apply slowly and uniformly to the soil in the
frame an amount of water equivalent to that just added
to the pan.

12. On the 5th day from planting determine and record
temperatures as before.

13. Watch carefully for and record the date of the first
appearance of plants in each square.

14. Note and record any peculiarities or differences
in the behavior of the plants growing under the different
conditions.

15. Note and record from time to time the amount of
growth made by the plants.

LABORATORY PRACTICE

235

EXPERIMENT 11

Shrinkage of Soils

(A) The apparatus required for this experiment is
illustrated in Fig. 92. It consists of :

1 . A block of hardwood (A) 6 inches by 6 inches and
1 inch thick.

2. Upon it is mounted, as shown in the figure, a rec-

5*",

$

FIG. 92. — Apparatus for studying shrinkage of soils. See description
under Experiment 11.

236 APPENDIX

tangular piece of brass (B). This piece of brass is ^ inch
high and -^ inch thick, with smooth inner surface.

3. A piece of brass (C), same dimensions as (B), but
without screw holes, and not attached to base (A).

4. A piece of brass (D,) \ inch by ^ inch by 1 inch, at-
tached to base (A) as shown.

5. A piece of wood (E)t f inch by Ij inches by f
inch, with one edge cut to shoulder upon the piece (C) as
shown.

6. A metal pin (F), ^ inch in diameter, mounted in
base as shown.

7. A wooden wedge (G), 1 J inches long and f inch thick,
cut as shown.

8. When the metal piece (C) is placed on the base as
shown, with the piece of wood (E) shouldering upon it,
and the wedge (G) driven into place, the metal pieces (B)
and (C) thus form a box 3 inches by 3 inches by \ inch
deep.

These metal pieces might be made of babbit. They
may be made of iron but are subject to rust. If made of
babbit, the thickness should not be less than f inch.

(B) To perform the experiment :

1. Measure out 200 grams of clay soil.

2. Place in dish and add just sufficient water to
moisten.

3. Thoroughly knead, or work, until the mass has be-
come thoroughly mixed.

4. It may be necessary to add more clay as the kneading,
or working, operation proceeds.

5. Continue the kneading until the water has taken up
all the soil it will thoroughly moisten, in other words, until
the mass is as dense as it can be made by kneading.

LABORATORY PRACTICE 237

6. Place in the metal frame (EC) a piece of cheese-
cloth sufficiently large to cover the bottom of the frame
and the sides.

7. Into the frame introduce the mass of wet soil, packing
the soil down thoroughly and filling a little more than
flush full.

8. With a sharp straight edge or knife, cut away the
excess, leaving the frame just flush full.

9. Remove the wedge (G) and carefully remove section
(C) of the metal frame, and then carefully remove the mass
of soil.

10. Place the mass of soil where it will remain at air
temperature for two days, then place in drying oven at
100° C., and allow to remain until completely dry.

11. At the end of each 24 hours, measure the dimensions
of the mass of soil and make a record of time and measure-
ments.

12. Determine the percentage of shrinkage up to the
time of each measurement.

13. Repeat the experiment with the other kinds of
soil and compare the results.

EXPERIMENT 12
Puddling Soils

1. Procure an amount of mellow heavy field clay.

2. Carefully dry so that the crummy structure shall
not be destroyed, and so that the clay shall not dry in
masses.

3. Weigh 25 grams of the dry clay into each of two
funnels, having first carefully placed a properly folded
filter paper in each funnel and moistened.

238 APPENDIX

4. With cork or wax, carefully close the lower end of
one of the funnels.

5. Carefully measure into the funnel that has the lower
end of its stem closed, a sufficient amount of water thor-
oughly to cover the clay in the funnel, and carefully
cover funnel with watch glass.

6. Over the. soil in the funnel with the open stem, care-
fully pour an amount of water equal to that placed on the
soil in the other funnel, but do not cover with watch glass.

7. At the end of two days remove the watch glass from
the first funnel and allow to stand until the soil has become
thoroughly dry. The cork or wax may be removed from
the lower end of the stem and the funnel may be placed
in a warm place to hasten the drying.

8. When both lots of clay have become thoroughly dry,
carefully study the two masses with regard to compactness
and resistance to crushing.

EXPERIMENTS 13-18
Apparatus

For the four following experiments, the apparatus shown
in Fig. 93 will be used. It is practically the same as
that devised by King, and illustrated in his Physics of
Agriculture, p. 293.

It is suggested that tile 1 be a 4-inch cement tile of
dry mix in the proportions of 1 of cement to 5 of sand.

That tile 2. be a 4-inch cement tile of wet mix in the
proportions of 1 of cement to 3 of sand.

That tile 3 be a 4-inch clay tile of dense texture.

That tile 4 be a 4-inch clay tile of as open texture as
can be found.

LABORATORY PRACTICE

239

That tile 5 be a 6-inch clay tile of a texture similar to
that of 4.

That the nature of tile 6 be determined by the require-
ments of the laboratory.

FIG. 93. — Apparatus for studying movement of water through tiles and
influence of tile upon ground water. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6, tile of differ-
ent sizes and nature, and explained in detail in Fig. 94 ; W . . . W,
water gauge tubes connected with 2-inch tile as explained and
shown in Fig. 95. See description, pages 238-239.

These tile should rest, as is shown in the figure, in a fine
sand which fills the tank to the height of 3 feet above the
center of the tile.

Figure 94 shows a tile in cross section and so arranged
that water can enter it only through its walls. The legend
follows :

A, Section of tile.

B, Steel or cast iron plates.

C, Gaskets.

240 APPENDIX

D, Half-inch gas pipe threaded as shown, and with
quarter-inch holes bored in its walls to permit the passage
of water.

E, Ordinary pipe cap.

F, Nuts.

G, Coupling to attach faucet to end of pipe.

In putting the apparatus together, the chief thing is to
square the ends of the tile so that the gasket and plate will
fit fairly snugly before the nut is tightened. The manner
of putting the parts together and setting the tile in place
in the tank will not be difficult for a mechanic, or indeed
the ordinary individual, to accomplish. In setting the
tile in place, a bed of the fine sand to be used in filling
the tank should first be laid to a sufficient depth that the
tile in being placed may rest firmly upon the sand.

Figure 95 shows the manner in which the water in the
tank reaches the water gauges :

A is a 2-inch tile. It may be larger.

B, Section of half-inch gas pipe.

C, A collar to carry the section of gas pipe and the gauge
seat.

To prevent leaking, the joint between collar and opening
in wall of tank should be soldered on the inside.

The tile lies loosely against the inner wall of the tank and
is filled with gravel to permit the more ready passage of
water from the sand to the section of gas pipe. This tile
also is laid in place upon a bed of the sand with which
the tank is to be filled later. After the tile are all in place,
more sand should be carefully introduced and packed
carefully around the sides of each until the sand stands
above the center of the tile, after which the tank should
be filled to the height of 3 feet above the center of the tile.

LABORATORY PRACTICE

241

FIG. 94. — Detailed cross section of Fig. 93, showing the manner of set-
ting up tile so that water can enter only through walls. Water
gauge is not a part of this detail. See description, page 239.

242

APPENDIX

\

\

FIG. 95. — Detailed cross section of Fig. 93, showing the construction for
permitting water to enter water gauge. See description, page 240.

LABORATORY PRACTICE 243

EXPERIMENT 13

The Capacity of Tile of Different Sizes and Material to
Remove Water by Percolation through the Tile Walls

1. Introduce water into the tank till the surface stands
1 inch deep over the sand, and allow to stand some hours
(unless the sand be already saturated to some inches
above the level of the tile).

2. Place vessels under faucets.

3. Open faucets and permit water to flow till flow be-
comes constant for each faucet.

4. Place an empty vessel under each faucet and record
time.

5. After an hour (more or less, as the rate of flow may
require), close faucets or remove vessels. If the vessels
are placed in position and removed in the same order, the
time of the series will be sufficiently close.

6. By weighing or measuring, determine the amount of
flow for each tile.

7. Compute flow to the acre for each size of tile,
assuming the tile drains to be placed 4 rods apart.

EXPERIMENT 14

The Relation of Diameter of Tile to Rate of Flow of Water
through Walls

With data obtained in Experiment 13, determine
whether there is a relation between the diameter of tile
and the rate of flow through its walls. This experiment
assumes that two or more sizes of the same make of tile
are used in the apparatus.

244 APPENDIX

EXPERIMENT 15

Relation of Richness and Mix of Cement Tile to Rate of
Flow of Water through Walls

From the data obtained in Experiment 13, determine
the relation of flow of water through the walls :

(a) Of lean dry-mix tile as against rich wet-mix tile,

(b) Of cement tile as against common clay tile.

EXPERIMENT 16

The Position of Water-Table in Tiled Soils

1. By filling or removal (by opening faucets), bring
the surface of water to the surface of the sand.

2. Close all faucets and allow to stand sufficiently long
for the water to come to equilibrium in the sand.

3. Measure and record height of water in water gauges.

4. Open faucet No. 1 and permit the water to run.

5. At the end of every five minutes, while the water is
flowing from faucet No. 1, measure the height of water
in water gauges. Ten-minute periods may be better.
If time permits, continue these readings until water
ceases to flow from faucet. There should be a student
for each gauge, in order that the readings for each period
may be made simultaneously.

6. Plot height of water so that curves shall appear on
chart for each set of readings of water gauges.

PRACTICAL EXERCISES 245

EXPERIMENT 17

Influence of One Inch of Rainfall on Height of Ground
Water- Table

1. See that faucets are closed and that water in gauges
stands not much over 6 inches above the level of faucets.

2. Measure and record height of water in gauges.

3. Determine the cross section of tank. It will ap-
proximate 60 inches by 15 inches.

4. Introduce into the tank an amount of water that
equals one inch over the cross section of the tank. This
will be approximately 900 cubic inches of water.

5. After water has come to constant height in all the
gauges, measure and record height of water in each gauge.

6. With the data thus obtained, determine the influ-
ence of an inch of rainfall upon the height of ground water-
table in this particular soil.

EXPERIMENT 18
Percentage of Pore Space

With the data obtained in Experiment 17, determine the
percentage of pore space in the soil in the tank.

PRACTICAL EXERCISES

In addition to the laboratory exercises outlined above,
the student should be made familiar, by practice, with the
several operations involved in the use of the level, laying
out of drains, and, when possible, with the actual work of
digging drains and laying tile. These operations may be
grouped something as follows :

246 APPENDIX

1 . The use of the level. Setting up ; taking and re-
cording readings ; determining height of instrument ; deter-
mining difference in elevation of two points.

2. Laying out a drain. Establishing location; driving
grade stakes; placing finders.

3. Notes. Making tables ; introducing stake numbers ;
distances; and elevation of stake 1.

4. Leveling. Taking back-sight and fore-sight readings,
and properly recording.

5. Computations. Determining the elevations of the
grade stakes; making profile; establishing grade; deter-
mining depth of ditch at each grade stake; determining
the height of grade bar at each grade stake.

6. Setting up grade bars.

7. Digging ditch (when a practice ditch, or better
where a real ditch, can be had to dig). Opening ditch;
digging ditch ; finishing bottom.

8. Laying tile and blinding.

9. Filling.

10. Construction of hose-level and rods.

11. Use of the hose-level. Leveling with rods; level-
ing without rods; making computations, if opportunity
offers, to establish grade, and determine depth of ditch
and height of grade bars for a drain.

These operations are fully explained in the text and
may be taken up as the text is studied or they may follow
later.

INDEX

Accuracy of readings with hose-
level, 165.

Adjusting size of mains to needs, 86.

Agencies active in soil ventilation,
40.

Ammonia in the soil, 5.

Angle of approach of laterals, 113.

Angles, for connections, 114; may
be purchased, 149, 150.

Animal forms enter soil, 56.

Animal needs for water, 204 ; in
acre-inches of rainfall, 205.

Areas of imperfect natural drainage,
66.

Artesian wells, effect on under-
ground water, 203.

Back-sight, 100 ; illustrated, 101 ;

limitations with cheaper

levels, 116; reading, 100,

116; to use, 100.
Bacteria and molds, 57.
Bad soil management, effect on

evaporation, 202 ; effect

on run-off, 202.
Bayou La Fourche, 60.
Biological activities, 5, 57.
Blackwelder and Barrows, 4.
Blinding, 142.
Boggy places, 156.
Boning line, 131 ; position, 131 ;

stretching, 140 ; using,

140.

Boning rod, 131.
Bottom of ditch, elevation of, 129 ;

to determine, 129.
Bouyoucos, George J., 14, 33.
Breaking grade with hose-level, 185.
Breaking up of prairies, 202.
Briggs, L. J., 10.
By-products of plants, 18.

Calling meeting to consider drain
petition, 219.

Cameron, F. K., 202.

Capillary movements of water, 26 ;
cause, 26 ; direction of, 28.

Capillary water, 25 ; a factor in
soil structure, 52 ; affects
soil structure, 29, 40;
affects other physical
conditions, 40 ; affects
ventilation, .40, 52 ; and
use of plow, 29, 31 ; as-
sists in food preparation,
52 ; effect of, on soil tem-
perature, 34, 52 ; effects
on soil structure illus-
trated, 45; functions of,
52 ; importance of, in
plowing, 31 ; proper soil
content, 34, 40 ; relation
of drainage to, 207 ; sol-
vent of foods, 52.

Cautions, in using level, 99.

Caving, 143.

Cement tile, 72 ; general precau-
tions, 74 ; mix, 73 ; opin-
ions concerning, 73 ; pre-
cautions suggested, 73 ;
proportions, 73 ; should
be made with care, 72.

Changes, in flow of springs, 208 ;
in frost dates, 213 ; in
ground water-table, 201,
202, 209; in rainfall,
208 ; in temperature, 208.

Changes may be made in plans and
boundaries of a drainage
district, 220.

Changing climate, 208.

Changing grade or fall, 89.

Changing rainfall, 208.

247

248

INDEX

Changing temperature, 208.

Character of soils, 1.

Cheaper devices, carpenter's level,
105 ; hose-level, 107 ; water
level, 106.

Cheaper levels, 96 ; using, 104.

Checking grade bars, 137, 184.

Checking the hose-level, 169.

Chemical changes, 56.

Chemical composition of soils, 1.

Chief causes resulting in lowering
of ground water, 201.

City wells, effect on underground
water. 203.

Classification of swamps, 58.

Clay tile, 71.

Cleavages in soil, 54.

Climate, affected by drainage, 208 ;
changing, 208.

Clogging of tile by roots, 142.

Closing the upper end of the drain,
143.

Common spade, 135.

Common swamps, 58.

Computations, 102, 122, 123.

Connecting laterals to mains, 147 ;
angles, 148 ; making open-
ings for, 148 ; side, 147 ;
top, 147.

Construction of district drains, 221.

Construction of ditch, 134 ; econ-
omy in, 134.

Construction of silt-basin, 93.

Controversial evidence must be
heard in considering drain
petitions, 220.

Convenient aids in using data, 118.

Cornell reading course, 193.

Correcting depth of ditch, 141.

Correct plowing and later struc-
ture of the soil, 32.

Cost of digging ditch, 162, 163;
cost per rod, 163.

Cost of hauling tile, 162.

Crop needs, water, 204.

Crumbs, soil, theory of, 32.

Cumulative effects of drainage, 57.

Data concerning ground water-
table, 201.

Data, using, 133.

Datum plane, 99, 115; above
ground, 182 ; for hose-
level, 180.

Davis, C. A., 61.

Dayton floods, 209.

Delta lands, 60, 62.

Denitrification, 15.

Denitrifiers, 16.

Depth of cut, 131 ; to determine,
131.

Depth of drain, 80; trial, 128,
131.

Designating sub-mains and laterals,
151.

Destruction of forests, 202.

Diked farm in Michigan, 65 ; size
of, 65; system, 65.

Dikes, 61, 62.

Diminishing rainfall, 208 ; due to
drainage, 208.

Direct draft on underground water,
203.

Direct reading of leveling rod, 100.

Dismal Swamp, 58.

Distance apart of tile drains, 83 ;
of grade stakes, 110.

Ditch cleaner, 134.

Ditch, cost of digging, 162 ; cor-
recting depth of, 141 ;
construction of, 134 ; fill-
ing, 143 ; finishing, 140 ;
not too wide, 138 ; open-
ing, 138 ; order of steps in
installing a system, 163 ;
precautions, 143 ; remov-
ing the soil from, 139 ; us-
ing line for, 138.

Ditching tools, 134 ; common
spade, 135; hook, 134;
pick, 135 ; scoop, 154 ;
spade, 134.

Drain, 80; depth, 80; distance
apart of, 83 ; factors
governing, 83 ; modified
by subsoil, 83 ; limits of
depth, 80.

Drainage by wells, 153 ; by wind-
mill, 198; by electric
motor, 198 ; general in-

INDEX

249

formation, 69 ; land re-
quiring, 69 ; methods of,
70 ; need for, indicated,
69; tile, 71.

Drainage, and climate, 208 ; and
floods, 210; and surface
temperature, 214.

Drainage and ground water supply,
200.

Drainage districts, 61.

Drainage effects, 54 ; cumulative,
57 ; how the changes
take place, 54 ; perma-
nent removal of stand-
ing water, 54.

Drainage indications, 187 ; areas
not having sufficient fall or
outlet, 197 ; areas with
surface only slightly above
stream or lake, 197 ; con-
siderable slopes of light
soil, 188 ; extended areas
of heavy soil, 189 ; limited
flat or depressed areas on
slopes, 190 ; on hill tops,
heavy, light, 191 ; low,
flat areas of light soil, 187 ;
muck or swamp areas,
194 ; rolling areas of
heavy soil, 189 ; shallow
ponds resting on muck
beds, 196 ; shallow ponds
on other than muck beds,
197 ; small muck areas
without natural outlet,
195 ; springy areas on
slopes, 193 ; springy, low,
flat areas, 192.

Drainage laws, 215.

Right of a group of individuals
to drain, 217 ; reason for,
217.

Mutual agreements, in organiz-
ing districts, 223 ; pre-
cautions, 223.
Procedure:

Calling of meetings, 219.
Construction, by whom
directed, 221 ; by whom
done, 221 ; means of pro-

viding funds for, 221 ;
repairs and upkeep, 221.

Grievances, how met, 222 ;
how satisfied, 222 ; ex-
penses of trial, 222.

Organization of district may
not take place till organ-
ized, 220.

Petitions, 218 ; must in-
clude, 218; number of
signers, 218 ; to whom
presented, 218.

Purpose of meeting, bound-
aries of district may be
changed, 220 ; changes in
plans may be made, 220 ;
controversial evidence,
220 ; oath administered,
220 ; objections heard,
220 ; proposed district
must be examined, 220.

Records, 222; details, 222.

Time a factor, 222.
Right of the individual to drain
his lands when adjacent
to a natural water course,
215; by agreement, 217;
by law, 217 ; to drain
across the property of
another, 216 ; when not
adjacent to a natural
water course, 216.
Right to enter another's land

to care for drains, 217.
Unlawful acts, 223; penalties
for, 223 ; punishable, 224.
Drainage projects, 62.
Drained muck soils shrink, 158.
Drain heads, 153.

Draining of mines, effect on under-
ground water, 202.

Economic losses, 68 ; causes, 68.

Economic oversights, 66.

Effect of ideal conditions on ger-
mination, 9.

Effects of drainage, on animal
forms, 56 ; on chemical
changes, 56; on physical
changes, 56 ; on root

250

INDEX

development, 56 ; on ven-
tilation, 56.

Elevation of bottom of ditch, 129 ;
of stakes, 102, 122 ; to de-
termine, 129.

Elliott, C. G., 73, 76, 80, 86.

Encircling ditch, 63.

England, leads in acre-yields of
crops, 204 ; rainfall and
wheat growing, 204 ; tile
drainage in, 192, began
in 1684, 192.

Estimates, of tile, 114.

Expense apportioned, 64.

Expense of drainage system and
pumping plant, 64 ; of
constructing district

drains, how met, 221.

Experience of other countries with
falling ground water, 207.

Factors determining size of tile to
use, 85.

Fall of tile, 88 ; computations of,
with hose-level, 183 ; de-
termining, 129 ; to de-
termine with hose-level,
183 ; uniform, 89.

Farm operations delayed, 189.

Filling the ditch, 143 ; by plow or
scraper, 143.

Finders, 109, 110; sometimes not
needed with hose-level,
186.

Finishing ditch by hand, 143.

Finishing silt-basin, 93.

Finishing the outlet, 144.

Fippin, E. O., 74, 88, 135, 142,
193.

Fitting the joints, 142.

Floods, Dayton floods, 209; Mis-
souri floods, 209 ; Paris
floods, 209; relation to
drainage, 210; to erratic
rpinfall, 209; to forests,
210; to rainfall, 209.

Fore-sight, 101 ; its use, 101 ;
limitations with cheaper
levels, 116; reading, 101.

French Acadians, 60.

Fresno region, 160.

Frost dates, changes in, 213.

Frosts and wooded areas, 214.

General precautions, concerning
cement tile, 74.

Geneva, 12, 13.

Germination of seeds, 6 ; affected
by temperature, 6 ; af-
fected by ventilation, 16 ;
desirable temperature con-
ditions, 8 ; occurs at very
low temperatures, 8 ; oc-
curs on ice, 8 ; prevented
by exclusion of oxygen,
16.

Glazed tile, 7 ; qualities of, 72.

Good soil management will improve
ground water conditions,
206.

Grade bars, 131 ; checking, 137,
184 ; height of, 131 ; nail-
ing in place, 137 ; setting
up, 136 ; to determine
height, 133 ; with hose-
level, 184.

Grade or fall, changing, 89 ; of
mains, 88 ; preliminaries
to establishing grade, 125 ;
profile, 125; range of, 88;
relation to size of tile, 88 ;
to establish, 126; uni-
formity of, 89.

Grade stakes, 108 ; distance apart,
110; may not be needed
with hose-level, 186.

Ground water-table, falling, 200;
rising, 200.

Haberland, G., 7.

Hall, A. D., 11.

Hard-pan, 188, 192.

Harlem lake, 64.

Hauling and distributing tile, 114.

Heat losses, extent of, by evapora-
tion, 39.

Heat, of soils, 33 ; of vaporization,
36 ; temperature effects
of, 37, 38; theoretical
influence on soil, 51.

INDEX

251

Height of instrument, 99.

Hilgard, E. W., 5.

Horse and power machines, 135.

Hose-level, 107, 165 ; accuracy of
reading, 165 ; availability
and cost, 166 ; breaking
the grade, 185 ; checking
instrument, 169 ; check-
ing up on depth of ditch,
184 ; computing eleva-
tions, 177 ; construction,
167 ; construction of rods,
170; datum plane, 180;
for more extensive work,
186 ; grade stakes not
needed, 186 ; how to read
height of column, 174 ;
introducing water into,
168; leveling, 181; limi-
tations, 166 ; long stakes,
180 ; materials needed for,
166 ; moving the level,
175 ; negative reading,
175 ; positive reading,
175 ; recording data, 176 ;
recording in feet and
inches, 178 ; removing
air bubbles from, 168 ;
rods for, 170 ; suggestions
concerning material, 167 ;
to determine fall, 183 ; to
determine height of grade
bar, 182 ; to use hose-
level, 173 ; using the
hose-level without rods,
180 ; zero reading, 175.

How effects of drainage take place,
54.

How plant-food exists in the soil, 4.

How plants secure their foods, 3.

How water approaches tile, 84.

How water enters tile, 75.

Humid areas, 58 ; alluvial plains,
58 ; classification, 58 ; Dis-
mal Swamp, 58 ; extent
of areas, 58 ; marine
marshes, 61 ; Mississippi
delta, 60 ; swamps of
drift areas, 60 ; value of,
58.

Hutchinson, H. B., 5.
Hygroscopic water, 25.

Impervious strata, 192.

Increasing evaporation, 202.

Increasing the run-off, 202.

Intelligent handling of soil needed,
206 ; influence on ground
water, 206.

Interesting facts concerning ground
water-table, 201.

Irrigated lands, cost of tiling, 161 ;
observations concerning,
161 ; subject to accumu-
lation of gravitational
water, 159 ; injured by,
159 ; remedy, 160.

Joining lateral to mains, 147 ;

three methods, 147.
Jones, E. R., 199.
Jordan River region, 160.

Keeping notes, 102, 117.

Kinds of tile, 71.

King F. H., 10, 11, 23, 47, 50.

Lands of irrigated regions injured
by gravitational wate* ,
159; remedy for, 160;
tiled, 160.

Lands requiring drainage, 69.

Laterals, 76 ; angle of approach,
113; depth of outlet of,
146 ; designating, 151 ;
joining to mains, 147 ;
leveling for, 146 ; making
provisions for, 147 ;
method of joining to main,
147 ; size of tile, 146.

Laying out a drain, 108 ; a main,
109 ; a system, 108.

Lenawee Co., Michigan, 163.

Level, the, 94 ; carpenter's level,
105 ; cheap devices, 105 ;
cheaper levels, 96 ; cau-
tions, 102 ; direct reading,
100 ; hose-level, 107 ;
moving and re-setting,
103 ; purpose, 98 ; setting

252

INDEX

up, 98 ; target reading,
100; to determine the
height, 99; using, 98;
using cheaper levels, 104 ;
water level, 106.

Leveling, 94, 95 ; cautions, 102 ;
computations, 102, 122,
123 ; convenient aids,
118; direct reading, 100 ;
for drains, 115; for
laterals, 146 ; in detail,
123; keeping notes, 102,
117; moving and re-
setting, 103 ; records, 102,
117; target reading, 100;
with cheaper levels, 119;
with high-grade level,
120 ; with hose-level, 173.

Leveling rods, 97.

Leveling rods for hose-level, 170;
construction, 170; long
rod, 171 ; short rod, 171 ;
zero mark on, 170.

Limitations of hose-level, 166.

Location of outlet, 80.

Location of silt- basin, 90, 91.

Location of upper ends of mains and
laterals, 114.

Long stakes for use with hose-
level, 180.

Lowering of ground water-table,
200, 206; bound to be
remedied, 207 ; case not
serious, 206 ; experience
in other countries, 207 ;
remediable, 207.

McGee, W J, 200.

Mains, 76 ; adjusting to needs,
88 ; grade of, 88 ; chang-
ing, 88 ; range of grade,
88 ; relation of size to
grade, 88.

Making close joints, 142.

Making computations, 102, 122,
123.

Making openings in tile, 150.

Marine marshes, 61 ; extent, 61 ;
how formed, 61 ; value, 61.

Maximum acre capacity of tile, 86.

Meaning of lowering of ground

water-table, in terms of

rainfall, 206.

Methods of drainage, 70.
Michigan Agricultural College farm,

158.

Michigan Experiment Station, 14.
Michigan system, 65.
Miller, N. H., 5.
Minnesota system, 65.
Mississippi delta, 60.
Missouri valley floods, 209.
Molds, 57.

Moving and resetting level, 103.
Muck soils shrink after being

drained, 158.
Musselman, H. H., 72.

Nailing grade bars in place, 137.

Nebraska, 12.

Need for drainage indicated, 69.

Negative readings with hose-level,
175.

New Orleans, 62.

Nitrification, 6 ; modified by tem-
perature, 6.

Nitrogen, ammonia in the soil, 5 ;
forms in the soil, 5 ; nitric
nitrogen, 5; preparation, 5.

Nitrogen fixation, 6 ; accomplished
by bacteria, 6 ; accom-
plished by molds, 6 ; on
roots of legumes, 6.

Notes, 102, 117.

Oath administered in some states
in receiving controversial
evidence regarding drain-
age matters, 220.

Ohio, average yields of wheat, 204.

Open ditch, 62, 70.

Opening the ditch, 138 ; using line
for, 138.

Optimism, 207.

Ordering tile, 114.

Order of steps in installing a tile
system, 163.

Organizations of drainage district
must be authorized, 220,
223.

INDEX

253

Outlets, 80; finishing, 144; loca-
tion of, 80, 108; protec-
tion for, 144 ; relation to
main, 80, 138 ; screen for,
144 ; sewer or iron pipe
for, 144 ; underground,
152.

Over-mellowness of some soils,
19 ; may prevent ger-
mination, 20.

Owosso Sugar Co., 65.

Paris floods, 209.

Patten, A. J., 72.

Pennsylvania, 13.

Permanent removal of standing
water, 54.

Physical changes, 56.

Physical composition of soils, 1.

Physical condition of soils, 2.

Physical inter-relations, 29.

Pick, 135.

Plant-food elements, 2 ; dissolved
in water, 4 ; forms of, 2 ;
how plants secure, 3, 4 ;
how they exist in the soil,
4 ; proper supply, 3 ;
table of, 3.

Plow, the, how it mellows the soil,
31.

Positive readings with hose-level,
175.

Preliminaries to establishing grade,
125.

Present rainfall sufficient for larger
crops, 206.

Profile, 125.

Puddling soils, 29 ; favored by over-
wetness of soil, 29 ; in-
fluence on plowing, 47 ;
require labor to prepare
for planting, 46.

Pumping, 66.

Pumping plant, 63; capacity of,
63 ; expense of installing,
64.

Quicksand, 155 ; shield for, 155 ;
guarding against caving,
156 ; to lay tile in, 156.

Rainfall, changing, 208 ; in Eng-
land, 211 ; records do not
indicate diminishing rain-
fall, 211; relation to
floods, 209 ; varies in
large cycles, 211.

Reclamation, Michigan system,
65 ; Minnesota system,
65 ; of common swamps,
61 ; of delta lands, 62 ; of
drift swamp lands, 65 ;
of marine marshes, 65.

Recording readings of hose-level,
168.

Records do not indicate diminish-
ing rainfall, 211.

Records, leveling, 102.

Records of proceedings in organiz-
ing and carrying out work
of drainage district, 222.

Relation of angle of approach to
main to distance apart of
tile, 110; of main grade
stakes to laterals, 110.

Relation of diameter of tile to
capacity, 85.

Relation of drainage, to capillary
and ground water, 207 ;
to cut-off, 207 ; to run-off,
207.

Relation of floods to rainfall, 209 ;
to erratic rainfall, 209.

Relation of forests to floods, 209.

Relation of size to fall, 86.

Removal of forests, effect on ground
water-table, 202 ; in-
creases evaporation, 202 ;
increases run-off, 202.

Removal of surface reservoirs,
effect on ground water-
table, 202.

Removing air bubbles from hose-
level, 168.

Removing excess of surface water,
157.

Removing soil from ditch, 139.

Repair and up-keep of district
drains, 221.

Rest period, 11 ; need for, 12.

Right of groups of owners of lands

254

INDEX

to drain, 217; grievances
must be heard, 222 ; ob-
jections must be heard,
220; procedure, 218, 221.

Right of groups of owners to enter
into mutual agreement to
drain, 223.

Right of owners of lands to drain,
215, 216.

Rising of ground water-table, 200.

Rod men, short-rod man, 173 ;
long-rod man, 174.

Root action, best temperature
for, 11 ; development, 11,
56 ; dies in absence of
oxygen, 17 ; growth, best
temperature for, 11 ; pres-
sure, 10; affected by
temperature, 10; systems
of crops, 17; use of, 11.

Sachs, J., 6.

Salts in marine marsh soils, 66 ;

removed by leaching, 66.
Schreiner, Oswald, 44.
Screen for outlet, 144.
Seed-bed, early preparation of, 3.
Setting up grade bars, 136.
Setting up the level, 98.
Shaller, N. S., 160.
Shallow open ditches, 70.
Shantz, H. L., 10.
Shaw, R. S., 60.
Shields for laying tile in quicksand,

155.

Shrinkage of marsh soils, 66.
Side connections of laterals to

mains, 147.
Silt-basins, 90 ; construction, 93 ;

finishing, 93 ; how they

perform their work, 92 ;

location, 90 ; use, 90, 91.
Simple devices for leveling, 105.
Size of tile to use, 84 ; for laterals,

146.

Size of unit, 63.
Skinner, J. J., 44.
Sluice gates, 66.
Small wet areas, 67.
Soil crumbs, 32.

Soil fissuring, interferes with root
development, 20 ; roots
injured by, 21.

Soil heat, sources of, 33.

Soil structure, defined, 19 ; ideal
condition of structure,
19 ; influence on capillary
water, 41, on germination,
20 ; on root development,
20 ; on soil temperature,
43 ; on soil ventilation,
41 ; on storage capacity,
42 ; limits extremes of
temperature, 43 ; modi-
fied by life forms, 41 ;
over-mellow condition of,
19 ; management of such
soil, 19.

Soil texture, defined, 19.

Soils, character of, 1 ; chemical
composition, 1 ; chief
physical conditions, 2 ;
cold soils, 36 ; manage-
ment, needed, 206 ; over-
wet soils, 36 ; physical
composition, 1 ; physical
condition, 2 ; rest period
of, 11 ; temperature, ac-
tual, 12 ; modified by
capillary water, 33 ; ob-
served in Germany, 13 ;
observed in Michigan, 14 ;
observed in Nebraska, 13 ;
observed in Pennsylvania,
13 ; observed in Switzer-
land, 14 ; ventilation,
affects root action, 17 ;
crops, 18 ; influence in
food preparation, 14 ; in-
fluences germination, 16 ;
prevents food destruction,
15 ; removes objection-
able products of, 15.

Special conditions, 152 ; problems,
152.

Specific heat of soils, 33.

Springs, changing flow, 208.

Springy places, 156.

Steps in leveling, 115.

Storer, F. H., 23.

INDEX

255

Stretching the boning line, 140.
Sump to gather water, 198.
Surface tension, 26 ; illustrated,

27.
Surface water, to remove excess of,

157, 158.

T's, 114, 150.

Table for hose-level data, 176.

Table of plant-food element, 3.

Target, 97 ; reading, 100.

Temperature, affected by drainage,
214 ; affects germination,
6 ; affects rest period of
soil, 11 ; affects root ac-
tion, 10 ; changing, 208 ;
tables, 212, 213 ; desirable
temperature conditions,
8; effects illustrated, 8;
effect of bad structure on,
51, 52; effect of gravita-
tional water on, 51 ; maxi-
mum for germination, 6 ;
minimum for germina-
tion, 6 ; not same for all
seeds, 6 ; optimum for
germination, 6.

Thermal movements, 28 ; direction
of, 28.

Tile, 71; blinding, 142; cement,
72 ; clay, 71 ; clogging by
roots, 142 ; cost of haul-
ing, 162 ; durability of,
72 ; estimating and order-
ing, 114; fitting the joint,
146 ; glazed, 71 ; hauling
and distributing, 1 14 ;
how water approaches, 84 ;
how water enters, 75 ; laid
deeper in muck soils, 185 ;
laterals, 76 ; laying, 141 ;
mains, 76 ; making close
joints, 141, 142 ; relation
of diameter to capacity,
85 ; size to use, 84 ; sub-
mains, 76 ; systems, 76 ;
use only sound, 75.

Tile drainage, 71 ; in England, 192.

Tile hook, 134.

Tile scoop, 134.

Tiling springy places, 156 ; boggy
places, 156.

Time a factor in proceedings in
organizing a drainage dis-
trict, 222.

Top connection of lateral to main,
147.

Tractor ditchers, 136.

Trap for outlet, 146.

Trial depths, 128.

Tubingen, 13.

Underground dike, 198.

Underground outlets, 152 ; ex-
tent of area drained by,
153.

Uniform grade or fall, 89.

Unlawful acts in matters of drain-
age, 223; penalties, 223;
punishment, 224.

Using data, 133.

Using line for opening ditch, 138.

Using the boning line, 140.

Using the level, 98 ; cheaper levels,
104, 119.

Van Tiegham, 6.

Vertical systems of drainage, 153.

Waring, Geo. E., Jr., 80.

Warrington, Robert, 7.

Waste lands, 68.

Water, conditions of, 24.

Capillary, 25 (see capillary

water).

Gravitational, 24 (see gravita-
tional water).
Hygroscopic, 25 ; amounts, 25 ;

agricultural value, 25.
Surface, 25.

Water, dissolves and carries food,
10, 22, 23 ; how it enters
tile, 75 ; influences ger-
mination, 22 ; in biologi-
cal activities, 21 ; in food
preparation, 21, in physi-
cal and chemical changes,
21 ; how it enters the
plant, 10 ; losses by evap-
oration, 50 ; service of

256

INDEX

water, 24 ; service within
the plant, 23 ; required
by crops, 10, 23, 24, 204.

Water, movements of, 26.

Capillary, 26 (see capillary move-
ments) ; causes of, 26 ;
direction of, 28.

Thermal, 28 ; causes, 28 ; direc-
tion of, 28.

Water gauge tubes for hose-level,
166.

Water level, 106.

Water-table, ground.

Data concerning, 201.

Facts concerning, 201.

Falling of, 200.

Chief causes of, 201 ; removal
of forests, .increasing run-
off, 202; breaking of
prairies, increasing evap-
oration, 202 ; direct
draft upon underground
water, by draining mines,
203, by artesian wells, 203,
by city wells, 203.

Rising, 200.

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