Draining for profit, and draining for health

LIBRARY

OV THE

UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA.

.8.6177 ..... C/l/S

Draining for Profit,

AND

DRAINING FOR HEALTH.

BY

GEO. E. WAKING, JR.,

ENGINEEB OF THE DRAINAGE OF CENTRAL PARK, NEW YORK.

SECOND EDITION.- REVISED AND ENLARGED.

" EYERT REPORTED CASE OF FAILURE I3T DRAINAGE WHICH WE HATE INTESTI-
" GATED, HAS RESOLVED ITSELJ INTO IGNORANCE, BLUNDERING, BAD MANAGEMENT,

"OB BAD EXECUTION.''— Gisborne.

ILLUSTRATED.

NEW YORK:

ORANGE JUDD COMPAXY,

751 BROADWAY.

1884.

Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1879, by the

ORANGE JUDD COMPANY,
111 the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington.

Main Lib.
Agric.

NOTE TO FIRST EDITION.

In presenting this book to the public the writer desires
to say that, having in view the great importance of thor-
ough work in land draining, and believing it advisable to
avoid every thing which might be construed into an ap-
proval of half-way measures, he has purposely taken the
most radical view of the whole subject, and has endeavored
to emphasize the necessity for the utmost thoroughness in
all draining operations, from the first staking of the lines
to the final filling-in of the ditches.

That it is sometimes necessary, because of limited means,
or limited time, or for other good reasons, to drain partially
or imperfectly, or with a view only to temporary results,
is freely acknowledged. In these cases the occasion for
less completeness in the work must determine the extent
to which the directions herein laid down are to be disre-
garded; but it is believed that, even in such cases, the
principles on which those directions are founded should
be always borne in mind.

NEWPORT, R. I, 1867.

NOTE TO SECOND EDITION.

None of the principles set forth in the First Edition
of this book have been modified by later experience.
Some of the processes for the execution of the work have,
however, been so much improved as to make a revision
necessary.

NEWPORT, K. I., 1879.

*

86177

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.

1.— A dry soil, (from Dr. Madden'* lecture) 13

2.— A wet soil " '* . " 13

3.— A drained soil" " " 14

4.— A map of land with swamps, rocks, springs and trees 50

5. — Map with 50-foot squares and contour lines 51

6. — Levelling instrument 52

7.- " rod , 53

8.— Map with contour lines 54

9.— Wells1 Clinometer. . . 56

10. — Stone pit to connect spring with drain 59

11. — Stone pit, and tile-basin for same object 60

12. — Line of saturation between drains 65

13.— Horse-shoe tile 78

14.— Solo-tile 80

15.— Double-sole-tile 80

16.— Round tile (or pipe) and collar 81

17.— )

18. — >• Three profiles of drains with different inclinations 92

19.— f

20. — Map with drains and contour lines . 98

21.— Profile of Drain C 10(5

22.— Set of tools, (from Drainage des Terres Arables) 114

23.— Outlet secured with masonry and grating, (from the same) 118

24. — Silt-basin, built to the surface 121

25.— Finishing spade 123

26.— " scoop 123

27. — Bracing the sides of drains in soft land 124

28. — Measuring staff / 124

29.— Boning-Rod 125

30._position of workman, antl use of scoop, (from Drainage des Terres

Arables) 126

31.— Use of Bouing-Rods 126

32.— Tile-pick 131

33. — Lateral drain entering at top of main 134

34.— Sectional view of joint 134

35.— Square, brick silt-basin 135

3(j. — Silt-basin of vitrified pipe 134

37.— Tile Silt-basin 136

38.— Maul for ramming 138

39.— Board scraper for filling ditches 140

40.— Drain with a furrow at'each side 141

41.— Foot-pick 156

42.— Pug-Mill 179

43.— Plate of dies 180

44.— Cheap wooden machine, (from Drainage des Terres Arables) 1*1

45.— Mandril for carrying tiles from machine, (from the same) 182

4(5. — Clay-kiln, (from" Journal Royal Agricultural Society) 184

47.— Dyke and ditch 197

48.- Old system of house drainage, I from Report of Board of j 236
49.— New " " " f Health, (England). 1 287

50-57. — Boynton's tiles and connections. 212

58-59.— Gullet gratintr and outlet, 245

60-64.— English dra'ning tools 218

65.— Opening the ditch and laying the tiles 249

4

TABLE OF CONTENTS.

CHAPTER I.— LAND TO BE DRAINED, AND THE SEASON WHY.

Indications of the need of draining.— Sources of water.— Objections
to too much water.— Wet sub-soil.

CHAPTER II.— HOW DRAINS ACT, AND HOW THEY AFFECT THE SOIL.

Characteristics of a well laid tile-drain.— Surface-water and rain-water
beneficial, springs and soakage-water injurious. Cracking of stiff clays.
Evaporation and nitration. — Bain -fall. — Evaporation. — Temperature. —
Drought. — Porosity or mellowness. — Chemical action in the soil.

CHAPTER III. — HOW TO GO TO WORK TO LAY orx A SYSTEM OF DRAINS.

Amateur draining. — Maps. — Levelling instruments. — Outlets and loca-
tion of drains. — Main drains. — Spring water. — Fall. — Tiles. — Depth and
distance apart. — Direction of laterals. — Collars. — Discharge of water
from drains.

CHAPTER IV.— HOW TO MAKE THE DRAINS.

Tools.— Marking the lines.— Water-courses.— Outlets.— Silt-Basins.—
Opening the ditches.— Grading.— Tile laying.— Connections.— Covering
the tile and filling in. — Collecting the water of springs. — Amending the
map.

CHAPTER V.— HOW TO TAKE CARE OF DRAINS AND DRAINED LAND.

Removing obstructions. —Mistake of substituting large tiles for small
ones which have become obstructed.— Heavy lands should not be tram-
pled while wet.

CHAPTER VI.— WHAT DRAINING COSTS.

Draining, expensive work. — Permanence and lasting effects. — Cheap-
ness versus economy. — Details of cost. — (1. Engineering and Su-
perintendence. — 2. Digging the ditches. — 3. Grading the bottoms. —
4. Tiles and tile laying.— 5. Covering and filling.— 6. Outlets and Silt-
Basins.)
5

VI TABLE OF CONTENTS.

CHAPTER VII.— WILL IT PAT ?

Increased crops required to pay cost of draining. — (Corn, Wheat, Rye,
Oats, Potatoes, Barley, Hay, Cotton, Tobacco). — Instances of profit. —
Eii'ect of draining in facilitating farm work.

CHAPTER VIII.— HOW TO MAKE DRAINING TILES.

Materials.— Preparation of earths. — Moulding tiles. — Machines. — Dry-
ing and roiling. — Burning. — Kilns. — General arrangement of a tilery.

CHAPTER IX.— THE RECLAIMING OF SALT MARSHES.

Extent of marshes on the Atlantic Coast. — The English Fens.— Har-
laem Lake. — The exclusion of sea water. — Removal of the causes of in-
undation from the upland. — Removal of rain-fall and water of filtration.
— Embankments. — Muskrats. — Rivers and Creeks. — Outlet of drainage.

CHAPTER X.— MALARIAL DISEASES.

Fevcr-and-Ague. — Neuralgia.— Vicinity of New York. — Dr. Bartlett on
Periodical Fever. — Dr. Metcalf 's Report to U. S. Sanitary Commission.
—La Roche on the effect of Malarial Fever. — Dr. Salisbury on the
"Cause of Malarious Fevers." — English experience. — Reports to the
British Parliament. — The cause of Malaria removed by draining.

CHAPTER XI.— HOUSE DRAINAGE AND TOWN SEWERAGE IN THEIR RELA-
TIONS TO THE PUBLIC HEALTH.

Sewerage.— The use of pipes. — The new outfall sewers in London.—-
The use of steam-pumps to secure outlets. — Utilization of sewage
matters in agriculture. — Effects of imperfect house drainage on health. —
Typhoid fever.— The Westminster fever in London. -Epidemic at the
Maplewood Young Ladies Institute, in Pittsfield, Mass. — Lambeth
Square, London.— Back drainage.— Water supply.— General Board of
Health, (England).

Note to CJiapterXI, Second ZHition.— Obstacles to back drainage.— Small
pipes. — Flush tanks. — Drainage of country and village houses, etc.

CHAPTER XI I.— IMPROVEMENTS IN DRAINING TILES.

The Boynton tiles.— Curved tiles.— Junction pieces.— Connection of
Lateral with Main.— Covering for outlets.

CHAPTER XIII. — LAND DRAINAGE. — DETAILS OF THE WORK.

Beginning at the wrong end.— Methods of English drainers.— Com-
mencing the work.— Draining tools.— Digging the ditch and laying the
tiles.— Wages.

CHAPTER I.

LAND TO BE DRAINED AND THE REASONS WHY.

Land which requires draining hangs out a sign of its
condition, more or less clear, according to its circumstances,
but always unmistakable to the practiced eye. Sometimes
it is the broad banner of standing water, or dark, wet streaks
in. plowed land, when all should be dry and of even color ;
sometimes only a fluttering rag of distress in curling corn,
or wide-cracking clay, or feeble, spindling, shivering grain,
which has survived a precarious winter, on the ice-stilts
that have stretched its crown above a wet soil ; sometimes
the quarantine flag of rank growth and dank miasmatic fogs.

To recognize these indications is the first office of the
drainer ; the second, to remove the causes from which they
arise.

If a rule could be adopted which would cover the varied
circumstances of different soils, it would be somewhat as
follows : All lands, of whatever texture or kind, in which
the spaces between the particles of soil are filled with water,
(whether from rain or from springs,) within less than four
feet of the surface of the ground, except during and
immediately after heavy rains, require draining.

Of course, the particles of the soil cannot be made drv
nor should they be ; but, although they should be moist
themselves, they should be surrounded with air, not with
water. To illustrate this : suppose that water be poured
into a barrel filled with chips of wood until it runs over at
the top. The spaces between the chips will be filled with
7

8 DRAINING FOB PROFIT AND HEALTH.

water, and the chips themselves will absorb enough to be-
come thoroughly wet ; — this represents the worst condition
of a wet soil. If an opening be made at the bottom of the
barrel, the water which fills the spaces between the chips
will be drawn off, and its place will be taken by air, while
the chips themselves will remain wet from the water which
they hold by absorption. A drain at the bottom of a wet
field draws away the water from the free spaces between
its particles, and its place is taken by air, while the parti-
cles hold, by attraction, the moisture necessary to a healthy
condition of the soil.

There are vast areas of land in this country which do
not need draining. The whole range of sands, gravels,
light loams and moulds allow water to pass freely through
them, and are sufficiently drained by nature, provided,
they are as open at the bottom as throughout the mass.
A sieve filled with gravel will drain perfectly ; a basin filled
with the same gravel will not drain at all. More than this,
a sieve filled with the stiffest clay, if not "puddled,"*
will drain completely, and so will heavy clay soils on po-
rous and well drained subsoils. Money expended in drain-
ing such lands as do not require the operation is, of course,
wasted ; and when there is doubt as to the requirement,

* Puddling is the kneading or rubbing of clay with water, a process by
which it becomes almost impervious, retaining this property until thor-
oughly dried, when its close union is broken by the shrinking of its
parts. Puddled clay remains impervious as long as it is saturated with
water, and it does not entirely lose this quality until it has been pulver-
ized in a dry state.

A small proportion of clay is sufficient to injure the porousness of
the soil by puddling. — A clay subsoil is puddled by being plowed
over when too wet, and the injury is of considerable duration. Rain
water collected in hollows of stiff land, by the simple movement given
it by the wind, so puddles the surface that it holds the water while the
adjacent soil is dry and porous.

The term puddling will often be used in this work, and the reader will
understand, from this explanation, the meaning with \vhich it is em-
ployed.

LAND TO BE DRAINED AND THE REASONS WHY. 9

sufficient tests should be made before the outlay for so
costly work is encountered.

There is, on the other hand, much land which only by
thorough-draining can be rendered profitable for cultiva-
tion, or healthful for residence, and very much more, des-
cribed as "ordinarily dry land," which draining would
greatly improve in both productive value and salubrity.

The Surface Indications of the necessity for draining
are various. Those of actual swamps need no description ;
those of land in cultivation are more or less evident at
different seasons, and require more or less care in their ex-
amination, according to the circumstances under which
they are manifested.

If a plowed field show, over a part or the whole of its
surface, a constant appearance of dampness, indicating that,
as fast as water is dried out from its upper parts, more
is forced up from below, so that after a rain it is much
longer than other lands in assuming the light color of dry
earth, it unmistakably needs draining.

A pit, sunk to the depth of three or four feet in the
earth, may collect water at its bottom, shortly after a
rain ; — this is a sure sign of the need of draining.

All tests of the condition of laud as to water, — such as
trial pits, etc., — should be made, when practicable, during
the wet spring weather, or at a time when the springs and
brooks are running full. If there be much water in the
soil, even at such times, it needs draining.

If the water of heavy rains stands for some time on the
surface, or if water collects in the furrow while plowing,
draining is necessaiy to bring the land to its full fertility.

Other indications may be observed in dry weather ; — wid-
cracks in the soil are caused by the drying of clays, which,
by previous soaking, have been pasted together ; the curl-
ing of corn often indicates that in its early growth it has
been prevented, by a wet subsoil, from sending down its
roots below the reach of the sun's heat, where it would find,
1*

ID DRAINING FOR PROFIT AND IIEAITH.

even in the dryest weather, sufficient moisture for a heaith-
thy growth ; any severe effect of drought, except on poor
sands and gravels, may be presumed to result from the
same cause ; and a certain wiryness of grass, together with
a mossy or mouldy appearance of the ground, also indicate
excessive moisture during some period of growth. The
effects of drought are, of course, sometimes manifested on
soils which do not require draining, — such as those poor
gravels, which, from sheer poverty, do not enable plants
to form vigorous and penetrating roots; but any soil of
ordinary richness, which contains a fair amount of clay,
will withstand even a severe drought, without great injury
to its crop, if it is thoroughly drained, and is kept loo.^e at
its surface.

Poor crops are, when the cultivation of the soil is rea-
sonably good, caused either by inherent poverty of the
land, or by too great moisture during the season of early
growth. . Which of these causes has operated in a particular
case may be easily known. Manure will correct the difficulty
in the former case, but in the latter there is no real remedy
short of such a system of drainage as will thoroughly re-
lieve the soil of its surplus water.

The Sources Of the Water in the soil are various.
Either it falls directly upon the land as rain ; rises into it
from underlying springs ; or reaches it through, or over,
adjacent land.

The rain wafer belongs to the field on which it falls, and
it would be an advantage if it could all be made to pass
down through the first three or four feet of the soil, and be
removed from below. Every drop of it is freighted with
fertilizing matters washed out from the air, and in its de-
scent through the ground, these are given up for the use
of plants ; and it performs other important work among
the vegetable and mineral parts of the soil.

The spring water does not belong to the field, — riot a

T.AATT) TO BE DRATSED AJSD THE REASONS WHY. 11

drop of it, — and it ought not to be allowed to show itself
within the reach of the roots of ordinary plants. It has
fallen on other land, and, presumably, has there done its
appointed work, and ought not to be allowed to convert
our soil into a mere outlet passage for its removal.

The ooze water, — that which soaks out from adjoining
laud, — is subject to all the objections which hold against
spring water, and should be rigidly excluded.

But the surface water which comes over the surface of
higher ground in the vicinity, should be allowed every
opportunity, which is consistent with good husbandry, to
work its slow course over our soil, — not to run in such
streams as will cut away the surface, nor in such quantities
as to make the ground inconveniently wet, but to spread
itself hi beneficent irrigation, and to deposit the fertilizing
matters which it contains, then to descend through a well-
drained subsoil, to a free outlet.

From whatever source the water comes, it cannot remain
stagnant in any soil without permanent injury to its fertility,

The Objection to too much Water in the Soil will
be understood from the following explanation of the pro-
cess of germination, (sprouting,) and growth. Other grave
reasons why it is injurious will be treated in their proper
order.

The first growth of the embryo plant, (in the seed,) is
merely a change of form and position of the material which
the seed itself contains. It requires none of the elemeDts
of the soil, and would, under the same conditions, take plac*
as well in moist saw-dust as in the richest mold. The
conditions required are, the exclusion of light ; a certain
degree of heat ; and the presence of atmospheric air, and
moisture. Any material which, without entirely exclud-
ing the air, will shade the seed from the light, yield
the necessary amount of moisture, and allow the accu-
mulation of the requisite heat, will favor the chemical

12 DRAINING FOE PROFIT AND HEALTH.

changes which, under these circumstances, take place in the
lining seed. In proportion as the heat is reduced by the
chilling effect of evaporation, and as atmospheric air is ex-
cluded, will the germination of the setd be retarded; and,
in case of complete saturation for a long time, absolute
decay will ensue, and the germ will die.

The accompanying illustrations, (Figures 1,2 and 3,) from
the " Minutes of Information " on Drainage, submitted by
the General Board of Health to the British Parliament in
1852, represent the different conditions of the soil as to
moisture, and the effect of these conditions on the germi-
nation of seeds. The figures are thus explained by Dr.
Madden, from whose lecture they are taken :„

" Soil, examined mechanically, is found to consist entirely
" of particles of all shapes and sizes, from stones and peb-
" bles down to the finest powder; and, on account of their
" extreme irregularity of shape, they cannot lie so close to
" one another as to prevent there being passages between
" them, owing to which circumstance soil in the mass is
" always more or less porous. If, however, we proceed to
" examine one of the smallest particles of which soil is
" made up, we shall find that even this is not always solid,
" but is much more frequently porous, like soil in the mass.
" A considerable proportion of this finely-divided part of
" soil, the impalpable matter, as it is generally called, is
" found, by the aid of the microscope, to consist of broken
" down vegetable tissue, so that when a small portion of
" the finest dust from a garden or field is placed under the
" microscope, we have exhibited to us particles of every
" variety of shape and structure, of which a certain part is
" evidently of vegetable origin.

" In these figures I have given a very rude representation
" of these particles ; and I must beg you particularly to
"remember that they are not meant to represent by any
" means accurately what the microscope exhibits, but are

LAND TO BE DRAINED, AND THE REASONS WHY.

13

" only designed to serve as a plan by which to illustrate

" the mechanical properties of the soil. On referring to

" Fig. 1, we perceive that there are two distinct classes of

" pore*, — first, the large ones, which exist between the par-

" tides of soil, and second, the very minute ones, which

" occur in the particles themselves ; and you will at the

-_ —^ — ^ '; same time notice that,

RjHlS «ft$K JJlSB " whereas all the larger
nhS^^S 4 " pores, — those between the

" particle? of soil, — com-
" municate most freely with
" each other, so that they
" form can.-ds, the small
" pores, however freely they
" may communicate with
" one another in the interior
" of the particle in which
ig. 1.— A our SOIL. " they occur, have no direct

" connection with the po:*e3 of the surrounding particles.

" Let us now, therefore, trace the effect of this arrangement.

" In Fig. 1 vrc perceive that

"; these canah and pores are

" all empty, the roil being

"perfectly dry ; and the

" canals communicating free-

" ly at the surface with the

" surrounding atmosphere ,

" the whole will of course

"be filled with air. If in

" this condition a seed be

" placed i:i the soil, at a,

" you at once perceive that

"it is freely supplied with air, but there is no moisture;

" therefore, Avhen soil is perfectly dry, a seed cannot grow.

"Let us turn our attention now to Fi<r. 2. Here we

14

DRAINING FOR PROFIT AND HEALTH.

perceive that both the pores and canals are no longer
represented white, but black, this color being used to in-
dicate water ; in this instance, therefore, water has taken
the place of air, or, in other words, the soil is very tret.
If we observe our seed a now, M~e find it abundantly
supplied with water, but no air. Here again, therefore,
germination cannot take place. If may be well to state
here that this can never occur exactly in nature, because,
water having the power of dissolving air to a certain
extent, the seed a in Fig. 2 is, in fact, supplied with a
certain amount of this necessary substance ; and, owing
to this, (termination does take place, although by no
means under such advantageous circumstances as it would
were the soil in a better condition.

" We pass on now to Fig. 3. Here we find a different
state of matters. The canals are open and freely sup-
plied with air, while the pores are filled with water ; and,
consequently, you perceive
that, while the seed a has
quite enough of air from
the canals, it can never be
without moisture, as every
particle of soil Avhich
touches it is well supplied
with this necessary in-
gredient. This, then, is
the proper condition of soil
for germination, and in

fact for every period of the *"'£• 3.- A DRAINED SOIL.
plant's development ; and this condition occurs when the
soil is moist, but not wet, — that is to say, when it has the
color and appearance of being well watered, but when it
is still capable of being crumbled to pieces by the hnnds,
without any of its particles adhering together in the
familiar form of mud.''

LAND TO BE DRAINED AND THK REASONS WHY. 15

As plants grow under the same conditions, as to soil,
that are necessary for the germination of seeds, the fore-
going explanation of the relation of water to the particles
of the soil is perfectly applicable to the whole period of
vegetable growth. The soil, to the entire depth occupied
by roots, which, with most cultivated plants is, in drained
land, from two to four feet, or even more, should be main
tained, as nearly as possible, in the condition represented
in Fig. 3, — that is, the particles of soil should hold .water
by attraction, (absorption,) and the spaces between the
particles should be tilled with air. Soils which require
drainage are not in this condition. When they are not
saturated with water, they are generally dried into lumps
and clods, which are almost as impenetrable by roots as so
many stones. The moisture which these clods contain is
not available to plants, and their surfaces are liable to be
dried by the too free circulation of air among the wide
fissures between them. It is also worthy of incidental re-
mark, that the cracking of heavy soils, shrinking by
drought, is attended by the tearing asunder of the smal-
ler roots which may have penetrated them.

- The Injurious Effects of Standing Water in the Sub-
soil may be best explained in connection with the de-
scription of a soil which needs under-draining. It would
be tedious, and superfluous, to attempt to detail the various
geological formations and conditions which make the soil
unprofitably wet, and render draining necessary. Nor, — as
this work is intended as a hnnd-book for practical use, — is
it deemed advisable to introduce the geological charts and
sections, which are so often employed to illustrate th«
various sources of under-ground water ; interesting as
they are to students of the theories of agriculture, and
important as the study is, their consideration here would
consume space, which it is desired to devote only to the
reasons for, and the practice of, thorough-draining.

16 DRAINING FOE PROFIT AND HEALTH.

To one writing in advocacy of improvements, ol any
kind, there is always a temptation to throw a tub to the
popular whale, and to suggest some make-shift, by which
a certain advantage may be obtained at half-price. It is
proposed in this essay to resist that temptation, and to ad-
here to the rule that " whatever is worth doing, is worth
doing well," in the belief that this rule applies in no
other department oJf industry with more force than in the
draining of land, whether for agricultural or for sanitary
improvement. Therefore, it will not be recommended that
draining be ever confined to the wettest lands only ; that, in
the pursuance of a penny-wisdom, drains be constructed
with stones, or brush, or boards; that the antiquated
horse-shoe tiles be used, because they cost less money; or
that it will, in any case, be economical to make only such
drains as are necessary to remove the water of large springs.
The doctrine herein advanced is, that, so far as drain-
ing is applied at nil, it should be done in the most thor-
ough and complete manner, and that it is better that, in
commencing this improvement, a single field be really well
drained, than that the whole farm be half drained.

Of course, there are some farms which suffer from too
much water, which are not worth draining at present ;
many more which, at the present price of frontier lands,
are only worth relieving of the water which stands on the
surface ; and not a few on which the quantity of stone to
be removed suggests the propriety of making wide ditches,
in which to hide them, (using the ditches, incidentally, as
drains). A hand-book of draining is not needed by the
owners of these farms ; their operations are simple, and they
require no especial instruction for their performance. This
work is addressed especially to those who occupy lands of
sufficient value, from their proximity to market, to make
it cheaper to cultivate well, than to buy more land for the
sake of getting a larger return from poor cultivation.

LAND TO BE DRAINED AND THE REASONS WHY. 17

Wherever Indian corn is worth fifty cents a bushel, on the
farm, it will pay to thoroughly drain every acre of land
which needs draining. If, from want of capital, this cannot
be done at once, it is best to first drain a portion of the
farm, doing the work thoroughly well, and to apply the
return from the improvement to its extension over other
portions afterward.

In pursuance of the foregoing declaration of principles, *
it is left to the sagacity of the individual operator, to de-
cide when the full effect desired can be obtained, on particu-
lar lands, without applying the regular system of depth
and distance, which has been found sufficient for the worst
cases. The directions of this book will be confined to the
treatment of land which demands thorough work.

Such land is that which, at some time during the period
of vegetation, contains stagnant water, at least in its sub-
soil, within the reach of the roots of ordinary crops ; in
which there is not a free outlet at the bottom for all the
water which it receives from the heavens, from adjoining
land, or from springs ; and which is more or less in the con-
dition of standing in a great, water-tight box, with open-
ings to let water in, but with no means for its escape, ex-
"*cept by evaporation at the surface ; or, having larger in-
lets than outlets, and being at times " water-logged," at
Jeast in its lower parts. The subsoil, to a great extent, con-
sists of clay or other compact material, which is not im-
pervious, in the sense in which india-rubber is impervious,
(else it could not have become wet,) but which is suffi-
ciently so to prevent the free escape of water. The surface
soil is of a lighter or more open character, in consequence
of the cultivation which it has received, or of the decayed
vegetable matter and the roots which it contains.

In such land the subsoil is wet, — almost constantly wet, —
and the falling rain, finding only the surface soil in a condi-
tion to receive it, soon fills this, and often more than fills it,
and stands on the surface. Aftei the rain, come wind and

18 DRAINING FOE PROFIT AND HEALTH.

sun, to dry off the standing water, — to dry out the free \va
ter in the surface soil, and to drink up the water of the
subsoil, which is slowly drawn from below. If no spring,
or ooze, keep up the supply, and if no more rain fall,
the subsoil may be dried to a considerable depth, crack-
ing and gaping open, in wide fissures, as the clay loses its
water of absorption, and shrinks. After the surface soil has
become sufficiently dry, the land may be plowed, seeds will
germinate, and plants will grow. If there be not too much
rain during the season, nor too little, the crop may be a
fair one, — if the land be rich, a very good one. It is not im-
possible, nor even very uncommon, for such soils to produce
largely, but they are always precarious. To the labor
and expense of cultivation, which fairly earn a secure return,
there is added the anxiety of chance; success is greatly
dependent on the weather, and the weather may be bad.
Heavy rains, after planting, may cause the seed to rot in the
ground, or to germinate imperfectly ; heavy rains during
early growth may give an unnatural development, or a
feeble character to the plants ; later in the season, the want
of sufficient rain may cause the crop to be parched by
drought, for its roots, disliking the clammy subsoil below,
will have extended within only a few inches of the surface,
and are subject, almost, to the direct action of the sun's
heat ; in harvest time, bad weather may delay the gather-
ing until the crop is greatly injured, and fall and spring
work must often be put off because of wet.

The above is no fancy sketch. Every farmer who culti-
vates a retentive soil will confess, that all of these incon-
veniences conspire, in the same season, to lessen his returns,
with very damaging frequency ; and nothing is more com-
mon than for him to qualify his calculations with the pro-
viso, " if I have a good season." He prepares his ground,
plants his seed, cultivates the crop, " does his best," —
thinks he does his best, that is, — and trusts to Providence
to send him good weather. Such farming is attended with

LAND TO BE DRAINED AND THE REASONS WHY. 19

too much uncertainty, — with too much luck, — to be sat-
isfactory ; yet, so long as the soil remains in its undrained
condition, the element of luck will continue to play a very
important part in its cultivation, and bad luck will often
play sad havoc with the year's accounts.

Land of this character is usually kept in grass, as long
as it will bring paying crops, and is, not unfrequently, only
available for pasture ; but, both for hay and for pasture, it
is still subject to the drawback of the uncertainty of the
seasons, and in the best seasons it produces far less than it
might if well drained.

The effect of this condition of the soil on the health of ani-
mals living on it, and on the health of persons living near
it, is extremely unfavorable ; the discussion of this branch
of the question, however, is postponed to a later chapter.

Thus far, there have been considered only the effects of
the undue moisture in the soil. The manner in which these
effects are produced will be examined, in connection with
the manner in which draining overcomes them, — reducing
to the lowest possible proportion, that uncertainty which
always attaches to human enterprises, and which is falsely
"supposed to belong especially to the cultivation of the soil.

Why is it that the farmer believes, why should any
one believe, in these modern days, when the advance-
ment of science has so simplified the industrial processes
of the world, and thrown its light into so many corners,
that the word " mystery " is hardly to be applied to any
operation of nature, save to that which depends on the
always mysterious Principle of Life, — when the effect of any
combination of physical circumstances may be foretold,
with almost unerring certainty, — why should we believe
that the success of farming must, after all, depend
mainly on chance ? That an intelligent man should sulmit
the success of his own patient efforts to the operation cf
" luck ;" that he should deliberately bet his capital, his toil,

20 DRAINING FOE PROFIT AND HEALTH.

and his experience on having a good season, or a bad one, — •
this is not the least of the remaining mysteries. Some
chance there must be in all things, — more in farming
than in mechanics, no doubt ; but it should be made to
take the smallest possible place in our calculations, by a
careful avoidance of every condition which may place our<
crops at the mercy of that most uncertain of all things —
the weather ; and especially should this be the case, when
the very means for lessening the element of chance in our
calculations are the best means for increasing our crops, even
in the most favorable weather.

CHAPTER II.

HOW DRAINS ACT, AND HOW THEY AFFECT THE SOIL

For reasons which will appear, in the course of this work,
the only sort of drain to which reference is here made is that
which consists of a conduit of burned clay, (tile,) placed at a
considerable depth in the subsoil, and enclosed in a compact-
ed bed of the stitfest earth which can conveniently be found.
Stone-drains, brush-drains, sod-drains, mole-plow tracks,
and the various other devices for forming a conduit for the
conveying away of the soakage-water of the land, are not
without the support of such arguments as are based on the
expediency of make-shifts, and are, perhaps, in rare cases
advisable to be used ; but, for the purposes of permanent
improvement, they are neither so good nor so economical a?
'tile-drains. The arguments of this book have reference to
the latter, (as the most perfect of all drains thus far in-
vented,) though they will apply, in a modified degree, to all
underground conduits, so long as they remain free from ob-
structions. Concerning stone-drains, attention may prop-
erly be called to the fact that, (contrary to the general
opinion of farmers,) they are very much more expensive
than tile-drains. So great is the cost of cutting the ditches
to the much greater size required for stone than for tiles, of
handling the stones, of placing them properly in the ditches,
and of covering them, after they are laid, with a suitable bar-
rier to the rattling down of loose earth among them, that, .
as a mere question of first cost, it is far cheaper to buy
tiles than to use stones, although these may lie on the sur-
21

22 DRATN/NG FOR PROFIT AXD HEALTH.

face of the field, and only require to be placed in the
trenches. In addition to this, the great liability of stone-
drains to become obstructed in a few years, and the cer*
tainty that tile-drains will, practically, last forever, are
conclusive arguments in favor of the use of che latter.
If the land is stony, it must be cleared ; this is a proposi-
tion by itself, but if the sole object is to make drains, the
best material should be used, and this material is not stone.

A well laid tile-drain has the following essential charac-
teristics : — 1. It has a free outlet for the discharge of all
water which may run through it. 2. It has openings, at its
joints, sufficient for the admission of all the water which
may rise to the level of its floor. 3. Its floor is laid on a
well regulated line of descent, so that its current may
maintain a flow of uniform, or, at least, never decreasing
rapidity, throughout its entire length.

Land which requires draining, is that which, at some
time during the year, (either from an accumulation of the
rains which fall upon it, from the lateral flow, or soakage,
from adjoining land, from springs which open within it, or
from a combination of two or all of these sources,) becomes
tilled with water, that does not readily find a natural
outlet, but remains until removed by evaporation. Every
considerable addition to its water wells up, and soaks its
very surface ; and that which is added after it is already
brim full, must flow off over the surface, or lie in puddles
upon it. Evaporation is a slow process, and it becomes
more and more slow as the level of the water recedes from
the surface, and is sheltered, by the overlying earth, from the
action of sun and wind. Therefore, at least during the
periods of spring and fall preparation of the land, during
the early growth of plants, and often even in midsummer,
the water-table, — the top of the water of saturation, — is
within a few inches of the surface, preventing the natural
descent of roots, and, by reason of the small space to re-

AND AFFECT THE SOIL. 23

ceive fresh rains, causing an interruption of work for some
days after each storm.

If such land is properly furnished with tile-drains, (hav-
ing a clear and sufficient outfall, offering sufficient means
of entrance to the water which reaches them, and carrying
it, by a uniform or increasing descent, to the outlet,)
its water will be removed to nearly, or quite, the level
of the floor of the drains, and its water-table will be at the
distance of some feet from the surface, leaving the spaces
between the particles of all of the soil above it filled with
air instead of water. The water below the drains stands
at a level, like any other water that is dammed up. Rain
water falling on the soil will descend by its own weight to
this level, and the water will rise into the drains, as it
would flow over a dam, until the proper level is again at-
tained. Spring water entering from below, and water ooz-
ing from the adjoining land, will be removed in like man-
ner, and the usual condition of the soil, above the water-
table, will be that represented in Fig. 3, the condition which
is best adapted to the growth of useful plants.

In the heaviest storms, some water will flow over the
surface of even the dryest beach-sand; but, in a well
drained soil the water of ordinary rains will be at once
absorbed, will slowly descend toward the water-table, and
will be removed by the drains, so rapidly, even in heavy
clays, as to leave the ground fit for cultivation, and in a
condition for steady growth, within a short tune after the
rain ceases. It has been estimated that a drained soil h*s
room between its particles for about one quarter of its bulk
of water ; — that is, four inches of drained soil contains free
space enough to receive a rain-fall one inch in depth, and, by
the same token, four feet of drained soil can receive twelve
inches of rain, — more than is known to have ever fallen in
twenty-four hours, since the deluge, and more than one
quarter of the annual rain-fall in the United States.

24 DRAINING FOR PROFIT AND HEALTH.

As was stated in the previous chapter, the water which
reaches the soil may be considered under two heads :

1st — That which reaches its surface, whether directly by
rain, or by the surface flow of adjoining land.

2d — That which reaches it below the surface, by springs
and by soakage from the lower portions of adjoining land.

The first of these is beneficial, because it contains fresh
air, carbonic acid, ammonia, nitric acid, and heat, obtained
from the atmosphere ; and the flowage water contains, in
addition, some of the finer or more soluble parts of the
land over which it has passed. The second, is only so much
dead water, which has already given up, to other soil, all
that ours could absorb from it, and its effect is chilling and
hurtful. This being the case, the only interest we can have
in it, is to keep it down from the surface, and remove it as
rapidly as possible.

The water of the first sort, on the other hand, should be
arrested by every device within our reach. If the land 19
steep, the furrows in plowing should be run horizontally
along the hill, to prevent the escape of the water over the
surface, and to allow it to descend readily into the ground
Steep grass lands may have frequent, small, horizontal
ditches for the same purpose. If the soil is at all heavy, it
should not, when wet, be trampled by animals, lest it be
puddled, and thus made less absorptive. If in cultivation,
the surface should be kept loose and open, ready to receive
all of the rain and irrigation water that reaches it.

In descending through the soil, this water, in summer,
gives up heat which it received from the air and from the
heated surface of the ground, and thus raises the tempera-
ture of the lower soil. The fertilizing matters which it has
obtained from the air, — carbonic acid, ammonia and nitric
acid, — are extracted from it, and held for the use of grow-
ing plants. Its fresh air, and the air which follows the de--
scent of the water-table^ carries oxygen to the organic and

HOW DRAINS ACT, AND AFFECT THE SOIL. 25

mineral parts of the soil, and hastens the rust and decay
by which these are prepared for the uses of vegetation.
The water itself supplies, by means of their power of ab-
sorption, the moisture which is needed by the particles of
the soil ; and, having performed its work, it goes down to
the level of the water below, and, swelling the tide above
the brink of the dam, sets the drains running, until it is
all removed. In its descent through the ground, this wa-
ter clears the passages through which it flows, leaving a
better channel for the water of future rains, so that, in
time, the heaviest clays, which will drain but imperfectly
during the first one or two years, will pass water, to a
depth of four or five feet, almost as readily as the lighter
loams.

Now, imagine the drains to be closed up, leaving no out-
let for the water, save at the surface. This amounts to a
raising of the dam to that height, and additions to the wa-
ter will bring the water-table even with the top of the soil.
No provision being made for the removal of spring and
soakage water, this causes serious inconvenience, and
even the rain-fall, finding nr room in the soil for its
reception, can only lie upon, or flow over, the surface, —
not yielding to the soil the fertilizing matters which it con-
tains, but, on the contrary, washing away some of its finer
and looser parts. The particles of the soil, instead of be-
ing furnished, by absorption, with a healthful amount of
moisture, are made unduly wet ; and the spaces between
them, being filled with water, no air can enter, whereby the
chemical processes by wliich the inert minerals, and tho
roots and manure, in the soil are prepared for the use of
vegetation, are greatly retarded.

Instead of carrying the heat of the air, and of the sur-
face of the ground, to the subsoil, the rain only adds so
much to the amount of water to be evaporated, and in-
creases, by so much, the chilling effect of evaporation.

26 DRAINING FOE PROFIT AND HEALTH.

Instead of opening the spaces of the soil for the mow
free passage of water and air, as is done by descending
water, that which ascends by evaporation at the surface
brings up soluble matters, which it leaves at the point
where it becomes a vapor, forming a crust that prevents
the free entrance of air at those times when the soil is dry
enough to aiford it space for circulation.

Instead of crumbling to the fine condition of a loam, as
it does, when well drained, by the descent of wrater
through it, heavy clay soil, being rapidly dried by evapora-
tion, shrinks into hard masses, separated by wide cracks.

In short, in wet seasons, on such land, the crops will be
greatly lessened, or entirely destroyed, and in dry seasons,
cultivation will always be much more laborious, more hur-
ried, and less complete, than if it were well drained.

The foregoing general statements, concerning the action
of water in drained, and in undrained land, and of the effects
of its removal, by gravitation, and by evaporation, are based
on facts which have been developed by long practice, and
on a rational application of well know principles of science.
These facts and principles are worthy of examination, and
they are set forth below, somewhat at length, especially
with reference to Absorption and Filtration • Evapora-
tion; Temperature; Drought; Porosity or Mellowness ;
and Chemical Action.

ABSORPTION AND FILTRATION. — The process of under-
draining is a process of absorption and filtration, as dis-
tinguished from surface-flow and evaporation. The com-
pleteness with which the latter are prevented, and the
former promoted, is the measure of the completeness of the
improvement. If water lie on the surface of the ground
until evaporated, or if it flow off over the surface, it will
do harm ; if it soak away through the soil, it will do good.
The rapidity and ease with which it is absorbed, and, there-
fore, the extent to which under-draining is successful, de

HOW DRAINS ACT, AND AFFECT THE SOIL.

2?

pend on the physical condition of the soil, and on the
manner in which its texture is affected by the drying action
of sun and wind, and by the downward passage of water
through it.

In drying, all soils, except pure sands, shrink, and occupy
less space than when they are saturated with water. They
shrink more or less, according to their composition, as will
be seen by the following table of results obtained in the
experiments of Schuebler :

1,000 Parts of

Will Contract
Parts.

1,000 Parts of

Will Contract
Parts.

50

Pure Clay . .

19K

60

Peat

200.

Brick Maker's Clay.'.""

85.

Professor Johnson estimates that peat and heavy clay
shrink one-fifth of their bulk.

If soil be dried suddenly, from a condition of extreme
wetness, it will be divived into large masses, or clods, sep-
arated by wide cracks. A subsequent wetting of the clods,
which is not sufficient to expand it to its former condition,
will not entirely obliterate the cracks, and the next drying
will be followed by new fissures within the clods them-
selves ; and a frequent repetition of this process will make
the network of fissures finer and finer, until the whole mass
of the soil is divided to a pulverulent condition. This is the
process which follows the complete draining of such lands
as contain large proportions of clay or of peat. It is re-
tarded, in proportion to the amount of the free water in the
soil which is evaporated from the surface, and in propor-
tion to the trampling of the ground, when very wet. It is
greatly facilitated by frost, and especially by deep frost.

The fissures which are formed by this process are, in time,
occupied by the roots of plants, which remain and decay,
when the crop has been removed, and which prevent the
soil from ever again closing on itself so completely as before
their penetration ; and each season's crop adds new roota

28 DRAINING FOR PROFIT ANT) HEALTH.

to make the separation more complete and more universal »
but it is only after the water of saturation, which occupies
the lower soil for so large a part of the year, has been re-
moved by draining, that roots can penetrate to any con-
siderable depth, and, in fact, the cracking of undrainod
soils, in drying, never extends beyond the separation into
large masses, because each heavy rain, by saturating the
soil and expanding it to its full capacity, entirely obliterates
the cracks and forms a solid mass, in which the operation
lias to be commenced anew with the next drying.

Mr. Gisborne, in his capital essay on "Agricultural
Drainage," which appeared in the Quarterly Review, No,
CLXXI, says : " We really thought that no one was so ig-
" norant as not to be aware that clay lands always shrink
" and crack with drought, and the stiffer the clay the
" greater the shrinking, as brickmakers well know. In the
" great drought, 36 years ago, we saw in a very retentive
" soil in the Vale of Belvoir, cracks which it was not
" very pleasant to ride among. This very summer, on land
" which, with reference to this very subject, the owner
" stated to be impervious, we put a walking stick three
" feet into a sun-crack, without finding a bottom, and the
" whole surface was what Mr. Parkes, not inappropriately,
"calls a network of cracks. When heavy rain conies
" upon a soil in this state, of course the cracks fill, the clay
" imbibes the water, expands, and the cracks are abolished.
" But if there are four or five feet parallel drains in the
'* land, the water passes at once into them and is carried
c off. In fact, when heavy rain falls upon clay lands in this
* cracked state, it passes off too quickly, without adequate
K filtration. Into the fissures of the undrained soil the roots
" only penetrate to be perished by the cold and wet of the
M succeeding winter ; but in the drained soil the roots fol-
" low the threads of vegetable mold which have been
" washed into the cracks, and get an abiding tenure. Earth

HOiV DRAINS ACT, AND AFFECT THE SOIL. 29

K worms follow either the roots or the mold. Permanent
" schisms are established in the clay, and its whole charac-
" ter is changed. An old farmer in a midland county began
" with 20-inch drains across the hill, and, without ever
" reading a word, or, we believe, conversing with any one
" on the subject, poked his way, step by step, to four or
"five feet drains, in the line of steepest descent. Showing
c< us his drains this spring, he said : ' They do better year
" by year ; the water gets a habit of coming to them ' — a very
" correct statement of fact, though not a very philosophical
" explanation."

Alderman Mechi, of Tiptree Hall, says: "Filtration
" may be too sudden, as is well enough shown by our hot
" sands and gravels ; but I apprehend no one will ever
" fear rendering strong clays too porous and manageable.
" The object of draining is to impart to such soils the
" mellowness and dark color of self drained, rich and fria-
" ble soil. That perfect drainage and cultivation will do
" this,is a well known fact. I know it in the case of my
" own garden. How it does so I am not chemist enough
" to explain in detail ; but it is evident the effect is pro-
" duced by the fibers of the growing crop intersecting
" every particle of the soil, which they never could do be-
" fore draining ; these, with their excretions, decompose on
u removal of the crop, and are acted on by the alternating
" air and water, which also decompose and change, in a
" degree, the inorganic substances of the soil. Thereby
" drained land, which was, before, impervious to air and
" water, and consequently unavailable to air and roots,
"to worms, or to vegetable or animal life, becomes, by
" drainage, populated by both, and is a great chemical
" laboratory, as our own atmosphere is subject to all the
" changes produced by animated nature."

Experience proves that the descent of water through the
soil renders it more porous, so that it is easier for the

30 DRAINING FOE PROFIT AND HEALTH.*

water falling afterward to pass down to the drains, but no
very satisfactory reason for this has been presented, beyond
that which is connected with the cracking of the soil. The
fact is well stated in the following extract from a letter to
the Country Gentleman :

" A simple experiment will convince any farmer that the
"best means of permanently deepening and mellowing the
" soil is by thorough drainage, to afford a ready exit for all
" surplus moisture. Let him take in spring, while wet, a
" quantity of his hardest soil, — such as it is almost impossi-
" ble to plow in summer, — such as presents a baked and
" brick-like character under the influence of drought, — and
f< place it in a box or barrel, open at the bottom, and fre-
* quently during the season let him saturate it with water.
" He will find it gradually becoming more and more porous
rt and friable, — holding water less and less perfectly as the
*' experiment proceeds, and in the end it will attain a state
"best suited to the growth of plants from its deep and
" mellow character."

It is equally a fact that the ascent of water in the soil,
together with its evaporation at the surface, has the effect
of making the soil impervious to rains, and of covering the
land with a crust of hard, dry earth, which forms a barrier
to the free entrance of air. So far as the formation of crust
is concerned, it is doubtless due to the fact that the wat». r
in the soil holds in solution certain mineral matters, which
it deposits at the point of evaporation, the collection of
these finely divided matters serving to completely fill the
spaces between the particles of soil at the surface, — pasting
them together, as it were. How far below the surface this
direct action extends, cannot be definitely determined ; but
the process being carried on for successive years, accumu-
lating a quantity of these fine particles, each season, they
are, by cultivation, and by the action of heavy showers
falling at a time when the soil is more or less dry, dis-
tributed through a certain depth, and ordinarily, in aJJ

HOW DRAINS ACT, AND AFFECT THE SOIL. 31

probability, are most largely deposited at the top of the
subsoil. It is found in practice that the first foot in depth
of retentive soils is more retentive than that which lies
below. If this opinion as to the cause of this greater im-
perviousness is correct, it will be readily seen how water,
descending to the drains, by carrying these soluble and
finer parts downward and distributing them more equally
through the whole, should render the soil more porous.

Another cause of the retention of water by the surface
soil, often a very serious one, is the puddling which
clayey lands undergo by working them, or feeding cattle
upon them, when they are wet. This is always injurious.
By draining, land is made fit for working much earlier in
the spring, and is sooner ready for pasturing after a rain,
but, no matter how thoroughly the draining has been done,
if there is much clay in the soil, the effect of the improve-
ment will be destroyed by plowing or trampling, while
very wet ; this impervious condition will be removed in
time, of course, but, while it lasts, it places us as com-
pletely at the mercy of the weather as we were before a
ditch was dug.

*In connection with the use of the word impervious, it
should be understood that it is not used in its strict sense,
for no substance which can be wetted by water is really
impervious, and the most retentive soil will become wet.
Gisborne states the case clearly when he says : " Is your
" subsoil moister after the rains of mid-winter, than it is
w afterthe drought of mid-summer ? If it is, it will drain."

The proportion of the rain-fall which will filtrate
through the soil to the level of the drains, varies with the
composition of the soil, and with the effect that the
draining has had upon them.

In a very loose, gravelly, or sandy soil, which has a per-
fect outlet for water below, all but the heaviest falls of
rain will sink at once, while on a heavy clay, no matter

32 DRAINING FOE PROFIT AND HEALTH.

how well it is drained, the process of filtration \\ ill "be
much more slow, and if the land be steeply inclined, some
of the water of ordinarily heavy rains must flow off over
the surface, unless, by horizontal plowing, or catch draina
on the surface, its flow be retarded until it has time to
enter the soil.

The power of drained soils to hold water, by absorption,
is very great. A cubic foot of very dry soil, of favorable
character, has been estimated to absorb within its particles,
— holding no free water, or water of drainage, — about one-
half its bulk of water ; if this is true, the. amount required
to moisten a dry soil, four feet deep, giving no excess to be
drained away, would amount to a rain fall of from 20 to 30
inches in depth. If we consider, in addition to this, the
amount of water drained away, we shall see that the soil
has sufficient capacity for the reception of all the rain wa-
ter that falls upon it.

In connection with the question of absorption and filtra-
tion, it is interesting to investigate the movements of
water in the ground. The natural tendency of water, in the
soil as well as out of it, is to descend perpendicularly
toward the center of the earth If it meet a flat layer of
gravel lying upon clay, and having a free outlet, it will
follow the course of the gravel, — laterally, — and find the
outlet ; if it meet water which is dammed up in the soil,
and which has an outlet at a certain elevation, as at the
floor of a drain, it will raise the general level of the water,
and force it out through the drain; if it meet water which
has no outlet, it will raise its level until the soil is filled, or
until it accumulates sufficient pressure, (head,) to force its
way through the adjoining lands, or until it finds an out-
let at the surface.

The first two cases named represent the condition which
it is desirable to obtain, by either natural or artificial
drainage ; the third case is the only one which makes

HOW DltALNS ACT, AND AFFECT THE SOIL. 33

drainage necessary. It is a fixed rule that water, descend-
ing in the soil, will find the lowest outlet to which there
exists a channel through which it can flow, and that if, after
heavy rains, it rise too near the surface of the ground, the
proper remedy is to tap it at a lower level, and thus re-
move the water table to the proper distance from the sur-
face. This subject will be more fully treated in a future
chapter, in considering the question of the depth, and the
intervals, at which drains should be placed.

Evaporation. — By evaporation is meant the process by
which a liquid assumes the form of a gas or vapor, or
" dries up." Water, exposed to the air, is constantly under-
going this change. It is changed from the liquid form, and
becomes a vapor in the air. Water in the form of vapor
occupies nearly 2000 times the space that it filled as a
liquid. As the vapor at the time of its formation is of the
same temperature with the water, and, from its highly ex-
panded condition, requires a great amount of heat to main-
tain it as vapor, it follows that a given quantity of water
contains, in the vapory form, many times as much heat as
in the liquid form. This heat is taken from surrounding
substances, — from the ground and from the air, — which are
thereby made much cooler. For instance, if a showei
moisten the ground, on a hot summer day, the drying up
of the water will cool both the ground and the air. If we
place a wet cloth on the head, and hasten the evaporation
of the water by fanning, we cool the head ; if we wrap
a wet napkin around a pitcher of water, and place it in a
current of air, the water in the pitcher is made cooler,
by giving up its heat to the evaporating water of the
uapkh ; when we sprinkle water on the floor of a room,
its evaporation cools the air of the room.

So great is the effect of evaporation, on the temperature
of the soil, that Dr. Madden found that the soil of a
drained field, in \* hicli most of the water was removed
2*

34 DRAINING FOR PROFIT AND HEALTH.

from belo ,v, was 6|° Far. warmer than a similar soil ui>
drained, from which the water had to bo removed by
evaporation. This difference of G^° is equal to a difference
of elevation of 1,950 feet.

It, has been found, by experiments made in England, that
the average evaporation of water from wet soils is equal
to a depth of two inches per month, from May to August,
inclusive; in America it must be very much greater than
this in the summer months, but this is surely enough for
the purposes of illustration, as two inches of water, over an
acre of land, would weigh about two hundred tons. The
amount of heat required to evaporate this is immense, and
a very large part of it is taken from the soil, which, thereby,
becomes cooler, and less favorable for a rapid growth. It
is usual to speak of heavy, wet lands as being " cold," and
it is now seen why they are so.

If none of the water which falls on a field is removed by
drainage, (natural or artificial,) and if none runs off from
the surface, the whole rain-fall of a year must be removed
by evaporation, and the cooling of the soil will be propor-
tionately great. The more completely we withdraw this
w^ater from the surface, and carry it off in under-ground
drains, the more do we reduce the amount to be removed
by evaporation. In land which is well drained, the amount
evaporated, even in summer, will not be sufficient to so
lower the temperature of the soil as to retard the growth
of plants ; the small amount dried out of the particles of
the soil, (water of absorption,) will only keep it from being
raised to too great a heat by the mid-summer sun.

An idea of the amount of heat lost to the soil, Jn the
evaporation of water, may be formed from the fact that to
evaporate, by artificial heat, the amount of water contained
in a rain-fall of two inches on an acre, (200 tons,) would
require over 20 tons of coal. Of course a considerable—-
probably by f;u the larger, — part of the heat taken up in

HOW DRAIXS ACT, AND AFFECT THE SOIL. 35

the process of evaporation is furnished by the air ; but the
amount abstracted from the soil is great, and is in direct
proportion to the amount of water removed by this pro-
cess ; hence, the more we remove by draining, the more
heat we retain in the ground.

The season of growth is lengthened by draining, be
cause, by avoiding the cooling effects of evaporation, ger-
mination is more rapid, and the young plant grows stead-
ily from the start, instead of struggling against the re-
tarding influence of a cold soil.

Temperature, — The temperature of the soil has great
effect on the germination of seeds, the growth of plants,
and the ripening of the crops.

Gisborne says : " The evaporation of 1 Ib. of water
" lowers the temperature of 100 Ibs. of soil 10°, — that is
" to say, that, if to 100 Ibs. of soil, holding all the water
" it can by attraction, but containing no water of drain-
" age, is added 1 Ib. of water which it has no means of
" discharging, except by evaporation, it will, by the time
" that it has so discharged it, be 10° colder than it would
" have been, if it had the po\ver of discharging this 1 Ib.
"Jby filtration ; or, more practically, that, if rain, entering
" in the proportion of 1 Ib. to 100 Ibs. into a retentive
" soil, which is saturated with water of attraction, is dis-
" charged by evaporation, it lowers the temperature of
" that soil 10°. If the soil has the means of discharging
" that 1 Ib. of water by filtration, no effect is produced be-
" yond what is due to the relative temperatures of the
"rain and of the soil."

It has been established by experiment that four times
as much heat is required to evaporate a certain quantity
uf water, as to raise the same quantity from the freezing
to the boiling point.

It is, probably, in consequence of this cooling effect
of evaporation, that wet lands are warmest \vhen shaded,

36 DRAINING FOR PROFIT AND HEALTH.

because, under this condition, evaporation is less active.
Such lands, in cloudy weather, form an unnatural growth,
such as results in the "lodging" of grain crops, from tho
deficient strength of the straw which this growth produces,

In hot weather, the temperature of the lower soil is, of
course, much lower than that of the air, and lower than
that of the water of warm rains. If the soil is saturated
with water, the water will, of course, be of an even tem-
perature with the soil in which it lies, but if this be drained
off, warm air will enter from above, and give its beat to
the soil, while eacli rain, as it falls, will also carry its heat
with it. Furthermore, the surface of the ground is some-
times excessively heated by the summer sun, and the heat
thus contained is carried down to the lower soil by the
descending water of rains, which thus cool the surface and
warm the subsoil, both beneficial.

Mr. Josiah Parkes, one of the leading draining engi-
neers of England, has made some experiments to test the
extent to which draining affects the temperature of the
soil. The results of his observations are thus stated by
Gisbortie: "Mr. Parkes gives the temperature on a
" Lancashire flat moss, but they only commence 7 inches
" below the surface, and do not extend to mid-summer.
" At that period of the year the temperature, at 7 inches,
"never exceeded 66°, and was generally from 10° to 15°
" below the temperature of the air in the shade, at 4 feet
" above the earth. Mr. Parkes' experiments were made
4t simultaneously, on a drained, and on an undrained por-
" tion of the moss ; and the result was, that, on a mean
" of 35 observations, the drained soil at 7 inches in depth
" was 10° wanner than the uu drained, at the same depth.
"The undrained soil never exceeded 47°, whereas, after a
"thunder storm, the drained reached 66° at 7 inches, and
"48° at 31 inches. Such were the effects, at an early
u period of the year, on a black bog. They suggest some

HOW DRAINS ACT, AXD AFFECT THE SOIL. 37

" idea of what they were, when, in July or August, thunder
" rain at 60° or 70° falls on a surface heated to 130°, and
"carries down with it, into the greedy fissures of the earth,
" its augmented temperature. These advantages, porous
" soils possess by nature, and retentive ones only acquire
" them by drainage."

Drained land, being more open to atmospheric circula-
tion, and having lost the water which prevented the tern-
perature of its lower portions from being so readily
affected by the temperature of the air as it is when dry,
will freeze to a greater depth in winter and thaw out ear-
lier in the spring. The deep freezing has the effect to
greatly pulverize the lower soil, thus better fitting it for
the support of vegetation ; and the earlier thawing makes
it earlier ready for spring work.

Drought. — At first thought, it is not unnatural to sup-
pose that draining will increase the ill effect of too dry
seasons, by removing water which might keep the soil
moist. Experience has proven, however, that the result
is exactly the opposite of this. Lauds which suffer most
from drought are most benefited by draining, — more in
their greater ability to withstand drought than in any
other particular.

The reasons for this action of draining become obvious,
when its effects on the character of the soil are examined.
There is always the same amount of water in, and about,
the surface of the earth. In winter there is more in the
soil than in summer, while in summer, that which haa
been dried out of the soil exists in the atmosphere in the
form of a vapor. It is held in the vapory form by heat^
which may be regarded as braces to keep it distended.
When vapor comes in contact with substances sufficiently
colder than itself, it gives up its heat, — thus losing its
braces, — contracts, becomes liquid water, and is deposited
as dew.

88 DRAINING FOR PROFIT AND HEALTH.

Many instrances of this operation are familiar to all*

For instance, a cold pitcher in the summer robs the
vapor in the air of its heat, and causes it to be deposited
on its own surface, — of course the water comes from the
atmosphere, not through the wall of the pitcher ; if we
breathe on a knife blade, it condenses, in the same manner,
the moisture of the breath, and becomes covered with u
film of water ; stone-houses are damp in summer, because
the inner surface of their walls, being cooler than the
atmosphere, causes its moisture to be deposited in the
manner described ;* nearly every night, in summer, the
cold earth receives moisture from the atmosphere in the
form of dew ; a single large head of cabbage, which at
night is very cold, often condenses water to the amount of
a gill or more.

The same operation takes place in the soil. When the
air is allowed to circulate among its lower and cooler,
(because more shaded,) particles, they receive moisture by
the same process of condensation. Therefore, when, by
the aid of under-drains, the lower soil becomes sufficiently
loose and open to allow a circulation of air, the deposit of
atmospheric moisture will keep it supplied with water, at
a point easily accessible to the roots of plants.

If we wish to satisfy ourselves that this is practically
correct, we have only to prepare two boxes of finely pul-
verized soil, — one three or four inches deep, — and the other
fifteen or twenty inches deep, and place them in the sun, at
midday, in summer. The thinner soil will soon be com-
pletely dried, while the deeper one, though it may have
been previously dried in an oven, will soon accumulate a

* By leaving a space between the wall and the plastering,this moisture
is prevented from being' an annoyance, and if the inclosed spacers not
open from top to bottom, so as to allow a circulation of air, but little
vapor will come in con I act with the wall, and but an inconsiderable
amount will be deposited.

HOW DKAINS ACT, AND AFFECT THE BOIX. 39

large amount of water on those particles which, being
lower and better sheltered from the sun's heat than the
particles of the thin soil, are made cooler.

We have seen that even the most retentive" soil, — the
stiffest clay, — is made porous by the repeated passage of
water from the surface to the level of the drains, and that
the ability to admit air, which plowing gives it, is main-
tained for a much longer time than if it were usually sat-
urated with water which has no other means of escape
than by evaporation at the surface. The power of dry
soils to absorb moisture from the air may be seen by an
examination of the following table of results obtained by
Schuebler, who exposed 1,000 grains of dried soil of the
various kinds named to the action of the air :

Kind of Soil.

Amount of Water Absorbed in 34 Hours.

22 «ra ins

Loainv Clay

26 "rains.

Garden Soil

45 Drains

Brickmaken*' Clay

30 grains.

The effect of draining in overcoming drought, by admit-
ting atmospheric vapor will, of course, be very much in-
creased if the land be thoroughly loosened by cultivation,
a*d especially if the surface be kept in an open and mellow
condition.

In addition to the moisture received from the air, as
above descried, water is, in a porous soil, drawn up from
the wetter subsoil below , by the same attractive force
which acts to wet the whole of a sponge of which only the
lower part touches the water; — as a hard, dry, compact
sponge will absorb water much less readily than one
which is loose and open, so the hard clods, into which un-
drained clay is dried, drink up water much less freely than
they will do after draining shall have made them more
friable.

The source of this underground moisture is the "water
table,"— the level of the soil below the influence of the

40 DRAINING FOR PROFIT 1ND HEALTH.

drains,- -and this should be so placed that, while its watei
will easily rise to a point occupied by the feeding roots oi
the crop, it should yield as little as possible for evapora-
tion at the surface.

Another source of moisture, in summer, is the deposit of
dew on the surface of the ground. The amount of this ia
very difficult to determine, and accurate American experi-
ments on the subject are wanting. Of course the amount
of dew is greater here than in England, where Dr. Dalton,
a skillful examiner of atmospheric phenomena, estimates
the annual deposit of dew to equal a depth of five inches,
or about one-fifth of the rain-fall. Water thus deposited
on the soil is absorbed more or less completely, in propor-
tion to the porosity of the ground.

The extent to which plants will be affected by drought
depends, other things being equal, on the depth to which
they send their roots. If these lie near the surface, they
will be parched by the heat of the sun. If they strike
deeply into the damper subsoil, the sun will have less effect
on the source from which they obtain their moisture.
Nothing tends so much to deep rooting, as the thorough
draining of the soil. If the free water be withdrawn to
a considerable distance from the surface, plants, — even
without the valuable aid of deep and subsoil plowing, —
will send their roots to great depths. Writers on this
subject cite many instances in which the roots of ordinary
crops " not mere hairs, but strong fibres, as large as pack-
thread," sink to the depth of 4, 6, and in some instances
12 or 14 feet. Certain it is that, in a healthy, well aerated
soil, any of the plants ordinarily cultivated in the garden
or field will send their roots far below the parched surface
soil ; but if the subsoil is wet, cold, and soggy, at the
time when the young crop is laying out its plan of future
action, it will perforce accommodate its roots to the
limited space which the comparatively dry surface soil

HOW DRAINS ACT, AND AFFECT THE SOIL. 4\

It is well known among those who attend the meetings
of the Farmers' Club of the American Institute, in New
York, that the farm of Professor Mapes, near Newark, N.
J., which maintains its wonderful fertility, year after year,
without reference to wet or dry weather, has been ren-
dered almost absolutely indifferent to the severest drought,
by a course of cultivation which has been rendered possi-
ble only by under-draining. The lawns of the Central
Park, which are a marvel of freshness, when the lands about
the Park are burned brown, owe their vigor mainly to the
complete drainage of the soil. What is true of these thor-
oughly cultivated lands, it is practicable to attain on all
soils, which, from their compact condition, are now almost
denuded of vegetation in dry seasons.

Porosity OF Mellowness, — An open and mellow condi-
tion of the soil .is always favorable for the growth of
plants. They require heat, fresh air and moisture, to ena-
ble them to take up the materials on which they live, and
by which they grow. We have seen that the heat of re-
tentive soils is almost directly proportionate to the com-
pleteness with which their free water is removed by under-
ground draining, and that, by reason of the increased
facility with which air and water circulate within them,
their heat is more evenly distributed among all those parts
of the soil which are occupied by roots. The word moisture,
in this connection, is used in contradistinction to wetneas,
and implies a condition of freshness and dampness, — not
at all of saturation. In a saturated, a soaking- wet soil,
every space between the particles is filled with water to
the entire exclusion of the atmosphere1, and in such a soil
only aquatic plants will grow. In a dry soil, on the other
hand, when the earth is contracted into clods and baked,
almost as in an oven, — one of the most important condi-
tions for growth being wanting, — nothing can thrive, save
those plants which ask of the earth only an anchoring
place, and seek their nourishment from the air. Both air

4 DRAINING FOR PROFIT AND HEALTH.

plants and water plants have their wisely assigned places
in the economy of nature, and nature provides them with
ample space for growth. Agriculture, however, is directed
to the production of a class of plants very different from
either of these, — to those which can only grow to their
greatest perfection in a soil combining, not one or two
only, but all three of the conditions named above. While
they require heat, they cannot dispense with the moisture
which too great heat removes ; while they require mois-
ture, they cannot abide the entire exclusion of air, nor the
dissipation of heat which too much water causes. The
interior part of the pellets of a well pulverized soil should
contain all the water that they can hold by their own ab-
sorptive power, just as the finer walls of a damp sponge
hold it ; while the spaces between these pellets, like the
pores of the sponge, should be filled with 'air.

In such a soil, roots can extend in any direction, and to
considerable depth, without being parched with thirst, or
drowned in stagnant water, and, other things being equal,
plants will grow to their greatest possible size, and all
their tissues will be of the best possible texture. On
rich land, which is maintained in this condition of porosity
and mellowness, agriculture will produce its best results,
and will encounter the fewest possible chances of failure.
Of course, there are not many such soils to be found, and
such absolute balance between warmth and moisture in the
soil cannot be maintained at all times, and under all cir-
cumstances, but the more nearly it is maintained, the more
nearly perfect will be the results of cultivation.

C-hemical Action in the Soil, — Plants receive certain or
their constituents from the soil, through their roots. The
raw materials from which these constituents are obtained
are the minerals of the soil, the manures which are artifi-
cially applied, water, and certain substances which are
taken from the air by the absorptive action of the soil,

HOW DRAINS ACT, AXD AFFECT THE SOIL. 43

or are brought to it by rains, or by water flowing over the
surface from other land.

The mineral 'matters, which constitute the ashes of
plants, when burned, are not mere accidental impurities
which happen to be carried into their roots in solution in
the water which supplies the sap, although they vary in
character and proportion with each change in the min-
eral composition of the soil. It is proven by chemical
analysis, that the composition of the ashes, not only of
different species of plants, but of different parts of the
same plant, have distinctive characters, — some being rich
in phosphates, and others in silex ; some in potash, and oth-
ers in lime, — and that these characters are in a measure
the same, in the same plants or parts of plants, without
especial reference to the soil on which they grow. The.
minerals which form the ashes of plants, constitute but a
very small part of the soil, and they are very sparsely dis-
tributed throughout the mass ; existing in the interior of
its particles, as well as upon their surfaces. As roots can-
not penetrate to the interior of pebbles and compact par-
ticles of earth, in search of the food which they require,
but can only take that which is exposed on their surfaces,
and,4is the oxydizing effect of atmospheric air is useful in
preparing the crude minerals for assimilation, as well as in
decomposing the particles in which they are bound up, — a
process which is allied to the rusting of metals, — the more
freely atmospheric air is allowed, or induced, to circulate
among the inner portions of the soil, the more readily are
its fertilizing parts made available for the use of roots.
By no other process, is air made to enter so deeply, nor to
circulate so readily in the soil, as by under-draining, and
the deep cultivation which under-draining facilitates.

Of the manures which are applied to the land, those of
a mineral character are affected by draining, in the same
manner as the minerals which are native to the soil ;

44 DRAINING FOB PROFIT AND HEALTH.

while organic, or animal and vegetable, manures,
cially when applied, as is usual, in an incompletely fer-
mented condition,) absolutely require fresh supplies of
atmospheric air, to continue the decomposition which
alone can prepare them for their proper effect on vegeta-
tion.

If kept saturated with water, so that the air is excluded,
animal manures lie nearly inert, and vegetable matters
decompose but incompletely, — yielding acids which are in-
jurious to vegetation, and which would not be formed in
the presence of a sufficient supply of air. An instance is
cited by H. Wauer where sheep dung was preserved, for
five years, by excessive moisture, which kept it from the
air. If the soil be saturated with water in the spring, and,
in summer, (by the compacting of its surface, which is
caused by evaporation,) be closed against the entrance of
air, manures will be but slowly decomposed, and will act
but imperfectly on the crop, — if, on the other hand, a
complete system of drainage be adopted, manures, (and
the roots which have been left in the ground by the pre-
vious crop,) will be readily decomposed, and will exercise
their full influence on the soil, and on the plants growing
in it.

Again, manures are more or less effective, in proportion
as they are more or less thoroughly mixed with the soil
In an undrained, retentive soil, it is not often possible to
attain that perfect tilth, which is best suited for a proper
admixture, and which is easily given after thorough
draining.

The soil must be regarded as the laboratory in which
nature, during the season of growth, is carrying on those
hidden, but indispensable chemical separations, combina-
tions, and re-combinations, by which the earth is made to
bear its fruits, and to sustain its myriad life. The chief
demand of this laboratory is for free ventilation The

HOW DRAINS ACT, AND AFFECT THE SOIL.

raw material for the work is at hand, — as well in the wet
soil as in the dry ; but the door is sealed, the damper is
closed, and only a stray whiff of air can, now and then,
gain entrance, — only enough to commence an analysis, or a
combination, which is choked off when half complete,
leaving food for sorrel, but making none for grass. We
must throw open door and window, draw away the water
in which all is immersed, let in the air, with its all de-
stroying, and, therefore, all re-creating oxygen, and leave
the forces of nature's beneficent chemistry free play,
deep down in the ground. Then may we hope for the
full benefit of the fertilizing matters which our good soil
contains, and for the full effect of the manures which we
add.

With our land thoroughly improved, as has been de-
scribed, we may carry on the operations of farming with
as much certainty of success, and with as great immunity
from the ill effects of unfavorable weather, as can be ex-
pected in any business, whose results depend on such a
variety of circumstances. We shall have substituted cer-
tainty for chance, as far as it is in our power to do so, and
shall have made farming an art, rather than a venture.

GHAPTEK III.

HOW TO GO TO WORK TO LAY OUT A SYSTEM OP
DRAINS.

How to lay out the drains ; whwe to place the outlet;
where to locate the main collecting lines ; how to arrange
the laterals which are to take the water from the soil and.
deliver it at the mains ; how deep to go ; at what inter-
vals; what fall to give; and what s»zes of tile to use, —
these are all questions of great importance to one who is
about to drain land.

On the proper adjustment of these points, depend the
economy and effectiveness of the work. Time and attention
given to them', before commencing actual operations, will
prevent waste and avoid failure. Any person of ordinary
intelligence may qualify himself to lay out under-drnins
and to superintend their construction, — but the knowl-
edge which is required does not come by nature. Those
who have not the time for the necessary study and prac-
tice to make a plan for draining their land, will find it
economical to employ an engineer for the purpose. In
this era of railroad building, there is hardly a county in
America which has not a practical surveyor, who may
easily qualify himself, by a study of the principles and
directions herein set forth, to lay out an economical plan
for draining any ordinary agricultural land, to stake the
lines, and to determine the grade of the drains, and tha
sizes of tile with which they should be furnished.
46

HOW TO LAY OUT A SYSTEM OF DRAINS. 47

On this subject Mr. Gisborne says : " It' we should give
:< a stimulus to amateur draining, we shall do a great deal
*' of harm. We wish we could publish a list of the moneys
" which have been squandered in the last 40 years in amateur
" draining, either ineffectually or with very imperfect effi-
" ciency. Our own name would be inscribed in the list for a
" very respectable sum. Every thoughtless squire supposes
" that, with the aid of his ignorant bailiff, he can effect a per-
" feet drainage of his estate ; but there is a worse man behind
" the squire and the bailiff, — the draining conjuror. * *
u * * * * These fellows never go direct about their
" work. If they attack a spring, they try to circumvent
" it by some circuitous route. They never can learn that
4' nature shows you the weakest point, and that you should
4< assist her, — that hit him straight in the eye is as good a
" maxim in draining as in pugilism. ******
" If you wish to drain, we recommend you to take advice.
" We have disposed of the quack, but there is a faculty,
" not numerous but extending, and whose extension ap-
" pears to us to be indispensable to the satisfactory
" progress of improvements by draining, — a faculty of
*' draining engineers. If we wanted a profession for a lad
" who showed any congenial talent, we would bring him
"up to be a draining engineer." He then proceeds to
speak of his own experience in the matter, and shows that,
after more than thirty years of intelligent practice, he
employed Mr. Josiah Parkes to lay out and superintend
his work, and thus effected a saving, (after paying all pro-
fessional charges,) of fully twelve per cent, on the cost of
the draining, which was, at the same time, better executed
than any that he had previously done.

It is probable that, in nearly all amateur draining, the
unnecessary frequency of the lateral drains; the extrava-
gant size of the pipes used; and the number of useless
angles which result from an unskillful arrangement, would
amount to an expense equal to ten times the cost of the

48 DRAINING FOR PROFIT AND HEALTH

proper superintendence, to say nothing of the imperfect
manner in which the work is executed. A common im-
pression seems to prevail, that if a 2-inch pipe is good, a
3-inch pipe must be better, and that, generally, if draining
is worth doing at all, it is worth overdoing; while
the great importance of having perfectly fitting connec-
tions is not readily perceived. The general result is, that
most of the tile-draining in this country has been too expen-
sive for economy, and too careless for lasting efficiency.

It is proposed to give, in this chapter, as complete a
description of the preliminary engineering of draining as
can be concentrated within a few pages, and a hope is en-
tertained, that it will, at least, convey an idea of the im-
portance of giving a full measure of thought and inge-
nuity to the maturing of the plan, before the execution of
the work is commenced. "Farming upon paper" has
never been held in high repute, but draining upon paper
is less a subject for objection. With a good map of the
farm, showing the comparative levels of outlet, hill, dale,
and plain, and the sizes and boundaries of the different
inclosures, a profitable winter may be passed, — with pen-
cil and rubber, — in deciding on a plan which will do the
required work with the least possible length of drain, and
which will require the least possible extra deep cutting;
and in so arranging the main drains as to require the
smallest possible amount of the larger and more costly
pipes; or, if only a part of the farm is to be drained dur-
ing the coming season, in so arranging the work that it will
dovetail nicely with future operations. A mistake in actual
work is costly, and, (being buried under the ground,) is
not easily detected, while errors in drawing upon paper
are always obvious, and are remedied without cost.

For the purpose of illustrating the various processes
connected with the laying out of a system of drainage,
the mode of operating on a field of ten acres will be de-

HOW TO LAY OUT A SYSTEM OF DRAINS. 49

tailed, in connection with a series of diagrams showing
the progress of the work.

A Map Of the Land is first made, from a careful sur-
vey. This should be plotted to a scale of 50 or 100 feet
to the inch,* and should exhibit the location of obsta
cles which may interfere with the regularity of th
drains, — such as large trees, rocks, etc., and the existing
swamps, water courses, springs, and open drains. (Fig. 4.)

The next step is to locate the contour lines of the land,
or the lines of equal elevation, — also called the horizontal
lines, — which serve to show the shape of the surface. To do
this, stake off the field into squares of 50 feet, by first running
a base line through the center of the greatest length of the
field, marking it with stakes at intervals of 50 feet, then stake
other lines, also at intervals of 50 feet, perpendicular to the
base line, and then note the position of the stakes on the
maps ; next, by the aid of an engineer's level and staff, ascer-
tain the height, (above an imaginary plain below the lowest
part of the field,) of the surface of the ground at each stake,
and note this elevation at its proper point on the map. This
gives a plot like Fig. 5. The best instrument with which to
take these levels, is the ordinary telescope-level used by rail-
road engineers, shown in Fig. 6, which has a telescope with
crosshairs intersecting each other in the center of the line
of sight, and a "bubble" placed exactly parallel to this
line. The instrument, fixed on a tripod, and so adjusted
that it will turn to any point of the compass without dis-
turbing the position of the bubble, will, (as will its " line of
sight,") revolve in a perfectly horizontal plane. It is so
placed as to command a view of a considerable strotch of
the field, and its height above the imaginary plane is
measured, an attendant places next to one of the stakes
a levelling rod, (Fig. 7,) which is divided into feet and

* The maps in this book are, for convenience, drawn to a scale of H30
feet to the iuch.

50

DRAINING FOll PROFIT A^'L> HEALTH.

//; miff ic _
ii iju i-l&y-

1 1 1 1 1

Fig. 4. — MAP OF LAND, WITH SWAMPS, ROCKS, SPRTXGS, AND TREES.
INTENDED TO REPRESENT A FIELD OP TEN ACRES BEFORE
DRAINING.

HOW TO LAY OUT 'A SYSTEM OF DRAINS. 51

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Fig. 5.— MAP WITH 50-FOOT SQUAKES, AXD COXTOUK LINES.

52 DRAINING FOR PROFIT AND HEALTH.

fractions of a foot, and is furnished with a movable tar-
get, so painted that its center point may be plainly seen.
The attendant raises and lowers the target, until it comes
exactly in the line of sight; its height on the rod de-
notes the height of the instrument above the level of -the
ground at that stake, and, as the height of the instrument

. 6. — LEVELLING INSTRUMENT.*

above the imaginary plane has been reached, by subtract-
ing one elevation from the other, the operator determines
the height of the ground at that stake above the imagi-
nary plane, — which is called the " datum line"

The next operation is to trace, on the plan, lines follow-
ing the same level, •wherever the land is of the proper
height for its surface to meet them. For the purpose of
illustrating this operation, lines at intervals of elevation of

* The instrument from which this cut was taken, (as also Fig. 7,) was
made by Messrs. Blunt & Nichols, Water-si, N. Y.

HOW TO LAY OUT A SYSTEM OF DRAINS.

5S

one foot are traced on the plan in Fig. 8. And these lines
show, with sufficient accuracy for practical purposes, the
elevation and rate of inclination of all parts
of the fiell, — where it is level or nearly so,
where its rise is rapid, and where slight. As
the land rises one foot from the position of
one line to the position of the line next above
it, where the distance from one line to the
next is great, the land is more nearly level,
and when it is short the inclination is steeper.
For instance, in the southwest corner of the
plan, the land is nearly level to the 2-foot
line ; it rises slowly to the center of the field,
and to the eastern side about one-fourth of
the distance from the southern boundary,
while an elevation coming down between
these two valleys, and others sk'irting the
west side of the former one and the southern
side of the latter, are indicated by the greater
nearness of the lines. The points at which
the contour lines cross the section lines are
found in the following manner: On the
second line from the west side of the field we
find the efevations of the 4th, 5th and 6th
stakes from the southern boundary to be 1.9,
3.3, and 5.1. The contour lines, representing
points of elevation of 2, 3, 4, and 5 feet above
the datum line, will cross the 50-foot lines at
their intersections, only where these intersec-
tions are marked in even feet. When they are
marked with fractions of a foot, the lines must
be made to cross at points between two in-
tersections,— nearer to one or the other, ac-
cording to their elevations, — thus between 1.9F'g- 7.— LEVEL-
and 3.3, the 2-foot and 3-foot contour lines
must cross. The total difference of elevation, between the

54

DRAINING FOR PROFIT AND HEALTH.

Fig. 8,— MAP WITH CONTOUR LINES.

HOW TO LAY OUT A SYSTEM OF DKA1XS. 55

two points is 3.3 — 1.9=1.4; }-| of the space must be given
to the even foot between the lines, and the 2-foot line should
be T'T of the space above the point 1.9; — the 3-foot line
will then come — below the point 3.3. In the same man-
ner, the line from 3.3 to 5.1 is divided into 18 parts, of
which 10 go to the space between the 4. and 5. lines, 7 are
between 3.3 and the 4-foot line, and 1 between the 5-foot
line and 5.1.

With these maps, made from observations taken in the
field, we are prepared to lay down, on paper, our system
of drainage, and to mature a plan which shall do the neces-

o / XT

sary work with the least expenditure of labor and mate-
rial. The more thoroughly this plan is considered, the
more economical and effective will be the work. Having
already obtained the needed information, and having it all
before us, we can determine exactly the location and size of
each drain, and arrange, before hand, for a rapid and satis-
factory execution of the work. The only thing that may
interfere with the perfect application of the plan, is the
presence of masses of underground rock, within the depth
to which the drains are to be laid.* Where these are sup-
posed to exist, soundings should be made, by driving a
1-inch pointed iron rod to the rock, or to a depth of five
feet where the rock falls away. By this means, measuring
the distance from the soundings to the ranges of the
stakes, we can denote on the map the shape and depth of
sunken rocks. The shaded spot on the east side of the
map, (Fig. 8,) indicates a rock three feet from the surface,
which will be assumed to have been explored by sounding.
In most cases, it will be sufficient to have contour lines
taken only at intervals of two feet, and, owing to the
Bmaliness of the scale on which these maps are engraved,
an«l to avoid complication in the finished plan, where so

*The slight deviations caused by carrying the drains around large
stones, which are found in cutting the ditches, do not affect the general
arrangement of the lines

56

DRAINING FOE PROFIT AND HEALTH.

much else must be shown, each alternate line is omitted.
Of course, where drains are at once staked out on the
land, by a practiced engineer, no contour lines are taken,
as by the aid of the level and rod for the flatter portions,
and by the eye alone for the steeper slopes, he will be able
at once to strike the proper locations and directions ; but
for one of less experience, who desires to thoroughly
mature his plan before commencing, they are indispensa-
ble ; arid their introduction here will enable the novice to
understand, more clearly than would otherwise be possible,
the principles on which the plan should be made.

Fig. 9.— THE CLINOMETER.

For preliminary examinations, and for all purposes in
which great accuracy is not required, the little instru-
ment shown in Fig. 9, — the Clinometer, — is exceedingly
simple and convenient. Its essential parts are a flat side,
or base, on which it stands, and a hollow disk just half
lilled with some heavy liquid. The glass face of the disk is
surrounded by a graduated scale that marks the angle at
which the surface of the liquid stands, with reference to

the flat base. The line 0. 0. being parallel to the

base, when the liquid stands on that line, the flat side is
horizontal; the line 90. 00. being perpendicular to

HOW TO LAY OUT A SYSTEM OF DRAINS.

57

the base, when the liquid stands on that line, the flat side
is perpendicular or plumb. In like manner, the intervening
angles are marked, and, by the aid of the following tables,
the instrument indicates the rate of fall per hundred feet
of horizontal measurement, and per hundred feet measured
upon the sloping line.*

Table No. 1 shows the rise of the slope for 100 feet of
the horizontal measurement. Example : If the horizontal
distance is 100 feet, and the slope is at an angle of 10°,
the rise will be IT^" feet.

Table No. 2 shows the rise of the slope for 100 feet of
its own length. If the sloping line, (at an angle of 15°,)
is 100 feet long, it rises 25.882 feet.

TABLE No. 1. || TABLE No. 2.

DEG.

FEET.

DEO.

FEET.

DEG.

FEET. | DEG.

FEET.

5

8.749

50

119.175

5

8.716

50-

76.604

10

17.688

55

14-2.815

10

17.365

55

81.915

15

26.716

60

173.205

15

25.882

60

86.602

20

36.397

65

214.451

20

34.202

65

90.631

25

46,«31

70

274.748

25

42.262

70

93.969

30

57.7:35

75

373.205

30

50. —

75

96.593

35

70.021

80

567.128

35

57.358

80

98.481

40

83.910

85

1143.01

40

64.279

85

99.619

45

100. —

46

70.711

With the maps before him, showing the surface features
of the field, and the position of the under-ground rock,
the drainer wi!l have to consider the following points :

1. Where, and at what depth, shall the outlet be
placed ?

2. What shall be the location, the length and the depth
of the main drain ?

3. What subsidiary mains, — or collecting drains, — shall
connect the minor valleys with the main ?

4. What may best be done tD collect the water of large
springs and carry it away ?

5. What provision is necessary to collect the water
that flows over the surface of out-cropping rock, or

* The form of this instrument has been considerably improved, and the cffl
ciency increased.-^ edition.)

58 DRAINING FOR PROFIT AND HEALTH.

along springy lines on side hills or under banks?

6. What should be the depth, the distance apart, the
direction, and the rate of fall, of the lateral drains ?

7. What kind and sizes of tile should be used to form
the conduits ?

8. What provision should be made to prevent the ob-
struction of the drains, by an accumulation of silt or sand,
which may enter the tiles immediately after they are laid,
and before the earth becomes compacted about them; and
from the entrance of vermin ?

1. The outlet should be at the lowest point of the boun
dary, unless, (for some especial reason which does not
exist in the case under consideration, nor in any usual
^ase,) it is necessary to seek some other than the natural
outfall ; and it should be deep enough to take the water of
the main drain, and laid on a sufficient inclination for a free
flow of the water. It should, where sufficient fall can be
obtained without too great cost, deliver this water over a
step of at least a few inches in height, so that the action of
the drain may be seen, and so that it may not be liable to
be clogged by the accumulation of silt, (or mud,) in the
open ditch into which it flows.

2. The main drain should, usually, be run as nearly in
the lowest part of the principal valley as is consistent with
tolerable straightness. It is better to cut across the point
of a hill, to the extent of increasing the depth for a few
rods, than to go a long distance out of the direct course
to keep in the valley, both because of the cost of
the large tile used in the main, and of the loss of fall
occasioned by the lengthening of the line. The main should
be continued from the outlet to the point at which it is
most convenient to collect the more remote sub-mains,
which bring together the water of several sets of laterals.
As is the case in the tract under consideration, the depth
of the main is often restricted, in nearly level land, to-
ward the upper end of the flat which lies next to the out-

HOW TO LAY OUT A SYSTEM OF DEAIXS.

59

let, by the necessity for a fall and the difficulty which often
exists in securing a sufficiently lou* outlet. In such case,
the only rule is to make it as deep as possible. When the
fall is sufficient, it should be placed at such depth as will
allow the laterals and sub-mains which discharge into it
to enter at its top, and discharge above the level of the
water which flows through it.

3. Subsidiary mains, or sub-mains, connecting with the
main drains, should be run up the minor valleys of the

land, skirting the
bases of the hills.
Where the valley is
a flat one, with rising
ground at each side,
there should be a
sub-main, to receive
the laterals from
each hill side. As a
general rule, it may
be stated, that the
collecting drain at
the foot of a slope
should be placed on
the line which is first
reached by the wa-
ter flowing directly
down over its surface, before it commences its lateral
movement down the valley ; and it should, if possible, be
so arranged that it shall have a uniform descent, for its
whole distance. The proper arrangement of these coi-
lecting drains requires more skill and experience than
any other branch of the work, for on their disposition
depends, in a great measure, the economy and success of
the undertaking.

4. Where springs exist, there should be some provision
made for collecting their water in pits filled with loose

Fig. 10. — STONE PIT TO CONNECT SPRING
WITH DRAIN.

DRAINING FOE PROFIT AXD HEALTH.

stone, gravel, brush or other rubbish, or furnished with

several lengths of tile set on end, one above the other, or

with a barrel or other vessel ; and a line of tile of proper

size should be run directly

to a main, or sub-main

drain. The manner of

doing this by means of a

pit lilled with stone is

shown in Fig. 10. The

collection of spring water

in a vertical tile basin is

shown in Fig. 11.

5. Where a ledge of
shelving rock, of consider-
able size, occurs on land
to be drained, it is best to
make some provision for
collecting, at its base, the
water flowing over its sur-
face, and taking it at once
into the drains, so that it
mny not make the land Fig.
near it unduly wet. To

effect this, a ditch should be dug along the base of the rock,
and quite down to it, considerably deeper than the level of
the proposed drainage ; and this should be filled with small
stones to that level, Avith a line of tile laid on top of the
stones, a uniform bottom fur the tile to rest upon being
formed of cheap strips of board. The tile and stone should
then be covered with inverted sods, with wood shavings,
or with other suitable material, which will prevent the en-
trance of earth, (from the covering of the drain,) to choke
them. The water, following down the surface of the rock,
wTill rise through the stone work and, entering the tile, will
flow off. This method may be used for springy hill sides.

6. The points previously considered relate only to the

11.— STONE AND TILE BASIN FOR
SPUING WITH DRAIN.

now TO LAY our A SYSTEM OF DRAINS. 61

collection of unusual quantities of water, (from springs
and from rock surfaces,) and to the removal from the land
of what is thus collected, and of that which flows from
the minor or lateral drains.

The lateral drains themselves constitute the real drain-
age of the field, for, although main lines take water from
the land on each side, their action in this regard is not
usually considered, in determining either their depth or
their location, and they play an exceedingly small part in
the more simple form of drainage, — that in which a large
tract of land, of perfectly uniform slope, is drained by par-
allel lines, of equal length, all discharging into a single
main, running across the foot of the field. The land would
be equally well drained, if the parallel lines were continued
to an open ditch beyond its boundary, — the main tile drain
is only adopted for greater convenience and security. Il
will simplify the question if, in treating the theory of lat-
eral drains, it be assumed that our field is of this uniform
inclination, and admits of the use of long lines of parallel
drains. In fact, it is best in practice to approximate as
nearly as possible to this arrangement, because deviations
from it, though always necessary in broken land, are
.always more expensive, and present more complicated
engineering problems. If all the land to be drained had
a uniform fall, in a single direction, there would be but
little need of engineering skill, beyond that which is re-
quired to establish the depth, fall, and distance apart, at
which the drains should be laid. It is chiefly when the
land pitches in different directions, and with varying in-
clination, that only a person skilled in the arrangement of
drains, or one who will give much consideration to the
subject, can effect the greatest economy by avoiding unne-
cessary complication, and secure the greatest efficiency
by adjusting the drains to the requirements of the land.

Assuming the land to have an unbroken inclination, so
as to require only parallel drains, it becomes important to

62 DRAINING FOR PROFIT AND HEALTH.

know how these parallel drains, (corresponding to the
lateral drains of an irregular system,) should be mado.

The history of land draining is a history of the gradual
progress of an improvement, from the accomplishment of
a single purpose, to the accomplishment of several pur-
poses, and most of the instruction which modern agri-
cultural writers have given concerning it, has shown too
great dependence upon the teachings of their predecessors,
who considered well the single object which they sought
to attain, but who had no conception that draining was to
be so generally valuable as it has become. The effort, (proba-
bly an unconscious one,) to make the theories of modern
thorough-draining conform to those advanced by the early
practitioners, seems to have diverted attention from some
more recently developed principles, which are of much
importance. For example, about a hundred years ago,
Joseph Elkington, of Warwickshire, discovered that, where
land is made too wet by under-ground springs, a skillful
tapping of these, — drawing off their water through suita-
ble conduits, — would greatly relieve the land, and for
many years the Elkington System of drainage, being a
great improvement on every thing theretofore practiced,
naturally occupied the attention of the agricultural world,
and the Board of Agriculture appointed a Mr. Johnstone
to study the process, and write a treatise on the subject.

Catch-water drains, made so as to intercept a flow of
surface water, have been in use from immemorial time, and
are described by the earliest writers. Before the advent
of the Draining Tile, covered drains were furnished with
stones, boards, brush, weeds, and various other rubbish
and their good effect, very properly, claimed the attention
of all improvers of wet land. When the tile first made
its appearance in general practice, it was of what is called
the " horse-shoe " form, and, — imperfect though it was, —
it was better than anything that had preceded it, and was
received with high approval, wherever it became known,

HOW TO LAY OUT A SYSTEM OF DRAINS. 63

The general use of all these materials for making drains
was confined to a system of partial drainage, until the
publication of a pamphlet, in 1833, by Mr. Smith, of Dean-
ston, who advocated the drainage of the whole field, with-
out reference to springs. From this plan, but with impor-
tant modifications in matters of detail, the modern sys-
tem of tile draining has grown. Many able men have
aided its progress, and have helped to disseminate a
knowledge of its processes and its effects, yet there are
few books on draining, even the most modern ones, which
do not devote much attention to Elkington's discovery;
to the various sorts of stone and brush drains ; and to the
manufacture and use of horse-shoe tile; — not treating them
as matters of antiquarian interest, but repeating the in-
structions for their application, and allowing the reasoning
on which their early use was based,to influence, often to a
damaging extent, their general consideration of the mod-
ern practice of tile draining.

These processes are all of occasional use, even at this
day, but they are based on no fixed rules, and are so much
a matter of traditional knowledge, with all farmers, that.
instruction concerning them is not needed. The kind of
draining which is now under consideration, has for its ob-
ject the complete removal of all of the surplus water that
reaches the soil, from whatever source, and the assimila-
tion of all wet soils to a somewhat uniform condition, as to
the ease with which water passes through them.

There are instances, as has been shown, where a large
spring, overflowing a considerable area, or supplying the
water of an annoying brook, ought to be directly con-
nected with the under-ground drainage, and its flow neatly
carried away ; and, in other cases, the surface flow over
large masses of rock should by given easy entrance into
the tile; but, in all ordinary lands, whether swamps,
springy hill sides, hea\y clays, or light soils lying on re-
tentive subsoil, all ground, in t!:ct, which needs under

(54 DEAINING FOE PROFIT AND HEAL1H.

draining at all, should be laid dry above the level to which
it is deemed best to place the drains; — not only secured
against the wetting of springs and soakage water, but
rapidly relieved of the water of heavy rains. The water
table, in short, should be lowered to the proper depth, and,
by permanent outlets at that depth, be prevented from
ever rising, for any considerable time, to a higher level.
This being accomplished, it is of no consequence to know
whence the water comes, and Elkington's system need
have no place in our calculations. As round pipes, with col-
lars, are far superior to the " horse-shoe " tiles, ami are
equally easy to obtain, it is not necessary to consider the
manner in which these latter should be used, — only to say
that they ought not to be used at all.

The w*ater which falls upon the surface is at once ab-
sorbed, settles through the ground, until it reaches a
point where the soil is completely saturated, and raises the
general water level. When this level reaches the floor of
the drains, the water enters at the joints and is carried
off. That which passes down through the land lying
between the drains, bears down upon that which has al-
ready accumulated in the soil, and forces it to seek an out-
let by rising into the drains.* For example, if a barrel,
standing on end, be filled with earth which is saturated
with water, and its bung be removed, the water of satura-
tion, (that is, all which is not held by attraction in- the par
tides of earth,) will be removed from so much of the
mass as lies above the bottom of the bung-hole. If a
bucket of water be now poured upon the top, it will not all
run diagonally toward the opening; it will trickle down to
the level of the water remaining in the barrel, and this level
will rise and water will run off at 'the bottom of the orifice.
In this manner, the water, even below the drainage level,

* Except from quite near to the drain, it is not probable lhat the-
irater iu the soil r;ins laterally towards it.

HOW TO LAY OUT A SYSTEM OF DEAIXS. 65

is changed with each addition at the surface. In a barrel
filled with coarse pebbles, the water of saturation would
maintain a nearly level surface ; if the material were more
compact and retentive, a true level would be attained only
after a considerable time. Toward the end of the flow,
the water would stand highest at the points furthest dis-
tant from the outlet. So, in the land, after a drenching
rain, the water is first removed to the full depth, near the
line of the drain, and that midway between two drains
settles much more slowly, meeting more resistance from
below, and, for a long time, will remain some inches
higher than the floor of the drain. The usual condition
of the soil, (except in very dry weather,) would be some-
what as represented in the accompanying cut, (Fig. 12.)

Fig. 12.— LINE OF SATURATION BETWEEN DRAINS.

T Tare the drains. The cuwed line b is the line of saturation, which has d*
mended from a. and is approaching c.

To provide for this deviation of the line of saturation,
in practice, drains are placed deeper than would be neces-
sary if the water sunk at once to the level of the drain
floor, the depth of the drains being increased with the in-
creasing distance between them.

Theoretically, every drop of water which fills on afield
should sink straight down to the level of the drains:, and
force a drop of water below that level to rise into the drain
and flow off. How exactly this is true in nature cannot
bo known, and is not material. Drains made in pursuance
of this theory will be effective for any actual condition.

66 DRAINING FOR PROFIT AXD HEALTH.

The depth to which the water table should be with-
drawn depends, not at all on the character of the soil,
but on the requirements of the crops which are to be
grown upon it, and these requirements are the same in all
soils, — consequently the depth should be the same in all.

What, then, shall that depth be? The usual practice
of the most experienced drainers seems to have fixed four
feet as about the proper depth, and the arguments against
anything less than this, as well as some reasons for sup
posing that to be sufficient, are so clearly stated by Mr.
Gisborne that it has been deemed best to quote his own
words on the subject :

" Take a flower-pot a foot deep, filled with dry soil.
" Place it in a saucer containing three inches of water.
" The first effect will be, that the water will rise through
" the hole in the bottom of the pot till the water which
" fills the interstices between the soil is on a level with the
" water in the saucer. This effect is by gravity. The
" upper surface of this water is our water-table. From it
'' water will ascend by attraction through the whole
" body of soil till moisture is apparent at the surface. Put
" in your soil at 60°, a reasonable summer heat for nine
" inches in depth, your water at 47°, the seven inches'
" temperature of Mr. Parke's undrained bog ; the attracted
" water will ascend at 47°, and will diligently occupy
"itself in attempting 'to reduce the 60° soil to its own
" temperature. Moreover, no sooner will the soil hold
" water of attraction, than evaporation will begin to carry
" it off', and will produce the cold consequent thereon.
14 This evaporated water will be replaced by water of nt
"traction at 47°, and this double cooling process will go
" on till all the water in the water-table is exhaustedJ
tc Supply water to the saucer as fast as it disappears, and
" then the process will be perpetual. The system of saucer-
" watering is reprobated by every intelligent gardener; it
" is found l>y experience to chill vegetation ; besides whioh,

HOW TO LAY OCT A SYSTEM OF DRAIXS. 67

u scarcely any cultivated plant can dip its roots into stag-
" nant water with impunity. Exactly the process which
" we have described in the flower-pot is constantly in
" operation on an undrained retentive soil ; the water-
" table may not be within nine inches of the surface, but
" in very many instances it is within a foot or eighteen
" inches, at which level the cold surplus oozes into some
" ditch or other superficial outlet. At eighteen inches,
" attraction will, on the average of soils, act with consid-
" erable power. Here, then, you have two obnoxious
" principles at work, both producing cold, and the one
" administering to the other. The obvious remedy is, to
" destroy their united action ; to break through their line
" of communication. Remove your water of attraction
" to such a depth that evaporation cannot act upon it, or
" but feebly. What is that depth ? In ascertaining this
*c point we are not altogether without data. No doubt
*' depth diminishes the power of evaporation rapidly. Still,
" as water taken from a 30-inch drain is almost invariably
" t\vo or three degrees colder than water taken from four
14 feet, and as this latter is generally one or two degrees
" colder than water from a contiguous well several feet
" below, we can hardly avoid drawing the conclusion that
" the cold of evaporation has considerable influence at 30
" inches, a much-diminished influence at four feet, and little
"or none below that depth. If the water-table is removed
" to the depth of four feet, when we have allowed 18
u inches of attraction, we shall still have 30 inches of de-
" fence against evaporation ; and we are inclined to be-
"lieve that any prejudicial combined action of attraction
" and evaporation is thereby well guarded against. The
* facts stated seem to prove that less will not suffice.

" So much on the score of temperature ; but this is not
" all. Do the roots of esculents wish to penetrate into
" the earth — at least, to the depth of some feet ? We be-
" lieve that they do. We are sure of the brassica tribe,

68 DRAINING FoJR PROFIT AND HEALTH.

" of grass, and clover. All our experience and observation
" deny the doctrine that roots only ramble when they are
" stinted of food ; that six inches well manured is quite
" enough, better than more. Ask the Jerseyman ; h
" will show you a parsnip as thick as your thigh, and as
" long as your leg, and will tell you of the advantages of
U14 fret of dry soil. You will hear of parsnips whose
c<i<»ots descend to unsearchable depths. We will not
" appeal to the Kentucky carrot, which was drawn out
" by its roots at the antipodes ; but Mr. Mechi's, if we
" remember right, was a dozen feet or more. Three years
" ago, in a midland county, a field of good land, in good
" cultivation, and richly manured, produced a heavy crop
" of cabbages. In November of that year we saw that
" field broken into in several places, and at the depth of
"four feet the soil (a tenacious marl, fully stiff enough for
" brick-earth) was occupied by the roots of cabbage, not
" sparingly — not mere capillae — but fibres of the size of
" small pack-thread. A farmer manures a field of four or
" five inches of free soil reposing on a retentive clay, and
" sows it with wheat. It comes up, and between the ker-
" nel and the manure, it looks well for a time, but anon it
" sickens. An Irish child looks well for five or six years,
" but after that time potato-feeding, and filth, and hard-
" ship, begin to tell. You ask what is amiss with the
" wheat, and you are told that when its roots reach the
" clay, they are poisoned. This field is then thorough-
" drained, deep, at least four feet. It receives ag;iin from
" the cultivator the previous treatment ; the wheat comes
" up well, maintains throughout a healthy aspect, and
" gives a good return. What has become of the poison ?
" We have been told that the rain water filtered through
" the soil has taken it into solution or suspension, and has
" carried it off through the drains; and men who assume
" to be of authority put forward this as one of the ad-
*' vantages of draining. If we believed it, we could not

HOW TO LAY OUT A SYSTEM OF DR klXS. 69

u advocate draining. We really should not have the face
" to tell our readers that water, passing through soils con-
" taining elements prejudicial to vegetation, would carry
" them off, but would leave .those which are beneficial be-
" hind. We cnnnot make our water so discriminating ; the
*' general merit of water of deep drainage is, that it con-
*' tains very little. Its perfection would be that it should
u contain nothing. We understand that experiments are
" in progress which have ascertained that water, charged
" with matters which are known to stimulate vegetation,
" when filtered through four feet of retentive soil, conies
" out pure. But to return to our wheat. In the first case,
" it shrinks before the cold of evaporation and the cold of
" water of attraction, and it sickens because its feet are
" never dry ; it suffers the usual maladies of cold and wet.
" In the second case, the excess of cold by evaporation
" is withdrawn ; the cold water of attraction is removed
" out of its way ; the warm air from the surface, rushing
" in to supply the place of the water which the drains re-
" move, and the warm summer rains, bearing down with
" them the temperature which they have acquired from
" the upper soil, carry a genial heat to its lowest roots.
"Health, vigorous growth, and early maturity are the
" natural consequences. * * * ******

"The practice so derided and maligned referring to
" deep draining has advanced with wonderful strides.
" We remember the days of 15 inches ; then a step to 20 ; a
" stride to 30; nnd the last (and probably final) jump to 50, a
" few inches under or over. We have dabbled in them all,
:* generally belonging to the deep section of the day. We
14 have used the words 'probably final,' because the first
" advances were experimental, and, though they were jus-
" tified by the results obtained, no one attempted to ex-
vk plain the principle on which benefit was derived from
" them. The principles on which the now prevailing
* depth is founded, and which we believe to be true, go

70 DRAINING FOB PROFIT AND HEALTH.

u far to show that we have attained all the advantages
" which can be derived from the removal of water in
" ordinary agriculture. We do not mean that, even in the
" most retentive soil, water would not get into drains
"which were laid somewhat deeper; but to this there
<; must be a not very distant limit, because pure clay, lying
•' below the depth at which wet and drought applied at
" surface would expand and contract it, would certainly
" part with its water very slowly. We find that, in coal
" mines and in deep quarries, a stratum of clay of only a
"few inches thick interposed between two strata of per-
" vious stone will form an effectual bar to the passage of
" water ; whereas, if it lay within a few feet of the sur-
" face, it would, in a season of heat and drought become
" as pervious as a cullender. But when we have got rid
" of the cold arising from the evaporation of free water,
" have given a range of several feet to the roots of grass
" and cereals, and have enabled retentive land to filter
" through itself all the rain which falls upon its surface,
" we are not, in our present state of knowledge, aware of
" any advantage which would arise from farther lowering
" the surface of water in agricultural land. Smith, of
" Deanston, first called prominent attention to the fertiliz-
" ing effects of rain filtered through land, and to evils pro-
" duced by allowing it to flow off the surface. Any one
" will see how much more effectually this benefit will be
" attained, and this evil avoided, by a 4-foot than a 2-foot
" drainage. The latter can only prepare two feet of soil
"for the reception and retention of rain, which two feet,
*'• being saturated, will reject n ore, and the surplus must
* run off the surface, carrying whatever it can find with it.
" A 4-foot drainage will be constantly tending to have four
" feet of soil ready for the reception of rain, and it will
" take much more rain to saturate four feet than two,
"• Moreover, as a gimlet-hole bored four feet from the sur-
" face of a barrel filled with, water will discharge much

HOW TO LAY OUT A SYSTEM OF DRAINS.

" more in a given time than a similar hole bored at the
" depth of two feet, so will a 4-foot drain discharge in a
" ffiven time much more water than a drain of two feet.
" One is acted on by a 4-foot, and the other by a 2-foot
* pressure."

If any single fact connected with tile-drainage is estab-
lished, beyond all possible doubt, it is that in the stiffest
clay soils ever cultivated, drains four feet deep will act
effectually ; the water will find its way to them, more and
more freely and completely, as the drying of successive
years, and the penetration and decay of the roots of suc-
cessive crops, modify the character of the land, and they
will eventually be practically so porous that, — so far as
the ease of drainage is concerned, — no distinction need, in
practice, be made between them and the less retentive
loams. For a few years, the line of saturation between
the drains, as shown in Fig. 11, may stand at all seasons
considerably above the level of the bottom of the tile, but
it will recede year by year, until it will be practically
level, except immediately after rains.

Mr. Josiah Parkes recommends drains to be laid
" At a minimum depth of four feel, designed with the two-fold object of
not only freeing the active soil from stagnant and injurious water, but
of converting the water falling on the surface into an agent for fertiliz-
ing; no drainage being deemed efficient that did not both remove the
water falling on the surface, and ' keep down the subterranean water at
a depth exceeding the power of capillary attraction to elevate it near the
Surface.' "

Alderman Mechi says :

"Ask nineteen farmers out of twenty, who hold strong clay land, and
they will tell you it is of no u<e placing deep four foot drains in such soils
— ttu water cannot get in; a horse's foot-hole (without an opening
under it) will hold water like a basin; and so on. Well, five minutes
after, you tell the same farmers you propose digging a cellar, well
bt icked, six or ei^ht feet deep ; what is their remark ? ' Oh ! it's of no
use \ our making an underground cellar in our soil, you cati't ke^p t/m
water OUT !' Was there ever such an illustration of prejudice as this?
What is a drain pipe but a small cellar full of air? Then, again, common
sense tells us, you can't keep a light fluid under a heavy one. You might
aa well try to keep a cork under water, as to try and keep air under

72 DRAINING FOR PROFIT AND HEALTH.

water. ' Oh ! but then our soil is n't porous.' If not, how can it hold
w;iter so readily ? I am led to these observations by the strong Contro-
versy I am having with some Essex folks, who protest that I am mad, or
foolish, for placing 1-inch pipes, at four-foot depth, in strong clays. It
is in vain I refer to the numerous proofs of my soundness, brought for-
ward by Mr. Parkes, engineer to the Royal Agricultural Society, and
c i.li.'Kitd by Mr. Pusey. They still dispute it. It is in vain I tell them
I cat mot keep the rainwater out of socketed pipes, twelve feet deep, that
convey a spring to my farm yard. Let us try and convince this large
class of doubters; for it is of national importance. Four feet of good
porous clay would afford a far better meal to some strong bean, or other
tap roots, than the usual six inches ; and a saving of $4 to $5 per acre,
in drairage, is no trifle.

"The shallow, or non-drainers, assume that tenacious subsoils are im-
pervious or non-absorbent. This is entirety an erroneous assumption.
If soils were impervious, how could they get wet ?

" I assert, and pledge my agricultural reputation for the fact, that there
are no earths or clays in this kingdom, be they ever so tenacious, that
will not readily receive, filter, and transmit rain water to drains placed
five or more feet deep.

"A neighbor of mine drained twenty inches deep in strong clay ; the
ground cracked widely ; the contraction destroyed the tiles, and tho
rains washed the surface soils into the cracks and choked the drains. He
has since abandoned shallow draining.

" When I first began draining, I allowed myself to be overruled by
my obstinate man, Pearson, who insisted that, for top water, two feet
was a sufficient depth in a veiny soil. I allowed him to try the experi-
ment on two small fields ; the result was, that nothing prospered ; and
I am redraining those fields at one-half the cost, five and six feet deep,
at intervals of 70 and 80 feet.

" I found iron-sand rocks, strong clay, silt, iron, etc., and an enor-
mous quantity of water, all below the 2 foot drains. This accounted at
once for the sudden check the crops always met with in May, when they
wanted to send their roots down, but could not, without going into stag-
nant water."

"There can be no doubt that it is the depth of the drain which reiru- '
lates the escape of the surface water in a uiven time ; regard being had,
as respects extreme distances, to the nature of the soil, and a due capac-
ity of the pipe. Tlie deeper the drain, even in the strongest soils, the quicker
the water escapes. This is an astounding but certain fact.

'' That deep and distant drains, where a sufficient fall can be obtained,
are by far the most profitable, by affording to tho roots of tue plants a
greater range for food."

Of course, where the soil is underlaid by rock, less than
four feet from the surface ; and where an outlet at that
depth cannot be obtained, we must, per force, drain less

HOW TO LAY OUT A SYSTEM OF DRAIXS. 73

deeply, but where there exists no such obstacle, drains
tthnuld be laid at a general depth of four feet, — general,
not uniform, because the drain should have a uniform in-
clination, which the surface of the land rarely has.

The Distance between the Drains. — Concerning this,
there is less unanimity of opinion among engineers, than
prevails with regard to the question of depth.

In tolerably porous soils, it is generally conceded that 40
or even 50 feet is sufficiently near for 4-foot drains, but, for
the more retentive clays, all distances from 18 feet to 50
feet are recommended, though those who belong to the
more narrow school are, as a rule, extending the limit,
as they see, in practice, the complete manner in which
drains at wider intervals perform their work. A careful

» consideration of the experience of the past twenty years,
and of the arguments of writers on drainage, leads to the
belief that there are few soils, which need draining at all,
on which it will be safe to place 4-foot drains at much
wider intervals than 40 feet. In the lighter loams there
are many instances of the successful application of
Professor Mapes* rule, that "3-foot drains should be
" placed 20 feet apart, and for each additional foot in
" depth the distance may be doubled; for instance, 4-fool
" drains should be 40 feet apart, and 5-foot drains 80 feet
" apart." But, with reference to the greater distance,
(80 feet,) it is not to be recommended in stiff clays, for
any depth of drain. Where it is necessary, by reason of
insufficient fall, or of underground rock, to go only three
feet deep, the drains should be as near together as 20 feet.

At first thought, it may seem akin to quackery to rec-
ommend a uniform depth and distance, without reference
t»> the character of the land to be drained; and it is un-
questionably true that an exact adaptation of the work to
the varying requirements of different soils would be bene-
<ici.iL though no system can be adopted which will make

74 DRAINING FOR PROFIT AN1> HEALTH.

clay drain as freely as sand. The fact is that the adjust
ment of the distances between drains is very far from
partaking of the nature of an exact science, and there is
really very little known, by any one, of the principles on
which it should be based, or of the manner in which the
bearing of those principles, in any particular case, is af-
fected by several ciicumstances which vary with each
change of soil, inclination and exposure.

In the essays on drainage which have been thus far
published, there is a vagueness in the arguments on this
branch of the subject, which betrays a want of definite
conviction in the minds of the writers ; and which tends
quite as much to muddle as to enlighten the ideas of the
reader. In so fat as the directions are given, whether forti-
fied by argument or not, they are clearly empirical, and
are usually very much qualified by considerations which
weigh with unequal force In different cases.

In laying out work, any skillful drainer will be guided,
in deciding the distance between the lines, by a judgment
which has grown out of his former experience ; and which
will enable him to adapt the work, measurably, to the
requirements of the particular soil under consideration ;
but he would probably find it impossible to so state the
reasons for his decision, that they would be of any general
value to others.

Probably it will be a long time before rules on this subject,
based on well sustained theory, can be laid down with dis-
tinctness, and, in the mean time, we must be guided by
the results of practice, and must confine ourselves to a
distance which repeated trial, in various soils, has proven
to be safe for all agricultural land. In the drainage of
the Central Park, after a mature consideration of all that
had been published on the subject, and ol a considerable
previous observation and experience, it was decided to
adopt a general depth of four feet, and to adhere as closely
as possible to a uniform distance of forty feet. No instance

HOW TO LAY OUT A SYSTEM OF DRAINS. 75

was known of a failure to produce good results by drain-
ing at that distance, and several cas^s were recalled where
drains at fifty and sixty feet had proved so inefficient that
intermediate lines became necessary. After from seven
to ten years' trial, the Central Park drainage, by its re-
sults, has shown that, — although some of the land is of a
very retentive character, — this distance is not too great ;
and it is adopted here for recommendation to all who have
no especial reason for supposing that greater distances
will be fully effective in their more porous soils

As has been before stated, drains at that distance, (or
at any distance,) will not remove all of the water of sat-
uration from heavy clays so rapidly as from more porous
soil ; but, although, in some cases, the drainage may be
insufficient during the first year, and not absolutely per-
fect during the second and third years, the increased por-
osity which drainage causes, (as the summer droughts
make fissures in the earth, as decayed roots and other
organic deposits make these fissures permanent, and as
chemical action in the aerated soil changes its character,)
will finally bring clay soils to as perfect a condition as they
are capable of attaining, and will invariably render them
excellent for cultivation.

The Direction of the Laterals should be right up and
down the slope of the land, in the line of steepest descent.
For a long time after the gener.il adoption of thorough-
draining, there was much discussion of this subject, and
much variation in practice. The influence of the old rules
for making surface or " catch-water " drains lasted for a
long time, and there was a general tendency to make tile
drains follow the same directions. An important require-
ment of these was that they should not take so steep an
inclination as to have their bottoms cut out and their
banks undermined by the rapid flow of water, and that
they should arrest and carry away the water flowing
down over the surface of hill sides. The arguments for the

76 DRAINING FOR PROFIT AND HEALTH.

line of steepest descent were, however, so clear, and
drains laid on that line were so universally successful in
practice, that it was long ago adopted by all, — save those
novices who preferred to gain their education in draining
in the expensive school of their own experience.

The more important reasons why this direction is the
best are the following : First, it is the quickest way to
get the water off. Its natural tendency is to run straight
down the hill, and nothing is gained by diverting it from
this course. Second, if the drain runs obliquely down the
hill, the water will be likely to run out at the joints of the
tile and wet the ground below it ; even if it do not,
mainly, run past the drain from above into the land be-
low, instead of being forced into the tile. Third, a drain
lying obliquely across a hillside will not be able to draw
the water from below up the hill toward it, and the
water of nearly the whole interval will have to seek its
outlet through the drain below it. Fourth, drains run-
ning directly down the hill will tap any porous water
bearing strata, which may crop out, at regular intervals, and
will thus prevent the spewing out of the water at the sur-
face, as it might do if only oblique drains ran for a long
distance just above or just below them. Very steep, and
very springy hill sides, sometimes require very frequent
drains to catch the water which has a tendency to flow to
the surface ; this, however, rarely occurs.

In laying out a plan for draining land of a broken sur-
face, which inclines in different directions, it is impossible
to make the drains follow the line of steepest descent, and
at the same time to have them all parallel, and at uniform
distances. In all such cases a compromise must be made
between the two requirements. The more nearly the par-
allel arrangement can be preserved, the less costly will
the work be, while the more nearly we follow the steepest
slope of the ground, the more efficient will each drain be.
No rule for this adjustment can be given, but a careful

HOW TO LAY OUT A SYSTEM OF DRAINS. 77

study of the plan of the ground, and of its contour lines,
will aid in its determination. On all irregular ground it
requires great skill to secure the greatest efficiency consis-
tent Avith economy.

The fall required in well made tile drains is very much
less than \\ould be supposed, by an inexperienced person,
to be necessary. Wherever practicable, without too great
cost, it is desirable to have a fall of one foot in one hun-
dred feet, but more than this in ordinary work is not es-
pecially to be sought, although there is, of course, no
objection to very much greater inclination.

One half of that amount of fall, or six inches in one
hundred feet, is quite sufficient, if the execution of the
work is carefully attended to.

The least rate of fall which it is prudent to give to a
drain, in using ordinary tiles, is 2.5 in 1,000, or three inches
in one hundred feet, and even this requires very careful
work.* A fall of six inches in one hundred feet is recom-
mended whenever it can be easily obtained — not as being
more effective, but as requiring less precision, and conse-
quently less expense.

Kinds and Sizes Of Tiles, — Agricultural drain-tiles are
made of clay similar to that which is used for brick.
When burned, they are from twelve inches to fourteen
inches long, with an interior diameter of from one to
eight inches, and with a thickness of wall, (depending on
the strength of the clay, and the size of the bore,) of from
one-quarter of an inch to more than an inch. They are
porous, to the extent of absorbing a certain amount of
water, but their porosity has nothing to do with their use
for drainage, — for this purpose they might as well be of
glass. The water enters them, not through their walls,

*Some of the drains in the Central Park have a fall of only 1 in
1,000, and they work perfectly ; but they are lar^e mains, laid with an
amount of care, and with certain costly precautions, (including precisely
graded wooden floors,) which could hardly be expected in private work.

78 DRAINING FOB PROFIT AND HEALTH.

but at their joints, which cannot be made so tight that
they will not admit the very small amount of water that
will need to enter at each space. Gisborne says :

" If an acre of land be intersected with parallel drains
" twelve yards apart, and if on that acre should fall the
" very unusual quantity of one inch of rain in twelve
" hours, in order that every drop of this rain may be dis-
" charged by the drains in forty-eight hours from the com-
" mencement of the rain — (and in a less period that quan-
" tity neither will, not is it desirable that it should, filter
"through an agricultural soil) — the interval between two
" pipes will be called upon to pass two-thirds of a table-
" spoonful of water per minute, and no more. Inch pipes,
" lying at a small inclination, and running only half-full,
" will discharge more than double this quantity of water
" in forty-eight hours."

Tiles may be made of any desired form of section, — the
usual forms are the " horse-shoe," the "sole," the "dou-
ble-sole," and the u round." The latter may be used with
collars, and they constitute the " pipes and collars," fre-
quently referred to in English books on drainage.

Horse-shoe tiles, Fig. 13, are condemned by all modern
engineers. Mr. Gisborne disposes of them by an argument

of some length, the quotation
of which in these pages is
probably ad visable, because

Fig. 13.-HORSE-SHOE TILE. ^ form ^ much ^^ ^

duits than stones, and to that extent have been so success-
fully employed, that they are still largely used in this coun-
try by "amateurs."

" We shall shock some and surprise many of our readers, when we
state confidently that, in average soils, and, still more, in those which
are inclined to be tender,, horse shoe tiles form the weakest and most
Jailing conduit which has ever been used for a deep drain. It is so, how-
ever; and a little thought, even if we had no experience, will tell us
that it must be so. A doggrel son<>', quite destitute of humor, informs
i.s that tiles of this sort were used in 1700 at Crandesburg Hall, in Suf-

HOW TO LAY OUT A SYSTEM OF DRAINS. 79

folk, by Mr. Charles Lawrence, the owner of the estate. The earliest of
which we had experience were of large area and of weak form. Constant
failures resulted from their use, and the cause was investigated ; many
of the tiles were found to be cLoked up with clay, and many to be bro-
ken longitudinally through the crown. For the first evil, two remedies
were adopted; a sole of slate, of wood, or of its own material, was
sometimes placed under the tile, but the more usual practice was to form
them wilh club-feet. To meet the case of longitudinal fracture, the tiles
were reduced in size, and very much thickened in proportion to their
area. The first of these remedies was founded on an entirely mistaken,
and the second on no conception at all of the cause of the evil to which
they were respectively applied. The idea was, that this tile, standing on
narrow fee^, and pressed by the weight of the refilled soil, sank into the
floor of the drain ; whereas, in fact, the floor of the drain rose into the
tile. Any one at all conversant with collieries is aware that when a strait
work (which is a small subterranean tunnel six feet high and four feet
wide or thereabouts) is driven in coal, the rising of the floor is a more
usual and far more inconvenient occurrence than the falling of the roof:
the weight of the two sides squeezes up the floor. We have seen it
formed into a very decided arch without fracture. Exactly a similar
operation takes place in the drain. No one had till recently dreamed of
forming a tile drain, the bottom of which a man was not to approach
personally within twenty inches or two feet. To no one had it then oc-
curred that width at the bottom of the drain was a great evil. For the
convenience of the operator the drain was formed with nearly perpen-
dicular sides, of a width in Avhich he could stand and work conveniently,
shovel the bottom level with his ordinary spade, and lay the tiles by his
hand ; the result was a drain with nearly perpendicular sides, and a wide
bottom. No sort of clay, particularly when softened by water standing
on it or running over it, could fail to rise under such circumstances ; and
the deeper the drain the greater the pressure and the more certain the
rising. A horse-shoe tile, which may be a tolerable secure conduit in a
drain of two feet, in one of four feet becomes an almost certain failure.
As to the longitudinal fracture — not ouly is the tile subject to be broken
by one of those slips which are so troublesome in deep draining, and to
which the lightly-filled material, even when the drain is completed,
offers an imperfect resistance, but the constant pressure together of the
sides, even when it does not produce a fracture of the soil, catches hold
of the feet of the tile, and breaks it through the crowp. Consider tho
case of a drain formed in clay when dry, the conduit a horse-shoe tile.
When the clay expands with moisture, it necessarily presses on the tile
and breaks it through the crown, its weakest part.* When the Regent's

* The-tile has been said, by <rreat authorities, to be broken by contraction,
under some idea that the clay envelops the tile and presses it when it contracts.
That is nonsense. The contraction would liberate the tile. Drive a stake into
wet clay ; and when the clay is dry. observe whether it clasps the stake tighter or
ha? released it, and you wifl no longer have any doubt whether expansion or con
traction break? the tile. Shrink is a better word than contract,

80 DRAINING FOR PROFIT AND HEALTH.

Park was first drained, large conduits were in fashion, rnd they were
made circular by placing one horse shoe tile upon another. It would be
difficult to invent a weaker conduit. On re-drainage, innumerable in-
stances were found in which the upper tile was broken through the
crown, and had dropped into the lower. Next came the Q form, tile and
sole in one, and much reduced in size — a great advance ; and when some
skillful operator had laid this tile bottom upwards we were evidently on
the eve of pipes. For the Q tile a round pipe moulded with a flat-bot-
tomed solid sole is now generally substituted, and is an improvement;
but is not equal to pipes and collars, nor generally cheaper than they

One chief objection to the Sole-tiles is, that, in the dry-
ing which they undergo, preparatory to the burning, the

upper side is contracted, by
the more rapid drying, and
they often require to be trim-
med off with a hatchet before

they will form even tolerable joints ; another is, that they
cannot be laid with collars, which form a joint so perfect
and so secure, that their use, in the smaller drains, should
be considered indispensable.

The double-sole tiles, which can be laid either side up
give a much better joint, .-.-^ _^^__^_ =•?

make the cost of transpor- ^^
tation considerably greater.

They are also open to the grave objection that they can-
not be fitted with collars.

Experience, in both public and private works in this
country, and the cumulative testimony of English and
French engineer*, have demonstrated that the only tile
which it is economical to use, is the best that can be found,
and that the best, — much the best — thus far invented, is
the " pipe, or round tile, and collar," — and these are un-
hesitatingly recommended for use in all cases. Round
tiles of small sizes should not be laid without collars, as the
ability to use these constitutes their chief advantage;
holding them perfectly in place, preventing the rattling

HOW TO LAY OUT A SYSTEM OF DRAINS.

81

in of loose dirt in laying, and giving twice the space for
the entrance of water at the joints. A chief advantage
of the larger sizes is, that they may be laid on any side
and thus made to fit closely. The usual sizes of these
tiles are 1£ inches, 2} inches, and 3^ inches in interior di-
ameter. Sections of the 2} inch make collars for the II

Fig. 16. — BOUND TILE AXD COLLAR, AND THE SAME AS LAID.

inch, and sections of the 3-j inch make collars for the 21-
inch. The 34 inch size does not need collars, as it is easily
secured in place, and is only used where the flow of water
would be sufficient to wash out the slight quantity of for-
eign matters that might enter at the joints.

The Size Of tile to be used is a question of consequence.
In England, 1-inch pipes are frequently used, but 1 } inch*
are recommended for the smallest drains. Beyond this
limit, the proper size to select is, the smallest that can con-
vey the water which will ordinarily reach it after a heavy
rain. The smaller the pipe, the more concentrated the
flow, and, consequently, the more thoroughly obstructions
will be removed, and the occasional flushing of the pipe,
when it is taxed, for a few hours, to its utmost capacity,
will insure a thorough cleansing. Xo inconvenience can
result from the fact that, on rare occasions, the drain is
unable, for a short time, to discharge all the water that
reaches it, and if collars are used, or if the clay be well
packed about the pipes, there need be no fear of the tile
being displaced by the pressure. An idea of the drying
capacity of a l}-inch tile may be gained from observing
its wetting capacity, by connecting a pipe of this size with

* Taking the difference of friction into consideration,
have fully twice the discharging capacity cf 1-inch pipes.
4*

inch pipes

82 DRAINING FOE PROFIT AND HEALTH.

a sufficient body of water, at its surface, and discharging,
over a level dry field, all the water which it will carry.
A l]-5nch pipe will remove all the water which would fall
on an acre of land in a very heavy rain, in 24 hours, — •
much less time than the water would occupy in getting tc
the tile, in any soil which required draining; and tiles of
this size are ample for the draining of two acres. In like
manner, 2|-inch tile will suffice for eight, and 3.] -inch tile
for twenty acres. The foregoing estimates are, of course,
made on the supposition that only the water which falls
on the land, (storm water,) is to be removed. For main
drains, when greater capacity is required, two tiles may be
laid, (side by side,) or in such cases the larger sizes of
sole tiles may be used, being somewhat cheaper. Where
the drains are laid 40 feet apart, about 1,000 tiles per acre
will be required, and, in estimating the quantity of tiles of
the different sizes to be purchased, reference should be
had to the following figures ; the first 2,000 feet of drains
require a collecting drain of 2|-inch tile, which will take
the water from 7,000 feet ; ar»d for the outlet of from
7,000 to 20,000 feet 3J-inch tile may be used. Collars,
being more subject to breakage, should be ordered in some-
what larger quantities.

Of course, such guessing at what is required, which is
especially uncertain if the surface of the ground is so
irregular as to require much deviation from regular par-
allel lines, is obviated by the careful preparation of a plat?,
of the work, which enables us to measure, beforehand, the
length of drain requiring the different sizes of conduit
and, as tiles are usually made one or two inches more than
a foot long, a thousand of them will lay a thousand feet, —
leaving a sufficient allowance for breakage, and for such
slight deviations of the lines as may be necessary to pass
around those stones which are too large to remove. In very
stony ground, the length of lines is often materially in-
creased, but in such ground, there is usually rock enough.

HOW TO LAY OUT A SYSTEM OF DRAINS. 83

or such accumulations of boulders in some parts, to re-
duce the length of drain which it is possible to lay, at
least as much as the deviations will increase it.

It is always best to make a contract for tile considera-
bly in advance. The prices which are given in the adver-
tisements of the makers, are those at which a single thou
sand, — or even a few hundred, — can be purchased, and
very considerable reductions of price may be secured on
large orders. Especially is this the case if the land is so
situated that the tile may be purchased at either one of
two tile works, — for the prices of all are extravagantly
high, and manufacturers will submit to large discounts
rather than lose an important order.

It is especially recommended, in making the contract,
to stipulate that every tile shall be hard-burned, and that
those which will not give a clear riny when struck with
a metallic instrument, shall be rejected, and the cost of
their transportation borne by the maker. The tiles used
in the C9ntral Park drainage were all tested with the aid
of a bit of steel which had, at one end, a cutting edge.
With this instrument each tile was "sounded," and its
hardness was tested by scraping the square edge of the
bore. If it did not "ring" when struck, or if the edge
was easily cut, it was rejected. From the first cargo there
were many thrown out, but as soon as the maker saw that
they were really inspected, he sent tile of good quality
only. Care should also be taken that no over-burned
tile, — such as have been melted and warped, or very much
contracted in size by too great heat, — be smuggled into
the count.

A little practice will enable an ordinary workman t
throw out those which are imperfect, and, as a single tile
which is so underdone that it will not last, or which, from
over-burning, has too small an orifice, may destroy a long
drain, or a whole system of drains, the inspection should
be thorough.

84 DRAINING FOR PROFIT AND HEALTH.

The collars should be examined with equal cart.. Con
cerning the use of these, Gisborne says:

" To one advantage which is derived from the use of
" collars we have not yet adverted — the increased facility
" with which free water existing in the soil can find en-
"trance into the conduit. The collar for a li-irch pipe
'has a circumference of three inches. The whcle space
"between the collar and the pipe on each side of the
" collar is open, and affords no resistance to the en-
trance of water; while at the same time the superin-
" cumbent arch of the collar protects the junction of two
" pipes from the intrusion of particles of soil. We con-
" fess to some original misgivings that a pipe resting only
" on an inch at each end, and lying hollow, might prove
" weak and liable to fracture by weight pressing on it
" from above ; but the fear was illusory. Small particles
" of soil trickle down the sides of every drain, and the
" first flow of water will deposit them in the vacant space
"between the two collars. The bottom, if at all soft, will
" also swell up into any vacancy. Practically, if you re-
" open a drain well laid with pipes and collars, you will
" find them reposing in a beautiful nidus, which, when they
" are carefully removed, looks exactly as if it had been
" moulded for them."

The cost of collars should not be considered an objec-
tion to their use ; because, without collars it would not be
safe, (as it is difficult to make the orifices of two pieces
come exactly opposite to each other,) to use less than 2-
inch tiles, while, with collars, 1} inch are sufficient for the
same use, and, including the cost of collars, are hardly
more expensive.

It is usual, in all works on agricultural drainage, to in-
sert tables and formulae for the guidance of those who
are to determine the size of tile required to discharge the
water of a certain area. The practice is not adopted here,

HOW TO LAY OUT A SYSTEM OF DRAINS. 85

for the reason that all such tables are without practical
value. The smoothness and uniformity of the bore ; the
rate of fall ; the depth of the drain, and consequent
" head," or pressure, of the water ; the different effects of
different soils in retarding the flow of the water to the
drain ; the different degrees to which angles in the line of
tile affect the flow ; the degree of acceleration of the flow
which is caused by greater or less additions to the stream
at the junction of branch drains ; and other considera-
tions, arising at every step of the calculation, render it
impossible to apply delicate mathematical rules to work
which is, at best, rude and unrnathematical in the extreme.
In sewerage, and the water supply of towns, such tables
are useful, — though, even in the most perfect of these
operations, engineers always make large allowances for
circumstances whose influence cannot be exactly meas-
ured,— but in land drainage, the ordinary rules of hydrau-
lics have to be considered in so many different bearings,
that the computations of the books are not at all reliable.
For instance, Messrs. Shedd & Edson, of Boston, have
prepared a series of tables, based on Smeaton's experi-
ments, for the different sizes of tile, laid at different incli-
nations, in which they state that li-inch tile, laid with a
fall of one foot in a length of one hundred feet, will dis-
charge 1*2,054.81 gallons of water in 24 hours. This is
equal to a rain-fall of over 350 inches per year on an acre
of land. As the average annual rain-fall in the United
States is about 40 inches, at least one-half of which is re-
moved by evaporation, it would follow, from this table,
that a 14-inch pipe, with the above named fall, would
serve for the drainage of about 17 acre". But the calcu-
lation is again disturbed by the fact that the rain-fall is
not evenly distiibuted over all the days of the year, — as
much as six inches 'having been known to fall in a single
24 hours, (amounting to about 150,000 gallons per acre,)
and the removal of this water in a single day would re«

86 DRAINING FOR PROFIT AND HEALTH.

quire a tile nearly five inches in diameter, laid at tne
given fall, or a 3-inch tile laid at a fall of more than 7^ feet
in 100 feet. But, again, so much water could not reach a
drain four feet from the surface, in so short a time, and
the time required would depend very much on the charac-
ter of the soil. Obviously, then, these tables are worthless
for our purpose. Experience has fully shown that the sizes
which are recommended below are ample for practical
purposes, and probably the areas to be drained by the
given sizes might be greatly increased, especially with ref-
erence to such soils as do not allow water to percolate very
freely through them.

In connection with this subject, attention is called to the
following extract from the Author's Report on the Drain-
age, which accompanies the "Third Annual Report of the
Board of Commissioners of the Central Park : "

" In order to test the efficiency of the system of drainage
" employed on the Park, I have caused daily observations
"to be taken of the amount of water discharged from the
" principal drain of ' the Green,' and have compared it
"with the amount of rain-fall. A portion of the record of
"those observations is herewith presented.

"In the column headed 'Rain-Fall,' the amount of
*' water falling on one acre daring the entire storm, is given
"in gallons. This is computed from the record of a rain
" gauge kept on the Park.

" Under the head of 'Discharge,' the number of gallons
"of water drained from one acre during 24 hours is given.
"This is computed from observations taken, once a day or
"oftener, and supposes the discharge during the entire
"day to be tho same as at the time of taking the observa
"tions. It is, consequently, but approximately correct :

HOW TO LAY OUT A SYSTEM OF DRAINS.

87

DATE.

HOUR.

RATX-FALL. DISCHARGE.

REMARKS.

Ground dry. No rain since 3d

July 13.

10 A. M.

49,916 galls.

184 galls.

' inst.: 2 inches rain fell between
) 5.15 and 5.45 P. M., and l-5th of &a
( inch between 5.45 and 7.15.

44 14.

6J4 44

4,968 "

•

44 15.

1,325 "

14 16.

8/2 44

1,104 44

44 16.

6 P. M.

33,398 "

7,764 4*

1 Ground saturated at a depth of
"( 2 feet when this rain commenced.

44 17.

4,319 44

44 18.

9 A. M.

2,208 44

44 19.

7

1,325 '

" 20.

6H "

993 '

44 21.

11

662 4

44 22.

fit/ fc4

560 '

44 23*

10 2 44

1,698 "

515 4

This slight rain only affected the

44 24!
Aug. 3.

7

8,490 "

442 4
191 "

ratio of decrease.
Nothing worthy of note until Aug. 3.
Rain from 3 P. M. to 3.30 P. M.

44 4.

6y 44

13,018 44

184 "

4.45 P. M. to 12 M. N.

44 5.

6l/2' "

45,288 44

368 4t

44 12 M. to 6 P. M.

44 5.

6 P. M.

8,280 44

44 6.

9 A. M.

3,954 "

44 7.

9

2,208 44

44 8.

6j4 "

828 "

u 9.

662 44

44 12.

6vl "

368 "

Rain 12 M. Aug. 12 to 7 A. M. Aug. 18.

•4 13.

7 u

19,244 *4

1,104 44

44 14.

9

736 "

44 24.

9 44

1,132 "

191 "

44 3 A. M. to 4.15 A .M.

44 25.

9

5,547 "

9,936 "

14 3.30 P. M. 24th, to 7 A. M. 25th

" 25.

7 P. M.

566 "

7,740 44

44 7 A. M. tO 12 M.

4- 2(5.

6J4 A. M.

3,974 44

44 26.

6 P. M.

2,208 44

44 27.

6V4 A. M.

566 "

1,529 "

44 4 P. M. tO 6 P. M.

44 28.

r* it

993 4'

Sep. 11.

T 4

566 "

165 4

" 12 M. N. (10th) tO 7 A. M. (llth.)

' 12.

9 44

5,094 44

147 '

44 12 M. (llth) to 7 A. M. (12th.)

' 13.

9

566 "

132 4

44 4 P. M. tO 6 P. M.

' 16.

9

15.848 '4

110 4

44 12 M. tO 12 M. N.

4 17.

7

27.552 "

1,104 4

Rain continued until 12 M.

4 17.

5 P. M.

6.IJ24 4

' IS.

8 A. M.

566 u

4,968 '

4 19.

6*4 "

2.208 4

' 19.

4 P. M.

1,805 4

' 20.

9 A. M.

566 «•'

1,324 4

Rain fm 12 M. (19th) to 7 A. M. (20tl\.)

4 21.

9

5,094 44

945 '

44 3.20 P.M.(20th) to 6 A.M.(21st .)

4 22.

8

10185 44

1,656 4

4; 12 M. (21st) to 7 A. M. (22d.)

4 23.

9 "

40,756 44

7.948 4

Rain continued until 7 A. M. (23d.)

4 24.

9 4

4.968 '

4 25.

9

566 "

2,984 '

4 26.

9

2,484 4

Oct. 1.

9

828 '

( There was not enough rain dur-
1 ing this period to materially affect

Nov. 18.

9 "

83 "

/ the flow of water.

44 19.

9 '4

1,132 44

184 u

Rain 4.50 p. M. (18th) to 8 A. M. (19th.)

44 20.

9

119 4i

44 22.

9

29,336 44

6,62-1 '4

Rain all of the previous night.

44 22.

2 P. M.

6,624 4t

44 23.

9 A.M.

4 9(:g lk

44 24. 9

1,711 44

44 24.

2 P. M.

1,417 "

Dec. 17.

9 A. M.

552 4t

44 18.

9

4,9<« 4'

Ruin during the previous night

4i 30 10

5S1 4i

88 DRAINING FOR PROFIT AND HEALTH.

44 The tract drained by this system, though very swampy,
44 before being drained, is now dry enough to walk upon,
"almost immediately after a storm, except when underlaid
44 by a stratum of frozen ground."

The area drained by the main at which these gauginga
were made, is about ten acres, and, in deference to the
prevailing mania for large conduits, it had been laid with
6-inch sole-tile. The greatest recorded discharge in 24-
hours was (August 25th,) less than 100,000 gallons from
the ten acres, — an amount of water which did not half fill
the tile, but which, according to the tables referred to,
would have entirely filled it.

In view of all the information that can be gathered
on the subject, the following directions are given as per-
fectly reliable for drains four feet or more in depth, laid
on a well regulated fall of even three inches in a hundred
feet:

For 2 acres 1^ inch pipes (with collars.)

For 8 acres 2| 4< " ('* " )

For 20 acres 3£ " "

For 40 acres 2 Bk " " or one 5-inch sole-tile.

For 50 acres 6 " " sole-tile.

For 100 acres 8 4; " or two 6-inch sole-tiles.

It is not pretended that these drains will immediately
remove all the water of the heaviest, storms, but they will
always remove it fast enough for all practical purposes,
and, if the pipes are securely laid, the drains will only be
benefited by the occasional cleansing they will receive
when running " more than full." In illustration of this
statement, the following is quoted from a paper communi-
cated by Mr. Parkes to the Royal Agricultural Society ot
England in 1843 :

"Mr. Thomas Hammond, of Penshurst, (Kent,) now
"uses no other size for the parallel drains than the inch
44 tile in the table, (No. 5,) having commenced with No

HOW TO LAY OUT A SYSTEM OF DRAINB. 89

" 4,* and it may be here stated, that the opinion of all the
" farmers who have used them in the Weald, is that a bore
" of an inch area is abundantly large. A piece of 9 acres,
" now sown with wheat, was observed by the writer, 36
" hours after the termination of a rain which fell heavily
" and incessantly during 12 hours on the 7th of Novem-
" ber. This field was drained in March, 1842, to the depth
" of 30 to 36 inches, at a distance of 24 feet asunder, the
" length of each drain being 235 yards.

"Each drain emptied itself through a fence bank into
" a running stream in a road below it ; the discharge
"therefore was distinctly observable. Two or three of
"the pipes had now ceased running; and, with the ex-
" ception of one which tapped a small spring and gave a
" stream about the size of a tobacco pipe, the run from
" the others did not exceed the size of a wheat straw
" The greatest flow had been observed by Mr. Hammond
" at no time to exceed half the bore of the pipes. The
" fall in this field is very great, and the drains are laid in
" the direction of the fall, which has always been the prac-
"tice in this district. The issuing water was transpa-
" rently clear ; and Mr. Hammond states that he has
" never observed cloudiness, except for a short time after
u very heavy flushes of rain, when the drains are quickly
" cleared of all sediment, in consequence of the velocity
" and force of the water passing through so small a channel.
" Infiltration through the soil and into the pipes, must,
" in this case, be considered to have been perfect ; and
" their observed action is the more determinate and valua-
" ble as regards time and effect, as the land was saturated
" with moisture previous to this particular fall of rain,
" and the pipes had ceased to run when it commenced.
" This piece /iad, previous to its drainage, necessarily
" been cultivated in narrow stretches, with an open water

* No. 5 was one inch in diameter; No. 4, about \% inches.

90 DRAINING FOR PROFIT AND HEALTH

" furrow between them ; but it was now laid quite plain,
" by which one-eighth of the continuation of acreage has
" been saved. Xot, however, being confident as to the
" soil having already become so porous as to dispense en-
" tirely with surface drains, Mr. Hammond had drawn
" two long water furrows diagonally across the field. On
'* examining these, it appeared that very little water had
" flowed along any part of them during these 12 hours of
" rain, — no water had escaped at their outfall ; the entire
"body of rain had permeated the mass of the bed, and
" passed off through the inch pipes ; no water perceptible
" on the surface, which used to carry it throughout. The
" subsoil is a brick clay, but it appears to crack very
" rapidly by shrinkage consequent to drainage."

Obstructions. — The danger that drains will become
obstructed, if riot properly laid out and properly made, is
jpvery great, and the cost of removing the obstructions,
(often requiring whole lines to be taken up, washed, and
relaid with the extra care that is required in working in
old and soft lines,) is often greater than the original cost
of the improvement. Consequently, the possibility of tile
drains becoming stopped up should be fully considered
at the outset, and every precaution should be taken to
prevent so disastrous a result.

The principal causes of obstruction are sUt, vermin, and
roots.

Silt is earth which is washed into the tile with the
water of the soil, and which, though it may be carried
along in suspension in the water, when the fall is good,
will be deposited in the eddies and slack-water, whL-h
occur whenever there is a break in the fall, or a defect in
the laying of the tile.

Whenever it is possible to avoid it, no drain should
have a decreasing rate of fall as it approaches its outlet.

If the first hundred feet from the upper end of the

HOW TO LAY OUT A SYSTEM OF DRAINS. 01

drain has a fall of three inches, the next hundred feet
should not have less than three inches, lest the diminished
velocity cause silt, which required the speed which that
fall gives for its removal, to be deposited and to choke
the tile. This defect of grade is shown in Fig. 17. If the
second hundred feet has an inclination of more than
three inches, (Fig. 18,) the removal of silt will be even bet-
ter secured than if the fall continued at the original rate. '
Some silt will enter newly made drains, in spite of our
utmost care, but the amount should be very slight, and
if it is evenly deposited throughout the whole length of
the drain, (as it sometimes is when the rate of fall is very
low,) it will do no especial harm ; but it becomes danger-
ous when it is accumulated within a short distance, by a
decreasing foil, or by a single badly laid tile, or imperfect
joint, which, by arresting the flow, may cause as much
mischief as a defective grade.

Owing to the general conformation of the ground, it is
sometimes absolutely necessary to adopt such a grade as
is shown in Fig. 19, — even to the extent of bringing the
drain down a rapid slope, and continuing it with the least
possible fall through level ground. When such changes
must be made, they should be effected by angles, and not
by curves. In increasing the foil, curves in the grade are
always advisable, in decreasing it they are always objec-
tionable, except when the decreased fall is still considera-
ble,— say, at least 2 feet in 100 feet. The reason for mak-
ing an absolute angle at the point of depression is, that it
enables us to catch the silt at that point in a silt basin,
from which it may be removed as occasion requires.

A Silt Basin is a chamber, below the grade of the drain,
into which the water flows, becomes comparatively quiet,
and deposits its silt, instead of carrying it into the tile
beyond. It may be large or small, in proportion to the
amount of drain above, which it has to accommodate. For
a few hundred feet of the smallest tile, it may be only a

DRAINING FOR PROFIT AND HEALTH.

X
Fig. 18.

100 FEET

- Fig. 19.

THREE PROFILES OF DRAINS, WITH DIFFERENT INCLINATION&

HOW TO LAY OUT A SYSTEM OF DEAINS. 93

o-inch tile placed on end and sunk so as to receive and
discharge the water at its top. For a large main, it may
be a brick reservoir with a capacity of 2 or 3 cubic feet.
The position of a silt basin is shown in Fig. 19.

The quantity of silt which enters the drain depends very
much on the soil. Compact clays yield very little, and
wet, running sands, (quicksands,) a great deal. In a soil
of the latter sort, or one having a layer of running sand at
the level of the drain, the ditch should be excavated a lit-
Je below the grade of the drain, and then filled to that
level with a retentive clay, and rammed hard. In all cases
when the tile is well laid, (especially if collars are used,)
and a stiff earth is well packed around the tile, silt will
not enter the drain to an injurious extent, after a few
months' operation shall have removed the loose particles
about the joints, and especially after a few very heavy
rains, which, if the tiles are small, will sometimes wash
them perfectly clean, although they may have been half
filled with dirt.

Vermin, — field mice, moles, etc., — sometimes make
their nests in the tile and thus choke them, or, dying
in them, stop them up with their carcases. Their en-
trance should be prevented by placing a coarse wire cloth
or grating in front of the outlets, which afford the only
openings for their entrance.

Hoots. — The roots of many water-loving trees, — espe-
cially willows, — will often force their entrance into the
joints of the tile and fill the whole bore with masses of
fibre which entirely prevent the flow of water. Collars
make it more difficult for them to enter, but even these
are not a sure preventive. Gisborne says :

u My own experience as to roots, in connection with
" deep pipe draining, is as follows : I have never known
" roots to obstruct a pipe through which there was not a
"perennial stream. The flow of water in summer and
" early autumn appears to furnish the attraction. I have

0-x DRAINING FOR PROFIT AND HEALTH.

" never discovered that the roots of any esculent vegetable
" have obstructed a pipe. The trees which, by my own
" personal observation, I have found to be most danger-
" ous, have been red willow, black Italian poplar, alder
" ash, and broad-leaved elm. I have many alders in close
" contiguity with important drains, and, though I have
" never convicted one, I cannot doubt that they are dan-
" gerous. Oak, and black and white thorns, I have not
4' detected, nor do I suspect them. The guilty trees have
*' in every instance been young and free growing ; I have
<c never convicted an adult. These remarks apply solely
" to my own observation, and may of course be much
" extended by that of other agriculturists. I know an in-
" stance in which a perennial spring of very pure and (I
"believe) soft water is conveyed in socket pipes to a
" paper mill. Every junction of two pipes is carefully
" fortified with cement. The only object of cover being
" protection from superficial injury and from frost, the
" pipes are laid not far below the sod. Year by year these
" pipes are stopped by roots. Trees are very capricious in
'* this matter. I was told by the late Sir R. Peel that he
" sacrificed two young elm trees in the park at Dray ton
" Manor to a drain which had been repeatedly stopped by
"roots. The stoppage was nevertheless repeated, and
" was then traced to an elm tree far more distant than
" those which had been sacrificed. E-irly in the autumn
" of 1850 I completed the drainage of the upper part of a
" boggy valley, lying, with ramifications, at the foot of
" marly banks. The main drains converge to a common
" outlet, to which are brought one 3-inch pipe and three of A
"inches each. They lie side by side, and water flows pe-
" rennially througli each of them. Near to this outlet did
" grow a red willow. In February, 1852, 1 found the
" water breaking out to the surface of the ground about
" 10 yards above the outlet, and was at no loss for the
" cause, as the roots of the red willow showed themselves

HOW TO LAY OUT A SYSTEM OF DRAINS. 05

" at the orifice of the 3-inch and of two of the 4-inch pipes.
" On examination I found that a root had entered a joint
" between two 3-inch pipes, and had traveled 5 yards to
" the mouth of the drain, and 9 yards up the stream,
*' forming a continuous length of 14 yards. The root which
'' first entered had attained about the size of a lady's little
" finger ; and its ramifications consisted of very fine and
44 almost silky fibres, and would have cut up into half a
" dozen comfortable boas. The drain was completely
" stopped. The pipes were not in any degree displaced.
" Roots from the same willow had passed over the 3-inch
"pipes, and had entered and entirely stopped the first
" 4-inch drain, and had partially stopped the second. At
" a distance of about 50 yards a black Italian poplar,
" which stood on a bank over a 4-inch drain, had com-
" pletely stopped it with a bunch of roots. The whole of
" this had been the work of less than 18 months, including
" the depth of two winters. A 3-incl branch of the same
" system runs through a little group of black poplars.
" This drain conveys a full stream in plashes of wet, and
" some water generally through the winter months, but
" has not a perennial flow. I have perceived no indica-
" tion that roots have interfered with this drain. I draw
" no general conclusions from these few facts, but they
" may assist those who have more extensive experience in
" drawing some, which may be of use to drainers."

Having considered some of the principles on which our
..ork should be based, let us now return to the map of the
field, and apply those principles in planning the work to be
done to make it dry.

The Outlet should evidently be placed at the present
point of exit of the brook which runs from the springs,
collects the water of the open ditches, and spreads over
the flat in the southwest corner of the tract, converting
it into a swamp. Suppose that, by going some distance
into the next field, we can secure an outlet of 3 feet and

90 CHAINING FOR PROFIT AJSiD HEALTH.

0 inches (3.75) below the level of the swamp, and that we
decide to allow 3 inches drop between the bottom of the
tile at that point, and the reduced level of the brook to
secure the drain against the accumulation of sand, which
might result from back water in time of heavy rain. This
fixes the depth of drain at the outlet at 3| (3.50) feet.

At that side of the swamp which lies nearest to the
main depression of the up-land, (See Fig. 21,) is the prop-
er place at which to collect the water from so much of
the field as is now drained by the main brook, and at that
point it will be well to place a silt basin or well, built up
to the surface, which may, at any time, be uncovered for
an observation of the working of the drains. The land
between this point and the outlet is absolutely level, re-
quiring the necessary fall in the drain which connects the
two, to be gained by raising the upper end of it. As the
distance is nearly 200 feet, and as it is advisable to give a
fall at least five- tenths of a foot per hundred feet to so im-
portant an outlet as this, the drain at the silt basin may
be fixed at only 2^ feet. The basin being at the foot of
a considerable rise in the ground, it will be easy, within a
short distance above, to carry the drains which come to it
to a depth of 4 feet, — were this not the case, the fall be-
tween the basin and the outlet would have to be very
much reduced.

Miiia Drains, — The valley through which the brook
now runs is about 80 feet wide, with a decided rise in the
land at each side. If one main drain were laid in the cen-
ter of it, all of the laterals coming to the main would first
run down a steep hillside, and then across a stretch of
more level land, requiring the grade of each lateral to be
broken at the foot of the hill, and provided with a silt
basin to collect matters which might be deposited when
the fall becomes less rapid. Consequently, it is best to
provide two mains, or collecting drains, (A and (7,) one
lying at the foot of each hill, when they will receive the

HOW TO LAY OUT A SYSTEM OF DRAINS. 9?

laterals at their greatest fall ; but, as these are too far
apart to completely drnin the valley between them, and
are located on land higher than the center of the valley^a
drain, (jB,) should be run up, midway between them.

The collecting drain, .4, will receive the laterals from the
hill to the west of it, as far up as the 10-foot contour line,
and, above that point, — running up a branch of the valley,
— it will receive Literals from both sides. The drain, IB,
may be continued above the dividing point of the valley,
and will act as one of the series of laterals. The drain, (7,
will receive the laterals and sub-mains from the rising
ground to the east of it, and from both sides of the minor
valley which extends in that direction.

Most of the valley which runs up from the easterly side
of the swamp must be drained independently by the drain
E, which might be carried to the silt basin, did not its
continuation directly to the outlet offer a shorter course
for the removal of its water. This drain will receive lat-
erals from the hill bordering the southeasterly side of the
swamp, and, higher up, from both sides of the valley in
which it runs.

In laying out these main drains, more attention should
be given to placing them where they will best receive the
water of the laterals, and on lines which offer a good and
tolerably uniform descent, than to their use for the imme*
diate drainage of the land through which they pnss.
Afterward, in laying out the laterals, the use of these lines
as local drains should, of course, be duly considered.

The Lateral Drains should next receive attention, and
in their location and arrangement the following rules
should be observed :

1st. They should run down the steepest descent of the
land.

2d, They should be placed at intervals proportionate to
their depth ; — if 4 feet deep, at 40 feet intervals ; if 3 feet
deep, at 20 feet intervals.
5

98

DRAINING FOR PROFIT AND HEALTH.

Fig. 20. — MAP WITH DRAINS AND CONTOUR LINES.

HOW TO LAY OUT A SYSTEM OF DRAIXS. 09

3d. They should, as nearly as possible, run parallel to
each other.

On land of perfectly uniform character, (all sloping in
the same direction,) all of these requirements may be
complied with, but on irregular land it becomes constantly
necessary to make a compromise between them. Drains
running down the line of steepest descent cannot be par-
allel,— and, consequently, the intervals between them can-
not be always the same ; those which are farther apart at
one end than at the other cannot be always of a depth
exactly proportionate to their intervals.

In the adjustment of the lines, so as to conform as near-
ly to these requirements as the shape of the ground will
allow, there is room for the exercise of much skill, and on
such adjustment depend, in a great degree, the success and
economy of the work. Remembering that on the map, the
line of steepest descent is exactly perpendicular to the con-
tour lines of the land, it will be profitable to study care-
fully the system of drains first laid out, erasing and mak-
ing alterations wherever it is found possible to simplify
the arrangement.

Strictly speaking, all angles are, to a certain extent,
wasteful, because, if two parallel drains will suffice to drain
the land between them, no better drainage will be effected
by a third drain running across that land. Furthermore,
the angles are practically supplie 1 with drains at less in-
tervals than are required, — for instance, at C 7 a on the
map the triangles included within the dotted line a*, y,
will be doubly drained. So, also, if any point of a
4- foot drain will drain the land within 20 feet of it,
the land inchi'led within the dotted line forming a
semi-circle about the point (711, might drain into the
end of the lateral, and it no more needs the action of
the main drain than does that which lies between the
laterals. Of course, angles and connecting lines are in-
dispensable, except where the laterals can run inde

100 DRAINING FOR PROFIT AND HEALTH.

pendontly across the entire field, and discharge beyond it.
The longer the laterals can be made, and the more angles
can be avoided, the more economical will the arrangement
be ; and, until the arrangement of the lines has been made
as nearly perfect as possible, the time of the drainer can
be in no way so profitably spent as in amending his plan.

The series of laterals which discharge through the
mains A, 6Y, D and E, on the accompanying map, have
been very carefully considered, and are submitted to the
consideration of the reader, in illustration of what has
been said above.

At one point, just above the middle of the east side of
the field, the laterals are placed at a general distance of
20 feet, because, as will be seen by reference to Fig. 4, a
ledge of rock, underground, will prevent their being made
more than 3 feet deep.

The line from H to J, (Fig. 20,) at the north side of
the field, connecting the heads of the laterals, is to be a
stone and tile drain, such as is described on page 60, in-
tended to collect the water which follows the surface of
the lock. (See Fig. 4.)

The swamp is to be drained by itself, by means of two
series of laterals discharging into the main lines F and #,
which discharge at the outlet, by the side of the main
drain from the silt-basin. By this arrangement, these
laterals, especially at the north side of the swamp, being
accurately laid, with very slight inclinations, can be placed
more deeply than if they ran in an east and west direction,
and discharged into the main, which has a greater inclina-
tion, and is only two and a half feet deep at the basin.
Being 3£ (3.50) feet deep at the outlet, they may
be made fully 3 feet deep at their upper ends, and, being
only 20 feet apart, they will drain the land as well as is
possible. The drains being now laid out, over the whole
field, the next thing to be attended to is

HOW TO LAY OUT A SYSTEM OF DRAINS. 101

The Ordering Of the Tile. — The main line from the outlet
up to the silt-basin, should be of Scinch tiles, of which
about 190 feet will be required. The main drain A should
be laid with 2^-inch tiles to the point marked m, near its
upper end, as the lateral entering there carries the water
of a spring, which is supposed to fill a l]-inch tile. The
length of this drain, from the silt-basin to that point is
575 feet. The main drain C will require ££ inch tiles from
the silt-basin to the junction with the lateral, which is
marked C 10, above which point there is about 1,700 feet
of drain discharging into it, a portion of which, being a
stoue-and-tile drain at the foot of a rock, may be supposed
to receive more water than that which lies under the rest
of the land ; — distance 450 feet. The main drain E requires
2^-inch tiles from the outlet to the point marked o, a dis-
tance of 380 feet. This tile will, in addition to its other
work, carry as much water from the spring, on the li.ne of
its fourth lateral, as would fill a 1^-inch pipe.*

The length of the main drains above the points indi-
cated, and of all the laterals, amounts to about 12,250 feet.
These all require 1^-inch tiles.

Allowing about five per cent, for breakage, the order la
round numbers, will be as follows :f

Scinch round tiles 200 feet.

2£ u " " 1,500 "

1| « " « 13,000 "

&£ " Collars 1,600

2J « " 13,250

*If the springs, when running at their greatest volume, be fonnd to
require more than Ij^-inch t'les, due allowance 'must be made for the
increase.

t Owing to the irregularity of the ground, and the necessity for placing
some of the drains :\t narrower intervals, the total length of tile exceeds
by nearly 50 per cent, what would be required if it had a uniform slope,
and required no collecting drains. It is much greater than will be re-
quired in any ordinary case, as a very irregular surface has been adofted
here for purposes of illustration.

10*2 DRAINING FOE PROFIT AND HEALTH.

Older, also, 25 6-inch sole-tiles, to be used in making
small silt-basins.

It should be arranged to have the tiles all on the ground
before the work of ditching commences, so that there may
be no delay and consequent danger to the stability of the
banks of the ditches, whiU waiting for them to arrive. As
has been before stated, it should be especially agreed with
the tile-maker, at the time of making the contract, that
every tile should be perfect ; — of uniform shape, arid
neither too much nor too little burned.

Staking Out. — Due consideration having been given to
such preliminaries as are connected with the mapping of
the ground, and the arrangement, on paper, of the drains
to be made, the drainer may now return to his field, and,
while awaiting the arrival of his tiles, make the necessary
preparation for the work to be done. Ihe first step is to
fix certain prominent points, which will serve to connect
the map with the field, by actual measurements, and this
will very easily be done by the aid of the stakes which
are still standing at the intersections of the 50-foot lines,
which were used in the preliminary levelling.

Commencing at the southwest corner of the field, and
measuring toward the east a distance of 34 feet, set a pole
to indicate the position of the outlet. Next, mark the
center of the silt-basin at the proper point, which will be
found by measuring 184 feet up the western boundary, and
thence toward the east 96 feet, on a line parallel with the
nearest row of 50-foot stakes. Then, in like manner, fix
the points (71, (76, C 9, G 10, and G 17, and the angles
of the other main lines, marking the stakes, when placed,
to correspond with the same points on the map. Then
stake the angles and the upper ends of thp laterals, and
mark these stakes to correspond with the map.

It will greatly facilitate this operation, if the plan of
the drains which is used in the field, from which the hori-

HOW TO LAY OUT A SYSTEM OF DRAINS. 103

Eontal lines should be omitted, have the intersecting 50-
foot lines drawn upon it, so that the measurements may
be made from the nearest points of intersection.*

Having staked these guiding points of the drains, it is
advisable to remove all of the 50-foot stakes, as these are
of no further use, and would only cause confusion. It
will now be easy to set the remaining stakes, — placing one
at every 50 feet of the laterals, and at the intersections
of all the lines.

A system for marking the stakes is indicated on the
map, (in the C series of drains,) which, to avoid the con-
fusion which would result from too much detail on such a
small scale, has been carried only to the extent necessary
for illustration. The stakes of the line G are marked (71,
<7S, (73, etc. The stakes of the sub-main (77, are marked
C7a, C7b, (77c, etc. The stakes of the lateral which
enters this drain at (77«, are marked £^' £fb ^ etc.
etc. This system, which connects the lettering of each
lateral with its own sub-main and main, is perfectly sim-
ple, and avoids the possibility of confusion. The position
of the stakes should all be lettered on the map, at the
original drawing, and the same designating marks put on
the stakes in the field, as soon as set.

Grade Stakes, (pegs about 8 or 10 inches long,) should
be placed close at the sides of the marked stakes, and
driven nearly their full length into the ground. The tops
of these stakes furnish fixed points of elevation from
which to take the measurements, and to make the compu-
tations necessary to fix the depth of the drain at each
stake. If the measurements were taken from the surface
of the ground, a slight change of position in placing the
instrument, would often make a difference of some inches
in the depth of the drain.

*The stakes used may be 18 inches long, and driven one-luilf of their
length into the ground. They should have one side sufficiently smootb
lo be distinctly marked with red chalk.

104 DRAINING FOB PROFIT AND HEALTH.

Taking the Levels. — For accurate work, it is necessary
to ascertain the comparative levels of the tops of all of
the grade stakes ; or the distance of each one of them
below an imaginary horizontal plane. This plane, (in which
we use only such lines as are directly above the drains,)
may be called the " Datum Line." Its elevation should
be such that it will be above the highest part of the land,
and, for convenience, it is fixed at the elevation of the lev-
elling instrument when it is so placed as to look over th,e
highest part of the field.

Levelling Instruments are of various kinds. The best
for the work in hand, is the common railroad level, which
is shown in Fig. 6. This is supported on three legs, which
bring it to about the level of the eye. Its essential parts
are a telescope, which has two cross-hairs intersecting each
other in the line of sight, and which may be turned on its
pivot toward any point of the horizon; a bubble glass
placed exactly parallel to the line of sight, and firmly
secured in its position so as to turn with the telescope;
and an apparatus for raising or depressing any side of the
instrument by means of set-screws. The instrument is
firmly screwed to the tripod, and placed at a point conve-
nient for looking over a considerable part of the highest
land. By the use of the set-screws, the plane in which the
instrument revolves is brought to a level, so that in what-
ever direction the instrument is pointed, the bubble will be
in the center of the glass. The line of sight, whichever
way it is turned, is now in our imaginary plane. A con-
venient position for the instrument in the field tinder con
sideration, would be at the point, east of the center, marked
K, which is about 8 feet below the level of the highest
part of the ground. The telescope should stand about 5
ieet above the surface of the ground directly under it.

The Levelling-~Rod, (See Fig. 7,) is usually 12 feet long,
is divided into feet and hundredths of a foot, and has a

HOW TO LAY OUT A SYSTEM OF DRAINS.

105

movable target which may be placed at any part of its
entire length. This is carried by an attendant, who holds
it perpendicularly on the top of the grade-stake, while the
operator, looking through the telescope, directs him to
move the target up and down until its center is exactly in
fte line of sight. The attendant then reads the elevation,
and the operator records it as the distance below the
datum-line of the top of the grade-stake. For conveni-
ence, the letterings of the stakes should be systematically
entered in a small field book, before the work commences,
and this should be accompanied by such a sketch of the
plan as will serve as a guide to the location of the lines on
the ground.

The following is the form of the field book for the main
drain (7, with the levels recorded :

LETTERING OF THE STAKE. j DEPTH FROM DATUM LINE.

Silt Basiu

18.20

C 1

15.44

C 2

1436

C 3

12.85

C 4

12.18

C 5

11.79

C 6

11.69

C 7

11.55

C 8

11.37

C 9

11.06

C 10

8.94

C 11

8.52

C 1-3

7.86

C 13

7.70

C 14

7.39

C 15

7.03

C 16

6.73

C 17

5.90

The levelling should be continued .in this manner, until
the grades of all the points are recorded in the field book,

If, from too great depression of the lower parts of the

field, or too great distances for observation, it becomes

necessary to take up a new position with the instrument,

the new level should be connected, by measurement, with

5*

2.50*-- —18.20 »,.

106

HOW TO LAY OUT A SYSTEM OF DRAINS. 107

the old one, and the new observations should be computed
to the original plane.

It is not necessary that these levels should be noted on
the map, — they are needed only for computing the depth
of cutting, and if entered on the map, might be mistaken
for the figures indicating the depth, which it is more im
pcrtant to have recorded in their proper positions, for con-
venience of reference during the work.

The Depth and Grade of the Drains, — Having now
staked out the lines upon the land, and ascertained and
recorded the elevations at the different stakes, it becomes
necessary to determine at what depth the tile shall be
placed at each point, so as to give the proper fall to each
line, and to-bring all of the lines of the system into accord.
As ,the simplest means of illustrating the principle on
which this work should be done, it will be convenient to
go through with the process with reference to the main
drain <7, of the plan under consideration. A profile of this
line is shown in Fig. 21, where the line is broken at stake
No. 7, and continued in the lower section of the diagram.
The topmost line, from " Silt Basin " to " 17," is the hori-
zontal datum-line. The numbers above the vertical lines in-
dicate the stakes ; the figures in brackets between these, the
number of feet between the stakes ; and the heavy figures
at the left of the vertical lines, the recorded measurements
of depth from the datum-line to the surface of the ground,
which is indicated by the irregular line next below the
datum-line. The vertical measurements are, of course,
very much exaggerated, to make the profile more marked,
but they are in the proper relation to each other.

The depth at the silt-basin is fixed at 2$ feet (2.50.)
The rise is rapid to stake 3, very slight from there to stake
7, very rapid from there to stake 10, a little less rapid from
there to stake 11, and still less rapid from there to
stake 17.

To establish the grade by the profile alone, the proper

108

DRAINING FOB PROFIT AND HEALTH.

course would be to fix the depth at the stakes at which
the inclination is to be changed, to draw straight lines be-
tween the points thus found, and then to measure the
vertical distance from these lines to the line indicating the
surface of the ground at the different stakes ; thus, fixing
the depth at t-take 3, at 4 feet and 13 hundredths,* the line
drawn from that point to the depth of 2.50, at the feilt-
basin, will be 3 feet and 62 hundredths (3. 62) below stake
1, and 3 feet and 92 hundredths (3.92) below stake 2. At
stake 7 it is necessary to go sufficiently deep to pass from 7
to 10, without coming too near the surface at 9, which is at
the foot of a steep ascent. A line drawn straight from
4.59 feet below stake 10 to 4.17 feet at stake 17, would be
unnecessarily deep at 11, 12, 13, and 14 ; - and, conse-
quently it is better to rise to 4.19 feet at 11. So far as
this part of the drain is concerned, it would be well to
continue the same rise to 12, but, in doing so, we would
come too near the surface at 13, 14, and 15 ; or must con-
siderably depress the line at 16, which would either make
a bad break in the fall at that point, or carry the drain
too deep at 17.

By the arrangement adopted, the grade is broken at 3,
7, 10, and 11. Between these points, it is a straight line, with
the rate of fall indicated in the following table, which
commences at the upper end of the drain and proceeds to-
ward its outlet :

££, D-™'

SrSa, DEPTH'

DISTANCE.

TOTAL FALL.

RATE OF FALL
PER 100 FEET.

No. 17.. 4.17 feet.
No. 11.. 4.19 "
No. 10.. 4.59 "
No. 7.. 4.47 "
No. 3.. 4.13 "

No. 11.. 4 19 feet.
No. 10.. 4.59 "
No. 7.. 4.47 "
No. 3.. 4.1.3 "
S. Basin'2.25 "

346 feet.
41 "
91 "
173 "

130 "

2.64 feet.
82 "
2.49 "
9t> "
3.47 "

1.09 feet.
2.00 "
2.S3 "
56 "

1.87 " ,

It will be seen that the fall becomes more rapid as we
ascend from stake 7, but below this point it is very much

*The depth of 4.13, in Fig. 21, as well as the other depths at the points
at which the grade changes, happen to be tho&e found by the computation,
as hereafter described, and they are used here for illustration.

HO\V TO LAY OUT A SYSTEM OF DIIA1XS.

109

reduced, so much as to make it very likely that silt will
be deposited, (see page 91), and the drain, thereby, ob-
structed. To provide against this, a silt-basin must be
placed at this point which will collect the silt and prevent
its entrance into the more nearly level tile below. The
construction of this silt-basin is more particularly des-
cribed in the next chapter. From stake 7 to the main silt-
basin the fall is such that the drain will clear itself.

The drawing of regular profiles, for the more imporant
drains, will be useful for the purpose of making the be-
ginner familiar with the method of grading, and with the
principles on which the grade and depth are computed;
and sometimes, in passing over very irregular surfaces, this
method will enable even a skilled drainer to hit upon the
best adjustment in less time than by computation. Ordi-
narily, however, the form of computation given in the fol-
lowing table, which refers to the same drain, ( (7,) will be
more expeditious, and its results are mathematically more
correct.*

No. of
Stake.

Distance
Between
Stakes.

Fall. Feet and \ Depth frrmi
Decimals. Datum Hue.

Depth
of
Drain.

Bemarks.

Per 100 BeCicn\ To
Feet, j Stakes^ Drain.

ToSur-
face.

Silt Basin.

20.70 ft. 18.20 ft. 2 50 ft.

C. 1.

. 82ft.

2 ft.

1.64 ft.

19.06 " i!5.44

3.48"

C. 2.

39 "

do.

.78"

1S.2S " 14.:;<>

3.83 "

C. 3.

65 "

do.

1.80 "

1«. 98 " V2.S5

4 13"

C. 4.

51

.56

.2S"

16.70 " J12.1S

4.52"

C. 5,

43

do.

.24"

16.16" 11.79

467"

C. 6.

47

do.

.26"

16.20 " ill 69

4.51 "

C. 7.

32

do.

.18"

K..02" 11.55

4 47 "

~\ Silt- Basin here.

C. 8.

41

2.83

1.16"

14. S6 " 11.37

3.49"

1 Made deep at Noa.

C. 9.

8. 10.
. 11.

12
8S

41

do.

do.
2.00

.34"
.99"

.8-2 "

14.K "
13 5J "
1-2.61 "

n.oi

894
8.52

3.46 "
4.59 "
4.19"

| 7 and 10 to pass a de-
j pression of the sur-
face at No. 9.

c. 1-2.

41

1.09

.44 "

1-2.27 "

7.S6

4.41"

C. 13.

41

do.

.44 "

11.83"

7.70

4 13 "

C. 14.

41

do.

,44 "

11.39"

7.39 "

4.00"

C. 15.

41

do.

.44"

10.9:-. -

7.06 " 3.S9 "

<:. 16.

41

do.

.44"

10 51 "

6.73 " I3.S8 "

('. 17.

41

do.

.44"

10.07"

5.90" '4.17"

* The figures in this table, as well as in the next preceding one, are
adopted for the published profile of drain (7, Fig. 21, to avoid confusion.
In ordinary cases, the points which are fixed as the basis of the compu-
tation are given in round numbers ; — for instance, the depth at C3 would
be assumed to be 4.10 or 4.^0, instead of 4.13. The fractions given in the
table, and in Fig. 21, arise frcin the fact that the decimals are not abs<x
lutely correct, being carried out only for two figures.

110 DRAINING FOR PROFIT AND HEALTH.

. — The method of making the foregoing computa-
tion is this ;

1st. Enter the lettering of the stakes in the first column, commencing
at the lower end of the drain.

2d. Enter the distances between each two stakes in the second col-
umn, placing the measurement on the line with the number of the
upper stake of the two.

3d. In the next to the last column enter, on the line with each stake,
its depth below the datum-line, as recorded in the field book of levels,
(See page 105.)

4th. On the first line of the last column, place the depth of the lower
end of the drain, (this is established by the grade of the main or other
outlet at which it discharges.)

5th. Add this depth to the first number of the line next preceding it,
and enter the sum obtained on 1he first line of the fifth column, as the
depth of the drain below the datum-line.

6th. Having reference to the grade of the surface, (as shown by the
figures in the sixth column,) as well as to any necessity for placing the
drain at certain depths at certain places, enter the desired depth, in pencil,
in the last column, opposite the stakes marking those places. Then add
together this depth and the corresponding surface measurement in the
column next preceding, and enter the sum, in pencil, in the fifth column,
as the depth from the datum-line to the desired position of the drain.
(In the example in hand, these points are at Nos. 3, 7, 10, 11, and 17.)

7th. Subtract the second amount in the fifth column from the first
amount for the total fall between the two points— in the example, 113"
from "Silt-Basin." Divide this total fall, (in feet and hundredths,) by
one hundredth of the total number of feet between them. The result
will be the rate of fall per 100 feet, and this should be entered, in the
third column, opposite each of the. intermediate distances between the
points.

Example : Depth of the Drain at the Silt-Basin .......... 30.45 feet

" »« " " " Stake No. 3 ........... 16.98 •*

Difference .................................. 3.47 "

Distance between the two .................. 186.— "

1.80)3.47(1.865orl.87
186

~~Te i o

1488
TaTO
1116

1040
930

T IT

HOW TO LAY OUT A SYSTEM OF DRAINS. Ill

8th. Multiply the numbers of the second colnmn by those of the third
and divide the product by 100. The re.-ult will.be the amount of fall be-
tween the stakes, (fourth column.)— Example: 1.87xS2=153-«-100=1.53.

9th. Subtract the first number of the fourth column from the first
number of the fifth column, (on the line above it,) and place the re-
mainder on the next line of the fifth column. — Example: 20.70— 1.&4=
19.06.

Then, from this new amount, subtract the second number of the
fourth column, for the next number of the fifth, and so on, until, in
place of the entry in pencil, (Stake 3,) we place the exact result of the
computation.

Proceed in like manner with the uext interval, — 3 to 7.

10th. Subtract the numbers in the sixth column from those in the
fifth, and the remainders will be the depths to be entered in the last.

Under the head of "Remarks," note any peculiarity of the drain
which may require attention in the field.

The main lines A, D, and E, and the drain .Z?, should
next be graded on the plan set forth for (7, and their lat-
erals, all of which have considerable fall, and being all so
steep as not to require silt-basins^at any point, — can, by
a very simple application of the foregoing principles, be
adjusted at the proper depths. In grading the stone and
tile drain, (H, /,) it is only necessary to adopt the depth of
the last stakes of the laterals, with which it is connected,
as it is immaterial in which direction the water flows. The
ends of this drain, — from H to the head of the drain (710,
and from /to the head of (717, — should, of course, have a
decided fall toward the drains.

The laterals which are placed at intervals of 20 feet,
over the underground rock on the east side of the field,
should be continued at a depth of about 3 feet for nearly
their whole length, dropping in a distance of 8 or 10 feet
at their lower ends to the top of the tile of the main. The
intervals between the lower ends of (77c, C7d, and C~e,
being considerably more than 20 feet, the drains may be
gradually deepened, throughout their whole length from 3
feet at the upper ends to the depth of the top of the main
at the lower ends.

The main drains J^and 6r, being laid in flat land, their

112 DRAINING FOR PROFIT AND HEALTH.

outlets being fixed at a depth of 3.50, (the floor of the
main outlet,) and it being necessary to have them as deep
as possible throughout their entire length, should be
graded with great care on the least admissible fall. This,
in ordinary agricultural drainage, may be fixed at .25, or
3 inches, per 100 feet. Their laterals should commence
with the top of their J- tile even with the top of the 2^- col-
lar of the main, — or .15 higher than the grade of the main,
— and rise, at a uniform inclination of .25, to the upper end.

Having now computed the depth at which the tile is to
lie, at each stake, and entered it on the map, we are ready
to mark these depths on their respective stakes in the field,
when the preliminary engineering of the work will be
completed.

It has been deemed advisable in this chapter to consider
the smallest details of the work of the draining engineer.
Those who intend to drain in the best manner will find
such details important. Those who propose to do their
work less thoroughly, may still be guided by the princi-
ples on which they are based. Any person who will
take the pains to mature the plans of his work as closely
as has been here recommended, will as a consequence
commence his operations in the field much more under-
standingly. The advantage of having everything decided
beforehand, — so that the workmen need not be delayed for
want of sufficient directions, and of making, on the map,
such alterations as would have appeared necessary in the
field, thus saving the cost of cutting ditches in the wrong
places, will well repay the work of the evenings of a
whole winter.

CHAPTER IV.

HOW TO MAKE THE DRAINS.*

Knowing, now, precisely what is to be done ; having
the lines all staked out, and the stakes so marked as to be
clearly designated ; knowing the precise depth at which
the drain is to be laid, at every point ; having the requisite
tiles on the ground, and thoroughly inspected, the operator
is prepared to commence actual work.

He should determine how many men he will employ,
and what tools they will require to work to advantage. It
may be best that the work be done by two or three
men, or it may be advisable to employ as many as can
work without interfering with each other. In most cases, —
especially where there is much water to contend with, — the
latter course will be the most economical, as the ditches
will not be so liable to be injured by the softening of their
bottoms, and the caving in of their sides.

The Tools Required are a subsoil plow, two garden
lines, spades, shovels, and picks ; narrow finishing spades,
a finishing scoap, a tile pick, a scraper for filling the
ditches, a heavy wooden maul for compacting the bottom
filling, half a dozen boning-rods, a measuring rod, and a
plumb rod. These should all be on hand at the outset, so
that no delay in the work may result from the want of
them.

Writers on drainage, almost without exception, recom-
mend the use of elaborate sets of tools which are intended

* The instructions given in this Chapter are somewhat modified by newer
processes, which are described in the Supplemental Chapters. These should be
\\uil noted.— (Sole to ~2d edition.)

113

114 DRAINING FOR PROFIT AND HEALTH.

Flat Spades of
various lengths
and widths, Bill-
necked Scoop (A) ;
Tile - layer (B) ;
Pick-axe (O); and
Scoop Spades, and
Shovel.

Fig. 22.— SET OF TOOLS.

HOW TO MAKE THE DRAINS. 115

for cutting very narrow ditches, — only wide enough at the
bottom to admit the tile, and not allowing the workmen
to stand in the bottom of the ditch. A set of these tools
is shown in Fig. 22.

Possibly there may be soils in which these implements,
in the hands of men skilled in their use, could be employed
with economy, but they are very rare, and it is not be-
lieved to be possible, under any circumstances, to regulate
the bottom of the ditch so accurately as is advisable, un-
less the workman can stand directly upon it, cutting it
more smoothly than he could if the point of his tool were
a foot or more below the level on which he stands.

On this subject, Mr. J. Bailey Denton, one of the first
draining engineers of Great Britain, in a letter to Judge
French, says :

" As to tools, it is the same with them as it is with the
" art of draining itself, — too much rule and too much draw-
" ing upon paper ; all very right to begin with, but very
"prejudicial to progress. I employ, as engineer to the
" General Land Drainage Company, and on my private
" account, during the drainage season, as many as 2,000
" men, and it is an actual fact, that not one of them uses
" the set of tools figured in print. I have frequently pur-
" chased a number of sets of the Birmingham tools, and
" sent them down on extensive works. The laborers would
" purchase a few of the smaller tools, such as Nos. 290,
" 291, and 301, figured in Morton's excellent Cyclopedia
" of Agriculture, and would try them, and then order
<c others of the country blacksmith, differing in several
" respects ; less weighty and much less costly, and more
" over, much better as working tools. All I require of the
" cutters, is, that the bottom of the drain should be evenly
" cut, to fit the size of the pipe. The rest of the work
" takes care of itself; for a good workman will economize
" his labor for his own sake, by moving as little earth an
il practicable ; thus, for instance, a first-class cutter, in

116 DRAINING FOE PROFIT AND HEALTH.

" clays, will get down 4 feet with a 12-inch opening, ordi*
" narily ; if he wishes to show off, he will sacrifice his
" own comfort to appearance, and will do it with a 10-inch
" opening."

In the Central Park work, sets of these tools were pro*
cured, at considerable expense, and every effort was made
to compel the men to use them, but it was soon found that,
even in the easiest digging, there was a real economy in
using, for the first 3 feet of the ditch, the common spade,
pick, and shovel, — finishing the bottoms with the narrow
spade and scoop hereafter described, and it is probable
that the experience of that work will be sustained by that
of the country at large.

Marking the Lines, — To lay a drain directly under the
position of its stakes, would require that enough earth be
left at each point to hold the stake, and that the ditch be
tunneled under it. This is expensive and unnecessary. It
is better to dig the ditches at one side of the lines of
stakes, far enough away for the earth to hold them
firmly in their places, but near enough to allow measure-
ments to be taken from the grade pegs. If the ditch be
placed always to the right, or always to the left, of the line,
and at a uniform distance, the general plan will remain the
same, and the lines will be near enough to those marked
on the map to be easily found at any future time. In fact,
if it be known that the line of tiles is two feet to the right
of the position indicated, it will only be necessary, at any
time, should it be desired to open an old drain, to
measure two feet to the right of the surveyed position to
strike the line at once.

In soils of ordinary tenacity, ditches 4 feet deep need
not be more than twenty (20) inches wide at the surface,
and four (4) inches wide at the bottom. This will allow,
in each side, a slope of eight (8) inches, which is sufficient
except in very loose soils, and even these may be braced
up, if inclined to cave in. There are cases where the soil

HOW TO MAKE THE DRAINS. 117

contains so much running sand, and is so saturated with
water, that no precautions will avail to keep up the banks.
Ditches in such ground will sometimes fall in, until the ex-
cavation reaches a width of 8 or 10 feet. Such instances,
however, are very rare, and must be treated as the occa-
sion suggests.

One of the garden lines should be set at a distance 01
about 6 inches from the row of stakes, and the other at a
further distance of 20 inches. If the land is in grass, the
position of these lines may be marked with a spade, and
they may be removed at once ; but, if it is arable land, it
will be best to leave the lines in position until the ditch is
excavated to a sufficient depth to mark it clearly. Indeed,
it wiil be well to at once remove all of the sod and surface
coil, say to a depth of 6 inches, (throwing this on the same
side with the stakes, and back of them.) The whole force
can be profitably employed in this work, until all of the
ditches to be dug are scored to this depth over the entire
tract to be drained, except in swamps which are still too
wet for this work.

Water Courses.— The brooks which carry the water
from the springs should be " jumped" in marking out
the lines, as it is desirable that their water be kept in sep-
arate channels, so far as possible, until the tiles are ready
to receive it, as, if allowed to run in the open ditches, it
would undermine the banks and keep the bottom too soft
for sound work.

With this object, commence at the southern boundary
of our example tract, 10 or 15 feet east of the point of
outlet, and drive a straight, temporary, shallow ditch to a
point a little west of the intersection of the main line D
with ita first lateral ; then carry it in a northwesterly
direction, crossing C midway between the silt-basin and
stake C 1, and thence into the present line of the brook,
turning all of the water into the ditch. A branch of this

118 DRAINING FOR PROFIT AND HEALTH.

ditch may be run up between the lines ^and G to receive
the water from the spring which lies in that direction.
This arrangement Avill keep the water out of the way
until the drains are ready to take it.

The Outlet, — The water being all discharged through
the new temporary ditch, the old brook, beyond the
boundary, should be cleared out to the final level (3.75,)
and an excavation made, just within the boundary, suffi-
cient to receive the masonry which is to protect the out-
let. A good form of outlet is shown in Fig. 23. It may

Fig. 23. — OUTLET, SECURED WITH MASONRY AND GR VTING.

be cheaply made by any farmer, especially if he have good
stone at hand ; — if not, brick may bo used, laid on a solid
foundation of stout planks, which, (being protected from
the air and always saturated with water,) will last a very
long time.

If made of stone, a solid floor, at least 2 feet square,
should be placed at, or below, the level of the brook. If
this consist of a single stone, it will be better than if of
several smaller pieces. On this, place another layer ex-
tending the whole width of the first, but reaching only
from its inner edge to its center line, so as to leave a foot

HOW TO MAKE THE DRAINS.

in width of the bottom stone to receive the fall of the
water. This second layer should reach exactly the grade
of the outlet (3.50) or a height of 3 inches from the brook
level. On the floor thus made, there should be laid the
tiles which are to constitute the outlets of the several
drains; i. e., one 3^-inch tile for the line from the silt-
basin, two 1^-inch for the lines F and <2, and one 2^-inch
for the main line E. These tiles should lie close to each
other and be firmly cemented together, so that no water
can pass outside of them, and a rubble-work of stone may
with advantage be carried up a foot above them. Stone
work, which may be rough and uncemented, but should
always be solid, may then be built up at the sides, and
covered with a secure coping of stone. A floor and slop-
ing sides of stone work, jointed with the previously de-
scribed work, and well cemented, or laid in strong clay or
mortar, may, with benefit, be carried a few feet beyond the
outlet. This will effectually prevent the undermining of
the structure. After the entire drainage of the field is
finished, the earth above these sloping sides, and that back
of the coping, should be neatly sloped, and protected by
sods. An iron grating, fine enough to prevent the entrance
of vermin, placed in front of the tile, at a little distance
from them, — and secured by a flat stone set on edge and
hollowed out, so as merely to allow the water to flow freely
trom the drains, — the stone being cemented in its place so
as to allow no water to pass under it, — will give a sub-
stantial and permanent finish to the structure.

An outlet finished in this way, at an extra cost of a few
dollars, will be most satisfactory, as a lasting means of
securing the weakest and most important part of the sys-
tem of drains. When no precaution of this sort is taken,
the water frequently forces a passage under the tile for some
distance up the drains, undermining and displacing them,
and so softening the bottom that it will be difficult, in
making repairs, to secure a solid foundation for the work.

120 DRAINING FOR PROFIT AND HEALTH.

Usually, repairs of this sort, aside fmm the annoyance at-
tending them, will cost more than the amount required to
make the permanent outlet described above. As well con-
structed outlets are necessarily rather expensive, as much
of the land as possible should be drained to each one that
it is necessary to make, by laying main lines which will
collect all of the water which can be brought to it.

O

The Main Silt-Basin,— The silt-basin, at which the
drains are collected, may best be built before any drains
are brought to it, and the work may proceed simultane-
ously with that at the outlet. It should be so placed that
its center will lie exactly under the proposed line of the
drain, because it will constitute one of the leading land-
marks for the survey.*

Before removing the stake and grade stake, mark their
position by four stakes, set at a distance from it of 4 or 5
feet, in such positions that two lines, drawn from those
which are opposite to each other, will intersect at the point
indicated; and place near one of them a grade stake,
driven to the exact level of the one to be removed. This
being done, dig a well, 4 feet in diameter, to a depth of
ty feet below the grade of the outlet drain, (in the exam-
ple under consideration this would be 5 feet below the
grade stake.) If much water collects in the hole, widen
it, in the direction of the outlet drain, sufficiently to give
room for baling out the water. Now build, in this well,
a structure 2 feet in interior diameter, such as is shown in
Fig. 24, having its bottom 2 feet, in the1 clear, below the
grade of the outlet, and carry its wall a little higher than
the general surface of the ground. At the proper height
insert, in the brick work, the necessary for tiles all incom-
ing and outgoing drains ; in this case, a 3^-inch tile for

* The drains, which arc removed a little to one Bide of the lines of stakes,
should strike the center of the silt basin.

HOW TO MAKE THE DRATSTS.

12!

the outlet, 2^-inch for the mains A and <7, and 1^-inch for
B and D.

This basin being finished and covered with a flat stone
or other suitable material, connect it with the outlet by an

open ditch, unless the bot-
tom of the ditch, when laid
open to the proper depth, be
found to be of muck or quick-
sand. In such case, it will
be best to lay the tile at
once, and cover it in for the
whole distance, as, on a soft
bottom, it would be difficult
to lay it well when the full
drainage of the field is flow-
ing through the ditch. The
tiles should be laid with all
care, on a perfectly regulated
fall, — using strips of board
under them if the bottom is
shaky or soft, — as on this line
depends the success of all the

Fig. 24.— SILT-BASIN, BUILT TO THE drains above it, which might

be rendered useless by a

single badly laid tile at this point, or by any other cause

of obstruction to the flow.

While the work is progressing in the field above, there
will be a great deal of muddy water and some sticks,
grass, and other rubbish, running from the ditches above
the basin, and care must be taken to prevent this drain
from becoming choked. A piece of wire cloth, or basket
work, placed over the outlet in the basin, will keep out the
coarser matters, and the mud which would accumulate in
the tile may be removed by occasional flushing. This is
done by crowding a tuft of grass,— or a bit of sod,— into
6

122 DRAINING FOR PROFIT AND HEALTH.

the lower end of the tile (at the outlet,) securing it there
until the water rises in the basin, and then removing it.
The rush of water will be sufficient to wash the tile clean.
This pfan is not without objections, and, as a rule, it ia
never well to lay any tiles at the lower end of a drain
until all above it is finished; but when a considerable out*
let must be secured through soft land, which is inclined to
cave in, and to get soft at the bottom, it will save labor
to secure the tile in place before much water reaches it,
even though it require a daily flushing to keep it clean.

Opening the Ditches. — Thus far it has been sought to
secure a permanent outlet, and to connect it by a secure
channel, with the silt-basin, which is to collect the
water of the different series of drains. The next step
is to lay open the ditches for these. It will be best to
commence with the main line A and its laterals, as they
will take most of the water which now flows through the
open brook, and prevent its interference with the rest of
the work.

The first work is the opening of the ditches to a depth
of about 3 feet, which may be best done with the common
spade, pick, and shovel, except that in ground which is
tolerably free from stones, a subsoil plow will often take
the place of the pick, with much saving of labor. It may
be drawn by oxen working in along yoke, which will allow
them to walk one on each side of the ditch, but this is dan-
gerous, as they are liable to disturb the stakes, (especially
the grade stakes,) and to break down the edges of the
ditches. The best plan is to use a small subsoil plow,
drawn by a single horse, or strong mule, trained to walk
in the ditch. The beast will soon learn to accommodate
himself to his narrow quarters, and will work easily in a
ditch 2% feet deep, having a width of less than afoot at the
bottom ; of course there must be a way provided for him
to come out at each end. Deeper than this there is no

HOW TO MAKE THE DRAINS. 123

economy in using horse power, and even for this depth it
will be necessary to use a plow having only one stilt.

Before the main line is cut into the open brook, this
should be furnished with a wooden trough, which will
carry the water across it, so that the ditch shall
receive only the filtration from the ground.
Those laterals west of the main line, which are
crossed by the brook, had better not be opened
at present, — not until the water
of the spring is admitted to and
removed by the drain.

The other laterals and the
whole of the main line, having
been cut to a depth of 3 feet,
take a finishing spade, (Fig. 25,)
which is only 4 inches wide at
its point, and dig to within 2 or
3 inches of the depth marked
on the stakes, making the bot- Fig. 25.— FIN-
torn tolerably smooth, with the ISH
aid of the finishing scoop, (Fig. 26,) and
giving it as regular an inclination as can be
obtained by the eye alone.

Often, large stones, which would cost much
labor to remove, will be encountered in the
digging. If these lio from 6 inches to a
foot above the final grade, and are not too
large, it will be easier to tunnel under them
than to take them out, or to go around them ;
but, if they are very large, or lie close to the
bottom, (or in the bottom,) the latter coarse
will be necessary.

26 —FIN- If the ground is " rotten," and the banks
ISHING SCOOP. Of the ditches incline to cave in, as is often
the case in passing wet places, the earth which is thrown
out in digging must be thrown back sufficiently far from

124

BRAINING FOR PROFIT AND HEALTH.

Fig 27. — BRACING THE
SIDES IX SOFT LAND.

to prevent its weight from increasing the
tendency ; and the sides of the dilch
may be supported by bits of board
braced apart as is shown in Fig. 27.

The manner of open-
ing the ditches, which
is described above,
for the main A and
its laterals, will apply
to the drains of. the
whole field and to all
similar work.

Grading the Bottoms, — The next step
in the work is to grade the bottoms of the
ditches, so as to afford a bed for the tiles
on the exact lines which are indicated by
the figures marked on the different stakes.

The manner in which this is to be
done may be illustrated by describing the
work required for the line from G 10 to
(717, (Fig. 20,) after it has been opened,
as described above, to writhin 2 or 3 inches
of the final depth.

A measuring rod, or square, such as is
shown in Fig. 28,* is set at G 10, so that
the lower side of its arm is at the mark
4.59 on the staff, (or at a little less than 4.6
if it is divided only into feet and tenths,)
and is held upright in the ditch, with its Fi(r
arm directly over the grade stake. The °
earth below it is removed, little by little, until it will touch
the top of the stake and the bottom of the ditch at the

— MEASUR-
ING STAFF.

* The foot of the measuring rod should be shod with iron to prevent
Its being worn to less than the proper length.

HOW TO MAKE THE DRAINS.

125

same time. If the ground is soft, it should be cut out
until a flat stone, a block of wood, or a piece of tile, or of
brick, sunk in the bottom, will have its surface at the exact
point of measurement. This point is the bottom of the
ditch on which the collar of the tile is to lie at that stake.
In the same manner the depth is fixed at C 11 (4.19,) and
C 12 (4.41,) as the rate of fall changes at each
of these points, and at (715 (3.89J and (717
(4.17,) because (although the fall is uniform
from (712 to (717,) the distance is too great
for accurate sighting.

Having provided boningwds, which are
strips of board 7 feet long, having horizontal
cross pieces at tlieir upper ends, (see Fig.
29,) set these perpendicularly on the spots
which have been found by measurement to
be at the correct depth opposite stakes 10,
11, 12, 15, and 17, and fasten each in its
place by wedging it between two strips of
board laid across the ditch, so as to clasp it,
securing these in their places by laying stones
or earth upon their ends.

As these boning-rods arc all exactly 7 feet
long, of course, a line sighted across their
tops will be exactly 7 feet higher, at all Fi,r 2Q_BON,
points, than the required grade of the ditch ING ROD.
directly beneath it, and if a plumb rod, (similar to
the boning-rod, but provided with a line and plummet,)
be set perpendicularly on any point of the bottom of
the drain, the relation of its cross piece to the line of sight
across the tops of the boning-rods will show whether the
bottom of the ditch at that point is too high, or too low,
or just right. The manner of sighting over two boning-
rods and an intermediate plumb-rod, is shown in Fig. 31.

Three persons are required to finish the bottom of the

126

DRAINING FOR PROFIT AND HEALTH.

ditch ; one to sight across the tops of the boning-rods, one
to hold the plumb-rod at different points as the finishing
progresses, and one in the ditch, (see Fig. 30,) provided
with the finishing spade and scoop, — and, in hard ground,
with a pick, — to cut down or fill up as the first man calls

Fig. 30. — POSITION OF WORKMAN AND USE OP FINISHING SCOOP.

" too high," or " too low." An inch or two of filling may
be beaten sufficiently hard with the back of the scoop,
but if several inches should be required, it should be well

- I - ----- VI

Fig. 31. — SIGHTING BY THE BONING-RODS.

rammed with the top of a pick, or other suitable instrument,
as any subsequent settling Avould disarrange the fall.

As the lateral drains are to be laid first, they should be
the first graded, and as they are arranged to discharge into
the tops of the mains, their water will still flow oflT,
although the main ditches are not yet reduced to their final

HOW TO MAKE THE DRAINS. 12?

depth. After the laterals are laid and filled in, the main
should be graded, commencing at the upper end; the tiles
being laid and covered as fast as the bottom is made ready,
so that it may not be disturbed by the water of which the
main carries so much more than the laterals.

Tile-Laying,— Gisborne says : " It would be scarcely
" more absurd to set a common blacksmith to eye needles
" than to employ a common laborer to lay pipes and col-
" lars." The work comes under the head of skilled labor,
and, while no very great exercise of judgment is required
in its performance, the little that is required is impera-
tively necessary, and the details of the work should be
deftly done. The whole previous outlay, — the survey and
staking of the field, the purchase of the tiles, the digging
and grading of the ditches — has been undertaken that we
may make the conduit of earthenware pipes which is now
to be laid, and the whole may be rendered useless by a
want of care and completeness in the performance of this
chief operation. This subject, (in connection with that of
finishing the bottoms of the ditches,) is very clearly treated
in Mr. Hoskyns' charming essay,* as follows :

" It was urged by Mr. Brunei, as a justification for more
' attention and expense in the laying of the rails of the
" Great Western, than had been ever thought of upon
" previously constructed lines, that all the embankments
" and cuttings, and earthworks and stations, and law and
" parliamentary expenses — in fact, the whole of the out-
" lay encountered in the formation of a railway, had for its
M main and ultimate object a perfectly smooth and level
" line of rail; that to turn btingy at this point, just when
" you had arrived at the great ultimatum of the whole
" proceedings, viz : the iroii wheel-track, was a sort of
" saving which evinced a want of true preception of the
" great object of all the labor that had preceded it. It

* " Talpa, or the Chronicles of a Clay Farm."

128 DRAINING FOR PROFIT AND HEALTH.

" may seem curious to our experiences, in these days, that
" such a doctrine could ever have needed to be enforced
" by argument ; yet no one will deem it wonderful who
" has personally witnessed the unaccountable and ever new
" difficulty of getting proper attention paid to the leveling
" of the bottom of a drain, and the laying of the tiles in
" that continuous line, where one single depression or ir-
" regularity, by collecting the water at that spot, year
" after year, tends toward the eventual stoppage of the
" whole drain, through two distinct causes, the softening
"of the foundation underneath the sole, or tile flange, and
" the deposit of soil inside the tile from the water collected
" at the spot, and standing there after the rest had run off.
"Every depression, however slight, is constantly doing
" this mischief in every drain where the fall is but trifling ;
" and if to the two consequences above mentioned, we
"may add the decomposition of the tile itself by the
" action of water long stagnant within it, we may deduce
"that every tile-drain laid with these imperfections in
" the finishing of the bottom, has a tendency toward
" obliteration, out of all reasonable proportion with
" that of a well-burnt tile laid on a perfectly even inclina-
" tion, which, humanly speaking, may be called a perma-
" nent thing. An- open ditch cut by the most skillful
" workman, in the summer, affords the best illustration of
"this underground mischief. Nothing can look smoother
"and more even than the bottom, until that uncompromis-
" ing test of accurate levels, the water, makes its appear-
"auce: all on a sudden the whole scene is changed, the
" eye-accredited level vanishes as if some earthquake had
" taken place : here, there is a gravelly scour, along which
" the stream rushes in a thousand little angry-looking rip-
" pies ; there, it hangs and looks as dull and heavy as if it
" had given up running at all, as a useless waste of energy ;
" in another place, a few dead leaves or sticks, or a morsel
" of soil broken from the side, dams back the water for a

HOW TO MAKE THE DRAINS. 129

" coasiderable distance, occasioning a deposit of soil a
" the whole reach, greater in proportion to the quantity
" and the muddiness of the water detained. All this shows
" the paramount importance of perfect evenness in the
" bed on which the tiles are laid. The worst laid tile is
*the measure of the goodness and permanence of the
' whole drain, just as the weakest link of a chain is the
" measure of its strength."

The simple laying of the smaller sizes of pipes and col-
lars in the lateral drain?, is an easy matter. It requires
care and precision in placing the collar equally under the
end of each pipe, (having the joint at the middle of
the collar,) in having the ends of the pipes actually touch
each other within the collars, and in brushing away any
loose dirt which may have fallen on the spot on which the
collar is to rest. The connection of the laterals with
the mains, the laying of the larger sizes of tiles so as to
form a close joint, the wedging of these larger tiles firmly
into their places, and the trimming which is necessary in
going around sharp curves, and in putting in the shorter
pieces which are needed to fill out the exact length of the
drain, demand more skill and judgment than are often
found in the common ditcher. Still, any clever workman,
who has a careful habit, may easily be taught all that is
necessary ; and until he is thoroughly taught, — and not
only knows how to do the work well, but, also, under-
stands the importance of doing it well, — the proprietor
should carefully watch the laying of every piece.

Never have tiles laid by the rod, but always by the
day. " The more haste, the less speed," is a maxim which
applies especially to tile-laying.

If the proprietor or the engineer does not overlook the
laying of each tile as it is done, and probably he will not,
he should carefully inspect every piece before it is covered.
It is well to walk along the ditches and touch each tile
with the end of a light rod, in such a way as to see
6*

130 DRAINING FOE PROFIT AND HEALTH.

whether it is firm enough in its position not to be dis«
placed by the earth which will fall upon it in filling the
ditches.

Preparatory to laying, the tiles should be placed along
one side of the ditch, near enough to be easily reached by
a man standing in it. When collars are to be used, one of
these should be slipped over one end of each tile. The
workman stands in the ditch, with his face toward its
upper end. The first tile is laid with a collar on its lower
end, and the collar is drawn one-half of its length forward,
so as to receive the end of the next tile. The upper end
of the first tile is closed with a stone, or a bit of broken
tile placed firmly against it. The next tile has its nose
placed into the projecting half of the collar of the first
one, and its own collar is drawn forward to receive the
end of the third, and thus to the end of the drain, the
workman walking backward as the work progresses. By
and by, when he comes to connect the lateral with the
main, he may find that a short piece of tile is needed to
complete the length ; this should not be placed next to the
tile of the main, where it is raised above the bottom of
the ditch, but two or three lengths back, leaving the con-
nection with the main to be made with a tile of full
length. If the piece to be inserted is only two or three
inches long, it may be omitted, and the space covered by
using a whole 2^-inch tile in place of the collar. In turn-
ing corners or sharp curves, the end of the tile may be
chipped off, so as to be a little thinner on one side, which
will allow it to be turned at a greater angle in the collar.

If the drain turns a right angle, it will be better to dig
out the bottom of the ditch to a depth of about eight
inches, and to set a 6-inch tile on end in the hole, per-
forating its sides, so as to admit the ends of the pipes at
the proper level. This 6-inch tile, (which acts as a small
silt-basin,) should stand on a board or on a flat stone, and
its top should be covered with a stone or with a couple of

HOW TO MAKE THE DRAINS. 131

bricks. Wood will last almost forever below the level of
the drain, where it will always be saturated with water,
but in the drier earth above the tile, it is much more liable
to decay.

The trimming and perforating of the tile is done with a
" tile-pick," (Fig. 32,) the hatchet end,
tolerably sharp, being used for the
trimming, and the point, for making
the holes. This is done by striking
lightly around the circumference of
the hole until the center piece falls in,
or can be easily knocked in. If the
hole is irregular, and does not fit the

Fig. sa.-cK FOR tile llicel.v> the °Pen 8Pace should be
DRESSING AND PEK- covered with bits of broken tile, to

FOHAT1NG TILE. i ^i

keep the earth out.

•As fast as the laterals are laid and inspected, they should
be filled in to the depth of at least a foot, to protect the
tile;vfrom being broken by the falling of stones or lumps
of earth from the top, and from being displaced by water
flowing in the ditch. Two or three feet of the lower
end may be left uncovered until the connection with the
main is finished.

In the main drains, when the tiles are of the size with
which collars are used, the laying is done in the same man-
ner. If it is necessary to use 3^-inch tiles, or any larger
size, much more care must be given to the closing of the
joints. All tiles, in manufacture, dry more rapidly at the
top, which is more exposed to the air, than at the bottom,
and they are, therefore, contracted and made shorter at
the top. This difference is most apparent in the larger
sizes. The large rcnn entiles, which can be laid on any side,
can easily be made to form a close joint, and they
should be secured in their proper position by stones er
lumps of earth, wedged in between them and the sides of
tin- ditch. The sol ' tiles must lie with the shortest sides

132 DRAINING FOR PROFIT AND HEALTH

up, and, usually, the space between two tiles, at the top,
will be from one-quarter to one-half of an inchv To
remedy this defect, and form a joint which may be pro-
tected against the entrance of earth, the bottom should bq
trimmed off, so as to allow the tops to come closer to-
gether. Any opening, of less than a quarter of an inch
can be satisfactorily covered, — more than that should not
be allowed. In turning corners, or in passing around
curves, with large tiles, their ends must be beveled off
with the pick, so as to fit nicely in this position.

The best covering for the joints of tiles which are
laid without collars, is a scrap of tin, bent so as to fit their
shape, — scraps of leather, or bits of strong wood shavings,
answer a very good purpose, though both of these latter re-
quire to be held in place by putting a little earth over their
ends as soon as laid on the tile. Very small grass ropes
drawn over the joints, (the ends being held down wilh
stones or earth,) form a satisfactory covering, but care
should be taken that they be not too thick. Strips of news-
paper, doubled and laid over the joints, answer an excel-
lent purpose. Care, however, should always be taken,
in using any material which will decay readily, to have no
more than is necessary to keep the earth out, lest, in its
decay, it furnish material to be carried into the tile and ob-
struct the flow. This precaution becomes less necessary
in the case of drains which always carry considerable
streams of water, but if they are at times sluggish in their
flow, too much care cannot be given to keep them free
of all possible causes of obstruction. As nothing is gained
by increasing the quantity of loose covering beyond what
is needed to close the joints, and as such covering is only
procured with some trouble, there is no reason for its ex-
travagant use.

There seems to remain in the minds of many writers on
drainage a glimmering of the old fallacy that underdrains,
like open drains, receive their water from atove, and it ia

QOT7 TO MAKE THE DRAINS. 133

too commonly recommended that porous substances be
placed above the tile. If, as is universally conceded, the
water rises into the tile from below, this is unnecessary.
The practice of covering the joints, and even covering the
whole tile, (often to the depth of a foot,) with tan-bark,
turf, coarse gravel, etc., is in no wise to be commended ;
and, while the objections to it are not necessarily very
grave in all cases, it always introduces an element of in-
security, and it is a waste of money, if nothing worse.

The tile layer need not concern himself with the question
of affording entrance room for the water. Let him, so far
as the rude materials at hand will allow, make the joints
perfectly tight, and when the water comes, it will find
ample flaws in his work, and he will have been a good
Avorkman if it do not find room to flow in a current, car-
rying particles of dirt with it.

In ditches in which water is running at the time of lay-
ing the tiles, the process should follow closely after the
grading, and the stream may even be dammed back, sec-
tion after section, (a plugged tile being placed under the
dam, to be afterwards replaced by a free one,) and graded,
laid and covered before the water breaks in. There is one
satisfaction in this kind of work, — that, while it is difficult
to lay the drain so thoroughly well as in a dry ditch, the
amount of water is sufficient to overcome any slight ten-
dency to obstruction.

Connections. — As has been before stated, lateral drains
should always enter at the top of the main. Even in the
mobt shallow work, the slightly decreased dej -th of the
lateral, which this arrangement requires, is well compen-
sated for by the free outlet which it secures. (See Chap. 12. )

After the tile of the main, which is to receive a side
drain, has been fitted to its place, and the point of junc-
tion marked, it should be taken up and perforated ; then
the end of the tile of the lateral should be so trimmed as

134

DRAINING FOE PROFIT AND HEALTH.

suitable covering,

Fig. 33. — LATERAL DRAIN ENTERING AT TOP.

to fit the hole as accurately as may be, the large tile re-
placed in its position, and the small one laid on it, —
reaching over to the floor of the lateral ditch. Then con-
nect it with the lateral as previously laid, fill up solidly
the space under the tile which reaches over to the top
of the main, (so that it cannot become disturbed in fill-
ing,) and lay bits of tile, or other
around the connecting joint.*

When the main drain is laid with collars, it should be
so arranged that, by
substituting a full
tile in the place of
the collar, — leav-
ing, within it, a
space between the
smaller pipes, — a
connection can be made with this larger tile, as is rep-
resented in Figures 83 and 34.

Silt-Basins should be used at all points where a drain,
after running for any considerable distance at a certain
rate of fall, changes to a less rapid fall, — unless, indeed,

the diminished fall be still
sufficiently great for the
removal of silty matters,
(say two feet or more in a
hundred). They may be
mnde in any manner which
will secure a stoppage of
the direct current, and aiford room below the floor of the
tile for the deposit of the silt which the water has carried
in suspension ; and they may be of any suitable material ;
— even a sound flour barrel will serve a pretty good

*When chips of tile, or similar matters, .arc used to cover openings in
the tile-work, it is well to cover them ut once with a mortar made of
wet clay, which will keep the:n in place until ihc ditches are filled.

Fig. 34.— SECTIONAL YIEW OP JOINT.

HOW TO MAKE THE DRAINS.

135

purpose for many years.
The most complete form
of basin b that repre-
sented in Figure 24.

When the object b
only to afford room for
the collection of the silt
of a considerable length
of drain, and it b not
thought worth while to
keep open a communica-
tion with the surface, for
purposes of inspection, a
square box of brick
work, (Fig. 35.) having
a depth of one and a
half or two feet below
the floor of the drain, —
tiles for the drains being
built in the4 walls, and
the top covered with a
broad stone, — will an-
swer very well.

A cjood sort of basin, to reach
to the surface of the ground, may
be made of large, vitrified drain
pipes, — such as are used for town
sewerage, — having a diameter of
from six to twelve inches, accord-
ing to the requirements of the work.
This basin is shown in Figure CG.

Figure 37 represents a basin made
of a 6- inch tile, — similar to that
described on page 130, for turning a
short corner. A larorer basin of

. FllT. 36 —SILT-BASIN OF

the same size, cheaper than it built

Fig. 35. — SQUAltE BRICK SILT-BASIN.

VITU1FIEI) 1'11'E.

lot> DRAINING FOR PROFIT AND HEALTH.

of brick, may be made by using a large vitrified drain
pipe in the place of the one shown in the cut. These
vitrified pipes may be perforated in the
manner described for the common tile.
In laying the main line (7, (Fig. 21,)
an underground basin of brick work,
(Fig. 35,) or its equivalent, should be
placed at stake 7, because at that point
the water, which has been flowing on an,
inclination of 1.09, 2.00 and 2.83 per 100,
Fig. 37.— TILE SILT- continues its course over the much less
BASIN. fan Of omy o.5G per 100.

If, among the tiles which have passed the inspection;
there are some which, from over burning, are smaller than
the average, they should be laid at the upper ends of the
laterals. The cardinal rule of the tile layer should be
never to have a single tile in the finished drain of smaller
size, of more irregular shape, or less perfectly laid, than
arty tile above it. If there is to he any difference in the
quality of the drain, at different points, let it grow better
as it approaches the outlet and has a greater length
above depending upon its action.

Covering the Tiles, and Filling-in the Ditches.— The

best material for covering the tiles is that which will the
most completely surround them, so as to hold them in
their places ; will be the least likely to have passages for
the flow of streams of water into the joints, and will af-
ford the least silt to obstruct the drain. Clay is the best
of all available materials, because it is of the most uniform
character throughout its mass, and may be most perfectly
compacted around the tiles. As has been before stated,
all matters which are subject to decay are objectionable,
because they will furnish fine matters to enter the joints,
and by their decrease of bulk, may leave openings in the
earth through which streams of muddy water may find

HOW TO MAKE THE DRAINS. 13?

their way into the tiles. Gravel is bad, and will remain
bad until its spaces are filled with fine dirt deposited by
water, which, leaving only a part of its impurities here,
carries the rest into the drain. A gravelly loam, free
from roots or other organic matter, if it is strong enough
to be worked into a ball when wet, will *.iswer a very
good purpose.

Ordinarily, the earth which was throwp citt from the.
bottom of the ditch, and which now lies at *-h«» top of thft
dirt heap, is the best to be returned about thf tuos, being
first freed from any stones it may contain which ;\re large
enough to break or disturb the tiles in falling on u> them,

If the bottom of the ditch consists of quicks ind or
other silty matters, clay or some other suitable earth
should be sought in that which was excavated from a less
depth, or should be brought from another place. \ vain
layer of this having been placed in the bottom of l'm&
ditch when grading, a slight covering of the same
the tiles will so encase them as to prevent the entrance
the more " slippy " soil.

The first covering of fine earth, free from stones
clods, should be sprinkled gently over the tiles, no ful?
shovelfuls being thrown on to them until they are covered
at least six inches deep. When the filling has reached a
hight of from fifteen to twenty inches, the men may jump
into the ditch and tramp it down evenly and regularly,
not treading too hard in any one place at first. When
thus lightly compacted about the tile, so that any further
pressure cannot displace them, the filling should be re-
peatedly rammed, (the more the better,) by two men
standing astride the ditch, facing each other, and working
a maul, such as is shown in Figure 38, and which may
weigh from 80 to 100 pounds.

Those to whom this recommendation is new, will, doubt-
less, think it unwise. The only reply to their objection
must be that others who shared their opinion, have, by

138

DRAINING FOE PROFIT AND HEALTH.

long observation and experience, been convinced, of its
correctness. They may practically convince themselves
of the value of this sort of covering by a simple and in-
expensive experiment : Take two large, water-tight hogs-
heads, bore through the side of each, a few inches from
the bottom, a hole just large enough
to admit a 1^-inch tile ; cover the bot-
tom to the hight of the lower edge of
the hole with strong, wet clay, beaten
to a hard paste ; on this, lay a line of
pipes and collars, — the inner end sealed
with putty, and the tile which passes
through the hole so wedged about with
putty, that no water could pass out
between it and the outside of the hole.
Cover the tile in one hogshead with
loose gravel, and then fill it to the top
with loose earth. Cover the tile in the
other, twenty inches deep, with ordi-
nary stiff clay, (not wet enough to
puddle, but sufficiently moist to pack
well,) and ram it thoroughly, so as
to make sure that the tiles are com-
pletely clasped, and that there is no
crack nor crevice through which water
can trickle, and then fill this hogs-
head to thy top with earth, of the
same character with that used in
the other case. These hogsheads should stand where
the water of a small roof, (as that of a hog-pen,) may
be led into them, by an arrangement which shall give
an equal quantity to each ; — this will give them rather
more than the simple rain-fall, but will leave them
exposed to the usual climatic changes of the season. A
vessel, of a capacity of a quart or more, should be con-
nected with each outlet, and covered from the dust, —

Fig. 88. — MAUL FOK

BAMMING.

HOW TO MAKE THE DRAINS. 139

these will act as silt-basins. During the first few storms
the water will flow off much more freely from the first
barrel ; but, little by little, the second one, as the water
finds its way through the clay, and as the occasional dry-
ing and repeated filtration make it more porous, will in-
crease in its flow until it will, by the end of the season,
or, at latest, by the end of the second season, drain as
well as the first, if, indeed, that be not by this time some-
what obstructed with silt. The amount of accumulation
in the vessels at the outlet will show which process has
best kept back the silt, and the character of the deposit
will show which would most probably be carried off by
the gentle flow of water in a nearly level drain.

It is no argument against this experiment that its results
cannot be determined even in a year, for it is not pretended
that drains laid in compact clay will dry land so com-
pletely during the first month as those which give more
free access to the water ; only that they will do so in a
comparatively short time ; and that, as drainage is a work
for all time, (practically as lasting as the farm itself,) the
importance of permanence and good working for long
years to come, is out of all proportion to that of the tem-
porary good results of one or two seasons, accompanied
with doubtful durability.

It has been argued that surface water will be more
readily removed by drains having porous filling. Even if
this were true to any important degree, — which it is not, —
it would be an argument against the plan, for the remedy
would be worse than the disease. If the water flow from
the surface down into the drain, it will not fail to carry
dirt with it, and instead of the clear water, which alone
should rise into the tiles from below, we should have a
trickling flow from above, muddy with wasted manure
and silty earth.

The remaining fitt'ng of the ditch is a matter of sim-
ple labor, and may be done in whatever way may be most

140 DRAINING FOE PROFIT AND HEALTH.

economical under the circumstances of the work. If the
amount to be filled is considerable, so that it is desirable
to use horse-power, the best way will be to use a scraper,
such as is represented in Figure 39, which is a strongly
ironed plank, 6 feet long and 18 inches wide, sharp shod
at one side, and supplied with handles at the other. It is
propelled by means of the curved rods, which are at-
tached to its under side by flexible joints. These rods
are connected by a chain which has links large enough to

Fig. 39.— BOAKD SCRAPER FOR FILLING DITCHES.

receive the hook of an' ox-chain. This scraper may be
used for any straight-forward work by attaching the power
to the middle of, the chain. By moving the hook a few
links to the right or left, it will act somewhat after the
manner of the mould-board of a plow, and will, if skill-
fully handled, shoot the filling rapidly into the ditch.

If the work is done by hand, mix the surface soil and
turf with the subsoil filling for the whole depth. If with
a scraper, put the surface soil at the bottom of the loose
filling, and the subsoil at the top, as this will be an imita-
tion, for the limited area of the drains, of the process of
"trenching," which is used in garden cultivation.

When the ditches are filled, they will be higher than
the adjoining land, and it will be well to make them still
more so by digging or plowing out a small trench at each
side of the drain, throwing the earth against the mound,
which will prevent surface water, (during heavy rains,)
from running into the loose filling before it is sufficiently

HOW TO MAKE THE DRAINS.

141

Fig. 40. — CROSS-SECTION OP
BITCH (FILLED), WITH FUR-

KOW AT EACH SIDE.

settled. A cross section of a filled drain provided with
these ditches is shown in Figure 40.

In order that the silt-basins may be examined, and their
accumulations of earth re-
moved, during the early ac-
tion of the drains, those parts
of the ditches which are above
them may be left open, care
being taken, by cutting sur-
face ditches around them, to
prevent the entrance of water
from above. During this time
the covers of the basins
should be kept on, and should
be covered with inverted sods
to keep loose dirt from get-
ting into them.

Collecting the Water of Springs.— The lateral which
connects with the main drain, A, (Fig. 21,) at the point
m, and which is to take the water of the spring at the
head of the brook, should not be opened until the main
has been completed and filled into the silt-basin, — the
brook having, meantime, been carried over the other
ditches in wooden troughs. This lateral may now be
made in the following way: Dig down to the tile of
the main, and carry the lateral ditch back, a distance of
ten feet. In the bottom of this, place a wooden trough,
at least six feet long, laid at such depth that its channel
shall be on the exact grade required for laying the tiles,
and lay long straw, (held down by weights,) lengthwise
within it. Make an opening in the tile of the main and
connect the trough with it. The straw will prevent any
coarse particles of earth from being carried into the tile,
and the flow of the water will be sufficient to carry on to
the silt-basin any finer matters. Now open the ditch to

142 DRAINING FOR PROFIT AND HEALTH.

and beyord the spring, digging at least a foot below the
grade in its immediate vicinity, and filling to the exact
grade with small stones, broken bricks, or other suitable
material. Lay the tiles from the upper end of the ditoh
across the stone work, and down to the wooden trough.
Now spread a sufficient layer of wood shavings over the
stone work to keep the earth from entering it, cover
the tiles and fill in the ditch, as before directed, and then
remove the straw from the wooden trough and lay tiles
in its place. In this way, the water of even a strong
spring may be carried into a finished drain without danger.
In laying the tile which crosses the stone work, it is well
to use full 2^--inch tiles in the place of collars, leaving the
joints of these, and of the 1^-inch tiles, (which should
join near the middle of the collar tile,) about a quarter of
an inch open, to give free entrance to the water.

The stone and tile drain, If, I, is simply dug out to the
surface of the rock, if this is not more than two feet below
the grade of the upper ends of the laterals with which it
connects, and then filled up with loose stones to the line of
grade. If the stones are small, so as to form a good bottom
for the tiles, they may be laid directly upon it ; if not, a
bottom for them may be made of narrow strips of cheap
boards. Before filling, the tiles and stone work should be
covered with shavings, and the filling above these should
consist of a strong clay, which will remain in place after
the shavings rot away.

Amending the Map.— When the tiles are laid, and be
fore they are covered, all deviations of the lines, as in pass-
ing around large stones and other obstructions, which
may have prevented the exact execution of the original plan,
and the location and kind of each underground silt-basin
should also be carefully noted, so that they may be trans-
ferred to the map, for future reference, in the event of re-
pairs becoming necessary. In a short time after the work

HOW TO MAKE THE DRAINS. 143

is finished, the surface of the field will show no trace of
the lines of drain, and it should be possible, in case of
need, to find any point of the drains with precision, so that
no labor will be lost in digging for it. It is much cheaper
to measure over the surface than to dig four feet trenchei
through the ground.

CHAPTER V.

HOW TO TAKE CARE OF DRAINS AND DRAINED
LAND.

So far as tile drains are concerned, if they are once well
laid, and if the silt-basins have been emptied of silt until
the water has ceased to deposit it, they need no care nor
attention, beyond an occasional cleaning of the outlet
brook. Now and then, from the proximity of willows, or
thrifty, young, water-loving trees, a drain will be obstruct-
ed by roots ; or, during the first few years after the work
is finished, some weak point, — a badly laid tile, a loosely
fitted connection between the lateral and a main, or an
accumulation of silt coming from an undetected and per-
sistent vein of quicksand, — will be developed, and repairs
will have to be made. Except for the slight danger
from roots, which must always be guarded against to the
extent of allowing no young trees of the dangerous class
to grow near a drain through which a constant stream of
water flows, it may be fairly assumed that drains which
have been kept in order for four or five years have passed
the danger of interruption from any cause, and they may
be considered entirely safe.

A drain will often, for some months after it is laid, run
muddy water after rains. Sometimes the early deposit of
silt will nearly fill the tile, and it will take the water of
144

HOW TO TAKE CAKE OF DRAIN'S. 145

several storms to wash it out. If the tiles have been laid
in packet! clay, they cannot long receive silt from without,
and that which makes the flow turbid, may be assumed tc
come from the original deposit in the conduit. Examina-
tions of newly laid drains i.ave developed many instances
where tiles were at first half filled with silt, and three
months later were entirely clean. The muddiness of the
flow indicates what the doctors call " an effort of nature
to relieve herself," and nature may be trusted to succeed,
at least, until she abandons the effort. If we are sure that
a drain has been well laid, we need feel no anxiety because
it fails to take the water from the ground so completely
as it should do, until it settles into a flow of clear water
after the heaviest storms.

In the case of an actual stoppage, which will generally
be indicated by the u bursting out " of the drain, i e., the
wetting of the land as though there were a spring under
it, or as though its water had no underground outlet,
(which is the fact,) it will be necessary to lay open the
drain until the obstruction is found.

In this work, the real value of the map will be shown,
Dy the facility which it offers for finding any point of any
line of drains, and the exact locality of the junctions with
the mains, and of the silt-basins. In laying out the plan
on the ground, and in making his map, the surveyor will
have had recourse to two or more fixed points ; one of
them, in our example, (fig. 21,) would probably be the
center of the main silt-basin, and one, a drilled hole or
other mark on the rock at the north side of the field. By
staking out on the ground the straight line connecting
fhese two points, and drawing a corresponding line on the
map, we shall have a base-line, from which it will be easy,
by perpendicular offsets, to determine on the ground any
point upon the map. By laying a small square on the
•Viiip, with one of its edges coinciding with the base-line,
and moving it on this line until the other edge meets the
7

146 DRAINING FOB PROFIT AXD HEALTH.

desired point, we fix, at the angle of the square, the point
on the base-line from which we are to measure the length
of the offset. The next step is to find, (by the scale,) the
distance of this point from the nearest end of the base-
line, and from the point sought. Then measure off, in the
field, the corresponding distance on the base-line, and, from
the point thus found, measure on a line perpendicular to
the base line, the length of the offset; the point thus
indicated will be the locality sought. In the same manner,
find another point on the same drain, to give the range on
which to stake it out. From this line, the drains which
run parallel to it, can easily be found, or it may be used
as a base-line, from which to find, by measuring offsets,
other points near it.

The object of this staking is, to find, in an inexpensive
and easy way, the precise position of the drains, for which
it would be otherwise necessary to grope in the dark,
verifying our guesses by digging four-foot trenches, at
random.

If there is a silt-basin, or a junction a short distance be-
low the point where the water shows itself, this will be the
best place to dig. If it is a silt-basin, we shall probably
find that this has filled up with dirt, and has stopped the
flow. In this case it should be cleaned out, and a point
of the drain ten feet below it examined. If this is found
to be clear, a long slender stick may be pushed up as far
as the basin and worked back and forth until the passage
is cleared. Then replace the tile below, and try writh the
stick to clean the tiles above the basin, so as to tap the
water above the obstruction. If this cannot be done, or
if the drain ten feet below is clogged, it will be necessary
to uncover the tiles in both directions until an opening is
found, and to take up and relay the whole. If the wet-
ting of the ground is sufficient to indicate that there is
much water in the drain, only five or six tiles should be
taken up at a time, cleaned and relaid,— commencing at

HOW TO TAKE CARE OF DRAINS. 147

the lower end, — in order that, when the water ^eminences
to flow, it may not disturb the bottom of the ditch for the
whole distance.

If the point opened is at a junction with the main, ex-
amine both the ma.n and the lateral, to see which is
stopped, and proceed with one or the other, as directed
above. In doing this work, care should be taken to send
as little muddy water as possible into the drain below, and
to allow the least possible disturbance of the bottom.

If silt-basins have been placed at those points at which
the fall diminishes, the obstruction will usually be found to
occur at the outlets of these, from a piling up of the silt in
front of them, and to extend only a short distance below and
above. It is not necessary to take up the tiles until they
are found to be entirely clean, for, if they are only one-
half or one-third full, they will probably be washed clean
by the rush of water, when that which is accumulated
above is tapped. The work should be done in settled fair
weather, and the ditches should remain open until the effect
of the flow has been observed. If the tiles are made
thoroughly clean by the time that the accumulated water
has run off, say in 24 hours, they may be covered up ; if
not, it may be necessary to remove them again, and clean
them by hand. When the work is undertaken it should
be thoroughly done, so that the expense of a new opening
need not be again incurred.

It is worse than useless to substitute larger sizes of tiles
for those which are taken up. The obstruction, if by silt,
is -the result of a too sluggish flow, and to enlarge tho
area of the conduit would only increase the difficulty. If
ihe tiles are too small to carry the full flow which follows
a heavy rain, they will be very unlikely to become choked,
for the water will then have sufficient force to wash them
clean, while if they are much larger than necessary, a de-
posit of silt to one half of their height will make a broad,

148 DRAINING FOR PROFIT AND HEALTH.

flat bed for the stream, which will run with much lesa
force, and will be more likely to increase the deposit.

If the drains are obstructed by the roots of willows, or
other trees, the proprietor must decide whether he will
sacrifice the trees or the drains ; both he cannot keep, un-
less he chooses to go to the expense of laying in cement
all of the drains which carry constant streams, for a dis-
tance of at least 50 feet from the dangerous trees. The
trouble from trees is occasionally very great, but its occur-
rence is too rare for general consideration, and must be
met in each case with such remedies as circumstances sug-
gest as the best.

The gratings over the outlets of silt-basins which open
at the surface of the ground, are sometimes, during the
first year of the drainage, obstructed by a fungoid growth
which collects on the cross bars. This should be occasional-
ly rubbed off. Its character is not very well understood,
and it is rarely observed in old drains. The decomposition
of the grass bands which are used to cover the joints of
the larger tiles may encourage its formation.

If the surface soil have a good proportion of sand,
gravel, or organic matter, so as to give it the consistency
which is known as " loamy," it will bear any treatment
which it may chance to receive in cultivation, or a* pasture
land ; but if it be a decided clay soil, no amount of drain-
ing will enable us to work it, or to turn cattle upon it
when it is wet with recent rains. It will much sooner
become dry, because of the drainage, and may much sooner
be trodden upon without injury; but wet clay cannot.be
worked or walked over without being more or less pud-
dled, and, thereby, injured for a long time.

No matter how thoroughly heavy clay pasture lands
may be under-drained, the cattle should be removed from
them when it rains, and kept off until they are compara-
tively diy Neglect of this precaution has probably led

HOW TO TAKE CAKE OF CHAINS. 149

to more disappointment as to the effects of drainage than
any other circumstances connected with it. The injury
from this cause does not extend to a great depth, and in
the Northern States it would always be overcome by the
frosts of a single winter ; as has been before stated, it is
confined to stiff clay soils, but as these are the soils which
most need draining, the warning given is important.

CHAPTER VI.

WHAT DRAINING COSTS.

Draining is expensive work. This fact must be accepted
as a very stubborn one, by every man who proposes to
undertake the improvement. There is no royal road to
tile-laying, and the beginner should count the cost at the
outset. A good many acres of virgin land at the West
might be bought for what must be paid to get an efficient
system of drains laid under a single acre at home. Any
man who stops at this point of the argument will probably
move West, — or do nothing.

Yet, it is susceptible of demonstration that, even at the
West, in those localities where Indian Corn is worth as
much as fifty cents per bushel at the farm, it will pay to
drain, in the best manner, all such land ns is described in
the first chapter of this book as in need of draining, Argu-
ments to prove this need not be based at ill on cheapness
of the work; only on its effect*3 and its permanence.

In fact, so far as draining with tiles is concerned, cheap-
ness is a delusion and a snare, for the reason that it implies
something less than the best work, a compromise between
excellence and inferiority. The moment that we come
down from the best standard, we introduce a new element
into the calculation. The sort of tile draining which it is
the purpose of this work to advocate is a system so com-
150

WHAT DRAINING COSTS. 151

plete IL every particular, that it may be considered as an
absolutely permanent improvement. During the first
years of the working of the drains, they will require more
or less attention, and some expense for repairs ; but, in
well constructed work, these will he very slight, and will
soon cease altogether. In proportion as we resort to cheap
devices, which imply a neglect of important parts of the
work, and a want of thoroughness in the whole, the ex-
pense for repairs will increase, and the duration of the use-
fulness of the drains will diminish.

Drains which are permanently well made, and which
will, practically, last for all time, may be regarded as a
good investment, the increased crop of each year, paying
a good interest on the money that they cost, and the
money being still represented by the undiminished value
of the improvement. In such a case the draining of the
land may be said to cost, not $50 per acre, — but the inter-
est on $50 each year. The original amount is well in-
vested, and brings its yearly dividend as surely as though
it were represented by a five-twenty bond.

With badly constructed drains, on the other hand, the
case is quite different. In buying land which is subject
to no loss in quantity or quality, the farmer considers, not
so much the actual cost, as the relation between the yearly
interest on the cost, and the yearly profit on the crop, —
knowing that, a hundred years hence, the land will still be
worth his money.

But if the land were bounded on one side by a river which
yearly encroached some feet on its bank, leaving the field
a little smaller after each freshet ; or if, every spring, soma
rods square of its surface were sure to be covered three feet
deep with stones and sand, so that the actual value of the
property became every year less, the purchaser would
compare the yearly value of the crops, not only with the
interest on the price, but, in addition to this, with so much

152 DRAINING FOR PROFIT AND HEALTH.

of the prime value as yearly disappears with the destruo
tion of the land.

It is exactly so with the question of the cost of drain-
age. If the work is insecurely done, and is liable, in five
years or in fifty, to become worthless ; the increase of the
crops resulting from it, must not only cover the yearly
interest on the cost, but the yearly depreciation as welL
Therefore what may seem at the time of doing the work
to be cheapness, is really the greatest extravagance. It is
like buiding a brick wall with clay for mortar. The bricks
and the workmanship cost full price, and the small saving on
the mortar will topple the wall over in a few years, while,
if well cemented, it would have lasted for centuries. The
cutting and filling of the ditches, and the purchase and
transportation of the tiles, will cost the same in every
case, and these constitute the chief cost ; if the proper
care in grading, tile-laying and covering, and in making
outlets be stingily withheld, — saving, perhaps, one-tenth
of the expensej-^-what might have been a permanent im-
provement to the land, may disappear, and the whole out-
lay be lost in ten years. A saving of ten per cent, in
the cost will have lost us the other ninety in a short time.

But, while cheapness is to be shunned, economy is to be
sought in every item of the work of draining, and should
be studied, by proprietor and engineer, from the first ex-
amination of the land, to the throwing of the last shovel-
ful of earth on to the filling of the ditch. There are few
operations connected with the cultivation of the soil in
which so much may be imperceptibly lost through neglect,
and carelessness about little details, as in tile-draining. In
the original levelling of the ground, the adjustment of the
lines, the establishing of the most judicious depth and in-
clination at each point of the drains, the disposition of
surface streams during the prosecution of the work, and in
the width of the excavation, the line which divides
economy and wastefulness is extremely narrow and the

WHAT DBATNIXG COSTS. 153

most constant vigilance, together with the best judgment
and foresight, are needed to avoid unnecessary cost. In
the laying and covering of the tile, on the other hand, it
is best to disregard a little slowness and unnecessary care
on the part of the workmen, for the sake of the most per-
fect security of the work.

Details Of Cost. — The items of the work of drainage
may be classified as follows :

1. Engineering and Superintendence.

2. Digging the ditches.

3. Grading the bottoms.

4. Tile and tile-laying.

5. Covering the tile and filling the ditches.

6. Outlets and silt-basins.

1. Engineering and Superintendence. — It is not easy to
say what would be the proper charge for this item of the
work. In England, the Commissioners under the Drain-
age Acts of Parli.-unent, and the Boards of Public Works,
fix the charge for engineering at $1.25 per acre. That is in a
country when the extent of lands undergoing the process
of draining is very great, enabling one person to superin-
tend large tracts in the same neighborhood at the same
time, and with little or no outlay for travelling expenses.
In this country, where the improvement is, thus far, con-
fined to small areas, widely separated ; and where there
are comparatively few engineers who make a specialty of
the work, the charge for services is necessarily much
higher, and the amount expended in travelling much
greater. In most cases, the proprietor of the land must
qualify himself to superintend his own operations, (with
the aid of a country surveyor, or a railroad engineer in the
necessary instrumental work.) As draining becomes more
general, the demand for professional assistance will, with-
out doubt, cause local engineers to turn their attention to
the subject, and their services may be more cheaply ob-
tained. At present, it would probably not be prudent f->
7*

154 DRAINING FOR PKOFIT ANP HEALTH.

estimate the cost of engineering and superintendence, in-
cluding the time and skill of the proprietor, at less than
$5 per acre, even where from 20 to 50 acres are to be
drained at once.

2. Digging the Ditches. — The labor required for tho
various operations constitutes the principal item of cost in
draining, and the price of labor is now so different in dif-
ferent localities, and so unsettled in all, that it is difficult
to determine a rate which would be generally fair. It will
be assumed that the average wages of day laborers of the
class employed in digging ditches, i& $1.50 per day, and
the calculation will have to be changed for different dis-
tricts, in proportion to the deviation of the actual rate of
wages from this amount. There is a considerable advan-
tage in having the work done at some season, (as after the
summer harvest, or late in the fall,) when wages are com-
paratively low.

The cutting of the ditches should always be let by the
rod. When working at day's work, the men will invariably
open them wider than is necessary, for the sake of the
greater convenience of working, and the extra width
causes a corresponding waste of labor.

A 4-foot ditch, in most soils, need be only 20 inches wide
at the surface, and 4 inches at the bottom. This gives a
mean width of 12 inches, and requires the removal of
nearly ty cubic yards of earth for each rod of ditch ; but
an incre?iOe to a mean width of 16 inches, (which dsy
workmen will usually reach, while piece workmen almost
never will,) requires the removal of 3'J cubic yards to the
rod. As the increased width is usually below the middle
of the drain, the extra earth will all have to be raised from
2 to 4 feet, and the extra f yards will cost as much as a
full yard taken evenly from the whole side, from top to
bottom.

In clay soils, free from stones or " hard pan," but so
stiff as to require considerable picking, ordinary workmen,

WHAT DRAINING COSTS.

155

after a little practice, will be able to dig 3^- rods of ditch
per day, to an average depth of 3.80, — leaving from 2 to
3 inches of the bottom of 4-foot ditches to be finished by
the graders. This makes the cost of digging about 43
cents per rod. In loamy soil the cost will be a little less
than this, and in very hard ground, a little more. In
sandy and peaty soils, the cost will not be more than 30
cents. Probably 43 cents would be a fair average for soils
requiring drainage, throughout the country.

This is about 17 cents for each yard of earth removed.

In soft ground, the caving in of the banks will require a
much greater mean width than 12 inches to be thrown out,
and, if the accident could not have been prevented by
ordinary care on the part of the workman, (using the brac-
ing boards shown in Fig. 28,) he should receive extra pay
for the extra work. In passing around large stones it may
also be necessary to increase the width.

The following table wih1 facilitate the calculations for
such extra work :

CUBIC YARDS OF EXCAVATION IN DITCHES OF VARIOUS WIDTH.

Length of Ditch.

12 Inches
Wide.

18 Inches
Wide.

24 Indies
Wide.

30 Inches
Wide.

30 Inches
Wide.

1 Yard...
1 Rod

Yds. Feet,
12
2 12

Yds. Feet.
18
3 18

Yds. Feet.
24
4 24

Yds. Feet.
1 3
6 3

Yds. Feet.
1 9

7 9

Men will, in most soils, work best in couples, — one
shovelling out the earth, and working forward, and the
other, (moving backward,) loosening the earth with a
spade or foot-pick, (Fig. 41.) In stony land, the men should
be required to keep their work well closed up, — excava
ting to the full depth as they go. Then, if they strike
stone too large to be taken out within the terms of their
contract, they can skip a sufficient distance to pass it, and
the digging of the omitted part may be done by a faithful
day workman. This will usually be cheaper and more
satisfactory than to pay the contractors for extra work.

156 DRAINING FOE PROFIT AND HEALTH.

Concerning the amount of work that one man can do
in a day, in different soils, digging ditches 4 feet deep,
French says : '" In the writer's own field,
" where the pick was used to loosen the lower
" two feet of earth, the .labor of opening and
"filling drains 4 feet deep, and of the mean
."width of 14 inches, all by hand labor, has
t; been, in a mile of drains, being our first ex-
" periments, about one day's labor to 3 rods
" in length. The excavated earth of such a
"drain measures not quite 3 cubic yards,
" (exactly, 2.85.)" In a subsequent work,
in a sandy soil, two men opened, laid, and
refilled 14 rods in one day; — the mean width
being 12 inches.*

" In the same season, the same men opened,
"laid, and filled 70 rods of 4- foot drain of
" the same mean width of 12 inches, in the rig. 41.-rooT
" worst kind of clay soil, where the pick
" was constantly used. It cost 35 days' labor to complete
" the job, being 50 cents per rod for the labor alone." Or,
under the foregoing calculation of $1.50 per day, 75
cents per rod. These estimates, in common with nearly
all that are published, are for the entire work of digging,
grading, tile-laying, and refilling. Deducting the time re-
quired for the other work, the result will be about as
above estimated ; for the rough excavation, 3-^ rods to the
day's work, costing, at $1.50 per day, 43 cents to the rod.

Grading is the removal of 2 or 3 inches in depth, and
about 4 inches in width, of the soil at the bottom of the
ditch. It is chiefly done with the finishing scoop, which,
(being made of two thin plates, one of iron and one of
steel, welded together, the iron wearing away and leaving

* Surely such soil ought not to require thorough draining; where men
can go so easily, water ought to find its way alone.

WHAT DRAINING COSTS. 151

the shjirp steel edge always prominent,) will work in a
very hard clay without the aid of the pick. Three men, —
the one in the ditch being a skillful workman, and the
others helping him when not sighting the rods, — will grade
about 100 rods per day, making the cost about 6 cents per
rod. Until they acquire the skill to work thus rapidly, they
should not be urged beyond what they can readily do in
the best manner, as this operation, (which is the preparing
of the foundation for the tiles,) is probably the most im-
portant of the whole work of draining.

Tiles and Tile-Laying. — After allowing for breakage, it
will take about 16 tiles and 16 collars to lay a rod in
length of drain. The cost of these will, of course, be
very much affected by the considerations of the nearness
of the tile-kiln and the cost of transportation. They
should, in no ordinary case, cost, delivered on the ground,
more than $8 per thousand for 1^-inch tiles, and $4 per
thousand for the collars, making a total of $12 for both,
equal to about 19 cents per rod. The laying of the tiles,
may be set down at 2 cents per rod, — based on a skilled
man laying 100 rods daily, and receiving $2 per day.

Covering and filling will probably cost 10 cents per
rod, (if the scraper, Fig. 39, can be successfully used for
the rough filling, the cost will be reduced considerably
below this.)

The four items of the cost of making one rod of lateral
drain are as follows :

Digging the ditches -.43

Grading .06

Tiles and laying .21

Covering and filling - .10

.80 cts.

If the drains are placed at intervals of 40 feet, there are
required 64 rods to the acre, — this at 80 cents per rod will
make the cost per acre, — for the above items, — $51.20.

158 DRAINING FOR PROFIT AND HEALTH.

How much should be allowed for main drains, outlets,
and silt-basins, it is impossible to say, as, on irregular
ground, no two fields will require the same amount of this
sort of work. On very even land, where the whole sur-
face, for hundreds of acres, slopes gradually in one or two
directions, the outlay for mains need not be more than
two per cent, of the cost of the laterals. This would allow
laterals of a uniform length of 800 feet to discharge into
the main line, at intervals of 40 feet, if we do not con-
sider the trifling extra cost of the larger tiles. On less
regular ground, the cost of mains will often be considera-
bly more than two per cent, of the cost of the laterals;
but in some instances the increase of main lines will be
fully compensated for by the reduction in the length of
the laterals, which, owing to rocks, hills too steep to need
drains at regular intervals, and porous, (gravelly,) streaks
in the land, cannot be profitably made to occupy the whole
area so thoroughly.*

Probably 7|- per cent, of the cost of the laterals for
mains, outlets, and silt-basins wTill be a fair average allow-
ance.

This will bring the total cost of the work to about $60
per acre, made up as follows:

Cost of the finished drains per acre - - $51.20
7^ per cent, added for mains, etc. - - - 3.83
Engineering and Superintendence - - - 5.00

Of course this is an arbitrary calculation, an estimate
without a single ascertained fact to go upon, — but it is as

*The land shown in Fig. 21, is especially irregular, and, for the pur
pose of illustrating the principles upon which the work should be done,
an effort has been made to make Hie work as complete as possible in all
particulars. In actual work on a field similar to that, it would not
probably be good economy to make all the drains laid in the plan, but
as deviations from the plan would depend on conditions which cannot
well be shown on such a small scale, they arc disregarded, and the sys
tern of drains is made as it would be i! it were all plain sailing.

WHAT DRAINING COSTS. 159

close as it can be made to what would probably be the
cost of the best work, on average ground, at the present
high prices of labor and material. Five years ago the
same work could have been done for from $40 to $45 per
acre, and it will be again cheaper when wages fall, and
when a greater demand for drain ing tiles shall have caused
more competition in their manufacture. With a large
general demand, such as has existed in England for the last
20 years, they would now be sold for one-half of their pre-
sent price here, and the manufacture would be more profi-
table.

There are many light lands on retentive subsoils, which
could be drained, at present prices, for $50 or less per acre,
and there are others, which are very hard to dig, on which
thorough-draining could not now be done for 860.

The cost and the promise of the operation in each in-
stance, must guide the land owner in deciding whether or
not to undertake the improvement.

In doubtful cases, there is one compromise which may
be safely made, — that is, to omit each alternate drain, and
defer its construction until labor is cheaper.

This is doing half the work, — a very different thing
from hall:doing the work. In such cases, the lines should
be laid out as though they were to be all done at once, and,
finally, when the omitted drains are made, it should be in
pursuance of the original plan. Probably the drains which
are laid will produce more than one-half of the benefit
that would result if they were all laid, but they will rarely
be satisfactory, except as a temporary expedient, and the
saving will be less than would at first seem likely, for when
the second drains are laid ; the cultivation of the land
must be again interrupted; the draining force must be
again brought together; the levels of the new lines must
be taken, and connected with those of the old ones ; and
great care muse be taken, selecting the dryest weather for

160 DRAINING FOR 1'KOFIT AND HEALTH.

the work, — to admit very little, if any, muddy water into
the old mains.

This practice of draining by installments is not recom
mended ; it is only suggested as an allowable expedient,
when the cost of the complete work could not be borne
without inconvenience.

If any staid and economical farmer ^s disposed to be
alarmed at the cost of draining, he is respectfully re-
minded of the miles of expensive stone walls and other
fences, in New England and many other parts of the
country, which often are a real detriment to the farms, oc-
cupying, with their accompanying bramble bushes and
head lands, acres of valuable land, and causing great
waste of time in turning at the ends of short furrows in
plowing ; — while they produce no benefit at all adequate
to their cost and annoyance.

It should also be considered that, just as the cost of
fences is scarcely felt by the farmer, being made when his
teams and hands could not be profitably employed in or-
dinary farming operations, so the cost of draining will be
reduced in proportion to the amount of the work which
he can " do within himself," — without hiring men ex-
pressly for it. The estimate herein given is based on the
supposition that men are hired for the work, at wagea
equal to $1.50 per day, — while draining would often
furnish a great advantage to the farmer in giving employ.
ment to farm hands who are paid and subsisted by the year.

CHAPTER VH.

"WILL IT PAY?"

Starting with the basis of $60, as the cost of draining
an acre of ordinary farm land ; — what is the prospect that
the work will prove remunerative?

In all of the older States, farmers are glad to lend their
surplus funds, on bond and mortgage on their neighbors'
farms, with interest at the rate of 7, and often 6 per cent.

In view of the fact that a little attention must be given
each year to the outlets, and, to the silt-basins, as well,
for the first few years, it will be just to charge for the use
of the capital 8£ per cent.

This will make a yearly charge on the land, for the bene-
fits resulting from such a system of draining as has been
described, OF FIVE DOLLARS PER ACRE.

Witt it Pay f — Will the benefits accruing, year after
year, — in wet seasons and in dry, — with root crops and
with grain, — with hay and with fruit, — in rotations of crops
and in pasture, — be worth $5 an acre ?

On this question depends the value of tile-draining as a
practical improvement, for if there is a self-evident prop-
osition in agriculture, it is that what is not profitable,
one year with another, is not practical.

To counterbalance the charge of $5, as the yearly cost
161

162 DRAINING FOR PROFIT AND HEALTH.

of the draining, each acre must produce, in addition to
what it would have yielded without the improvement :

10 bushels of Corn at .50 pei bushel.

3 " " Wheat "$1.66 "

5 " « Rye " 1.00 «• «

12| " « Oats " .40 " "

10 " " Potatoes " .50 " «

6} " " Barley " .75 " "

1,000 pounds " Hay " 10.00 " ton.

50 " u Cotton " .10 " pound,

20 « «« Tobacco " .25 " "

Surely this is not a large increase, — not in a single case,
— and the prices are generally less than may be expected
for years to come.

The United States Census Report places the average
crop of Indian Corn, in Indiana and Illinois, at 33 bushels
per acre. In New York it was but 27 bushels, and in Penn-
sylvania but 20 bushels. It would certainly be accounted
extremely liberal to fix the average yield of such soils as
need draining, at 30 bushels per acre. It is extremely un-
likely that they would yield this, in the average of seasons,
with the constantly recurring injury from backward
springs, summer droughts, and early autumn frosts.

Heavy, retentive soils, which are cold and late in the
spring,subject to hard baking in midsummer, and to become
cold and wet in the early fall, are the very ones which are
best suited, when drained, to the growth of Indian Corn.
They are " strong " and fertile, — and should be able to
absorb, and to prepare for the use of plants, the manure
which is applied to them, and the fertilizing matters which
are brought to them by each storm ; — but they cannot prop-
erly exercise the functions of fertile soils, for the reason
that they are strangled with water, chilled by evaporation,
or baked to almost brick-like hardness, during nearly the
whole, period of the growth and ripening of the crop.

WILL IT PAY? 163

The manure which has been added to them, as well as their
own chemical constituents, are prevented from undergoing
those changes which are necessary to prepare them for the
uses of vegetation. The water of rains, finding the spaces
in the soil already occupied by the water of previous rains,
cannot enter to deposit the gases which it contains, — or>
if the soil has been dried by evaporation under the influ-
ence of sim and wind, the surface is almost hermetically
sealed, and the water is only slowly soaked up, much of
it running off over the surface, or lying to be removed
by the slow and chilling process of evaporation. In wet
times and in dry, the air, with its heat, its oxygen, and its
carbonic acid, (its universal solvent,) is forbidden to enter
and do its beneficent work. The benefit resulting from
cultivating the surface of the ground is counteracted by
the first unfavorable change of the weather ; a single heavy
rain, by saturating the soil, returning it to nearly its ori-
ginal condition of clammy compactness. In favorable
seasons, these difficulties are lessened, but man has no con-
trol over the seasons, and to-morrow may be as foul as
to-day has been fair. A crop of corn on undrained, reten-
tive ground, is subject to injury from disastrous changes
of the weather, from planting until harvest. Even sup-
posing that, in the most favorable seasons, it would yield
as largely as though the ground were drained, it would
lose enough in unfavorable seasons to reduce the average
more than ten (10) bushels per acre

The average crop, on such land, has been assumed to be
30 bushels per ncre ; it would be an estimate as moderate
as this one is generous, to say that, with the same cultiva-
tion and the same manure, the average crop, after drain-
ing, would be 50 bushels, or an increase equal to twice as
much as is needed to pay the draining charge. If the
method of cultivation is improved, by deep plowing, am-
ple manuring, and thorough working, — all of which may
be more profitably applied to drained than to undrained

164 DRAINING FOB PKOFIT AND HEALTH*

land, — the average crop, — of a series of years, — will not
be less than 60 bushels.

The cost of extra harvesting will be more than repaid
by the value of the extra fodder, and the increased culti-
vation and manuring are lasting benefits, which can be
charged, only in small part, to the current crop. There-
fore, if it will pay to plow, plant, hoe and harvest for 30
bushels of corn, it will surely pay much better to double
the crop at a yearly extra cost of $5, and, practically, it
amounts to this ; — the extra crop is nearly all clear gain.

The quantity of Wheat required to repay the annual
charge for drainage is so small, that no argument is needed
to show that any process which will simply prevent
" throwing out " in winter, and the failure of the plant in
the wetter parts of the field, will increase the product
more than that amount, — to say nothing of the general
importance to this crop of having the land in the most
perfect condition, (in winter as well as in summer.)

It is stated that, since the general introduction of drain-
age in England, (within the past 25 years,) the wheat
crop of that country has been more than doubled. Of
course, it does not necessarily follow that the amount per
acre has been doubled, large areas whicli were originally
unfit for the growth of this crop, having been, by draining,
excellently fitted for its cultivation ; — but there can be no
doubt that its yield has been greatly increased on all
drained lands, nor that large areas, which, before being
drained, were able to produce fair crops only in the best
seasons, are now made very nearly independent of the
weather.

It is not susceptible of demonstration, but it is undoubt-
edly true, that those clay or other heavy soils, which are
devoted to the growth of wheat in this country, would1,
if they were thoroughly under-drained, produce, on the
average of years, at least double their present crop.

Mr. John Johnston, a venerable Scotch farmer, who has

WILL IT PAY? 165

long been a successful cultivator in the Wheat region of
Western New York, — and who was almost the pioneer of
tile-draining in America, — has laid over 50 miles of drains
within the last 30 years. His practice is described in
Khppart's Land Drainage, from which work we quote the
following :

" Mr. Johnston says he never saw 100 acres in any on
" farm, but a portion of it would pay for draining. Mr.
" Johnston is no rich man who has carried a favorite hobby
14 without regard to cost or profit. He is a hardworking
" Scotch farmer, who commenced a poor man, borrowed
" money to drain his land, has gradually extended his
" operations, and is now reaping the benefits, in having
" crops of 40 bushels of wheat to the acre. He is a gray-
" haired Nestor, who, after accumulating the experience
" of a long life, is now, at 68 years of age, written to by
" strangers in every State of the Union for information,
<: not only in drainage matters, but all cognate branches
" of farming. He sits in his homestead, a veritable Hum-
" boldt in his way, dispensing information cheerfully
" through our agricultural papers and to private corres-
" pondents, of whom he has recorded 164 who applied to
" him last year. His opinions are, therefore, worth more
" than those of a host of theoretical men, who write with-
<4 out practice." ************

"Although his farm is mainly devoted to wheat, yet a
" considerable area of meadow and some pasture has been
"retained. He now owns about 300 acres of land. The
" yield of wheat has be-.-n 40 bushe-ls this year, and in for-
" mer seasons, when his neighbors were reaping 8, 10, or
«' 15 bushels, he has had 30 and 40." *****

" Mr. Johnston says tile-draining pays for itself in two
"seasons, sometimes in ono. Thus, in 1847, he bought a
" piece of 10 acres to get an outlet for his drains. It was
" a perfect quagmire, covered with coarse aquatic grasses,
" and so un fruitful that it would not give back the seed

166 DRAINING FOB PEOFIT AND HEALTH.

" sown upon it. In 1 848 a crop of corn was taken from it,
" which was measured and found to be eighty bushels per
" acre, and as, because of the Irish famine, corn WMS worth
" $1 per bushel that year, this crop paid not only all the ex-
4< pense of drainage, but the first cost of the land as well.

u Another piece of 20 acres, adjoining the farm of the
" late John Delafield, was wet, and would never bring
" more than 10 bushels of corn per acre. This was drained
" at a great cost, nearly $30 per acre. The first crop after
" this was 83 bushels and some odd pounds per acre. It
" was weighed and measured by Mr. Delafield, and the
" County Society awarded a premium to Mr. Johnston.
" Eight acres and some rods of this land, at one side, aver-
4< aged 94 bushels, or the trifling increase of 84 bushels
" per acre over what it would bear before those insignifi-
" cant clay tiles were buried in the ground. But this in-
" crease of crop is not the only profit of drainage ; for Mr.
"Johnston says that, on drained land, one half the usual
" quantity of manure suffices to give maximum crops. It
" is not difficult to find a reason for this. When the soil
" is sodden with water, air can not enter to any extent,
" and hence oxygen can not eat off the surfaces of soil-
" particles and prepare food for plants ; thus the plant
" must in great measure depend on the manure for suste-
" nance, and, of course, the more this is the case, the more
" manure must be applied to get good crops. This is one
" reason, but there are others which we might adduce if
" one good one were not sufficient.

" Mr. Johnston says he never made money until he
" drained, and so convinced is he of the benefits accruing
" from the practice, that he would not hesitate, — as he did
"not when the result was much more uncertain than at
<c present, — to borrow money to drain. Drains well laid,
" endure, but unless a farmer intends doing the job well,
" he had best leave it alone and grow poor, and move out
u West, and all that sort of thing. Occupiers of appar-

WILL IT PAY? 167

u ently dry land are not safe in concluding that they need
" not go to the expense of draining, for if they will but
" dig a three-foot ditch in even the driest soil, water will
" be found in the bottom at the end of eight hours, and
" if it does come, then draining will pay for itself
" speedily."

Some years ago, the Rural New Yorker published a
letter from one of its correspondents from which the fol-
lowing is extracted -• —

41 1 recollect calling upon a gentleman in the harvest field, when some-
thing like the following conversation occurred :

4 Your wheat, sir, looks very fine ; how many acres have you hi this
field ? '

' Ju the neighborhood of eight, I judge.-

' Did you sow upon fallow ? '

4 No sir. We turned over green sward — sowed immediately upon the
sod, and drugged it thoroughly— and you see the yield will probably be
35 bushels to the acre, where it is not too wet.'

4 Yes sir, it is mostly very tine. I observed a thin strip through it,
but did not notice that it was wet.'

4 Well, it is not very wet. Sometimes after a rain, the water runs
across it, and in spring and fall it is just wet enough to heave the wheat
and kill it.'

I inquired whether a couple of good drains across the lot would not
render it dry.

4 Perhaps so — but there is not over an acre that is killed out.'

4 Have you made an estimate cf the loss you annually sustain from
this wet place ? '

4 No, I had not thought much about it'

4 Would $30 be too high ? '

4 O yes, double.'

* Well, let's see ; it cost you $3 to turn over the sward? Two bush-
els of seed, $2 ; harrowing in, 75 cents ; interest, tuxes, and fences,
fo.25 ; 25 bushels of wheat lost, $25.'

4 Deduct for harvesting '

4 No ; the straw would pay for that.'

1 Very well, all footed $36.'

4 What will the wheat and straw on this acre be worth this year?'

4 Nothing, as I shall not cut the ground over.'

4 Then it appears that you have lost, in what you have actually ex*
pended, and the wheat you would have harvested, had the ground been
dry, $36, a pretty large sum for one acre.'

' JTes I S33/ said the farmer."

168 DRAINING FOR PROFIT AND HEALTH.

While Rye may be grown, with tolerable advantage, on
lands which are less perfectly drained than is necessary
for Wheat, there can be no doubt that an increase of more
than the six and two-thirds bushels needed to make up the
drainage charge will be the result of the improvement.

While Oats will thrive in soils which are too wet for
maiiy other crops, the ability to plant early, which is se-
cured by an early removal from the soil of its surplus wa-
ter, will ensure, one year with another, more than twelve
and a half bushels of increased product.

In the case of Potatoes, also, the early planting will be
a great advantage ; and, while the cause of the potato-rot
is not yet clearly discovered, it is generally conceded
that, even if it does not result directly from too great
wetness of the soil, its development is favored by this
condition, either from a direct action on the tubers, or
from the effect in the air immediately about the plants,
of the exhalations of a humid soil.

An increase of from five to ten per cent, on a very or-
dinary crop of potatoes, will cover the drainage charge,
and, with facilities for marketing, the higher price of the
earlier yield is of much greater consequence.

Barley will not thrive in wet soil, and there is no ques-
tion that drainage would give it much more than the in-
creased yield prescribed above.

As to hay, there are many wet, rich soils which produce
Very large crops of grass, and it is possible that drainage
might not always cause them to yield a thousand pounds
more of hay to the acre, but the quality of the hay from
the drained soil, would, of itself, more than compensate
for the drainage charge. The great benefit of the im-
provement, with reference to this crop, however, lies in
the fact that, although wet, grass lands, — and by " wet" is
meant the condition of undrained, retentive clays, and
heavy loams, or other soils requiring drainage, — in a very
few years "run out," 01 become occupied by semi-aquatic

WILL IT PAY? 169

and other objectionable plants, to the exclusion of the
proper grasses; the same lands, thoroughly drained, may
be kept in full yield of the finest hay plants, as long as the
ground is properly managed. It must, of course, be ma-
nured, from time to time, and care should be taken to pre-
vent the puddling of its surface, by men or animals,
while it is too wet from recent rain. With proper atten-
tion to these points, it need not be broken up in a lifetime,
and it may be relied on to produce uniformly good crops,
always equal to the best obtained before drainage.

So far as Cotton and Tobacco are concerned, there are
not many instances recorded of the systematic drainage
of lands appropriated to their cultivation, but there is
every reason to suppose that they will both be benefitted
by any operation which will have the effect of placing the
soil in a better condition for the uses of all cultivated
plants. The average crop of tobacco is about 700 Ibs.,
and that of cotton probably 250 Ibs. An addition of one-
fifth to the cotton crop, and of only one thirty-fifth to the
tobao:o crop, would make the required increase.

The failure of the cotton crop, during the past season,
(1866,) might have been entirely prevented, in many dis-
tricts, by the thorough draining of the land.

The advantages claimed for drainage with reference to
the above-named staple crops, will apply with equal, if not
greater force, to all garden and orchard culture. In fact,
with the exception of osier willows, and cranberries, there
is scarcely a cultivated plant which will not yield larger
and better crops on drained than on undrained land, —
enough better, and enough larger, to pay much more than
the interest on the cost of the improvement.

Yet, this advantage of draining, is, by no means, the
only one which is worthy of consideration. Since the
object of cultivation is to produce remunerative crops, of
course, the larger and better the crops, the more completely
Is the object attained ; — and to this extent the greatest
8

170 DRAINING FOR PROFIT AND HEALTH.

benefit resulting from draining, lies in the increased yield.
But there is another advantage, — a material and moral
advantage, — which is equally to be considered.

Instances of the profit resulting from under-draining,
(coupled, as it almost always is, with improved cultiva-
tion,) are frequently published, and it would be easy to
fortify this chapter with hundreds of well authenticated
cases. It is, however, deemed sufficient to quote the fol-
lowing, from an old number of one of the New York
dailies : —

u Some years ago, the son of an English farmer came to the United
States, and let himself as a farm laborer, in New York State, on the fol-
lowing conditions : Commencing work at the first of September, he was
to work ten hours a day for three years, and to receive in payment a
deed of a field containing twelve acres — securing himself by an agree-
ment, by which his employer was put under bonds of $2,000 to fulfill his
part of the contract ; also, during these three years, he was to have the
control of the field; to work it at his own expense, and to give his em-
ployer one-half the pi oceeds. The field lay under the south side of a
hill, was of dark, heavy clay resting on a bluish-colored, solid clay sub-
soil, and for many years previous, had not been known to yield anything
but a yellowish, hard, stunted vegetation.

" The farmer thought the young man was a simpleton, and that he,
himself, was most wise and fortunate; but the former, nothing daunted
by this opinion, which he was not unconscious that the latter entertain-
ed of him, immediately hired a set of laborers, and set them to work in
the field trenching, as earnestly as it was well possible for men to labor.
In the morning and evening, before and after having worked his ten
hours, as per agreement, he worked with them, and continued to work
in this way until, about the middle of the following November, he had
finished the laying of nearly 5,000 yards of good tile under-drains. He
then had the field plowed deep and thoroughly, and the earth thrown up
as much as possible into ridges, and thus let it remain during the win-
ter. Next spring he had the field again plowed as before, then cross-
plowed and thoroughly pulverized with a heavy harrow, then sowed it
with oats and clover. The yield was excellent— nothing to be compared
to it had ever before been seen upon that field. Next year it gave two
crops of clover, of a rich dark green, and enormously heavy and luxuri-
ant; and the year following, after being manured at an expense of some
$7 an acre, nine acres of the field yielded 936 bushels of corn, and 25
wagon loads of pumpkins; while from the remaining three acres were
taken 100 bushels of potatoes— the return of this crop being upwards
of $1,300. The time had uow come for the field to fall into the yc ang

WILL IT PAY ? 171

man'* possession, and the farmer unhesitatingly offered him $1,500 to
relinquish his title to it; and when this was unhesitatingly refused, he
offered 12,000, which was accepted.
u The young man's account stood thus

Half proceeds of oats and straw, first year — $165 00

1 lalf value of sheep pasturage, first year 25 CO

Half of first crops of clover, first year , 112 50

Half of second crops of clover, including seed, second year. .. 135 00

Half of sheep pasturage, second year 15 00

Half of crops of corn, pumpkins and potatoes, third year 690 00,

Received from farmer, for relinquishment of title 2,000 00

Account Dr. $3,142 50

To under-draining, labor and tiles $325 00

To labor and manure, three seasons 475 00

To labor given to fanner, $16 per month, 36 months — 576 00—1,376 00

Balance in his favor $1 ,766 50

Draining makes the farmer, to a great extent, the
master of his vocation. With a sloppy, drenched, cold,
uncongenial soil, which is saturated with every rain, and
takes days, and even weeks, to become sufficiently dry to
work upon, his efforts are constantly baffled by unfavora-
ble weather, at those times when it is most important that
his work proceed without interruption. Weeks are lost,
at a season wThen they are all too short for the work to be
done. The ground must be hurriedly, and imperfectly
prepared, and the seed is put in too late, often to rot in the
over-soaked soil, requiring the firld to be planted again at
a time which makes it extremely doubtful whether the
crop will ripen before the frost destroys it.

The necessary summer cultivation, between the rows,
has to be done as the weather permits ; and much more
of it is required because of the baking of the ground.
The whole life of the farmer, in fact, becomes a constant
struggle with nature, and he fights always at a disadvan-
tage. What he does by the work of days, is mainly un-
done by a single night's storm. Weeds grow apace, and
the land is too wet to admit of their being exterminated.
By the time that it is dry enough, ither pressing work

172 DRAINING FOB PROFIT AND HEALTH.

occupies the time; and if, finally, a day comes when they
may be attacked, they offer ten times the resistance that
they would have done a week earlier. The operations of
the farm are carried on more expensively than if the
ability to work constantly allowed a smaller force to be
employed. The crops which give such doubtful promise,
require the same cultivation as though they were certain
to be remunerative, and the work can be done only with
increased labor, because of the bad condition of the soil.

From force of tradition and of habit, the farmer accepts
his fate and plods through his hard life, piously ascribing
to the especial interference of an inscrutable Providence,
the trials which come of his own neglect to use the means
of relief which Providence has placed within his reach

Trouble enough he must have, at any rate, but not nec-
essarily all that he now has. It is not within the scope
of the best laid drains to control storm or sunshine, — but
it is within their power to remove the water of the storm,
rapidly and sufficiently, and to allow the heat of the sun-
shine to penetrate the soil and do its hidden work. No
human improvement can change any of the so-called
"phenomena" of nature, or prevent the action of the
least of her laws; but their effects upon the soil and its
crops may be greatly modified, and that which, under cer-
tain circumstances, would have caused inconvenience or
loss, may, by a change of circumstances, be made posi-
tively beneficial.

In the practice of agriculture, which is pre-eminently
an economic art, draining will be prosecuted because of
the pecuniary profit which it promises, and, — very proper-
ly,— it will not be pursued, to any considerable extent,
where the money, which it costs, will not bring money in
return. Yet, in a larger view of the case, its collateral
advantages are of even greater moment than its mere
profits. It is the foundation and the commencement of
the most intelligent farming. It opens the way for other

WILL IT PAT? 173

improvements, which, without it, would produce only
doubtful or temporary benefits ; and it enables the farmer
so to extend and enlarge his operations, with fair promise
of success, as to raise his occupation from a mere waiting
upon the uncertain favors of nature, to an intelligent
handling of her forces, fur the attainment of almost certain
results.

The rude work of an unthinking farmer, who scratches
the surface soil with his plow, plants his seed, and trusts
to the chances of a greater or less return, is unmitigated
drudgery, — unworthy of an intelligent man; but he
who investigates all of the causes of success and failure in
farming, and adapts every operation to the requirements
of the circumstances under which he wrorks ; doing every-
thing in his power that may tend to the production of the
results which he desires, and, so far as possible, avoiding
everything that may interfere with his success,— leaving
nothing to chance that can be secured, and securing all
that chance may offer, — is engaged in the most ennobling,
the most intelligent and the most progressive of all indus-
trial avocations.

In the cultivation of retentive soils, drainage is the key
to all improvement, and its advantage is to be measured
not simply by the eff ct which it directly produces in in-
creasing production, but, in still greater degree, by the
extent to which it prepares the way for the successful ap-
plication of improved processes, makes the farmer inde-
pendent of weather and season, and offers freer scope to
intelligence in the direction of his affairs.

CHAPTER VIII.

HOW TO MAKE DRAINING TILES.

Draining tiles are made of burnt clay, like bricks and
earthen-ware.

In general terms, the process is as follows : — The clay is
mixed with sand, or other substances which give it the prop-
er consistency, and is so wetted as to form a plastic mass, to
which may be given any desired form, and which is suffici-
ently stiff to retain its shape. Properly prepared clay is
forced through the aperture of a die of the shape of the out-
side of the tile, while a plug, — held by a support in the rear
of the die, — projects through the aperture, and gives the
form to the bqre of the tile. The shape of the material
of the tile, as it comes from the die, corresponds to the
open space, between the plug and the edge of the aper^
ture. The clay is forced out in a continuous pipe, which
is cut to the desired length by a wire, which is so thin as
to pass through the mass without altering the shape of the
pipe. The short lengths of pipe are dried in tho air as
thoroughly as they can be, and are then burned in a kiln,
similar to that used for pottery.

Materials, — The range of earths which may be used in
the manufacture of tiles is considerable, though clay is
the basis of all of them. The best is, probably, the clay
174

HOW TO MAKE DRAINING TILES. 175

rhich is a'most iuvariably found at the bottom of muck
beds, as this is finer and more compact than that which is
dug from dry land, and requires but little preparation.
There is, also, a peculiar clay, found in some localities,
which is almost like quick-sand in its nature, and which is
excellent for tile-making, — requiring no freezing, or wash-
ing to prepare it for the machine. As a general rule, any
clay which will make good bricks will make tiles. When
first taken from the ground, these clays are not usually ad-
hesive, but become so on being inoistened and kneaded.

It is especially important that no limestone pebbles be
mixed with, the clay, as the burning would change these
to quicklime, which, in slaking, would destroy the tiles.
The presence of a limey earth, however, mixed through
the mass, is a positive advantage, as in this inti-
mate admixture, the lime forms, under the heat of the
kiln, a chemical combination with the other ingredients ;
and, as it melts more readily than some of them, it hast-
ens the burning and makes it more complete. What is
known as plastic clay, (one of the purest of the native
clays.) is too strong for tile-making, and must be " tem-
pered," by having other substances mixed with it, to give
it a stiffer quality.

The clay which is best for brick-making, contains
Silica, and Alumina in about the following proportions :

Silica 55 to 75 per cent.

Alumina '. 35 " 25 " "

Variable quantities of other materials are usually found
in connection with the clay, in its native condition. The
most common of these are the following; —

Magnesia 1 to 5 per cent.— sometimes 20 to 30 per cent.

Lime 0 " 19 " "

Potash 0 " 5 " "

OxydoflronO " J9 " "

"These necessary elements give fusibility to earthen-

176 DRAINING FOR PROFIT AND HEAI/TH.

" ware, and, therefore, allow its constituent substances to
" combine in such a manner as to form a resisting body ;
" and this is performed with a temperature lower in pro-
" portion as the necessary elements are more abundant."*

When the earth of the locality where tiles are to be
made is not sufficiently strong for the purpose, and plastic
clay can be cheaply obtained from a distance, a small
Quantity of this may be used to give strength and tenacity
to the native material.

The compound must always contain a proper proportion
of clay and sand. If too little clay is used, the mass will
not be sufficiently tough to retain its compactness as it
passe? through the die of the tile machine; if too little
sand, the moulded tiles will not be strong enough to bear
handling, and they will crack and warp in drying and burn-
ing. Within the proper limits, the richer earths may be
moulded much thinner, and tiles made from them may,,
consequently, be made lighter for transportation, without
being too weak. The best materials for tempering stiff
clays are sand, pounded brick or tile, or scoria, from
smelting furnaces.

Preparation Of Earths. — The clay from which tiles are
to be made, should be thrown out in the fall, (the upper
and lower parts of the beds being well mixed in the opera-
tion,) and made into heaps on the surface, not more than
about 3 feet square and 3 feet high. In this form, it is left
exposed to the freezing and thawing of winter, which will
aid very much in modifying its character, — making it less
lumpy and more easily workable. Any stones which may
appear in the digging, should, of course, be removed, and
most earths will be improved by being passed through a
pair of heavy iron rollers, before they are piled up for the
winter. The rollers should be made of cast iron, about
15 inches in diameter, and 30 inches long, and set as close

* Klipjmt's Land Drainage.

HOW TO MAKE DRAINING TILES. 177

together as they can be, and still be revolved by the power
of t\vo horses. The grinding, by means of these rollers,
may add 50 cents per thousand to the cost of the tiles,
but it will greatly improve their quality.

In the spring, the clay should be prepared for tempering,
by the removal of such pebbles as it may still contain.
The best way to do this is by " washing," though, if there
be only a few coarse pebbles, they may be removed by
building the clay into a solid cone 2 or 3 feet high, and
then paring it off into thin slices with a long knife having
a handle at each end. This paring will discover any peb-
bles larger than a pea that may have remained in the clay.
Washing is the process of mixing the clay with a con-
siderable quantity of water, so as to form a thin paste, in
which all stones and gravel will sink to the bottom; the
liquid portion is then drawn off into shallow pits or vats,
and allowed to settle, the clear water being finally re-
moved by pumping or by evaporation, according to the
need for haste. For washing small quantities of clay, a
common mortar bed, such as is used by masons, will an-
swer, if it be supplied with a gate for draining off the
muddy water after the gravel has settled ; but, if the work
is at all extensive, a washing mill will be required. It
may be made in the form of a circular trough, with scra-
pers for mixing the clay and water attached to a circular
horse-sweep.

"Another convenient mixing machine may be constructed
" in the following manner : Take a large hollow log, of suit-
" able length, say five or six feet ; hew out the inequalities
" with an adz, and close up the ends with pieces of strong
"plank, into which bearing have been cut to support a re-
Solving shaft. This shaft should be sufficiently thick to
" permit being transfixed with wooden pins long enough to
" reach within an inch or two of the sides of the log or
"trough, and they should be so beveled as to form in their
u aggregate shape an interrupted so: ew, having a direction
8*

178 DRAINING FOB PROFIT AND HEALTH.

<: to ward that end of the box where the mixed clay is de*
" signed to pass out. In order to effect the mixing more
" thoroughly, these pins may be placed sufficiently far apart
"to permit the interior of the box to be armed with other
" pins extending toward the center, between which they
" can easily move. The whole is placed either horizontally
" or vertically, and supplied with clay and water in proper
" quantities, while the shaft is made to revolve by means of
" a sweep, with horse power, running water or steam, as
" the case may be. The clay is put into the end farthest
" from the outlet, and is carried forward to it and mixed
" by the motion, and mutual action and re-action of the pins
"in the shaft and in the sides of the box. Iron pins may,
" of course, be substituted for the wooden ones, and have
"the advantage of greater durability and of greater strength
" in proportion to their size, and the number may therefore
" be greater in a machine of any given length. The fluid
"mass of clay and water may be permitted to fall upon a
" sieve or riddle, of heavy wire, and afterward be received
" in a settling vat, of suitable size and construction, to drain
" off the water and let the clay dry out sufficiently by sub-
" sequent evaporation. A machine of this construction
"maybe made of such a size that it may be put in motion
" by hand, by means of a crank, and yet be capable of
"mixing, if properly supplied, clay enough to mold 800
" or 1000 pieces of drain pipe per day."*

Mr. Parkes. in a report to the Royal Agricultural So-
ciety of England, in 1843, says :

" It is requisite that the clay be well washed and sieved
" before pugging, for the manufacture of these tiles, or the
" operation of drawing them would be greatly impeded, by
" having to remove stones from the small space surround-
11 ing the die, which determines the thickness of the pipe.
11 But it results from this necessary washing, that the sub-

*KIippart's Lnntl Draiuaire.

HOW TO MAKE DRAINING TILES.

179

" stance of the pipe is uniformly and extremely dense,
" which, consequently, gives it immense strength, and en-
c< sures a durability which cannot belong to a more por-
" ous, though thicker, tile.

" The clay is brought from the pug-mill so dry that,
" when squeezed through the machine, not a drop of water
" exudes, — moisture is, indeed, scarcely apparent on the
" surface of the raw pipe. Hence, the tiles undergo little
" or no change of figure while drying, which takes place
" very rapidly, because of their firm and slight substance."
Tempering. — After the fine clay is relieved of the water
with which it was washed, and lias become tolerably dry, it
should be mixed with the sand, or other tempering ma-
terial, and passed through the
Pug-Mill, (Fig. 42,) which will
thoroughly mix its various ingre-
dients, arid work the whole into a
homogeneous mass, ready for the
tile machine. The pug mill is
similar to that used in brick-yards,
only, as the clay is worked much
stiffer for tiles than for bricks,
iron knives must be substituted
for the wooden pins. These
knives are so arranged as to cut
the clay in every part, and, by
being set at an angle, they force it
downward toward the outlet gate
at the bottom. The clay should

•B

Fig. 42. — PUG-MILL.

be, kept at the proper degree of moisture from the time of
tempering, and after passing through the pug-mill it
should be thoroughly beaten to drive out the air, and the
beaten ma>s should be kept covered with wet cloths to
prevent drying.

Moulding the Tiles. — Machines for moulding tiles are

180 DRAINING FOR PROFIT AND HEALTH.

of various styles, with, much variation in the details of
their construction, but they all act on the same general
principle ; — that of forcing the clay through a ring-shaped
aperture in an iron plate, forming a continuous pipe, which
is carried off on an endless apron, or on rollers, and cut
by wires into the desired lengths. The plates with the
ring-shaped apertures are called dies / the openings are
of any desired form, corresponding to the external shape
of the tiles; and the size and shape
of the bore, is determined by the
core or plug, which is held in the
centers of the apertures. The con-
struction of the die plates, and the
manner of fastening the plugs, YiS- 43.— PLATE OF DIES.
which determine the bore of the tiles, is shown in Fig. 43.
The view taken is of the inside of the plate.

The machine consists usually of a strong iron chest,
with a hinged cover, into which the clay is placed, having
a piston moving in it, connected by a rod or bar, having"
cog-teeth, with a cog-wheel, which is moved by horse or
hand power, and drives the piston forward with steadiness,
forcing the clay through the openings in the die-plate.
The clay issues in continuous lines of pipe. The machines
most in use in this country are connected directly with
the pug-mill, and as the clay is pugged, it at once passes
into the box, and is pressed out as tiles. These machines
are usually run by horse-power.

Mr. Barral, in his voluminous work on drainage,* de-
scribes, as follows, a cheap hand machine which can be
made by ariy country wheelwright, and which has a capa-
city of 3,000 tiles per day (Fig. 44) :

" Imagine a simple, wooden box, divided into two com-
v partments. In the rear compartment there stands a
" vertical post, fastened with two iron bolts, having heads

^Drainage des Terres Arables, Paris, 1856.

VNTVERSIT

HOW TO MAKE DRAINING TILES.

u at one end, and nuts and screws at the other. The box
" is thus fixed to its support. We simply place this sup-
" port on the ground and bind its upper part with a rope
" to a tree, a stake, or a post. The front compartment is
" the reservoir for the clay, presenting at its front an.
" orifice, in which we fix the desired die with a simple bolt

Fig. 44 — CHEAP WOODEN MACHINE.

" A wooden piston, of which the rod is jointed with a
" lever, whicli works in a bolt at the top of the supporting
" post, gives the necessary pressure. When the chest is
"full of clay, we bear down on the end of the lever,
" and the moulded tiles run out on a table supplied with
" rollers. Raising the piston, it comes out of the box,
*' which is again packed with clay. The piston is replaced
" in the box ; pressure is again applied to the lever, and
" so on. When the line of tiles reaches the end of the
" table, we lower a frame on which brass wires are
" stretched, and cut it into the usual lengths."

The workmen must attend well to the degree of moist-
ure of the clay which is put into the machine. It should
be dry enough to show no undue moisture on its surface
as it comes out of the die-plate, and sufficiently moist not

182 DRAINING FOR PROFIT AND HEALTH.

to be crumbled in passing the edge of the mould. The
clay for small (thin) tiles must, necessarily, be more moist
than that which is to pass through a wider aperture ; and
for the latter there may, with advantage, be more sand in
the paste than would be practicable with the former.

After the tiles are cut into lengths, they are removed
by a set of mandrils, small enough to pass easily into
them, such as are shown in Fig. 45, (the number of fingers

corresponding with the
number of rows of tjles
made by the machine,) and
Fig. 45.— MANDRIL FOK CARRYING are placed on shelves made

TILES FROM MACHINE. 1

oi narrow strips sawn from

one-inch boards, laid wi'h spaces between them to allow
a free circulation of air.

Drying and Rolling. — Care must be taken that freshly
made tiles be not dried too rapidly. They should be
sheltered from the sun nnd from strong winds. Too rapid
drying has the effect cf warping them out of shape, and,
sometimes, of cracking the clay. To provide against this
injury, the drying is done under sheds or other covering,
and the side which is exposed to the prevailing winds is
sometimes boarded up.

For the first drying, tlfe tiles are placed in single layers
on the shelves. When about half dried, — at which time
they are usually warped more or less from their true
shape, — it is well to roll them. This is done by passing
through them a smooth, round stick, (sufficiently smaller
than the bore to enter it easily, and long enough to pro-
ject five or six inches beyond each end of .the tile,) and, —
holding one end of the stick in each hand, — rolling them
carefully on a table. This operation should be performed
when the tiles are still moist enough not to be broken by
the slight bending required to make them straight. After
rolling, the tiles mny be pilod np i-i close layers, some

HOW TO MAKE DRAINING TILES. 183

four or five feet high, (which will secure them against
further warping,) *and left until they are dry enough for
burning, — that is, as dry as they can be made by exposure
to the air.

Burning. — Tiles are burned in kilns in which, by the
effect of name acting directly upon them, they are raised
to a heat sufficient to melt some of their more easily fusi-
ble ingredients, and give to them a stone-like hardness.

Kilns are of various construction and of various sizes.
As this book is not intended for the instruction of those
who are engaged in the general manufacture of tiles, only
for those who may find it necessary to establish local
works, it will be sufficient to describe a temporary earthen
kiln which may be cheaply built, and which will answer
an excellent purpose, where only 100,000 or 200,000 tiles
per season will be required.

Directions for its construction are set forth in a letter
from Mr. T. Law Hodges, of England, to the late Earl
Spencer, published in the Journal of the Royal Agricul-
tural Society for the year 1843, as follows :

"The form of the clay-kiln is circular, 11 feet in diame-
" ter, and 7 feet high. It is wholly built of damp, clayey
" earth, rammed firmly together, and plastered, inside and
11 out, with loam (clay ?). The earth to form the walls is dug
" out around the bnse, leaving a circular trench about four
" feet wide and as many deep, into which the fire-holes of
" the kiln open. If wood be the fuel used, three fire-holes
" will be sufficient ; if coal, four will be needed. About
" 1,200 common brick will be wanted to build these fire-
" holes and flues ; if coal is used, rather fewer bricks will
" be wanted, but, then, some iron bars are necessary, —
*' six bars to each tire-hole.

" The earthen walls are four feet thick at the floor of
" the kiln, seven feet high, and tapering to a thickness of
" two feet at the top ; this will determine the slope of the

184

DEAINING FOB PROFIT AND HEALTH.

" exterior face of the kiln. The inside of the wall is car-
" riecl up perpendicularly, and the loam plastering inside
" becomes, after the first burning, like a brick wall. The
" kiln may be safely erected in March, or whenever the
" danger of injury from frost is over. After the summer
" use of it, it must be protected, by faggots or litter,
" against the wet and frost of winter. A kiln of these
" dimensions will contain 32,500 1^-Lich tiles, * * *
" or 12,000 21-inch tiles. * * *

" In good weather, this kiln can be filled, burnt, and
" discharged once in every fortnight, and fifteen kilns
" may be obtained in a good season, producing 487,500
" 1^-inch tiles, and in proportion for the other sizes.

" It requires 2 tons 5 cwt. of good coals to burn the
" above kiln, full of tiles."

A sectional view of this kiln is shown in Fio;. 46, in

£? 7

which (7, C represent sections of the outer trench ; A, one

of the three fire-holes ; and j?, j5, sections of a circular
passage inside of the wall, connected with the fire-holes,
and serving as a flue for the flames, which, at suitable in-
tervals, pass through openings into the floor of the kiln.
The whole structure should be covered with a roof of
rough boards, placed high enough to be out of the reach
of the fire. A door in the side of the kiln serves for put-

HOW TO MAKE DRAINING TILES. 185

ting in and removing the tiles, and is built up, tempora-
rily, with bricks or clay, during the burning. Mr. Hodges
estimates the cost of this kiln, all complete, at less than
$25. Concerning its value, he wrote another letter in
1848, from which the following is extracted :

" The experience of four years that have clasped since
K my letter to the late Earl Spencer, published in the 5th
" volume of the proceedings of the Royal Agricultural
" Society, page 57, has thoroughly tested the merits of
" the temporary clay-kilns for the burning of draining-
" pipes described in that letter.

" I am well aware that there were persons, even among
" those who came to see it, who pronounced at once upon
44 the construction and duration of the kiln as unworthy
" of attention. How far their expectations have been real-
ized, and what value belongs to their judgment, the fol-
" lowing: short statement will exhibit :

O

" The kiln, in question, was constructed, in 1844, at a
" cost of £5.

" It was used four times in that year, burning each
" time between 18,000 and 19,000 draining pipes, of If
" inches in diameter.

" In 1845, it was used nine times, or about once a fort-
*' night, burning each time the same quantity of nearly
" 19,000 pipes.

" In 1846, the same result.

" In 1847, it has been used twelve times, always burn-
" ing the same quantity. In the course of the last year a
" trifling repair in the bottom of the kiln, costing rather
" less than 10 shillings, was necessary, and this is the only
" cost for repair sirice its erection. It is now as good as
" ever, and might be worked at least once a fortnight
" through the ensuing season.

" The result of this experiment of four years shows not
" only the practical value of this cheap kiln, but Mr.
" Hatcher, who superintends the brick and tile-yard at Ben-

186 DRAINING FOR PROFIT AND HEAL1H.

" enden, where this kiln stands, expresses himself strongly
"in favor of this kiln, as always producing better and
" more evenly burned pipes than either of his larger and
" better built brick-kilns can do."

The floor of the kiln is first covered with bricks, placed
on end, at a little distance from each other, so as to allow
the tire to pass between them, and the tiles are placed on,
snd on these. This position will afford the best draft for
the flames. After the kiln is packed full, the door-way is
built up, and a slow fire is started, — only enough at first
to complete the drying of the tiles, and to do this so
slowly as not to warp them out of shape. They will be
thoroughly dry when the smoke from the top of the kiln
loses its dark color and becomes transparent. When the
fires are well started, the mouths of the fire-holes may be
built up so as to leave only sufficient room to put in fresh
fuel, and if the wind is high, the fire-holes, on the side
against which it blows, should be sheltered by some sort
of screen which will counteract its influence, and keep up
an even heat on all sides.

The time required for burning will be from two days and
a night to four days and four nights, according to the dry-
ness of the tiles, the state of the weather, and the character
of the fuel. The fires should be drawn when the tiles in the
hottest part of the kiln are burned to a " ringing " hard-
ness. By leaving two or three holes in the door-way,
which can be stopped with loose brick, a rod may be run
in, from time to time, to take out specimen tiles from the
hottest part of the kiln, which shall have been so placed
as to be easily removed. The best plan, however, — the
only prudent plan, in fact, — will be to employ an intelli-
gent man who is thoroughly experienced in the burning
of brick and pottery, and \vhose judgment in the manage-
ment of the fires, and in the cooling off of the kiln, wil]
save much of the waste that would result from inexperi«
cnced management. After the burning is completed, from

HOW TO MAKE DRAINING TILES. 187

40 to CO hours must be allowed for the cooling of the kiln
before it is opened. If the cold air is admitted while it is
still very hot, the unequal contraction of the material will
cause the tiles to crack, and a large portion of them may
be destroyed.

If any of the tiles are too oiuch burned, they will be
melted, and may stick together, or, at least, have their
shape destroyed. Those which are not sufficiently burn-
ed would not withstand the action of the water in the
soil, and should not be used. For the first of these acci-
dents there is no remedy ; for the latter, reburning will
be necessary, and under-done tiles may be left, (or replac-
ed,) in the kiln in the position which they occupied at the
first burning, and the second heat will probably prove sufii-
cient. There is less danger of unequal burning in circu-
lar than in square kilns. Soft wood is better than hard,
as making a better flame. It should be split fine, and well
seasoned.

Arrangement Of the Tilery. — Such a tilery as is de-
scribed above should have a drying shed from 60 to 80
feet long, and from 12 to 18 feet wide. This shed may be
built in the cheapest and roughest manner, the roof being
covered with felting, thatch, or hemlock boards, as econo-
my may suggest. It should have a tier of drying shelves,
(made of slats rather than of boards,) running the whole
length of each side. A narrow, wooden tram-way, down
the middle, to carry a car, by which the green tiles may
be taken from the machine to the shelves, and the dry
ones from the shelves to the kiln, will greatly lessen the
cost of handling.

The pug-mill and tile-machine, as well as the clay pit
and the washing-mill, should be at one end of the shed,
and the kiln at the other, so that, even in rainy weather,
the work may proceed without interruption. A shed of
the size named will be sufficient to dry as many tiles of

188 DRAINING FOR PROFIT AND HEALTH.

assorted sizes as can be burned in the clay-kiln described
above.

The Cost Of Tiles, — It would be impossible, at any
time, to say what should be the precise cost of tiles in a
given locality, without knowing the prices of labor and
fuel ; and in the present unsettled condition of the cur-
rency, any estimate would necessarily be of little value.
Mr. Parker's estimated the cost of inch pipes in England at
6s., (about $1.50,) per thousand, when made on the estate
where they were to be used, by a process similar to that
described herein. Probably they could at no time have
been made for less than twice that cost in the United States,
— and they would now cost much more ; though if the clay
is dug out in the fall, when the regularly employed farm
hands are short of work, and if the same men can cut and
haul the wood during the winter, the hands hired especially
for the tile making, during the summer season, (two men
and two or three boys,) cannot, even at present rates of
wages, bring the cost of the tiles to nearly the market
prices. If there be only temporary use for the machinery,
it may be sold, when no longer needed, for a good per-
centage of its original cost, as, from the slow movement
to which it is subjected, it is not much worn by its work.

There is no reason why tiles should cost more to make
than bricks. A common brick contains clay enough to
make four or five 1^-inch tiles, and it will require about
the same amount of fuel to burn this clay in one form as
in the other. This advantage in favor of tiles is in a
measure offset by the greater cost of handling them, and
the greater liability to breakage.

The foregoing description of the different processes of
the manufacture of draining tiles has been given, in order
that those who find it necessary, or desirable, to establish
works to supply the needs of their immediate localities
may commence their operations understand ingly, and form

HOW TO MA.KE DRAINING TILES. 189

an approximate opinion of the promise of success in the
undertaking.

Probably the most positive effect of the foregoing de-
scription, on the mind of any man who contemplates estab-
lishing a tilery, will be to cause him to visit some success-
ful manufactory, during the busy season, and examine for
himself the mode of operation. Certainly it would be un-
wise, when such a personal examination of the process is
practicable, to rely entirely upon the aid of written descrip-
tions ; for, in any work like tile-making, where the selec-
tion, combination and preparation of the materials, the
means of drying, and the economy and success of the
burning must depend on a variety of conditions and circum-
stances, which change with every change of locality, it- is
impossible that written directions, however minute, should
be a sufficient guide. Still, in the light of such directions,
one can form a much better idea of the bearing of the
different operations which he may witness, than he could
possibly do if the whole process were new to him.

If a personal examination of a successful tilery is im-
practicable, it will be necessary to employ a practical
brick-maker, or potter, to direct the construction and opera-
tion of the works, and in any case, this course is advisable.

In any neighborhood where two or three hundred acres
of land are to be drained, if suitable earths can be readily
obtained, it will be cheaper to establish a tile-yard, than
lo haul the necessary tiles, in wagons, a distance of ten or
twenty miles. Then again, the prices demanded by the
few manufacturers, who now have almost a monopoly of
the business, are exorbitantly high, — at least twice what
it will cost to make the tiles at home, with the cheap
works described above, so that if the cost of transporta
tion on the quantity desired would be equal to the cost of
establishing the works, there will be a decided profit in
the home manufacture. Probably, also, a tile-yard,, in a
neighborhood where the general character of the soil ia

190 DRAINING FOE PROFIT AND HEALTH.

such as to require drainage, will be of value after the ob*
ject for which it was made has been accomplished.

While setting forth the advantage to the farmer of
everything which may protect him against monopolies,
whether in the matter of draining-tiie, or of any other
needful accessory of his business, or which will enable
him to procure supplies without a ruinous outlay for trans-
portation, it is by no means intended that every man shall
become his own tile-maker.

In this branch of manufacture, as in every other, or-
ganized industry will accomplish results to which indi-
vidual labor can never attain. A hundred years ago,
when our mill-made cloths came from England, and cost
more than farmers could afford to pay, they wore home-
spun, which was neither so handsome nor so good as the
imported article ; but, since that time, the growing popu-
lation and the greater demand have caused cloth mills to
be built here, greater commercial facilities have placed
foreign goods within easy reach, and the house loom has
fallen into general disuse.

At present, the manufacture of draining- tiles is con-
fined to a few, widely separated localities, and each manu-
facturer has, thus for, been able to fix his own scale of
charges. These, and the cost of transportation to distant
points, make it difficult, if not impossible, for many farm-
ers to procure tiles at a cost low enough to justify their
use. In such cases, small works, to supply local demand,
may enable many persons to drain with tiles, who, other-
wise, would find it impossible to procure them cheaply
enough for economical use ; and the extension of under'
draining, causing a more general acquaintance with its
advantages, would create a sufficient demand to induce
an increase of the manufacture of tiles, and a consequent
reduction of price.

CHAPTER IX.

THE RECLAIMING OF SALT MARSHES.

" Adjoining to it is Middle Moor, containing about 2,500 acres, spoken
wof by Arthur Young as 'a watery desert,' growing sedge and rushes,
" and inhabited by frogs and bitterns ; — it is now fertile, well cultivated,
"and profitable land."

The foregoing extract, from an account of the Drainage
of the Fens on the eastern coast of England, is a text
from which might be preached a sermon worthy of the
attention of all who are interested in the vast areas of
salt marsh which form so large a part of our Atlantic
coast, from Maine to Florida.

Hundreds of thousands of acres that might be cheaply
reclaimed, and made our most valuable and most salubri-
ous lands, are abandoned to the inroads of the sea ; — frui'*-
ful only in malaria and musquitoes, — always a dreary
waste, and often a grave annoyance.

A single tract, over 20,090 acres in extent, the center
of which is not seven miles from the heart of New York
City, skirts the Hackensack River, in New Jersey, serv-
ing as a barrier to intercourse between the town and the
country which lies beyond it, adding miles to the daily
travel of the thousands whose business and pleasure re-
quire them to cross it, and constituting a nuisance and
an eyesore to all who see it, or come near it. How long it
191

192 DRAINING FOB PROFIT AXD HEALTH.

will continue in this condition it is impossible to say, but
the experience of other countries has proved that, for an
expense of not more than fifty dollars per acre, this tract
might be made better, for all purposes of cultivation, than
the lands adjoining it, (many of which are worth, for mar-
ket gardening, over one thousand dollars per acre,) and
that it might afford profitable employment, and give homes,
to all of the industrious poor of the city. The work of
reclaiming it would be child's play, compared with the
draining of the HarLiem Lake in Holland, where over 40,-
000 acres, submerged to an average depth of thirteen feet,
have been pumped dry, and made to do their part toward
the support of a dense population.

The Hackensack meadows are only a conspicuous exam-
ple of what exists over a great extent of our whole sea-
board; — virgin lands, replete with every element of fertil-
ity, capable of producing enough food for the support of
millions of human beings, better located, for residence and
for convenience to markets, than the prairies of the West-
ern States, — all allowed to remain worse than useless ;
while the poorer uplands near them are, in many places,
teeming with a population whose lives are endangered,
and whose comfort is sadly interfered with by the insects
and the miasma which the marsh produces.

The inherent wealth of the land is locked up, and all of
its bad effects are produced, by the water with which it is
constantly soaked or overflowed. Let the waters of the
sea be excluded, and a proper outlet for the rain-fall and
the upland wash be provided, — both of which objecta
may, in a great majority of cases, be economically accom-
plished,— and this land may become the garden of the
continent. Its fertility will attract a population, (espe-
cially in the vicinity of large towns,) which could no
where else live so well nor so easily.

The manner in which these salt marshes were formed
may be understood from the following account of the

THE RECLAIMING OF SALT MARSHES. 193

••* Great Level of the Fens" of the'eastern coast of Eng-
land, which is copied, (as is the paragraph at the head of
this chapter,) from the Prize Essay of Mr. John Algernon
Clarke, written for the Royal Agricultural Society in 1846.

The process is not, of course, always the same, nor are
the exact influences, which made the English Fens, gener-
ally, operating in precisely the same manner here, but the
main principle is the same, and the lesson taught by the
improvement of the Fens is perfectly applicable in our case.

" This great level extends itself into the six counties of
" Cambridge, Lincoln, Huntington, Northampton, Suffolk
" and Norfolk, being bounded by the highlands of each.
" It is about seventy miles in length, and varies from
" twenty to forty miles in breadth, having an area of more
" than 680,000 acres. Through this vast extent of flat
" country, there flow six large rivers, with their tributary
" streams ; namely, the Ouse, the Cam, the Nene, the Wet
" land, the Glen, and the Witham.

" These were, originally, natural channels for conveying
" the upland waters to the sea, and whenever a heavier
" downfall of rain than usual occurred, and the swollen
*' springs and rivulets caused the rivers to overflow, they
" must necessarily have overflowed the land to a great ex-
" tent."

" This, however, was not the principal cause of the in-
" undation of the Fens : these rivers were not allowed a
" free passage to the ocean, being thus made incapable of
" carrying off even the ordinary amount of upland water
" which, consequently, flowed over the land. The obstruc-
" tion was two-fold; first, the outfalls became blocked up
" by the deposits of silt from the sea waters, which ac-
u cumulated to an amazing thickness. The well known
" instances of boats found in 1635 eight feet below the
" Wisbeck River, and the smith's forge and tools found at
" Skirbeck Shoals, near Boston, buried with silt sixteen feet
" dei;p, show what an astonishing quantity of sediment
9

194 DRAINING FOU 1'IiOFIT A3D HEALTH.

""*' formerly choked up the mouths of these great rivers
" But the chief hind ranee caused by the ocean, arose from
" the tide rushing twice every day for a very great dis-
" tance up these channels, driving back the fresh waters,
" and overflowing with them, so that the whole level be-
" came deluged with deep water, and was, in fact, one
" great bay."

" In considering the state of this region as it first at-
" tracted the enterprise of man to its improvement, we
" are to conceive a vast, wild morass, with only small, de-
" tached portions of cultivate*! soil, or islands, raised above
" the general inundation ; a most desolate picture when
" contrasted with its present state of matchless fertility."

Salt marshes are formed of the silty deposits of rivers
and of the sea. The former bring down vegetable mould,
and fine earth from the uplands, and the latter contribute
sea weeds and grasses, sand and shells, and millions of
animalcule which, born for life in salt water only, die,
and are deposited with the other matters, at those points
where, from admixture with the fresh flow of the rivers, the
water ceases to be suitable for their support. It is esti-
mated that these animalcnlse alone are a chief cause of
the obstructions at the mouths of the rivers of Holland,
which retard their flo\v, and cause them to spread over the
flat country adjoining their banks. It is less important,
however, for the purposes of this chapter, to consider the
manner in which salt marshes are formed, than to discuss-
the means by which they may be reclaimed and made
available for the uses of agriculture. The improvement
may be conveniently considered under three heads: —

First — The exclusion of the sea water.

Second— The removal of the causes of inundation from
the upland.

Third— The removal of the rain-fall and water of filtra-
tiou.

THE RECLAIMING OF SALT MARSHES. 195

The Exclusion of the Sea is of the first import-
ance, because not only does it saturate the land with wa-
ter,— but this water, being salt, renders it unfertile for the
plants of ordinary cultivation, and causes it to produce
others which are of little, or no value.

The only means by which the sea may be kept out is,
by building such dykes or embankments as shut out the
highest tides, and, on shores which are exposed to the ac-
tion of the waves, will resist their force. Ordinarily, the
best, because the cheapest, material of which these em-
bankments can be made, is the soil of the marsh itself!
This is rarely, — almost never, — a pure peat, such as is
found in upland swamps ; it contains a large proportion of
sand, blue clay, muscle mud, or other earthy deposits, which
give it great weight and tenacity, and render it excellent
for forming the body of the dyke. On lands which are
overflowed to a considerable extent at each high tide,
(twice a day,) it will be necessary to adopt more expensive,
and more effective measures, but on ordinary salt meadows,
which are deeply covered only at the spring tides, (occur-
ring every month,) the following plan will be found prac-
tical and economical.

Locating the line of the embankment far enough back
from the edge of the meadow to leave an ample flat out-
side of it to break the force of the waves, if on the open
coast, or to resist the inroads of the current if on the bank
of an estuary or a river, — say from ten to one hundred
yards, according to the danger of encroachment, — set a
row of stakes parallel to the general direction of the shore,
lo mark the outside line of the base of the dyke. Stake
out the inside line at such distance as will give a pitch or
inclination to the slopes of one and a half to one on the
outside, and of one to one on the inside, and will allow
the necessary width at the top, whu-h should be at least
two feet higher than the level of the highest tide that is
known ever to have occurred at that place. The width

196 DRAINING FOR PROFIT AND HEALTH.

of the top should never be less than four feet, and in ex-
posed localities it should be more. If a road will be needed
around the land, it is best, if a heavy dyke is required, to
make it wide enough to answer this purpose, with still
wider places, at intervals, to allow vehicles to turn or to pass
each other. Ordinarily, however, especially if there be a
good stretch of flat meadow in front, the top of the dyke
need not be more than four feet wide. Supposing such a
dyke to be contemplated where the water has been known
to rise two feet above the level of the meadows, requiring
an embankment four feet high, it will be necessary to al-
low for the base a width of fourteen feet ; — four feet for
the width of the top, six feet for the reach of the front
slope, (1-J- to 1,) and four feet for the reach of the back
slope, (1 to 1.)

Having staked out two parallel lines, fourteen feet apart,
and erected, at intervals of twenty or thirty feet, frames
made of rough strips of board of the exact shape of the
section of the proposed embankment, the workmen may
remove the sod to a depth of six inches, laying it all on
the outside of the position of the proposed embankment.
The sod from the line of the ditch, from which the earth
for the embankment is to be taken, should also be removed
and placed with the other. This ditch should be always
inside of the dyke, where it will never be exposed to the
action of the sea. It should be, at the surface, broader
than the base of the dyke, and five feet deep in the center,
but its sides may slope from the surface of the ground di-
rectly to the center line of the bottom. This is the best
form to give it, because, while it should be five feet deep,
for future uses as a drain, its bottom need have no width.
The great width at the surface will give such a pitch to
the banks as to ensure their stability, and will yield a large
amount of sod for the facing of the dyke. The edge of
this ditch should be some feet away from the inner line of
the embankment, leaving it a firm support or shoulder at

THE RECLAIMING OF SALT MARSHES. 197

the original level of the ground, the sod not being remov-
ed from the interval. The next step in the work should
be to throw, or wheel, the material from the ditch on to
the place which has been stripped for the dyke, build-
ing it up so as to conform exactly to the profile frames,
these remaining in their places, to indicate the filling neces-
sary to make up for the settling of the material, as the
water drains out of it.

As fast as a permanent shape can be given to the outer
face of the dyke, it should be finished by having the sod
placed against it, being laid flatwise, one on top of anoth-
er, (like stone work,) in the most solid manner possible.
This should be continued to the top of the slope, and the
flat top of the dyke should also be sodded, — the sods on
the top, and on the slope, being firmly beaten to their places
with the back of the spade or other suitable implement.

Fig. 47.— DYKE AND DITCH.

This will sufficiently protect the exposed parts of the work
against the action of any waves that may be formed on
the flat between the dyke and the deep water, while the
inner slope and the banks of the ditch, not being exposed
to masses of moving water, will retain their shape and
will soon be covered with a new growth.* A sectional
view of the above described dyke and ditch is shown in
the accompanying diagram, (Fig. 47.)

* The ends of the work, while the operations are suspended during
spring tides, will need an extra protection of sods, but that lying out of
reach of the eddies that will be formed by the receding water will not be
materially affected.

198 DRAINING FOR PEOFIT AND HEALTH.

In all work of this character, it is important to regulate
the amount of work laid out to be done between the
spring tides, to the laboring force employed, so that no un-
finished work will remain to be submerged and injured.
When the flood comes, it should find everything finished
up and protected against its ravages, so that no part of it
need be done over again.

If the land is crossed by creeks, the dyke should be fin-
ished off and sodded, a little back from each bank, and
when the time comes for closing the channel, sufficient
force should be employed to complete the dam at a single
tide, so that the returning flow shall not enter to wash
away the material which has been thrown in.

If, as is often the case, these creeks are not merely tidal
estuaries, but receive brooks or rivers from the upland,
provision must be made, as will be hereafter directed, for
either diverting the upland flow, or for allowing it to pass
out at low water, through valve gates or sluices. When
the dam has been made, the water behind it should never
be allowed to rise to nearly the level of the full tide, and,
as soon as possible, grass and willows should be grown on
the bank, to add to its strength by the binding effect of
their roots.

When the dyke is completed across the front of the
whole flat, — from the high land on one side to the high
land on the other, the creeks should be closed, one after
the other, commencing with the smallest, so that the ex-
perience gained in their treatment may enable the force
to work more advantageously on those which carry more
water.

If the flow of water in the creek is considerable, a row
of strong stakes, or piles, should be firmly driven into the
bottom mud, across the whole width of the channel, at in-
tervals of not more than one or two feet, and fascines, —
bundles of brush bound together, — should be made ready
on the banks, in sufficient quantity to close the spaces be-

THE RECLAIMING OF SALT MARSHES. 199

tweon the piles. These will serve to prevent the washing
away of the filling during construction. The pile driving,
and the preparation of the fascines may be done before
the closing of the channel with earth is commenced, and
if upland clay or gravel, to be mixed with the local mate-
rial, can be economically brought to the place by boats or
wagons, it will be an advantage. Everything being in
readiness, a sufficient force of laborers to finish the dam in
six hours should commence the work a little before dead
low-water, and, (with the nid of wheelbarrows, if neces-
sary,) throw the earth in rapidly behind the row of stakes
and fascines, giving the dam sufficient width to resist the
pressure of the water from without, and keeping the work
always in advance of the rising of the tide, so that, during
the whole operation, none of the filling shall be washed
away by water flowing over its top.

If the creek has a sloping bottom, the work may be
commenced earlier, — is soon as the tide commences to re-
cede,— and pushed out to the center of the channel by the
time the tide is out. When the dam is built, it will be
best to heavily sod, or otherwise protect its surface against
the action of heavy rains, which would tend to wash it
away and weaken it ; and the bed of the creek should be
filled in back of the dam for a distance of at least fifty
yards, to a height greater than that at which water will
stand in the interior drains, — say to within three feet of
the surface, — so that there shall never be a body of water
standing within that distance of the dam.

This is a necessary precaution against the attacks of musk-
rats, which are the principal cause of the insecurity of all
salt marsh embankments. It should be a cardinal rule
with all who are engaged in the construction of such
works, never to allow two bodies of water, one on each
side of the bank to be nearer than twenty-five yards of each
other, and fifty yards would be better. Muskrats do not
bore through a bank, as is often supposed, to make a pas-

200 DRAINING FOB PROFIT AND HEALTH.

sage from one body of water to another, (they would find
an easier road over the top) ; but they delight in any ele-
vated mound in which they can make their homes above
the water level and have its entrance beneath the surface,
so that their land enemies cannot invade them. When
they enter for this purpose, only from one side of the dyke,
they wrill do no harm, but if another colony is, at the same
time, boring in from the other side, there is great danger
that their burrows will connect, and thus form a channel for
the admission of water, and destroy the work. A disre-
gard of this requirement has caused thousands of acres of
salt marsh that had been enclosed by dykes having a
ditch on each side, (much the cheapest way to make them,)
to be abandoned, and it has induced the invention of va-
rious costly devices for the protection of embankments
against these attacks.*

When the creek or estuary to be cut off is very wide,
the embankment may be carried out, at leisure, from each
side, until the channel is only wide enough to allow the
passage of the tide without too great a rush of water
against the unfinished ends of the work ; but, even in these
cases, there will be economy in the use of fascines and piles
from the first, or of stones if these can be readily procur-
ed. In wide streams, partial obstructions of the water

* The latest invention of this sort, is that of a series of cast iron plates,
set on edge, riveted together, and driven in to such a depth as to reach
from the top of the dyke to a point below low-water mark. The best
that can be said ot this plan is, that its adoption would do no harm. Un-
less the plates are driven deeply into the clay underlying the permeable
e-oil, (and this is sometimes very deep,) they would not prevent the
sliu'ht infiltration of water which could pass under them as well as
through any other part of the soil, and unless the iron were very thick,
the corrosive action of salt water would soon so honeycomb it that the
borers would easily penetrate it; but the great objection to the use of
these plates is, that they would be very costly and ineffectual. A dyke,
made as described above, of the material of the locality, having a ditch
only on the inside, and being well sodded on its outer fa^e, would be far
cheaper and better.

THE RECLAIMING OF SALT MAESHES. 201

course will sometimes induce the deposit of silt in such
quantities as will greatly assist the work. No written de-
scription of a single process will suffice for the direction
of those having charge of this most delicate of all drain-
age operations. Much must be left to the ingenuity of
the director of the work, who will have to avail himself
of the assistance of such favorable circumstances as may,
in the case in hand, offer themselves.

If the barrier to be built will require a considerable out-
lay, it should be placed in the hands of a competent engi-
neer, and it will generally demand the full measure of his
skill and experience.

The work cannot be successful, unless the whole line of
the water-front is protected by a continuous bank, suffici-
ently high and strong in all of its parts to resist the ac-
tion of the highest tides and the strongest waves to which
it will be subjected. As it is always open to inspection, at
each ebb tide, and can always be approached for repair, it
will be easy to keep it in good condition ; and, if properly
attended to, it will become more solid and effective with
age.

The removal of the causes of inundation from the up-
land is often of almost equal importance with the shutting
out of the sea, since the amount of water brought down
by rivers, brooks, and hill-side wash, is often more than
can be removed by any practicable means, by sluice gates,
or pumps.

It will be quite enough for the capacity of these means
of drainage, to remove the rain-water which falls on the
flat land, and that which reaches it by under-ground
springs and by infiltration, — its proper drainage-water in
short, — without adding that which, coming from a higher
level, may be made to flow off by its O'.vn fall.

Catch-water drains, near the foot of the upland, may be
so arranged as to receive the surface water of the hills and
9*

202 DRAINING FOR PROFIT AND HEALTH.

carry it off, always on a level above that of the top of the
embankment, and these drains may often be, with advan-
tage, enlarged to a sufficient capacity \o carry the streams
as well. If the marsh is divided by an actual river, it
may be best to embank it in two separate tracts; losing
the margins, that have been recommended, outside of
the dykes, and building the necessary additional length
of these, rather than to contend with a large body of wa-
ter. But, frequently, a very large marsh is traversed by a
tortuous stream which occupies a large area, and wliich,
although the tidal water which it contains gives it the ap-
pearance of a river, is only the outlet of an insignificant
stream, which might be carried along the edge of the up-
land in an ordinary mill-race. In such case it is better to
divert the stream and reclaim the whole area.

When a stream is enclosed between dykes, its winding
course should be made straight in order that its water may
be carried off as rapidly as possible, and the land which it
occupies by its deviations, made available for cultivation.
In the loose, silty soil of a salt marsh, the stream may be
made to do most of the work of making its new bed, by
constructing temporary ''jetties," or other obstructions to
its accustomed flow, which shall cause its current to de-
posit silt in its old channel, and to cut a new one out of the
opposite bank. In some instances it may be well to make an
elevated canal, straight across the tract, by constructing
banks high enough to confine the stream and deliver it
over the top of the dyke ; in others it may be more ex-
pedient to carry the stream over, or through, the hill which
bounds the marsh, and cause it to discharge through : n
adjoining valley. Improvements of this magnitude, which
often affect the interest of many owners, or of persons in-
terested in the navigation of the old channel, or in mill
privileges below the point at which the water course is to
be diverted, will generally require legislative interference.

THE EE CLAIMING OF SALT MARSHES. 203

Bat they not seldom promise immense advantages for a
comparatively small outlay.

The instance cited of the Hackensack Meadows, in New
Jersey, is a case in point. Its area is divided among many
owners, and, while ninety-nine acres in every hundred are
given up to muskrats, mosquitoes, coarse rushes and
malaria, the other one acre may belong to the owner of an
adjacent farm who values the salt hay which it yields him,
and the title to the whole is vested in many individual
proprietors, who could never be induced to unite in an im-
provement for the common benefit. Then again, thanks
to the tide that sets back in the Hackensack River, it is
able to float an occasional vessel to the unimportant vil-
lages at the northern end of the meadows, and the right
of navigation can be interfered with only by governmental
action. If the Hackensack River proper, that part of it
which only serves as an outlet for the drainage of the high
land north of the meadows, could be diverted and carried
through the hills to the Passaic; or confined within straight
elevated banks and made to discharge at high watermark
at the line of the Philadelphia Rail-road ; — the wash of
the highlands, east and west of the meadows, being also
cari'ied off at this level, — the bridge of the railroad might
be replaced by an earth embankment, less than a quarter
of a mile in length, effecting a complete exclusion of the
tidal flow from the whole tract.

This being done, a steam-pump, far less formidable than
many which are in profitable use in Europe for the same
purpose, would empty, and keep empty, the present bed
of the river, which would form a capital outlet for the
drainage of the whole area. Twenty thousand acres, of
the most fertile land, would thus be added to the available
area of the State, greatly increasing its wealth, and in-
ducing the settlement of thousands of industrious inhab-
itants.

As the circumstances under which upland water reaches

204 DRAINING FOR PROFIT AND HEALTH.

lands of the class under consideration vary with every
locality, no specific directions for the treatment of individ-
ual cases can be given within the limits of this chapter;
but the problem will rarely be a difficult one.

The removal of the rain-fall and water of filtration
is the next point to be considered.

So far as the drainage of the land, in detail, is concerned,
it is only necessary to say that it may be accomplished, as
in the case of any other level land which, from the slight
fall that can be allowed the drains, requires close attention
and great care in the adjustment of the grades.

The main difficulty is in providing an outlet for the
drains. This can only be done by artificial means, as the
water must be removed from a level lower than high-wa-
ter mark, — sometimes lower than low water.

If it is only required that the outlet be at a point some-
what above the level of ordinary low-water, it will be suf-
ficient to provide a sufficient reservoir, (usually a large
open ditch,) to contain the drainage water that is dis-
charged while the tide stands above the floor of the out-
let sluice-way, and to provide for its outflow while the
level of the tide water is below the point of discharge.
This is done by means of sluices having self-acting valves,
(or tide-gates,) opening outward, which will be closed by
the weight of the water when the tide rises against them,
being opened again by the pressure of the water from
within, as soon the tide falls below the level of the water
inside of the bank.

The gates and sluices may be of wood or iron, — square
or round. The best would be galvanized iron pipes and
valves ; but a square wooden trunk, closed with a heavy
oak gate that fits closely against its outer end, and moves
freely on its hinges, will answer capitally well, if carefully
and strongly made. If the gate is of wood, it will be
well to have it lie in a slightly slanting position, so that its
own weight will tend to keep it closed when the tide first

THE RECLAIMING OF SALT MARSHES. 205

commences to rise above the floor, and might trickle in,
before it had acquired sufficient head to press the gate
against the end of the trunk.

As this outlet has to remove, in a short time, all of the
water that is delivered by the drains and ditches during
several hours, it should, of course, be considerably larger
than would be required for a constantly flowing drain from
the same area ; but the immense gates, — large enough for
a canal lock, — which are sometimes used for the drainage
of a few acres of marsh, are absurd. Not only are they
useless, they are really objectionable, inasmuch as the
greater extent of their joints increases the risk of leakage
at the time of high water.

The channel for the outflow of the water may some-
times, with advantage, be open to the top of the dyke or
dam, — a canal instead of a trunk ; but this is rarely the
better plan, and is only admissible where the discharge is
into a river or small bay, too small for the formation of
high waves, as these would be best received on the face
of a well sodded, sloping bank.

The height, above absolute low water, at which the outlet
should be placed, will depend on the depth of the outlet
of the land drain, and the depth of storage room required
to receive the drainage water during the higher stages of
the tide. Of course, it must not be higher than the floor
of the land drain outlet, and, except for the purpose of
affording storage room, it need not be lower, although all
the drainage will discharge, not only while the tide water
is below the bottom of the gate, but as long as it remains
ower than the level of the water inside. It is well to place
the mouth of the trunk nearly as low as ordinary low-wa-
ter mark. This will frequently render it necessary to carry
a covered drain, of wood or brick, through the mud, out
as far as the tide usually recedes, — connected with the
valve gate at the outlet of the trunk, by a covered box

206 DRAINING FOB PROFIT AND HEALTH.

which will keep rubbish from obstructing it, or interfering
with its action.

When the outlet of the land-drains is below low-water
mark, it is of course necessary to pump out the drainage
water. This is done by steam or by wind, the latter be-
ing economical only for small tracts which will not bear
the cost of a steam pump. Formerly, this work was done
entirely by windmills, but these afford only an uncertain
power, and often cause the entire loss ot* crops which are
ready for the harvest, by obstinately refusing to work for
days after a heavy rain has deluged the land. In grass
land they are tolerably reliable, and on small tracts in
cultivation, it is easy, by having a good proportion of
open ditches, to afford storage room sufficient for general
security ; but in the reclaiming of large areas, (and it is
with these that the work is most economical,) the steam
pump may be regarded as indispensable. It is fast super-
seding the windmills which, a few years ago, were the sole
dependence in Holland and on the English Fens. The
magnitude of the pumping machinery on which the agricul-
ture of a large part of Holland depends, is astonishing.
There are such immense areas of salt marsh in the
United States which may be tolerably drained by the use
of simple valve gates, discharging above low-water mark,
that it is not very important to consider the question of
pumping, except in cases where owners of small tracts,
from which a sufficient tidal outlet could not be secured,
(without the concurrence of adjoining proprietors who
might refuse to unite in making the improvement,) may
find it advisable to erect small pumps for their own use.
In such cases, it would generally be most economical to
use wind-power, especially if an accessory steam pump be
provided for occasional use, in emergency. Certainly, the
tidal drainage should first be resorted to, for when the
land has once been brought into cultivation, the propriety
of introducing steam pumps will become more apparent,

THE RECLAIMING OF SALT MARSHES. 207

and the outlay will be made with more confidence of prof-
itable return, and, in all cases, the tidnl outlet should be
depended on for the outflow of all water above its level.
It would be folly to raise water by expensive means, which
can be removed, even periodically, by natural drainage.

When pumps are used, their discharge pipes should pass
through the embankment, and deliver the water at low-
water mark, so that the engine may have to operate only
against the actual height of the tide waier. If it delivered
above high- water mark, it would work, even at low tide,
against a constant head, equal to thai of the highest tides.

CHAPTER X.

MALARIAL DISEASES.

So far as remote agricultural districts are concerned, it
is not probable that the mere question of health would in-
duce the undertaking of costly drainage operations, al-
though this consideration may operate, in connection with
the need for an improved condition of soil, as a strong
argument in its f ivor. As a rule, " the chills " are accept-
ed by farmers, especially at the West, as one of the slight
inconveniences attending their residence on rich lands;
and it is not proposed, in this work, to urge the evils of
this terrible disease, and of "sun pain," or " day neuralgia,"
as a reason for draining the immense prairies over which
they prevail. The diseases exist, — to the incalculable det-
riment of the people, — and thorough draining would re-
move them, and would doubtless bring a large average re-
turn on the investment; — but the question is, after all,
one of capital ; and the cost of such draining as would
remove fever-and-ague from the bottom lands and prairies
of the West, and from the infected agricultural districts
at the East, would be more than the agricultural capita)
of those districts could spare for the purpose.
308

MALARIAL DISEASES. 209

In the vicinity of cities and towns, however, where
more wealth has accumulated, and where the number of
persons subjected to the malarial influence is greater, there
can be no question as to the propriety of draining, even
if nothing but improved health be the object.

Then again, there are immense tracts near the large
cities of this country which would be most desirable for
residence, were it not that their occupancy, except with
certain constant precautions, implies almost inevitable suf-
fering from fever-and-ague, or neuralgia.

Very few neighborhoods within thirty miles of the city
of New York are entirely free from these scourges, whose
influence has greatly retarded their occupation by those
who are seeking country homes ; while many, who have
braved the dangers of disease in these localities, have had
sad cause to regret their temerity.

Probably the most striking instance of the effect of
malaria on the growth and settlement of suburban dis-
tricts, is to be found on Staten Island. Within five miles
of the Battery ; accessible by the most agreeable and best
managed ferry from the city ; practically, nearer to Wall
street than Murray Hill is ; with most charming views of
land and water; with a beautifully diversified surface, and
an excellent soil ; and affording capital opportunities for sea
bathing, it should be, (were it not for its sanitary reputa-
tion, it inevitably would be,) one vast residence-park. Ex-
cept on its extreme northern end, and along its higher
ridges, it has, — and, unfortunately, it deserves, — a most un-
enviable reputation for insalubrity. Here and there, on the
southern slope also, there are favored places which are unac-
countably free from the pest, but, as a rule, it is, during the
gummer and autumn, unsafe to live there without having
constant recourse to preventive medication, or exercising
unusual and inconvenient precautions with regard to ex-
posure to mid-day sun and evening dew. There are alwaya
to be found attractive residences, which are deserted by

210 DRAINING FOB PROFIT AND HEALTH.

their owners, and are offered for sale at absurdly low prices
There are isolated instances of very thorough and very
costly draining, which has failed of effect, because so ex-
tensive a malarial region cannot be reclaimed by anything
short of a systematic improvement of the whole.

It has been estimated that the thorough drainage of the
low lands, valleys and ponds of the eastern end of the
island, including two miles of the south shore, would at
once add $5,000,000 to the market value of the real estate
of that section. There can be no question that any radical
improvement in this respect would remove the only ob-
stacle to the rapid settlement of the island by those who
wish to live in the country, yet need to be near to the
business portion of the city. The hope of such improve-
ment being made, however, seems as remote as ever, — al-
though any one at all acquainted with the sources of mi-
asm, in country neighborhoods, can readily see the cause
of the difficulty, and the means for its removal are as
plainly suggested.

Staten Island is, by no means, alone in this respect. All
who know the history of the settlement of the other sub-
urbs of New York are very well aware that those places
which are free from fever-and-ague and malarial neural-
gia, are extremely rare.

The exact cause of fever-and-ngue and othei malarial
diseases is unknown, but it is demonstrated that, whatever
the cause is, it is originated under a combination of cir-
cumstances, one of which is undue moisture in the soil.
It is not necessary that land should be absolutely marshy
to produce the miasm,for this often arises on cold, springy
uplands which are quite free from deposits of muck.
Thus far, the attention of scientific investigators, given
to the consideration of the origin of malarial diseases, has
failed to discover any well established facts concerning it ;
but there have been developed certain theories, which

MALARIAL DISEASES. 211

seem to be sustained by such knowledge as exists on the
subject.

Dr. Bartlett, in his work on the Fevers of the United
States, says : — " The essential, efficient, producing cause
" of periodical fever, — the poison whose action oa
** the system gives rise to the disease, — is a substance or
" agent which has received the names of malaria, or marsh'
" miasm. The nature and composition of this poison are
" wholly unknown to us. Like most other analagous
" agents, like the contagious principle of small-pox and of
" typhus, and like the epidemic poison of scarletina and
" cholera, they are too subtle to be recognized by any
" of our senses, they are too fugitive to be caught by any
" of our contrivances.

" As always happens in such cases and under similar
" circumstances, in the absence of positive knowledge, we
" have been abundantly supplied with conjecture and spec-
" ulation ; what observation has failed to discover, hy-
" pothesis has endeavored and professed to supply. It is
" quite unncessary even to enumerate the different sub-
" stances to which malaria has been referred. Amongst
" them are all of the chemical products and compounds
" possible in wet and marshy localities ; moisture alone ;
" the products of animal and vegetable decomposition ;
uand invisible living organisms. * * * * Inscruta-
" ble, however, as the intimate nature of the substances
" or agents may be, there are some few of its laws and
" relations which are very well ascertained. One of these
" consists in its connection with low, or wet, or marshy
" localities. This connection is not invariable and exclu-
" sive, that is, there are marshy localities which are net
" malarious, and there are malarious localities which are
" not marshy; but there is no doubt whatever that it gen-
" erally exists."

In a report to the United States Sanitary Commission,
Dr. Metcalfe states, that all hypotheses, even the most

'212 DRAINING FOR PROFIT AND HEALTH.

plausible, are entirely unsupported by positive knowledge,
arid he says : —

u This confession of ignorance still leaves us in posses-
" sion of certain knowledge concerning malaria, from which
" much practical good may be derived.

" 1st. It affects, by preference, low and moist localities.

" 2d. It is almost never developed at a lower tempera-
" ttire than 60° Fahrenheit.

" 3d. Its evolution or active agency is checked by a
" temperature of 32°.

" 4th. It is most abundant and most virulent as we ap-
" proach the equator and the sea-coast.

" 5th. It has an affinity for dense foliage, which has the
" power of accumulating it, when lying in the course of
c winds blowing from malarious localities.

" 6th. Forests, or even woods, have the power of ob-
" structing and preventing its transmission, under these
" circumstances.

" 7th. By atmospheric currents it is capable of being
" transported to considerable distances — probably as far as
" five miles.

" 8th. It may be developed, in previously healthy places,
" by turning up the soil ; as in making excavations for
" foundations of houses, tracks for railroads, and beds for
" canals.

" 9th. In certain cases it seems to be attracted and ab-
" sorbed by bodies of water lying in the course of such
" winds as waft it from the miasmatic source.

" 10th. Experience alone can enable us to decide as to
" the presence or absence of malaria, in any given locality.

" llth. In proportion as countries, previously malarious,
" are cleared up and thickly settled, periodical fevers dis-
" appear — in many instances to be replaced by the typhoid
" or typhus."

La Roche, in a carefully prepared treatise on " Pneumo-
nia ; its Supposed Connection with Autumnal Fevers," re-

MALARIAL DISEASES. 213

cites various theories concerning the mode of action of
marsh miasm, and finds them insufficient to account for
the phenomena which they produce. He continues as
follows : —

" All the above hypotheses failing to account for the ef-
" fects in question, we are naturally led to the admission
" that they are produced by the morbific influence of some
" special agent ; and when we take into consideration all
" the circumstances attending the appearance of febrile
" diseases, the circumscribed sphere of their prevalence,
" the suddenness of their attack, the character of their
" phenomena, etc., we may safely say that there is noth-
" ing left but to attribute them to the action of some
" poison dissolved or suspended in the air of the infected
" locality; which poison, while doubtless requiring for its
"development and dissemination a certain degree of heat.
" and terrestrial and atmospheric moisture, a certain
" amount of nightly condensation after evaporation, and
' the presence of fermenting or decomposing materials,
"cannot be produced by either of these agencies alone,
'•and though not indicated by the chemist, betrays its
" presence by producing on those exposed to its influence
"the peculiar morbid changes characterizing fever."

He quotes the following from the Researches of Dr.
Chadwick : —

" In considering the circumstances external to the resi-
" dence, which affect the sanitary condition of the popula-
" tion, the importance of a general land-drainage is devel-
'* oped by the inquiries as to the cause of the prevalent
" diseases, to be of a magnitude of which no conception had
"been formed at the commencement of the investigation.
*' Its importance is manifested by the severe consequences
" of its neglect in every part of the country, as well as by
" itri advantages in the increasing salubrity and productive-
t; ness wherever the drainage has been skillful and effeo-
" tual."

214 DRAINING FOR PROFIT AND HEALTH.

La Roche calls attention to these facts: — That the ac-
climated residents of a malarious locality, while they are
less subject than strangers to active fever, slio\v, in their
physical and even in their mental organization, evident
indications of the ill effects of living in a poisonous atmos-
phere,— an evil which increases with successive genera-
tions, often resulting in a positive deterioration of the
race ; that the lower animals are affected, though in a less
degree than man ; that deposits of organic matter which
are entirely covered with water, (as at the bottom of a
pond,) are not productive of malaria ; that this condition
of saturation is infinitely preferable to imperfect drainage;
that swamps which are shaded from the sun's heat by
trees, are not supposed to produce disease; and that
marshes which are exposed to constant winds are not
especially deleterious to persons living in their immediate
vicinity, — while winds frequently carry the emanations of
miasmatic districts to points some miles distant, where
they produce their worst effects. This latter statement is
substantiated by the fact that houses situated some miles
to the leeward of low, wet lands, have been especially in-
salubrious until the windows and doors on the side toward
the source of the miasm were closed up, and openings
made on the other side, — and thenceforth remained free
from the disease, although other houses with openings on
the exposed sides continued unhealthy.

The literature relating to periodical fevers contains noth-
ing else so interesting as the very ingenious article of Dr. J.
H. Salisbury, on the " Cause of Malarious Fevers," contrib-
uted to the u American Journal of Medical Science," for
January, 1866. Unfortunately, while there is no evidence
to controvert the statements of this article, they do not
seem to be honored with the confidence of the profession, —
not being regarded as sufficiently authenticated to form a
basis for scientific deductions. Dr. Salisbury claims to have
discovered the cause of malarial fever in the spores of a very

MALARIAL DISEASES. 215

low order of plant, which spores he claims to have inva-
riably detected in the saliva, and in the urine, of fever pa-
tients, and in those of no other persons, and which he col-
lected on plates of glass suspended over all marshes and
other lands of a malarious character, which he examined,
and which he was never able to obtain from lands which
were not malarious. Starting from this point, he proceeds,
(with circumstantial statements that seem to the unprofes-
sional mind to be sufficient,) to show that the plant pro-
ducing these spores is always found, in the form of a whit-
ish, green, or brick-colored incrustation, on the surface of
fever producing lands ; that the spores, when detached
from the parent plant, are carried in suspension only in
the moist exhalations of wet lands, never rising higher,
(usually from 35 to 60 feet,) nor being carried farther, than
the humid air itself; that they most accumulate in the up-
per strata of the fogs, producing more disease on lands
slightly elevated above the level of the marsh than at its
very edge; that fever-and-ague are never to be found
where this plant does not grow; that it may be at once
introduced into the healthiest locality by transporting
moist earth on which the incrustation is forming; that the
plant, being introduced into the human system through
the lungs, continues to grow there and causes disease ;
and that quinia arrests its growth, (as it checks the mul-
tiplication of yeast plants in fermentation,) and thus sus-
pends the action of the disease.

Probably it would be impossible to prove that the fore-
sroing theoiy is correct, though it is not improbable that it
contains the germ from which a fuller knowledge of the dis-
ease and its causes will be obtained. It is sufficient for
the purposes of this work to say that, so far as Dr. Salis-
bury's opinion is valuable, it is, — like the opinion of all
other writers on the subject, — fully in favor of perfect
drainage as the one great preventive of all malarial di»

216 DRAINING FOR PROFIT AND HEALTH.

The evidence of the effect of drainage in removing the
cause of malarial diseases is complete and conclusive. In-
stances of such improvement in this country are not rare,
but they are much less numerous and less conspicuous
here than in England, where draining has been much more
extensively carried out, and where greater pains have been
taken to collect testimony as to its effects.

If there is any fact well established by satisfactory ex-
perience, it is that thorough and judicious draining will
entirely remove the local source of the miasm which pro-
duces these diseases.

The voluminous reports of various Committees of the
English Parliament, appointed to investigate sanitary
questions, are replete with information concerning expe-
rience throughout the whole country, bearing directly on
this question.

Dr. Whitley, in his report to the Board of Health, (in
1864,) of an extended tour of observation, says of one
town that he examined : —

" Mr. Nicholls, who has been forty years in practice
" here, and whom I was unable to see at the time of my
" visit, writes : Intermittent and remittent are greatly on
" on the decline since the improved state of drainage of
" the town and surrounding district, and more particularly
" marked is this alteration, since the introduction of the
" water-works in the place. Although we have occasional
" outbreaks of intermittent and remittent, with neuralgic
" attacks, they yield more speedily to remedies, and are
" not attended by so much enlargement of the liver or
" spleen as formerly, and dysentery is of rare occurrence."

Dr. Whitley sums up his case as follows : —

" It would appear from the foregoing inquiry, that in-
" terinittent and remittent fevers, and their consequences,
" can no longer be regarded as seriously affecting the
" health of the population, in many of the districts, in which
" those diseases were formerly of a formidable character.

MALARIAL DISEASES. 21?

" Thus, in Norfolk, Lincolnshire, and Cambridgeshire,
" counties in which these diseases were both frequent and
" severe, all the evidence, except that furnished by the
" Peterborough Infirmary, and, in a somewhat less degree,
" in Spaulding, tends to show that they are at the present
u time, comparatively rare and mild in form,"

* * * * *

* * * *

He mentions similar results from his investigations in
other parts of the kingdom, and says : —

" It may, therefore, be safely asserted as regards Eng-
" land generally, that : —

" The diseases which have been made the subject of the
" present inquiry, have been steadily decreasing, both in
" frequency and severity, for several years, and this de-
" crease is attributed, in nearly every case, mainly to one
" cause, — improved land drainage ; " again :

" The change of local circumstances, unanimously de-
" clared to be the most immediate in influencing the pre-
" valence of malarious diseases, is land drainage;" and
again :

" Except in a few cases in which medical men believed
" that these affections began to decline previously to the
" improved drainage of the places mentioned, the decrease
" in all of the districts where extensive drainage has been
u carried out, was stated to have commenced about the
" same time, and was unhesitatingly attributed to that
" cause."

A select Committee of the House of Commons, ap-
pointed to investigate the condition and sanitary influence
oi the Thames marshes, reported their minutes of evi-
dence, and their deductions therefrom, in 1854. The fol-
lowing is extracted from their report:

" It appears from the evidence of highly intelligent and
" eminent gentlemen of the medical profession, residing in
" the neighborhood of the marshes on both sides of the
10

218 DRAINING FOR PROFIT AND HEALTH

" Thames below London Bridge, that the diseases preva»
"lent in these districts are highly indicative of malarious
ic influences, fever-and-ague being very prevalent; and
" that the sickness and mortality are greatest in those lo-
" calities which adjoin imperfectly drained lands, and for
" exceed the usual average ; and that ague and allied dis-
" orders frequently extend to the high grounds in the vicin-
11 ity. In those districts where a partial drainage has
" been effected, a corresponding improvement in the health
" of the inhabitants is Derceptible."

In the evidence given before the committee, Dr. P.
Bossey testified that the malaria from salt marshes varied
in intensity, being most active in the morning and in the
Summer season. The marshes are sometimes covered by
a little fog, usually not more than three feet thick,
which is of a very offensive odor, and detrimental to
health. Away from the marshes, there is a greater ten-
dency to disease on the side toward which the prevailing
winds blow.

Dr. James Stewart testified that the effect of malaria
was greatest when very hot weather succeeds heavy rain
or floods. He thought that malaria could be carried itp
a slope, but has never been known to descend, and that,
consequently, an intervening hill affords sufficient protec-
tion against marsh malaria. He had known cases where
the edges of a river were healthy and the uplands mala-
rious.

In Santa Maura and Zante, where he had been, stationed
with the army, he had observed that the edge of a marsh
would be comparatively healthy, while the higher places
in the vicinity were exceedingly unhealthy. He thought
that there were a great many mixed diseases which began
like ague and terminated very differently ; those diseases
would, no doubt, assume a very different form if they
were not produced by the marsh air ; many diseases are
very difficult to treat, from being of a mixed character

MALARIAL DISEASES. 219

beginning like marsh fevers and terminating like inflam-
matory fevers, or diseases of the chest.

Dr. George Farr testified that rheumatism and tic-dolo-
reux were very common among the ladies who live at the
Woolwich Arsenal, near the Thames marshes. Some of
( hese cases were quite incurable, until the patients removed
to a purer atmosphere.

W. H. Gall, M. D., thought that the extent to which
malaria affected the health of London, must of course be
very much a theoretical question; "but it is very remark-
"able that diseases which are not distinctly miasmatic, do
" become much more severe in a miasmatic district. In-
" fluenzas, which prevailed in England in 1847, were very
" much more fatal in London and the surrounding parts
" than they were in the country generally, and influenza
" and ague poisons are very nearly allied in their effects.
" Marsh miasms are conveyed, no doubt, a considerable
"distance. Sufficiently authentic cases are recorded to
" show that the influence of marsh miasm extends several
" miles." Other physicians testify to the fact, that near
the Tiiames marshes, the prevalent diseases are all of them
of an aguish type, intermittent and remittent, and that
they are accompanied with much dysentery. Dr. John
Manly said that, when he first went to Barking, he found a
great deal of ague, but since the draining, in a population
of ten thousand, there are not half-a-dozen cases annually
and but very little remittent.

The following Extract is taken from the testimony
of Sir Culling Eardly, Bart. :

" Chairman : — I believe you reside at Belvidere, in the
" parish of Erith ? — Yes. — Ch. : Close to these marshes ?
" — Yes. — Ch. : Can you speak from your own knowledge,
" of the state of these marshes, with regard to public
"health ? — Sir C. : I can speak of some of the results
" which have been produced in the neighborhood, from the
"condition of the marshes; the neighborhood is in one

220 DRAINING FOR PROFIT AND HEALTH.

"continual state of ague. My own house is protected, from
" the height of its position, and a gentleman's house is less
" liable to the influence of malaria than the houses of the
" lower classes. But even in my house we are liable io
"ague; and to show the extraordinary manner in which
** the ague operates, in the basement story of this house
" where my men-servants sleep, we have more than once
** had bad ague. In the attics of my house, where my
"maid-servants sleep, we have never had it. Persons are
" deterred from settling in the neighborhood by the agu-
" ish character of the country. Many persons, attracted
" by the beauty of the locality, wish to come down and
"settle; but when they find the liability to ague, they
" are compelled to give up their intention. I may mention
" that the village of Erith itself, bears marks of the iuflu-
" ence of malaria. It is more like one of the desolate
"towns of Italy, Ferrara, for instance, than a healthy,
" happy, English village. I do not know whether it is
"known to the committee, that Erith is the village describ-
"ed in Dickens' Household Words, as Dumble-down-
" deary, and that it is a most graphic and correct descrip-
" tion of the state of the place, attributable to the unhealthy
" character of the locality."

He also stated that the ague is not confined to the
marshes, but extends to the high lands near them.

The General Board of Health, of England, at the close
of a voluminous report, publish the following " Conclusions
" as to the Drainage of Suburban Lands : —

" 1. Excess of moisture, even on lands not evidently wet,
" is a cause of fogs and damps.

" 2. Dampness serves as a medium for the conveyance of
6£ any decomposing matter that may be evolved, and adds
"to the injurious effects of such matters in the air: — in
" other words the excess of moisture may be said to increase
" or aggravate atmospheric impurities.

MAULUIAL DISEASES. 221

" 3. The evaporation of the surpl as moisture lowers the
"temperature, produces chills, and creates or aggravates
"the sudden and injurious changes or fluctuations by
" which health is injured."

In view of the foregoing opinions as to the cause of ma-N
laria, and of the evidence as to the effect of draining in re-
moving the unhealthy condition hi which those causes
originate, it is not too much to say that, — in addition to
the capital effect of draining on the productive capacity of
the land, — the most beneficial sanitary results maybe con-
fidently expected from the extension of the practice, espe-
cially in such localities as are now unsafe, or at least
undesirable for residence.

In proportion to the completeness and efficiency of tne
means for the removal of surplus water from the soil : — in
proportion, that is, to the degree in which the improved
tile drainage described in these pages is adopted, — will be
the completeness of the removal of the causes of disease.
So far as the drying of malarious lands is concerned, it is
only necessary to construct drains in precisely the same
manner as for agricultural improvement.

The removal of the waste of houses, and of other filth,
will l>e considered hi the next chapter.

CHAPTER XI.

HOUSE DRAINAGE AND TOWN SEWERAGE IN
TfflffilR RELATIONS TO THE PUBLIC HEALTH.

The following is extracted from a report made by the
General Board of Health to the British Parliament, con-
cerning the administration of the Public Health Act and
the Nuisances Removal and Diseases Prevention Acts
from 1848 to 1854.

" Where instances have been favorable for definite ob-
" servation, as in broad blocks of buildings, the effects of
" sanitary improvement have been already manifested to an
" extent greater than could have been anticipated, and than
" can be readily credited by those who have not paid atten-
tion to the subject.

"In one favorable instance, that of between 600 and 700
" persons of the working class in the metropolis, during a
"period of three years, the average rate of mortality has
"been reduced to between 13 and 14 in 1000. In another
" instance, for a shorter period, among 500 persons, the
" mortality has been reduced as low as even 7 in 1000.
"The average rate of mortality for the whole metropolis
"being 23 iiT 1000.

" In another instance, the abolishing of cess-pools and
" their replacement by water-closets, together with the
" abolishing of brick drains and their replacement by im-
222

HOUSE DRAINAGE AND TOWN SEWERAGE. 223

"permeable and self-cleansing stone- ware pipes, has been
" attended with an immediate and extraordinary reduction
" of mortality. Thus, in Lambeth Squnre, occupied by a
" superior class of operatives, in the receipt of high wages,
"the deaths, which in ordinary times were above the gen-
"eral average, or more than 30 in 1000, had risen to a rate
" of 55 in 1000. By the abolishing of cess-pools, which
u were within the houses, and the substitution of water-
" closets, and with the introduction of tubular, self-cleansing
" house-drains, the mortality has been reduced to 13 in 1000.

" The reduction of the mortality was effected precisely
" among the same occupants, without any change in their
" habits whatever."

" Sewers are less important than the House-Drams and
" Water-Closets, and if not carrying much water, may be-
" come cess-pools. In the case of the Square just referred
"to, when cess-pools and drains of deposit were removed
u without any alteration whatever in the adjacent sewers,
"fevers disappeared from house to house, as these recep-
" tacles were filled up, and the water closet apparatus sub-
"stituted, merely in consequence of the removal of the de-
" composing matter from beneath the houses to a distant
"sewer of deposit or open water course.

" If the mortality were at the same rate as in the model
" dwellings, or in the improved dwellings in Lambeth
" Square, the annual deaths for the whole of the metropolis
" would be 25,000 less, and for the whole of England and
" Wales 170,000 less than the actual deaths.

"If the reduced rate of mortality in these dwellings
"should continue, and there appears to be no reason to
"suppose that it will not, the extension to all towns which
" have been affected, of the improvements which have been
" applied in these buildings, would raise the average age
"at death to about forty-eight instead of twenty-nine, the
" present average age at death of the inhabitants of towns
"in all England and Wales."

224 DRAINING FOK PROFIT AND HEALTH.

The branch of the Art of Drainage which relates to the
removal of the fecal and other .refuse wastes of the popu-
lation of towns, is quite different from that which has he-en
described in the preceding pages, as applicable to the agri-
cultural and sanitary improvement of lands under cultiva-
tion, and of suburban districts. Still, the fact that town
and house drainage affords a means for the preservation
of valuable manures, justifies its discussion in an agricul-
tural work, and " draining for health" would stop far short
of completeness were no attention paid to the removal of
the cause of diseases, which are far more fatal than those
that originate in an undrained condition of the soil.

The extent to which these diseases, (of which typhoid
fever is a type,) are prevented by sanitary drainage, is
strikingly shown in the extract which commences this
chapter. Since the experience to which this report refers,
it has been found that the most fatal epidemics of the
lower portions of London originated in the choked condi-
tion of the street sewers, whose general character, as well
as the plan of improvement adopted are described in the
following " Extracts from the Report of the Metropolitan
Board of Works," made in 1866.

" The main sewers discharged their whole contents di-
"rect into the Thames, the majority of them capable of
" being emptied only at the time of low water ; conse-
" quently, as the tide rose, the outlets of the sewers were
" closed, and the sewage was dammed back, and became
"stagnant; the sewage and impure waters were also
" constantly flowing from the higher grounds, in some in-
" stances during 18 out of the 24 hours, and thus the thick
" and heavy substances were deposited, which h;id to be
" afterwards removed by the costly process of hand labor.
" During long continued or copious falls of rain, more par-
" ticularly when these occurred at the time of high water
" in the river, the closed outlets not having sufficient stor-
v< age capacity to receive the increased volume of sewage,

HOTTSE DRAINAGE AND TOWN SEWEKAGE. 225

"the houses and premises in the low lying districts, espec-
" ially on the south side of the river, became flooded by
" the sewage rising through the house drains, and so c»>u-
" turned until the tide had receded sufficiently to afford a
" vent for the pent-up waters, when the sewage flowea
"and deposited itself along the banks of the river, evolv-
" ing gases of a foul and offensive character.

"This state of things had a most injurious effect upon
" the condition of the Thames ; for not only was the sew-
" age carried up the river by the rising tide, at a time
" when the volume of pure water was at its minimum, and
" quite insufficient to dilute and disinfect it, but it was
" brought back again into the heart of the metropolis, there
"to mix with each day's fresh supply, until the gradual
"progress towards the sea of many day's accumulation
" could be plainly discerned ; the result being that the por-
" tion of the river within the metropolitan district became
" scarcely less impure and offensive than the foulest of the
" sewers themselves. *****

" The Board, by the system they have adopted, have
"sought to abolish the evils which hitherto existed, by
"constructing new lines of sewers, laid in a direction at
"right angles to that of the existing sewers, and a little
" below their levels, so as to intercept their contents and
" convey them to an outfall, on the north side of the Thames
"about 11£ miles, and on the south side about 14 miles,
" below London Bridge. By this arrangement as large a
ct proportion of the sewage as practicable is carried away
" by gravitation, and a constant discharge for the remain-
" der is provided by means of pumping. At the outlets,
" the sewage is delivered into reservoirs situate on the
"banks of the Thames, and plaeed at such levels as enable
" them to discharge into the river at or about the time of
"high water. The sewage thus becomes not only at
" once diluted by the large volume of water in the river at
"the time of high water, but is also carried by the ebb
10*

SJ DRAINING FOR PROFIT AND HEALTH.

" 26 miles below London Bridge, and its return by the fol-
" lowing flood-tide within the metropolitan area, is effee-
"tually prevented."

The details of this stupendous enterprise are of sufficient
interest to justify the introduction here of the "General
Statistics of the Works " as reported by the Board.

"A few statistics relative to the works may not prove
"uninteresting. The first portion of the works was com-
" menced in January 1859, being about five months after
"the passing of the A(-t authorising their execution.
" There are 82 miles of main intercepting sewers in London.
" In the construction of the works 318,000,000 of bricks,
"and 880,000 cubic yards of concrete have been used,
" and 3,500,000 cubic yards of earth excavated. The cost,
" when completed, will have been about £4,200,000. The
"total pumping power employed is 2,300 nominal
"horse power: and if the engines were at full work, night
" and day, 44,000 tons of coals per annum would be used ;
"but the average consumption is estimated at 20,000 tons.
" The sewage to be intercepted by the works on the north
"side of the river, at present amounts to 10,000,000 cubic
" feet, and on the south side 4,000,000 cubic feet per day ;
" but provision is made for an anticipated increase in these
"quantities, in addition to the rainfall, amounting to ato-
" tal of 63,000,000 cubic feet per day, which is equal to a
"lake of 482 acres, three feet deep, or 15 times as large as
" the Serpentine in Hyde Park."

A very large portion of the sewage has. to be lifted
thirty-six feet to the outfall sewer. The works on the
north side of the Thames were formally opened, by the
Prince of Wales, in April 1865.

In the hope that the immense amount of sewage, for
which an escape has been thus provided, might be profitably
employed in agriculture, advertisements were inserted in
the public journals asking for proposals for carrying out
such a scheme ; and arrangements were subsequently made

HOUSE DRAINAGE AND TOWX SEWERAGE. 227

for an extension of the works, by private enterprise, by the
construction of a culvert nine and a half feet in diameter,
and forty miles in length, capable of carrying 12,000,000
cubic feet of sewage per day to the barren sands on the
coast of Essex ; the intention being to dispose of the liquid
to farmers along the line, and to use the surplus for the
fertilization of 7000 acres, (to be subsequently increased,)
which are to be reclaimed from the sea by embankments
and valve sluice-gates.

This project has not been carried into effect. — (%d ed.)
The work which has been done, and which is now in
contemplation, in England, is suggestive of what might,
with advantage, be adopted in the larger cities in Ameri-
ca. Especially in New York an improved means of out-
let is desirable, and it is doubtful whether the high rate
of mortality of that city will be materially reduced be-
fore effective measures are devised for removing the vast
accumulations of filth, which ebb and flow in many of the
larger sewers, with each change of the tide; and which
are deposited between the piers along the river-sides.

It would be practicable to construct a main receiving
sewer under the river streets, skirting the city, from the
vicinity of Bellevue Hospital on the east side, passing near
the outer edge of the Battery, and continuing to the high
land near 60th street on the west side ; having its water
level at least twenty feet below the level of the street, and
receiving all of the sewage which now flows into the river.
At the Battery, this receiving sewer might be connected,
b) a tunnel, with the Brooklyn shore, its contents being
carried to a convenient point south of Fort Hamilton, —
where their discharge, (by lifting steam pumps), into the
waters of the Lower Bay, would be comparatively unob-
jectionable. The improvement being carried out to this
point, it would be interesting to consider the advantages
to result from the application of the sewage to the sandy
soil on the south side of Long Island.

22$ DRAINING FOK PROFIT AND HEALTH.

The effect of such an improvement on the health of the
city, — which is now in constant danger from the putrefying
filth of the sewers, (these being little better than covered
cess-pools under the streets,) — would, no doubt, equal tho
improvement that has resulted from similar work in
London.

The foregoing relates only to the main outlets for town
sewage. The arterial drainage, (the lateral drains of the
system,) which receives the waste of the houses and the
wash of the streets, is entirely dependent on the outlet
sewers, and can be effective only when these are so con-
structed as to afford a free outfall for the matters that it de-
livers to them. In many towns, owing to high situation,
or to a rapid inclination of surface, the outfall is naturally
so good as to require but little attention. In all cases, the
manner of constructing the collecting drains is a matter of
great importance, and in this work a radical change has
been introduced within a few years past.

Formerly, immense conduits of porous brick work, in all
cases large enough to be entered to be cleansed, by hand
labor, of their accumulated deposits, were considered neces-
sary for the accommodation of the smallest discharge. The
consequence of this was, that, especially in sewers carrying
but little water, the solid matters contained in the sewage
were deposited by the sluggish flow, frequently causing
the entire obstruction of the passages. Such drains always
required frequent and expensive cleansing by hand, and the
decomposition of the filth which they contained produced
a most injurious effect on the health of persons living near
their connections with the street. The foul liquids with
which they were filled, passing through their porous
walls, impregnated the earth near them, and sometimes
reached to the cellars of adjacent houses, which were in
consequence rendered extremely unhealthy. Many such
sewers are now in existence, and some such are still being
constructed. Not only are they unsatisfactory, they aro

HOUSE DRAINAGE AN'D TOWX SE WEE AGE. 229

much more expensive in construction, and require ranch
attention and labor for repairs, and cleansing, than do the
stone-ware pipe sewers which are no\v universally adopted
wherever measures are taken to investigate their compara-
tive merits. An example of the difference between the old
and modern styles of sewers is found in the drainage of the
Westminster School buildings, etc., in London.

The new drainage conveys the house and surface drain-
age of about two acres on which are fifteen large houses.
The whole length of the drain is about three thousand feet,
and the entire outlet is through two nine inch pipes. The
drainage is perfectly removed, and the pipes are always
clean, no foul matters being deposited at any point. This
drainage has been adopted as a substitute for an old system
of sewerage of which the main was from 4 feet high, by
3 feet 6 inches wide, to 17 feet high and 6 or 7 feet wide.
The houses had cess-pools beneath them, which were filled
with the accumulations of many years, while the sewers
themselves were scarcely less offensive. This condition
resulted in a severe epidemic fever of a very fatal character.

An examination instituted to discover the cause of the
epidemic resulted in the discovery of the facts set forth
above, and there were removed from the drains and cess-
pools more than 550 loads of ordure. The evaporating
surface of this filth was more than 2000 square yards.

Since the new drainage, not only has there been no recur-
rence of epidemic fever, but " a greater improvement in
" the general health of the population has succeeded than
"might be reasonably expected in a small block of houses,
w amidst an ill-conditioned district, from which it cannot be
" completely isolated."

The principle which justifies the use of pipe sewers is pre-
cisely that which has been described in recommending small
tiles for agricultural drainage, — to wit: that the rapidity of
a flow of water, and its power to remove obstacles, is in pro-
portion to its depth as compared with its width. It has been

230 DRAINING FOE PEOFIT AND HEALTH.

found in practice, that a stream which wends its sluggish
way along the bottom of a large brick culvert, when con-
centrated within the area of a small pipe of regular form,
flows much more rapidly, and will carry away even whole
bricks, and other substances which were an obstacle to its
flow in the larger channel. As an experiment as to the
efficacy of small pipes Mr. Hale, the surveyor, who was
directed by the General Board of Health of London to
make the trial, laid a 12-inch pipe in the bottom of a sewer
5 feet and 6 inches high, and 3 feet and 6 inches wide.
The area drained was about 44 acre*. He found the veloc-
ity of the stream in the pipe to be four and a half times
greater than that of the same amount of water in the
sewer. The pipe at no time accumulated silt, and the
force of the water issuing from the end of the pipe kept
the bottom of the sewer perfectly clear for the distance of
12 feet, beyond which point some bricks and stones were
deposited, their quantity increasing with the distance from
the pipe. He caused sand, pieces of bricks, stones, mud,
etc., to be put into the head of the pipe. These were all
carried clear through the pipe, but wrere deposited in the
sewer below it.

It has been found by experiment that in a flat bottomed
sewer, four feet wide, having a fall of eight inches in one
hundred feet, a stream of water one inch depth, runs very
sluggishly, while the same water running through a 12-
inch pipe, laid on the same inclination, forms a rapid
stream, carrying away the heavy silt which was deposited
in the broad sewer. As a consequence of this, it has been
found, where pipe sewers are used, even on almost imper-
ceptible inclinations, that silt is very rarely deposited, and
the waste matters of house and street drainage are carried
immediately to the outlet, instead of remaining to ferment
and poison the atmosphere of the streets through which
they pass. In the rare cases of obstruction which occur,
the pipes are very readily cleansed by flushing, at a tithe

HOUSE DRAINAGE ASD TOWN SEWERAGE. 231

of the cost of the constant hand-work required in brick
sewers.

For the first six or seven hundred feet at the head of a
sewer, a six inch pipe will remove all of the house and
street drainage, even during a heavy rain fall; and if the
inclination is rapid, (say 6 inches to 100 feet,) the accelera-
tion of the flow, caused partly by the constant additions
to the water, pipes of this size may be used lor consider-
ably greater distances. It has been found by actual trial
that it is not necessary to increase the size of the pipe
sewer in exact proportion to the amount of drainage that
it has to convey, as each addition to the flow, where
drainage is admitted from street openings or from houses,
accelerates the velocity of the current, pipes discharging
even eight times as much when received at intervals along
the line as they would take from a full head at the upper
end of the sewer.

For a district inhabited by 10,000 persons, a 12-inch pipe
would afford a sufficient outlet, unless the amount of road
drainage were unusually large, and for the largest sewers,
pip;-s of more than 18 inches diameter are rarely used,
these doing the work which, under the old system, was al-
loted to a sewer 6 feet high and 3 feet broad.

Of course, the connections by which the drainage of
roads is admitted to these sewers, must be provided with
ample silt-basins, which require frequent cleaning out. In
the construction of the sewers, man-holes, built to the sur-
face, are placed at sufficient intervals, and at all points
where the course of the sewer changes,so that a light placed
at one of these may be seen from the next one ; — the con
tractor being required to lay the sewer so that the light
may be thus seen, a straight line both of inclination and
direction is secured.

The rules which regulate the laying of land-drains ap-
ply with equal force in the making of sewers, that is no
part of the pipe should be loss perfect, cither hi material

232 DRAINING FOB PKOFiT AND HEALTH.

or construction, than that which lies above it ; and where
the inclination becomes less, in approaching the outlet, silt-
basins should be employed, unless the decreased fall is still
rapid. The essential point of difference is, that while land
drains may be of porous material, and should have open
joints for the admission of water, sewer pipes should be
of impervious glazed earthen-ware, and their joints should
bo securely cemented, to prevent the escape of the sew-
nge, which it is their province to remove, not to distribute.
Drains from houses, which need not be more than 3 or 4
inches in diameter, should be of the same material, and
should discharge with considerable inclination into the
pipes, being connected with a curving branch, directing
the fluid towards the outlet.

In laying a sewer, it is customary to insert a pipe with
a branch opposite each house, or probable site of a house.

It is important that, in towns not supplied with water-
works, measures be taken to prevent the admission of too
much solid matter in the drainage of houses. Water being
the motive power for the removal of the solid parts of the
sewage, unless there be a public supply which can be
turned on at pleasure, no house should deliver more solid
matter than can be carried away by its refuse waters.

The drainage of houses is one of the chief objects of
sewerage.

In addition to the cases cited above of the model lodging
houses in Lambeth Square, and of the buildings at West-
min«ter, it may be well to refer to a remarkable epidemic
which broke out in the Maple wood Young Ladies' Institute
in Pittsfield, Mass., in 1864, which was of so violent and
fatal a character as to elicit a special examination by a
committee of physicians. The family consisted, (pupils,
servants, and all,) of one hundred and twelve persons. Of
these, fifty-one were attacked with well-defined typhoid
fever during a period of less than three weeks. Of this

HOUSE DKAiXAGE AND TOAVN SEWERAGE. 283

number thirteen died The following is extracted from
the report of the committee :

" Of the V4 resident pupils heard from, 66 are reported
"as having had illness of some kind at the close of the
44 school or soon after. This is a proportion of i? or nearly
u 90 per cent. Of the same 74, fifty-one had typhoid fever,
" or a proportion of nearly 69 per cent. If all the people
" in the town, say 8000, had been affected in an equal pro-
" portion, more than 7000 would have been ill during these
44 few weeks, and about 5500 of them would have had
44 typhoid fever, and of these over 1375 would have died.
44 If it would be a more just comparison to take the whole
"family at Maplewood into the account, estimating the
"number at 112, fifty-six had typhoid fever, or 50 per
14 cent., and of these fifty-six, sixteen died, or over 28.5 per
44 cent. These proportions applied to the whole population
4C of 8000, would give 4000 of typhoid fever in the same
"time; and of these 1140 would have died. According
"to the testimony of the practising physicians of Pittsfield,
"the number of cases of typhoid fever, daring this period,
" aside from those affected by the influences at Maplewood,
44 was small, some physicians not having had any, others
44 had two or three." These cases amounted to but eight,
none of which terminated fatally.

The whole secret of this case was proven to have been
the retention of the ordure and waste matter from the
kitchens and dormitories in privies and vaults, underneath
or immediately adjoining the buildings, the odor from
these having been offensively perceptible, and under cer-
tain atmospheric conditions, having pervaded the whole
house.

The committee say " it would be impossible to bring
fc this report within reasonable limits, were we to discuss the
44 various questions connected with the origin and propaga- '
"tion of typhoid fever, although various theoretical views
44 are held as to whether the poison producing the disease

234 DRAINING FOR PROFIT AND HEALTH.

"is generated in the bodies of the sick, and communicated
"from them to the well, or whether it is generated in
" sources exterior to the bodies of fever patients, yet all
" authorities maintain that a peculiar poison is concerned
" in its production.

"Those who hold to the doctrine of contagion admit
" that, to give such contagion efficacy in the production of
M wide spread results, filth or decaying organic matter is
"essential: while those who sustain the theory of non-
" contagion — the production of the poison from sources
" without the bodies of the sick — contend that it has its
" entire origin in such filth — in decomposing matter, espe-
" cially in fermenting sewage, and decaying human excreta.

" The injurious influence of decomposing azotised matter,
"in either predisposing to or exciting severe disease, and
" particularly typhoid fever, is universally admitted among
" high medical authorities."

The committee were of the opinion " that the disease
" at Maplewood essentially originated in the state of the
"privies and drainage of the place; the high temperature,
" and other peculiar atmospheric conditions developing, in
"the organic material thus exposed, a peculiar poison,
"which accumulated in sufficient quantity to pervade
" the whole premises, and operated a sufficient length of
" time to produce disease in young and susceptible per-
"sons. ****** To prevent the poison of
"typhoid fever when taken into the system, from produc-
ing its legitimate effects, except by natural agencies,
" would require as positive a miracle as to restore a severed
"head, or arrest the course of the heavenly bodies in their
"spheres. * * * The lesson for all, for the future, is
" too obvious to need further pointing out ; and the com-
"mittee cannot doubt that th?y would hazard little in
" predicting that the wisdom obtained by this sad expe-
dience, will be of value in the future management of this

HOUSE DRAINAGE AXD TOWN SEWEKAGE. 235

'• institution, and secure precautions which will forever
" prevent the recurrence of such a calamity."

The results of all sanitary investigation indicate clearly
the vital necessity for the complete and speedy removal
from human habitations of all matters which, by their de-
composition, may tend to the production of disease,
and early measures should be taken by the authorities of
all towns, especially those which are at all compactly built,
to secure this removal. The means by which this is to be
effected are to be found in such a combination of water-
supply and sewerage, as will furnish a constant and copious
supply of water to dissolve or hold in suspension the whole
of the waste matters, and will provide a channel through
which they may be carried away from the vicinity of resi-
dences. If means for the application of the sewage water
to agricultural lands can be provided, a part if not the
whole of the cost of the works will be thus returned.

Concerning the details of house drainage, it would be
impossible to say much within the limits of this book. The
construction of water-closets, soil-pipes, sinks, etc., are too
will understood to need a special description here.

The principal point, (aside from the use of pipes instead
of brick-sewers and brick house-drains,) is what is called
in London the system of Back Drainage, where only
principal main lines of sewers are laid under the streets,
all collecting sewers passing through the centres of the
blocks in the rear of the houses. Pipes for water sup-
ply are disposed in the same manner, as it is chiefly at
the rears of houses that water is required, and that drain-
age is most necessary ; and this adjustment saves the cost,
the annoyance and the loss of fall, which accompany the
use of pipes running under the entire length of each house.
Much tearing up of pavements, expensive ditching in hard
road-ways, and interference with traffic is avoided, while
very much less ditching and piping is necessary, and repairs
are made with very little annoyance to the occupants of

236

DRAINING FOR PROFIT AND HEALTH.

houses. The accompanying diagrams, (Figs. 48-49,) illus-
trate the difference between the old system of drainage
with brick sewers under the streets, and brick drains under
the houses, and pipe sewers under main streets and through
the back yards of premises. A measurement of these two

AVENUE.

Fig. 48. — OLD STYLE HOCJSE DRAINAGE AND SEWERAGE.

methods will shoAV that the lengths of the drains in tho
new system, are to those of the old, as 1 to 2^; — the fall of
the house drains, (these having much less length,) would
be 10 times more in the one case than in the other; — the
main sewers would have twice the fall, their area would be
only 3!e, and their cubic contents only ^«

Experience in England has shown that if the whole cost
of water supply and pipe sewers is, with its interest, divided
over a period of thirty years, — so that at the end of that
time it should all be repaid,— the annual charge would not
be greater than the cost of keeping house-drains and cess-

HOUSE DRAINAGE AND TOW1S SEWERAGE.

pools clean. The General Board of Health state that " the
expense of cleansing the brick house-drains and cess-pools
for four or five years, would pay the expense of properly
constructed water-closets and pipe-drains, for the greater
number of old premises."

= 1

4=8

S I <P

AVENUE.

Fig. 49. — MODERN HOUSE DRAINAGE AND SEWERAGK.

One of the reports of this body, which has added more
than any other organization to the world's knowledge on
these subjects, closes with the following :

" Conclusions obtained as to house drainage, and the
sewerage and cleansing of the sites of towns."

"That no population living amidst impurities, arising
" from the putrid emanations from cess-pools, drains and
" sewers of deposit, can be healthy or free from the attacks
" of devastating epidemics.

"That as a primary condition of salubrity, no ordure

238 DRAINING FOR PROFIT AND HEALTH.

" and town refuse can be permitted to remain beneaU 01
u near habitations.

" That by no means can remedial operations be so con-
" veniently, economically, inoffensively, and quickly effected
" as by the removal of all such refuse dissolved or sus-
" pended in water.

" That it has been subsequently proved by the operation
" of draining houses with tubular drains, in upwards of
" 19,000 cases, and by the trial of more than 200 miles of
"pipe sewers, that the practice of constructing large brick
" or stone sewers for general town drainage, which detain
"matters passing into them in suspension in water, which
" accumulate deposit, and which are made large enough
" for men to enter them, and remove the deposit by hand
"labor, without reference to the area to be drained, has
" been in ignorance, neglect or perversion of the above
" recited principles.

"That while sewers so constructed are productive of
"great injury to the public health, by the diffusion into
"houses and streets of the noxious products of the decom-
" posing matters contained in them, they are wasteful from
"the increased expense of their construction and repair,
" and from the cost of ineffectual efforts to keep them free
" from deposit.

"That the house-drains, made as they have heretofore
"been, of absorbent brick or stone, besides detaining sub-
' stances in suspension, accumulating foul deposit, and
"being so permeable as to permit the escape of the liquid
4 and gaseous matters, are also false in principle and waste-
" ful in the expense of construction, cleansing and repair.

" That it results from the experience developed in these
"inquiries, that improved tubular house-drains and sewers
" of the proper sizes, inclinations, and material, detain and
" accumulate no deposit, emit no offensive smells, and re-
" quire no additional supplies of water to keep them clear.

HOUSE DRAINAGE AND TOWN SEWERAGE. 239

" That the offensive smells proceeding from any works
"intended "tor house or town drainage, indicate the fact
" of the detention and decomposition of ordure, and afford
" decisive evidence of mal-construction or of ignorant or
41 defective arrangement.

" That the method of removing refuse in suspension in
" water by properly combined works, is much better than
" that of collecting it in pits or cess-pools near or under-
" neath houses, emptying it by hand labor, and removing
" it by carts.

" That it is important for the sake of economy, as well
" as for the health of the population, that the practice of
" the removal of refuse in suspension in water, and by com-
u bined works, should be applied to all houses, especially
" those occupied by the poorer classes."

Later investigations of the subject have established two
general conclusions applicable to the subject, namely, that :

"In towns all offensive smells from the decomposition
" of animal and vegetable matter, indicate the generation
" and presence of the causes of insalubrity and of prevents-
" able disease, at the same time that they prove defective
" local administration ;
" and correlatively, that :

"In rural districts all continuous offensive smells from
" animal and vegetable decomposition, indicate prevent-
" able loss of fertilizing matter, loss of money, and bad
" husbandry"

The principles herein set forth, tvhether relating to sani-
tary improvement, to convenience and decency of living,
or to the use of waste matters of houses in agricultural
improvement, are no less applicable in America than else-
where; and the more general adoption of improved house
drainage and sewerage, and of the use of sewage matters
in agriculture, would add to the health and prosperity of
its people, and would indicate a great advance in civili-
zation.

240 DRAINING FOR PROFIT AND HEALTH.

NOTE TO CHAPTER XL— (SECOND EDITION.,/

On reading over the preceding chapter, I am disposed
to leave it essentially as first written, because the princi-
ples which it sets forth are as true now as they were then,
and because there has been no essential modification in
processes which makes it important to change its direc-
tions.

I would say, however, that the system of Back Drain-
age described, has not come into general use, for the rea-
son that it is considered better, all things taken into the
account, to avoid, so far as possible, the laying of public
drains on private land. Where there are lanes between
the backs of the houses, or where it is practicable to
take a small strip of land for this purpose and put it un-
der the control cf the public authorities, the manifest
advantages of the system may be availed of. In the
majority of instances, however, this will not be practicable.

So far as the use of small pipes is concerned, ex-
perience has fully justified all that was anticipated ten
years ago. Especially where the question of storm-
water can be left out of the account, that is, where this
can be allowed to run through surface gutters, or where
separate sewers can be made for its removal. What is
known as the Separate System, that is, the removal of
house-drainage by itself, is much to be recommended,
and even in cities where house- drainage alone is to be ac-
commodated, very small pipes, even six or eight inches in
diameter, may be very largely u|ed for lateral sewers.

The use of small pipes is greatly facilitated, and their
permanent working secured, by the adoption of Eoger
Field's method of accumulating the drainage of a few
houses at the upper end of each line, including the roof-
water, in underground tanks of considerable size, which,
by the automatic action of an ingeniously arranged
siphon, discharge their whole contents with great rapid-

HOUSE DRAINAGE AND TOWN SEWERAGE. 241

ity as soon as they become full. This secures the thorough
periodical flushing of the lower line of the drain, and
allows us to use very low gradients where a slight fall is
made necessary by the level of the land. Field's flush-
ing tank is not only valuable for this use, but equally so
for the accumulating of the drainage of single houses,
and for discharging it with a cleansing flow from the
house-drain ; and enables us to use with safety, for any
private house, an outlet drain only four inches in diameter.
For the ultimate disposal of the drainage of country or
village houses, of asylums and even of small towns, the
delivery of the flushing tanks by periodical discharge into
common agricultural drain tiles two inches in diameter,
laid on lines four to six feet apart, having a fall of not
more than four inches per hundred feet, with uncemented
joints, and placed not more than 10 or 12 inches below the
surface of the ground, secures the absorption of the liquid
by the upper portion of the soil, within reach of the
roots of plants, and of the oxidizing influence of the air.
This constitutes the most efficient means of disposal yet
devised. I have had this system in operation at my own
house since 1870, and find it entirely satisfactory. In
1876, 1 adopted it for the disposal of the entire sewage of
the village of Lenox, Mass., and I do not hesitate to
recommend it as satisfactory in all similar cases.

SUPPLEMENTAL CHAPTERS.

The directions for work, as originally given in Chapter
IV, should be followed only as modified by the later
information given below ; which is a reprint of two
articles published in the American Agriculturist, after
the body of this work was written.

CHAPTER XII.

IMPROVEMENTS IN DRAINING TILES.

In view of the fact that in my article on " Tile-Drain-
ing," published in the Agricultural Annual, and in
my first edition of "Draining for Profit and Draining

Figs. 50 and 51. — TILE AND COLLAR,
for Health," I have very strenuously insisted upon the
necessity for using silt-basins in the laying of under-
drains, I have thought it advisable to state explicitly the
reasons which have led me, in my own practice and in
advice to others, to dispense almost entirely with their
use. They were at best a rather imperfect and quite ex-

IMPROVEMENTS IN DRAINING TILES. 243

pensive means for preventing the obstruction of drains by
accumulations of silt ; but, with the draining materials
procurable at the time when the book and article above
alluded to were written, they were indispensable. Dur-
ing the last year I have used largely the tiles manufac-
tured by Messrs. C. W. Boynton & Co., of Woodbridge,
N. J., which are made with certain modifications and im-
provements that very greatly lessen the necessity for silt-
basins. Indeed, in draining my own farm of 60 acres, I

Fig. 52. — LTNiE OF TILES WITH COLLARS AS LAID.

have not made a single one of these. The tiles referred
to are made from the tenacious clay of the Amboy region,
which is so much richer in quality and so much more
uniform than the brick clay ordinarily employed for the
purpose, that it is found easy to make even the smallest
tiles two feet long, which, of itself, is a great advantage,
inasmuch as it reduces by one-half the number of joints,
which must always form a greater or less obstacle to the
smooth flow of water, while there are still openings
enough remaining for the complete admission of soil

water. Only round
tiles are made at this
establishment, the
smaller ones being

^^ provided with well-
Fig. 53. CURVED TILES. Fig. 54.

fitting collars for
connecting their ends. The tile and collar respec-
tively are shown in figs. 50 and 51. The continuous line
is laid as shown in fig. 52. The curved tiles, such as
those shown in figs. 53 and 54, bent to various degrees,
in order to suit the requirements of different circum-
stances, I have found of great assistance, especially in ab-
ruptly changing the direction of main drains. Figure 55
represents an enlarging tile, by which, in increasing the

244

DRAINING FOE PROFIT AND HEALTH.

size of a drain, as from two to three inches, the abrupt
rough edge, formed by inserting the smaller tile into the
larger one, may be avoided. This gradual enlargement
will effectually prevent the checking of the flow that is
unavoidable in all cases where a confined stream breaks
abruptly into a larger conduit. The
most important improvement that
Fig. 55. Boynton has made, and the one which

does more than any other to obviate the need for silt-
basins, is the junction piece, shown in fig. 56, which is
used for connecting lateral drains with mains, or one
main with another. These junction
pieces are made complete, as shown
in the figure, for all the different sizes
of mains and laterals ; and, by their
use, the water from the lateral is in-
troduced into the main at an angle of
45°. As it enters near the bot-
tom of the main, it materially ac-
celerates the flow in the latter by its force of entry,
while, with the best joint that it was formerly possible
for us to make by the aid of the tile pick, there was an

Fig. 56.

JUNCTION-PIECE.

Fig. 57. — CONNECTION OP LATERAL WITH MAIN.

interruption of the flow and frequently a tendency to de-
posit silt at the junctions. By the use of these junction
pieces, the points of intersection are made the safest of

IMPROVEMENTS

DRAINING TILES.

the whole drain, instead of being, as they were under the
old system, the most insecure. The manner in which the
collared small lateral is connected with the lower part of
the larger tile of the main
drain is shown in fig. 57.
When the lateral approaches
Fig. 58. the main at a right angle, or

at a very obtuse angle, the curved tile shown in fig. 54,
should be used, in order that the flow may strike in. the
direction of the oblique junction.

Boynton & Co. have also made an earthern-ware grating
for covering outlets,
which is very much
cheaper than the wire
grating recommended
in Chapter IV ; and,
as the last pipe of
the drain is glazed
or vitrified ware, the
outer end may pro-
ject a little beyond
the mason-work with-
out fear that it will be injured by frost. This grated
outlet is shown in fig. 58. The grating is movable, and
can easily be detached for cleaning when necessary. The
appearance of an outlet, so arranged in connection with
masonry, is shown in fig. 59, and it is difficult to con-
ceive of any plan more simple or more effective.

CHAPTER XIII.

LAND DRAINAGE— DETAILS OF THE WORK.

It is never pleasant to confess errors ; but I am con-
vinced, by what I have recently seen, that in previous
writing about drainage, I have been mistaken on one
point. That is, in insisting, as a universal rule, that the
whole line should be opened from the upper end of the
lateral to the lower end of the main, and that the main
should be kept open until the tile-laying and covering
should be finished in all its laterals. This is frequently,
but not always, true — perhaps it is not even generally so.

I have probably directed the laying of over a hundred
miles of tile-drains, and I have always tried to approach
as nearly as possible to- the English practice, as I had
seen it described. I have bought sets of English drain-
ing tools, and have read in English agricultural books
and papers about the way in which the work is done. I
have seen pictures and diagrams showing every step of
the operation, and have had letters from England (in
reply to my questions), telling me precisely what they do
there. I have tried for fifteen years — with scores of Irish
ditchers — to imitate them, and have finally concluded that
the statements made were not true, and that the pictures
drawn were drawn from the imagination. I could in no
way get my ditches dug without having the men tramp-
ling on the bottom, and making more or less mud, accord-
ing to the amount of water — and this mud, running to-
246

LAND DRAINAGE — DETAILS OF THE WORK. 247

wards the main, carried a sure source of obstruction with
it. Hence, I have always recommended that the whole
line be opened from one end to the other, before a tile is
laid, and that the tile-laying be commenced at the upper
ends of the laterals and continued down stream, so that
no muddy water would run into them, as would be the
( case if the tiles were laid from the lower end upward.

I am still convinced, that in very wet, soft land, or
where the grade is so slight that great care is necessary to
preserve the uniformity of the fall, this precaution is ne-
cessary. But wherever there is a fall of as much as one
foot in a hundred feet, if the bottom is ordinarily firm,
the best plan will be to reverse the direction, and to com-
mence laying at the lower end of the drain — putting in
the tile and covering it up, as fast as the digging pro-
gresses.

I am led to this change of opinion, by seeing the thing
done by drainers of English education. "What I could not
understand from description, nor attain by experiment, is
made clear by observation. In the digging of ordinary
drains, the foot of the workman never reaches to within
less than a foot of the bottom of the ditch ; consequently,
there is no trampling of the floor of the drain, and no
formation of mud. What water may ooze out from the
land (and, as but little of the ditch is open at once, the
amount is very small), has no silt in it, and can not ob-
struct the tile through which it runs.

I will try to describe the process so that all may under-
stand it. We will suppose the main drain to be laid and
filled in, junction pieces being placed where the laterals
are to come in, and that we are about to dig and lay a
lateral emptying into it.

1. A line is stretched to mark one side of the ditc-h,
and the sod is removed to a spade's depth (15 inches
wide), for a length of about two rods, and a ditch is dug
about 18 inches deep, with a narrow bottom.

248

DBAOTISTG FOB PKOFIT AKD HEALTH.

2. A ditching spade (fig. 60), 20 inches long in the
blade, 6 inches wide at the top, and 4 inches wide at the
point — of steel and kept sharp — is forced in to its whole
length, and the earth thrown out. It will be necessary in
very hard ground to do some picking, but it is surprising
to see with what ease a man with an iron shank screwed
to the sole of his boot, will work the sharp point of this
spade into an obdurate hard-pan. The loose earth that

O escaped the spade
is removed by a
I scoop (fig. 61), 4
inches wide, which
• the workman,
walking backward,
draws toward him
until it is full,
swinging it out to
dump its load on
the bank. In this
way he gets down
3 feet, and leaves
a smooth floor on
which he stands.

3. Commencing
again at the end
next to the main,
with a narrower,

FigS. 60 to 64. — TILS-DRAINING IMPLEMENTS. stronger, aild

sharper spade, of the same length or a little less (fig. 62),
4!/a inches wide at the top, and 3 inches at the point,
he digs out another foot of earth — he facing the main
and working back, so that he stands always on the
smooth bottom, 3 feet below the surface. When he has
dug for a length of 2 or 3 feet, he takes a snipe-bill scoop
(fig. 63), only 3 inches wide, and, using it as he did the
broader scoop, removes the loose earth. The round back

63

61

LAND DRAINAGE — DETAILS OF THE WORK.

249

of this scoop, which is always working a foot below
the level on which the operator stands, and which per-
forms the offices of a shovel, smooths and forms the

bottom of the trench, making
a much better bed for the tiles
than it is possible to get if it
has to be walked on, and regu-
lates the grade most perfectly.

4. When the short length
„. of ditch has been nearly all
3 dug out and graded, the
H branch on the junction piece
§ of the tile is uncovered, and
g the tile is laid by the use of a
\ "tile-layer" (fig. 64), operated
g by a man standing astride the
* ditch on the banks. The col-
g lar is placed on the end of the
3 branch on the upper end of the
| tile. The implement lowers
g the tile (with its collar in
2 place), and the other end is
o carefully inserted in the collar

Then the end
inserted

into the second collar, and so
on until nearly all of the
graded ditch is laid.

5. The most clayey part of
the subsoil is thrown care-
fully down on the tile and
tramped into its place — all but

the collar end of the last tile being covered — and the ditch
filled at least half -full and pounded — or well tramped.

6. Another rod or two of the ditch is opened, dug out,
laid, and filled in as above described — the amount opened

'• on the branch.

.. of the second tile is

250 DBAINING FOR PROFIT AND HEALTH.

at any one time not being enough to allow the accumula-
tion of a dangerous quantity of water. If there is any
considerable amount of water in the land, or if it is feared
that it may rain in the night, the tile is left with a plug
of grass or straw, which will prevent the entrance of dirt.

Fig. 65, gives a section of a ditch with the work in its
different stages. The tile is shown in section.

And now for the result : —

Last year, after the draining of Ogden Farm was com-
pleted, I undertook the drainage of a neighbor's land,
employing the same gang of experienced Irish ditchers.
The best bargain I could make was for one dollar per rod
for digging and back-filling (tile-laying not included).
The best men earned $3.50 per day — the average not more
than $2.25. Owing to the lateness of the season, the
work was suspended until this year's harvest should be
completed.

This year, I hired a gang of the tile drainers from
Canada, who had English experience. They work pre-
cisely as above described. The price paid is 75 cents per
rod for digging, back-filling, and tile-laying (for the
whole work complete, although, owing to the hard-pan,
much picking is required). The best man among them
completes seven rods per day ($5.25), and the average is
fully five rods ($3.75). The amount of earth handled
(owing to the narrowness of the ditches), is less than
one-half of what it was last year, and the work is done
with a neatness and completeness that I have never seen
equalled. What these men are doing, others can do as
well, and I am satisfied, that in simple, heavy clays, the
whole work of digging and tile-laying can be done for
less than 50 cents per rod.

INDEX.

Absorption and Filtration 26-39

A-.i-lod to be avoided 99

Barley 168

Bartlett, Dr., quoted 211

Base-line 145

Boning-rocls. (111.).... 125-126

Central Park 74-86

Cess-pools and epidemics 237

Chad wick, Dr., quoted 213

Clay Soils 75

" " baking of 30

" " made mellow 29-30

" " shrinkage of 28

Clinometer. (111.) 56

Collars 84

Connections. (111.) . 132-134-243-244

Corn, Indian 1G2

Cost of draining 150-153-158-250

Cotton 169

Country Houses, Drainage 241

Covering and filling, cost of 157

" for the joints of tiles 132

tiles 136

Datum line 52-104

Denton, J. Bailey, quoted 115

Distance between drains 73

Ditches, cost of digging 154-250

'Draining, amateur 47

details of 246

" effe-t on farming 171

" indicated need 9

tools. (111.) 114-243

" what it costs 150-25'"*

" will it pay? 161

Drain-, yards of excavation 155

" and drained land, care of. .144

" hovvtheyact 21

" in Central Park 86

obstructed, how cleared ... 146

" old, how formed 146

rate of fall... 99

Drainage of asylnms 241

" " country houses 241

" " duelling houses... 232-240

" villages 211

Drought 37-40

251

Engineering and Superintendence. 1 j3

Engineers, draining 47

Epidemic at Maplcwood Ladies'

Institute 232

Epidemics caused by cess-pools 237

Evaporation. 33

" effect on temperature. 23-35

Fallacies in draining 62

Fen-lands of England 193

Fever and Ague 208

Filling, ditch with furrows. (111.).. 141
" maul for ramming. (111.). .138

" scraper for. (111.) 140

" the ditches 136

Filtration and absorption 26-39

Finishing tools. (111.) 123

Flush Tank, Field's 240

Foot-pick. (IH-)* 156

Gisborne, Thos., quoted.. 28-31-35-
47-66-78-84-93-127.

Grading 124-156

Grade stakes 103

Grades, computation for 109

" hew to establish 107

Gratings in Silt-basins 148

Grating-Outlets. (IN-)--. •- 245

Hackensack meadows 203

Hay 168

House drainage 220-240

" " back drain system..

285-240.

House drainage, bad, indicated 239

John Johnson 164

Junction pieces. (111.) 244

La Roche, quoted 213

Lateral drains 61-97-244

" " direction of.. 75

" " how connected Ill

Laterals, digging 247

Lennox, Mass., drainage 241

Levelling instrument. (111.) 59

rorl. (111.) 53

I Levels, how to take for drains 104

Madden, Dr., quoted 12

Main drain 58-06

Malaria ... ... 212-214-219-220

252

INDEX.

Malarial diseases and drainage 216

" " reports to Parlia-
ment - 216

Maps, amending the 142

" description of. (III.). ..49-50-
51-54-98.

Maps, importance of 48

Marking the lines 116

Meclii, Alderman, quoted 29-71

Measuring staff. (111.) 124

Metcalf, Dr., quoted 211

Movement of water. 02-64-65

New York sewer outlets 227

Oats 4 168

Opening ditches 122-247

Outlet 95-245

" how made. (111.) ....118

tk location of 58

Parkes, Josiah, quoted... .36-71-88-1 78

Profile of a drain. (111.) 106

Profit, instances of 167-170

Puddling 8-31-148

Pumping 206

" London sewage 226

Rock, how to collect water from.. . 60

" sounding for 55

Roots, depth reached 40-67

" obstruction from 93-148

Rye 168

Salisbury. Dr., on malarious fever. .214

Salt marshes, catch water drains. . .201

dyke and ditch. (I1L).197

" lt embankment 196

" " exclusion of the sea.. 195

" " how formed 194

" " muskrats 199

" " outlet for dr'nage. 204-205

" " pumping 206

" " rain-fall and filtrai ion. 204
44 " to manage creeks.193-200

" " to " rivers 201

" " upland inundations.. 201
" " valve-gates and sluices
204.
Scraper for filling ditches. (111.) .. 140

Seeds, germination of 13

Sewage in agriculture 226

Sewerage, Board of Health on 237

of New York 227

Sewers, defects of large 228-238

" the London outfall 225

" glazed earthern pipes.. 229-

Sewers, Hale on pipe sewers 230

44 imperfect 224

" of brick, deiective..22H-235-238

Sides of ditches braced. (111.) 124

Silt 90

" basins. (111.) 91-120-134-136-242

" in til'jg ....144

Sources of water in soil 10

Springs, to collect the water of.59-60- 141

Staking out the lines 102

Staten Island 209

Steam pumps 206

Stone and tile drains 142

Sub-mains 59

Tank, Field's Flush 240

Teams used to open ditches 122

Temperature 35-06

" and draining 36

Tile laying 127-294

-pick. (111.)

.1:31

s, and tile laying, cost 157-250

Boynton & Co. (111.) 243

capacity for discharging.. .84-86

curved. (111.) 244

double-sole 80

drain — essentials of 22

enlarging. (111.) 244

how made 174

horse-shoe 78

junction piece. (111.) 244

kinds and sizes 77-242

objections to large 147

ordering 82-101

pipes and collars 81

rapidity of receiving 78

sizes for different areas 88

sole 80

trimming and perforating.. . .131

Tile making, material for 174

preparing earths... .176
44 rolling and drying. . .^82

Tobacco 169

Tools required 113-248

Town drainage, Board of Health on. 237

Vermin, cause of obstructions 93

Water, depth of 66-70

44 for removing ordure 238

14 in sub-soil, injurious 15

44 movement of 32-64-65

Water-courses and brooks 117

Water-table 22

Wind-mills 206

Wheat... ...164-167

YB 1098,