100 STATE POMOLOGTCAL SOCIETY. 



be carried off. Round tile are the best, for no matter whether a large or small 

 amount is running in the tile, it will be concentrated in a stream and not allow 

 sediment to settle on the bottom. They are also more convenient to lay, as they 

 can be placed in any position to make tight joints. The maxim that "work 

 ■worth doing at all is worth doing well," is well illustrated in laying tile, for the 

 whole success rests on laving them well. Care must be taken to have the fall 

 continuous, as a rise is fatal to the drain. Where the land does not easily 

 cave in, the ditches may all be partially dug before hand, but not finished till 

 all ready to lay the tile, then take out aud grade the bottom and immediatelv 

 lay the tile. If the bottom is claj r , or dry and hard enough to make a good 

 foundation for the tile until the soil is settled around them, but little care is 

 needed except to see the grade is jierf ect, but when it is wet, sandy, or soft, the 

 job is greatly increased. In a drain I laid this summer I found it necessary to 

 lay a board the whole length, so insuring a true grade and solid bottom. Even 

 when the ground is generally hard, boards may have to be used in springy 

 places. 



We are now ready to lay the tile. Begin at the head of the main, put them 

 in one hy one, turning them till they make a perfect joint, then place over 

 each joint a thin strong sod just long enough to cover the tile, and about four 

 inches in width. Other materials may be used, but of several I have tried this 

 was the easiest obtained and applied, its only use being to prevent the dirt 

 working into the tile until it is well settled around the latter. All openings for 

 laterals must be put in as the main is laid so as not to disturb it again. This 

 is done by making the opening and laying two or three tile of the lateral, clos- 

 ing the upper end with a block, and when the lateral is put in it can be laid 

 from this joint. After the sods are put on, a man can follow, putting in a 

 little dirt, working it in carefully and tightly around the tile. Only enough 

 need be put on to cover them a few inches, then the ditch filled at leisure. The 

 one laying the drain should have an assistant so that he need not get out of the 

 ditch from one end to the other. If the drain is a long one or a sharp curve is 

 made, a well or basin at the middle, or curve, will be beneficial to allow the 

 sand in the drain to collect and settle there, then the water pass out on the 

 other side. Of course it must be a little deeper than the drain, and may come 

 to the surface or not. A well of this sort at the head of a main is advisable, 

 in which we can flood the drain if we have reason to think it is not running as 

 well as it ought. As a rule, give drains all the fall possible, the surer the suc- 

 cess, and the quicker will large amounts of water pass off. But, when neces- 

 sary, they can be laid with very little fall. I have put them in with less than 

 three inches to a hundred feet. About one inch per rod is sufficient with ordi- 

 nary care. 



It is not easy to estimate the cost, as it will vary with soil, depth, size of tile 

 used, etc. In the main I put in this summer, it cost more to dig the upper 

 twelve rods than the other thirty-live, all of the same depth, owing to the dif- 

 ference of soil. Tile cost from twenty to fifty cents per rod, and the digging 

 and idling from thirty to seventy-five cents, making the expense of field 

 vary from §25 to 800 per acre. Waring puts it at £50, but that is too high 

 for this part of the country. 



Now comes the question will it pay? Can we invest so much money in drains 

 and get a fair return? We will see what those who have tried it sav. Mr. 

 Johnston, who did about the first tile draining in the United States, says it will 

 pay interest and principle in two years, in increased crops. He speaks of one 



