FARMERS' INSTITUTES, 131 



enough to give a velocity to running water of three miles per hour, and three 

 feet per mile in a straiglit, smooth channel makes a mountain torrent. The 

 entire fall of the Volga river, with a length of 2,800 miles, is only G33 feet, 

 which gives only about an average of '7^ inches per mile for the entire length. 

 The reason of the slow current of some of our great rivers is their crookedness. 

 They continually come in contact with their Ijanks, retarding their velocity. 

 Their shallowness also i)i many places causes much friction upon the bottom 

 and slackens their currents. The velocity of a stream is dej)endent upon the 

 form of its channel, the slope of its bed, and the volume of water. We notice 

 that the velocity of a stream is always greatest when it is narrow and deep, 

 also that it is greater in the middle of the stream than upon either side. This 

 should teach us the form of tile to nse in drains, because the greater the 

 velocity the less likely is a drain to become stopped. The tile should not be 

 flat nor bread, but narrow and deep. The shape of the channel should be 

 that of an egg with the Jiarrow end down, so that when the drain is not full 

 the stream will occupy a small narrow channel, and therefore by concentrating 

 its force carry along what sediment there may be in the water to the mouth of 

 the drain, which should always be watched and kept clear so that the delivery 

 may not be retarded. 



The depth of drains is a matter for discussion. I think that depends some- 

 what upon the nature of the soil, but should never be less than two feet. If 

 the soil is of a loose nature then the drain should be deeper than in a firm soil. 

 I cut my drains three feet deep. When the earth is not firm in the bottom of 

 the drain I usually lay the tile upon strips of board. Some people say that it 

 is just as well and much cheaper to be careful not to disturb the bottom and 

 lay the tile directly upon it and cover it immediately. All soils are not bene- 

 fited by draining. Mistakes are sometimes made and money uselessly expended 

 upon drains dug in land that might be said to be already naturally drained. 

 Open, porous, sandy soils, with gravelly or sandy subsoil may be placed in this 

 class ; also gravel and sandy loams resting upon a hardpan subsoil, if the hard- 

 pan is near enough to the surface to be reached and broken up with the subsoil 

 plow. Soils that are very compact, or shallow soils, resting upon clay or a 

 thick hardpan subsoil need to be drained. The effect of the excess of water 

 in this soil is to render it hard and unproductive. Hard, wet soils may be full 

 of the elements of plant food and still be almost barren. If the tiny rootlets 

 cannot penetrate the soil and gather together a sufficient store of nutriment to 

 nourish the plant the plant must die. The excess of water excludes the air 

 and keeps the soil cold, and the more vegetable substance there is in such soil 

 the more compact will it be, and it becomes sour, heavy, cold and unprofitable 

 to work. The application of fertilizers to such soils will not render them pro- 

 ductive any more than draining a sand bed would make it fertile. The only 

 remedy is to remove the surplus water and the change in the fertility will at 

 once be perceptible. In such cases any man can afford to drain, and the poorer 

 he is the better can he afford it, for he cannot afford to work a cold, sour, wet 

 peat bed and receive no returns when by the expense of a few drains his income 

 might be doubled every year. Drainage is indispensable to successful agricul- 

 ture where the water of stiff clay lands or swamps is retained by impervious 

 subsoils or other causes. Very many soils are benefited by draining, and some 

 must be drained in order to be of any profit. Alluvial soils as a rule are among 

 our most fertile soils, and also are among our wettest soils. They consist of 

 finely divided matter thoroughly commingled. They arc found at the mouths 

 -of rivers, along their valleys and in our swamps, and are frequently called bot- 



