Tile Drainage.*^ 



By H. E. NicoLAi of Big Bend, Wis. 



To lay down a specific rule of tiling would be an impossibility 

 for any one, as different lands and conditions would vary the cost 

 of drainage botli as to the number of drains required, the amount 

 of labor expended in digging, and also the size of the tiles used. 



Different Treatment for Different Lands. 



I have one piece of border land containing fifteen acres, in 

 which the drains are from four to five rods apart, and the drain- 

 age is perfect, while in another piece of only half the size, the 

 drains were put four rods apart and proved to be insufficient to 

 drain the land thoroughly. The former piece is a black sand loam, 

 underlaid with sand and clay, while the latter was a boggy marsh, 

 full of small springs. The top soil was muck, underlaid with 

 clay and gravel. The drains had to be doubled w^herever the 

 ground was springy, making them only two rods apart, and the 

 depth of the tiles is about four feet. The cost of this piece was 

 about |30 per acre, while the former was only $10 per acre. Both 

 pieces have been in cultivation ever since they were drained, 

 about ten years ago, and have produced wonderful crops. The 

 average cost per acre of tiling a wet marsh is about $20. 



The most profit in tile draining is derived in fields that have 

 small basins in them on the elevated parts of the fields, which 

 fill with water during the spring and keep the lower levels of 

 the fields wet and cold until the water evaporates in the basins. 

 One drain with a few laterals in the basin will usually be enough 



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*A paper read before a farmers' institute In Wisconsin and the discus- 

 sion following. 



