Land Drainage in New York 1660 



joints and moistens the soil, which condition attracts the roots. 

 Protection of the upper half of the joint against the admission 

 of silt is some aid to prevent the entrance of roots into the tile. 



CONSTRUCTION OF OUTLETS 



The construction of a drainage system should begin at the 

 outlet and end there. There must be a sufficient grade to dispose 

 of the water at the outlet. After the remainder of the system 

 is constructed the outlet should be carefully protected, especially 

 if the grade is small. This part of the system is especially in 

 danger of being closed by tramping, caving of banks, freezing, 

 growth of roots and other obstructive processes. If possible the 

 water should have a free drop from the end of the tile. It is 

 usually advisable to build up an abutment of concrete or stone 

 with an apron upon which the water may fall without cutting out 

 the bottom of the ditch. 



In laying out the ditch as few outlets should be provided as 

 practicable. Where several laterals might empty into an open 

 ditch it is often better to drop back a couple of rods from the 

 open ditch and put in a sub-main to receive all these laterals. 

 This arrangement gives one instead of several outlets to be fin- 

 ished and cared for from year to year. 



COST OF DRAINAGE 



The cost of drainage varies greatly, depending upon the nature 

 of the soil, the presence of stone and roots, the depth, size of tile, 

 season when the work is done, the method of construction, and the 

 local labor conditions. For three or four inch tile the cost of 

 the finished ditch per rod in soil not particularly foul with stone 

 and roots is from forty to sixty cents per rod. On a system of 

 2,560 rods constructed by hand where the size of tile ranged 

 from three up to ten inches, the average cost per rod including 

 all charges was sixty-eight cents. System aggregating 8,398 rods 

 were constructed under the same management and on the same 

 farm using a traction ditching machine, the size of tile ranging 

 from three to thirteen inches, and the average cost was 63 cents 

 per rod. Some of the work done with the machine was more 

 difficult than any done by hand. The range in the cost of tile per 



