180 MASSACHUSETTS AGRICULTURE. 



COST OP TILES, LABOR, ETC. 



100 feet across Main Street, 6-inch cement pipe and 



Cell LilL^L * •••••••« 



Laying the same, 6 feet deep, ..... 



300 5-inch sole tile, 13 inches long, and cartage, 



1,700 3-iuch " " " 



900 11-inch round tile, " " " 



500 boards, triangular form, ..... 



Labor (estimated in part), ..... 



Total (3,642 feet), 8337 25 



Some of the results may be stated to be that the following March 

 an acre of this lot was ploughed, and work has been carried 

 on over the whole tract ever since, with not more than two 

 days' interruption after a storm or shower terminated. Two 

 years ago when the freshet followed the heavy rain of October, 

 the brook overflowed, because the bridge was not sufficient, 

 covering several acres, in some places two feet deep. A large 

 part of this overflow must have passed through the soil into the 

 drains, and it is strong testimony to their efficiency that in 

 thirty hours' time the surface of the ground was above water. 

 " Now that your lot has gone through two wet seasons and 

 never too wet, you will certainly be all right for a dry summer," 

 a remark of a Chicopee merchant who had doubtingly watched 

 our work from the beginning. Last season came the drouth, 

 and " never known so dry," says the oldest inhabitant, with this 

 result. One block of sis thousand dwarf pears made an average 

 growth of four feet, while strong growing varieties, like the 

 Louise Bonne, grew six feet ; and this season, which has again 

 been wet, the result is the same. 



Without making comparisons which circumstances constantly 

 change, my observation leads me to affirm that lands which need 

 underdraining are the best and cheapest New England lands 

 we have. On such soils no perceptible difference exists in dry 

 or wet seasons. Less manure is wanted, the season for it is 

 extended. It is warmer. Air permeates the soil, and decom- 

 poses the organic matter earlier, for the food of plants. The 

 land is always ready for a heavy rain, for the surplus water to 

 the depth of three feet has been taken out ; and for raising 



