298 STATE BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 



becomes general, has a very marked effect upon the general health of the 

 people. The ease witli which drain tile can be procured and the reasonable price 

 at which it is sold, removes the last serious difficulty in the way of farmers 

 draining their farms economically and well. It often happens that a farmer is 

 delayed for a few days by wet weather, and then is a good time to make a drain 

 in some place needing it. The ground is soft, and the water running in the ditch 

 is of great assistance in leveling the bottom. It is not unusual for a farmer 

 to find a job of this kind very beneficial and at a trifling cost, as the labor 

 used in digging and filling of the ditch would have accomplished very little 

 elsewhere during the wet weather. 



Draining, like anything else that is worth doing at all, is worth doing well. 

 The tile should be buried not less than a foot and a half, and unless the shape 

 of the ground makes it necessary there is nothing gained by burying more 

 than three feet deep. In order to get the full benefit of the tile care should 

 be taken to have the ends of the tile meet evenly and exactly, and for the same 

 reason depressions and elevations in the bottom of the ditch should be care- 

 fully avoided. It is always desirable to have considerable fall in the ditch, and 

 the greater the fall the smaller the tile may be used to carry the same amount 

 of water. A long level can, however, be made to work successfully, provided 

 there is considerable fall towards the upper end of the ditch. Drains carefully 

 put in where there is very little fall will do a great amount of good, though 

 never entirely satisfactory. In closing, let me repeat that thorough, systematic 

 drainage is indispensable to successful farming in the future. 



UNDER DRAINING. 



BY JOHI^ PKESTON. 

 [Read at Berlin Institute.! 



The necessity of removing the surplus accumulations of water on retentive 

 clay soils by means of subterraneous channels, is so well understood by most 

 farmers, that I deem it not necessary to spend much time to prove facts. 

 What we need most is a better knowledge diffused among farmers and laborers 

 of the best methods of constructing permanent drains, and to cheapen their 

 cost. The farm is the farmer's capital, and the income his interest. And 

 any improvement that tends to increase the value of income above interest ou 

 the cost of such improvement, without depreciating the value of the farm, is 

 the farmer's clear gain. The long and continued process of cropping is begin- 

 ning to show its deteriorating effect on the leaf-mould soil that was formed in 

 past ages. 



The soil on the more elevated portions of the farms is noticably dryer^ 

 lighter in color, and partaking more of the nature of the subsoil, and showing 

 signs of barrenness. While the soil on the lower and wet portions of the 

 farms may hold its dark color, its fertility is often rendered unavailable by 

 frequent stirring and poaching while in a wet condition. We are therefore 

 forced to the conclusion that in many instances the soil is less even and less 

 fertile than when first cultivated, and that better management of the farms is 

 necessary, if we perform our duty and hand down to our posterity the soil in as 



