PRACTICAL NOTES ON UNDERDRAINING. 595 
to sixteen feet in width, according to the proposed depth of the drain, and plow that 
strip deep, turning the furrow-slices outward, or each way from the point where the 
center of the drain is to be. If there is no sod on the surface, let this strip be plowed 
over and over again, working the dirt outward at every plowing. One man witha 
team and a good plow will move more earth than two men with a team and scraper, 
until the depression is two feet in depth; then hitch the team to a good dirt scraper, 
and scrape the dirt each way from the center of the middle furrow. There will be 
more or less depression perhaps a rod from the middle furrow, which should be leveled 
up with the dirt that is scraped out. Continue to plow and scrape the earth each way 
until a valley three feet in depth is excavated, having a smooth slope clear down to 
the lowest point. Such a ditch will never cave in. Besides this, the land can be 
seeded with grass-seed, and the grass be mowed with hand scythes, or with a horse- 
mower, clear down to the water. Two and one-half or three feet deep wil! furnish a 
satisfactory outlet in most instances for branch drains. After the valley is excavated 
as directed, cut a water-channel with the plow and ditching tools about six or eight 
inches in depth, and from one to two feet wide, according to the amount of water that 
will probably flow when the stream is at an-ordinary height. The reader will be sur- 
prised to see what a long line of open drain two faithful laborers, with a team, plow, 
il and hand-teols will be able to make ina day, when they operate as above 
ected. 
Let it not be understood that such a drain as the foregoing is recommended where 
all the water can be carried in an underdrain of large capacity. There are places on 
many farms where the stream of water is so large during most of the time in late 
autumn, winter, and spring, that an underdrain, fifteen or twenty inches square, would 
be inadequate to the volume of water. In such instances the proprietor must resort to 
an open drain. 
In many instances the open drain may be made on a straight line between two fields 
or plots of ground, rather than in the natural channel of the water. The writer has 
frequently turned small streams from their natural course through the middle of culti- 
vated fields, by excavating such an open drain as has been suggested along the margin 
of tillable land. In the natural channel of the water-course an underdrain was made, 
so that the low ground, which had always been inundated with “flood-water” at cer- 
tain seasons of the year, was never overflowed. By adopting such a system of drain- 
age, the open drain will appear at the margin of a field where it will cause less incoen- 
venience than if it were to be made in the middle. By sinking a channel, as directed, 
all the silt from the side drains, and the wash from the slopes, will be collected and 
not be carried beyond the farm, Every autumn the channel should be cleaned out, as 
more or less grass will have sprung up during the summer to obstruct the water. 
Brooks of considerable magnitude frequently flow through a farm, winding and 
doubling over a large area of choice ground. By excavating such a ditch as we have 
indicated, one can frequently save nearly enough choice land to defray the expenses 
incurred in its excavation. The proper time to make such an open drain is during the 
summer, when there is very little or no water. In case there should be some water, 
keep the middle furrow clean, so that the stream will not spread and wet the dirt that 
is to be scraped out. 
Making outlets of drains.—Many an excellent underdrain has been seriously damaged 
in consequence of a poor outlet. When the outlets are made of stones, the influence ot 
the freezing and thawing of the ground, and the tread of heavy animals, will frequently 
displacg many of the stones, so that the passage soon becomes obstructed. If tiles are 
employed, one or two are sometimes broken, or they disintegrate after having been 
frozen and thawed a few times. It is a common occurrence to see a pond of water 
several inches deep at the outlet of a drain, with the water-course six inches below the 
surface of the water. Such drains are liable to be obstructed in one or two years. The 
outlet of every drain, especially of main drains, should be made with much care. If 
stones are employed, a good outlet may be made by using a covering-stone two or three 
feet long. Otherwise it will be advisable to make a wooden outlet, as illustrated by 
Figure 20, which is made by first placing a board or plank on the bottom of the ditch, 
if the ground is soft, then by setting 
a strip four inches wide on each side 
and covering with short pieces, as TUNINNTNIN 
shown by the cut. A board is fre- \\ 
quently laid on lengthwise, whichis = N 
objectionable, as the covering will 
not be so strong as if the same board 
were cut in pieces and laid crosswise. 
The water-channel beyond the outlet should always be kept clear of mud and gravel, 
so that the water will flow away rapidly from the drain. If a pond is desirable for 
collecting water for stock to drink, let an excavation be made at a short distance from 
the outlet of the drain, so that the water may wash out all the fine earth that may be 
accumulated in the water-course of the drain, 
