33 



For seeding down for mixed hay, Mr. Grisdale recommends 10 

 Ibs. of red clover 2 or 3 Ibs of alsike and 10 to 12 Ibs. of timothy seed 



per acre. 



DRAINING. 



The value of a good system of drainage has been amply 

 demonstrated at the Central Experimental Farm. Thirteen years 

 ago it was decided that forty acres of this Farm was insufficiently 

 drained. During the autumn of that year a good system of under- 

 drains was put in with the result that the following year the increase 

 in the value of the crop was fully one thousand dollars. Every year 

 since that time this portion of the Farm which previously gave very 

 uncertain crops has produced well . By means of surface grading 

 and underdrains practically every foot of land on the 200 acre farm 

 has now been brought under profitable cultivation. 



The system complete comprises about seventeen miles of tile 

 drains, made up for the most part of 3 in. and 4 in. laterals, which 

 lead into mains ranging from 6 in. to 12 in. in diameter, depending 

 upon the total area they drain and the slope obtainable. 



Except for the purposes of making grade the tile have been laid 

 on the average 3 ft. deep, and in distance apart they range from 30 

 ft. to 100 ft. On the heavy land with hardpan subsoil, it has been 

 necessary for best results to lay parallel lines as close as 30 ft. while 

 on the lighter soils fewer lines were required for equally good results. 

 Generally speaking the heavy clays and mucks have been drained 30 

 ft. to 50 ft., clay loams 50 ft. to 75 ft., and the lightest of the soils 

 75 ft. to 100 ft. apart. 



Owing to slow grades, and to the fact that there are great 

 variations in soil types on the Farm, making it necessary for nearly 

 all the mains to pass through very sandy soil at some point in their 

 course, it has been necessary to establish sand traps at various 

 intersections throughout the system. Many of these are built of 

 concrete. The large amounts of sediment removed from these basins 

 from time to time indicate their usefulness under such conditions as 

 obtain at the Central Farm. 



According to the Director of Experimental Farms thorough 

 under drainage may cost from $20 to $40 per acre but even at the 

 extreme figure it has been a paying investment for practically worth- 

 less fields have been converted into profitable producing areas. 



32880-3 



