Tile Drainage in the South 



By J. E. Waggoner 



Agricultural Extension Department, International Harvester Company, 

 Harvester Building, Chicago 



The vast area of undrainedswamp lands 

 in the South, if properly tiled and cul- 

 tivated, would add millions of dollars 

 to our wealth, thus increasing the com- 

 fort of our homes and aiding in the devel- 

 opment of our industries. It is true 

 that a large proportion of this land is 

 located in large drainage districts requir- 

 ing considerable capital to develop prop- 

 erly. It is not the purpose of this article, 

 however, to deal with large drainage 

 districts, but rather to consider the 

 small 40, 60, 80, and 160-acre farms which have land that should 

 be drained. 



Thousands of farmers are attempting to farm land that is 

 only partly drained. Many of the total failures of crops, as well 

 as a large percentage of partial failures, are due to attempting 

 to farm land which is in poor condition, due to a lack of drain- 

 age. Cold soil, slow to warm up in the spring, a hard, packed 

 condition during the hot summer, and poor, stunted, yellow- 

 looking plants are indicative of undrained land. The soil is the 

 home of the plant, which unlike other forms of life is unable to 

 change its location. If a seed falls in a low place it must germi- 

 nate and grow there if at all. If the soil is in good condition, 

 all is well and good. If it is partly drained or not at all, the 

 plant's lot is a poor one. Tile drainage is one of the most 

 important and one of the most valuable ways of improving the 

 condition of the soil — the home of the plant. 



The water of the soil may be divided into two classes, drain- 

 age water and soil moisture. The drainage water is that which 

 may be removed by gravity, or, in other words, that water 

 which fills the spaces of the soil. Soil moisture is made up of 

 the small films of water which encircle each particle of soil. It 

 is the soil moisture which is utilized by the growing plant. 

 Soil moisture is replenished from the drainage water, but the 

 latter is not utilized directly by the growing plants. 



Tile Drained Land Warms Up Early— Well drained land 

 will warm up from ten days to two weeks earlier in the spring, 

 thus permitting earlier and more timely cultivation. In the 



