54 Practical Farming 



with a facing of stone or bricks to prevent the washing and 

 caving in of the bank. Where a tile drain crosses a springy- 

 place with many crawfish holes it is better to place a nar- 

 row plank in the bottom of the ditch on which to place the 

 tile, as the burrowing of the crawfish is apt to throw the tiles 

 out of line and choke them. Wherever the fall will allow 

 it, the depth to which the water-table is lowered should be 

 as nearly four feet as practicable. Where it is impracti- 

 cable to have the drains so deep they should be nearer 

 together. Never connect a lateral tile drain with a main 

 tile at right angles, but always at a more or less acute 

 angle in the direction of the current. The same caution 

 should be used in terminating at an open outlet, where the 

 end should be above the water in the open ditch or stream. 

 The higher or lower level of the source of the water to 

 be drained determines the width between the drains to 

 some extent. As before shown, the water-table in the 

 soil will always be a Httle higher midway between the lines 

 of tiles, and when the lines are too far apart the water- 

 table midway between the lines will be practically undis- 

 turbed. Where the water in the tiles comes from strong 

 springs on higher land above, the lower levels will become 

 subirrigated from the seepage from the full tiles lower 

 down and a permanent moisture maintained there. If 

 this is not kept too near the surface it will be of advantage 

 to some crops. We once had a piece of land kept moist 

 in this way in which crops of melons and cucumbers 

 throve all through the summer when on drier land they 

 dried up after producing the first crop of fruits. For gar- 

 den crops like celery this subirrigated land will prove 

 very favorable. 



