FLOODING. 



69 



ply of* water is dependent upon rains, the damming of a 

 ditch, or filling up with sand, a small cut in the embank- 

 ment will frequently be found sufficient. 



For a small stream, and low head, floodgates may be 

 constructed in summer by any ordinary workman, as fol- 

 lows : Select cedar, or other lasting timber, (as the water 

 will be drawn off in warm weather, thus leaving the 

 wood-work in the most favorable condition for decay) 

 and drive down thick planks on each side of the ditch, 

 with their broadsides towards the outlet, for posts. Then 

 fix a plank, ten or twelve inches wide, in the bottom of 

 the ditch, to serve as a mud-sill, and nail it firmly to the 

 posts, letting it extend five or six feet beyond them, to 

 form a portion of the wings. These wings are afterward 



Us^^^^^ffi^fc 





FLOODGATE. 



boarded up along the dam, on each side of the gates, and 

 a sheeting is constructed, reaching entirely through the 

 dam, to convey the water off. (See fig. 28.) 



The corners between the wings and sheeting, as well 

 as the space under the floodgates, should be filled up 

 with clean sand. Boards, sliding in grooves above the 

 mud-sill, are employed to raise or lower the head of water. 



In large rapid streams, or with high heads, floodgates 

 made in this way would not be efficient. For these, 

 plank, driven down in front of the mud-sill, is the only 

 sure method of preventing the water from flowing under 

 the gate. 



Preparations for cranberrv culture have become so ex- 



