DITCHING 13 



make the best^and most permanent drains. The 

 ditches should not be less than two and one-half 

 feet deep, and three or three and one -half feet is 

 a better depth. In most garden areas, drains may 

 be laid with profit as 

 often as every thirty feet. 

 Give all drains a good and 

 continuous fall. For 

 single drains, and for 

 laterals not over four 

 hundred or five hundred 

 feet long, a two and one- 

 half inch tile is sufficient, 

 unless much water must 

 be carried from swales or 

 springs. In stony coun- 

 tries, flat stones may be 

 used in place of tiles, and 

 persons who are skillful 

 in laying them make 

 drains as good and per- 

 manent as those con- 



4. Ditching tools. 



structed of tiles. The 



tiles or stones are covered with sods, straw or 

 paper, and the earth is then filled in. This 

 temporary cover keeps the loose dirt out of the 

 tiles, and by the time it is rotted the earth 

 has settled into place. 



In small places, ditching must ordinarily be 

 done wholly with hand tools. A common spade 



