THE YOUNG FARMER'S MANUAL. 305 



throat of a drain, when the covering stones are flat, and a little 

 wider than the bottom of the ditch. This man- FIG. 137. 

 ner of forming a throat with flat stones is far 

 preferable to the one in which the stones are 

 placed like the rafters of a building. 



421. Chinking with small stones is a very im 

 portant part of laying the stones in a ditch. 

 Great pains should be taken to chink the entire 

 surface so thoroughly, that there will not be an 



8TONIKG WITH ONR 



open space as large as a mouse-hole. When BOW OF SIDE STONES. 

 flat stones are used for covering stones, small flat stones should 

 be used to cover the cracks and for chinking ; and, when bowl 

 ders are used for covering the side stones, small round stones 

 will be the best for chinking. After the chinking has been thor 

 oughly performed, it would be a good practice to spread coarse 

 gravel on the stones, for the purpose of keeping out the moles 

 and meadow mice. It would hardly pay, however, to haul 

 gravel for such a purpose any considerable distance, as the sur 

 plus water would find its way into the throat of the drain quite 

 as well without the gravel. Let those who doubt this, try the 

 experiment for a few years ; and I am confident they will coin 

 cide with me in every respect. 



SIDE-HILL DRAINS. 



422. "When drains that are filled with stone, have a fall or 

 inclination of more than one foot per lineal rod, if the bottom of 

 the ditch is not very hard, should there be a stream of water 

 sufficiently large to fill a four-inch tile, the water would be very 

 liable to form gullies, where it runs swiftly, and to undermine the 

 side stones, thus causing derangement and obstructing the free pas 

 sage of the water. When a stream of water as large as a man's 

 arm is confined and pressed a very little, and its passage is down 

 a slope, which may not be very steep, it will carry in it large 

 gravel and stones, as large as hens' eggs ; which, rolling and 

 rumbling and tumbling along, will cut a gully in a few weeki 

 even in very compact earth. It is often very desirable to make 



