DRAINING. 241 



DRAINING. 



THIS is one of the most important operations in horti- 

 culture. No matter how fertile the normal condition of 

 the soil ; no matter how abundantly it is fertilized ; no 

 matter how carefully and thoroughly it is tilled, if water 

 remain in it at the depth at which roots penetrate, all 

 labor will be in vain ; for no satisfactory result can ever 

 be attained until the water is drained off. The subject is 

 one of such importance that we cannot give it full atten- 

 tion here, and to such as need to operate on a large 

 scale, works specially devoted to the subject should be 

 consulted, or a draining engineer employed. Soils hav- 

 ing a gravelly or sandy sub-soil ten or twenty inches 

 below the top soil do not usually need draining, but in 

 all soils underlaid by clay or hard pan, draining is indis- 

 pensable, unless in cases where there is a slope of two to 

 three feet in a hundred ; and even in such cases drain- 

 ing is beneficial if the sub-soil is clay. 



In soils having a clay or hard-pan sub-soil, drains 

 should be made three feet deep, and not more than 

 twenty feet apart. If stones are plenty, they may be 

 profitably used to fill up the drains, say to a depth of 

 twelve or fifteen inches, either placed so as to form a 

 "rubble " drain, if the stones are round, or built with an 

 orifice at the bottom, if the stones are flat. In either 

 case care must be used to cover the stones carefully up 

 with inverted sods, or some material that will prevent the 

 soil being washed through the stones and choking up 

 the drain. 



