DRAINS. 79 



cool, moist soil, or upon inclined ground where there 

 would be no danger of saturation. Whatever the ar- 

 rangement of water supply may be, the plan of the drain 

 should be as nearly as possible exactly the reverse. In 

 effect the drains should be so arranged as to take up the 

 surplus or unused water and carry it off as rapidly as 

 possible ; at the same time care should be taken not to 

 permit the water to flow into the drains until it has done 

 its duty, nor to use so much water that the soil may be 

 carried into the drains and these be soon filled with sedi- 

 ment. No drain should be carried beneath a canal or 

 distributing furrow, unless it cannot be avoided, and then 

 never at a less depth than three feet, else a channel of 

 communication may be opened between them and the 

 water escape, and, what is worse, wash the soil into the 

 drains and render them useless. Further remarks upon 

 drainage will be found in a succeeding chapter where 

 field irrigation is treated, and which may be referred to. 



Cultivation or Disturbance of the Soil. The soil should 

 never be disturbed while it is wet. The operations of 

 hoeing, cultivating, weeding, sowing, or gathering the 

 mature crops, should be so timed with reference to the 

 watering, or the watering should be so timed with refer- 

 ence to them, that these operations may be performed 

 when the soil is dry and just before the watering. If 

 after the watering, upon soils liable to "bake," or be- 

 come encrusted, the surface under the effects of a hot 

 sun becomes hard, the crust should be broken up by cul- 

 tivation before it has time to completely harden. 



The Application of Water. It is not well to put off 

 the watering until the ground is very dry, but to apply 

 the water while the soil is still somewhat moist and mel- 

 low ; it is then more absorptive, and the after effects 

 upon the worst of soils, as regards baking, will be 

 less troublesome. The soil should be moderately watered 



