32 HOW TO MAKE THE FARM PAY. 



may be had to stone drains, which, if properly constructed, 

 answer a very good purpose. 



Where peat can be had for the digging, very good tiles can 

 be made from it. Brush drains hardly pay for the making, and 

 open drains are, as a general thing, a disadvantage rather than 

 an improvement, as the expense of digging is the same ; they 

 take up a large portion of the land, render farming operations 

 difficult, afford a harbor for muskrats and other pests, are 

 liable to be tread in, or prove pitfalls for cattle, promote the 

 growth of rank grasses and noxious weeds, and must be dug 

 over every year. 



The Depth of Drains, of whatever material constructed, 

 should never, in the Northern States, be less than three feet, 

 and if the soil is easily worked, four feet, while in the Southern 

 States, where the frosts do not penetrate the ground, the depth 

 may be lessened to two and a half or three feet. 



What lands require Draining, and how it shall be deter 

 mined, are questions we must answer before going further 

 Evidently swamps, marshes, and all visibly wet lands, require 

 drainage before they can be profitably cultivated. All hig 

 lands holding too much water at any season of the year, 

 require drainage. Most useful plants are drowned by being 

 overflowed, even for a short time, and injured by stagnant 

 water about their roots. Lands in which planting is delayed 

 in the spring, by reason of their wetness, require drainage. In^j 

 the Northern States nearly two weeks may be gained by thor' 

 ough drainage, an advantage which only those can appreciate 

 who have been obliged to haul their manure over soft ground, 

 plow their land when too wet, and then find the season too 

 short to mature their crops, and all because of a surplus of 

 ?,6[d water in the soil. Land on which water stands and freezes 

 in the winter should be drained. , 



