42 



CANADIAN FARM YEAR BOOK. 



of the water-fable above the drains; 

 the farther apart, the higher the crest ; 

 hence the closer the drains are to- 

 gether the shallower they may be; the 

 farther they are apart, the deeper they 

 must be. The depth and distance 

 apart must be so chosen that midway 

 between the drains the soil will be 

 drained a foot and a half or two feet 

 within forty-eight hours after rain, for 

 if the roots are submerged longer than 

 this, they begin to suffer. zVpnlying 

 the gradients of 1 foot in 25 for clay 

 and 1 foot in 33 for loam, we arrive at 

 the general conclusion that if drains 

 are from 3 to 3^^ feet deep, they 

 should be placed from 50 to tJ6 feet 

 apart in clay ox clay loam, and from 

 75 to 100 feet apart in lighter soils. 

 But this is only a genertil conclusion, 

 and judgment must be used in each 

 Individual case. 



Course of Proceaure Under the Ditches 

 and Watercourses Act. 



Before any recourse is haa to legal 

 procedure, the parties concerned in a 

 drain affecting two or more owners 

 should get together informally and en- 

 deavor to agree on some apportion 

 ment of the labor and expense of con- 

 struction and maintenance. ^Yhen 

 such meeting and agreement are not 

 possible, then legal proceedings be- 

 come necessary. The first legal step 

 in the adjustment of a dispute about 

 drainage matters is the formal callin*? 

 of a meeting of all parties interested. 

 This meeting is to be called by him 

 who requires the construction of the 

 drain. He must serve notices in writ- 

 ing upon all concerned, appointing a 

 day, hour and place convenient to the 

 site of the ditch, at which all the 

 owners are to meet and estimate the 

 cost of the ditch, and agree if possible 

 upon the apportionment of the work, 

 and supply of material for construc- 

 tion among the several owners accord- 

 ing to their respective interests 

 therein, and settle the proportions 

 in which the ditch shall be main- 

 tained; the notices shall be served 

 not less than twelve clear days before 

 the time named therein for meeting 

 (R.S.O., 1897, c 285, s. 8.) 



Blank forms for the notices are 

 given in the Act, a copy of which maj 

 be had from the clerk of the munici- 

 pality. Notices may be served person- 

 ally or by leaving them at the place 

 of the owner or occupant, with a 

 i?rown-up person residing thereat, and 



in case of non-residents then upon the 

 agent of the owner, or by registered 

 letter to the- owner at the post office 

 nearest to his last known place of 

 residence. (R.S.O. 1897, c. 285, s. 15.) 

 In case an agreement is arrived at, 

 it shall be reduced tc^ writing, signed 

 by all the owners, and within six days 

 be filed with the clerk of the munici- 

 pality, when it becomes as binding as 

 the award of an engineer, and may 

 be enforced in like manner (R.S.O. . 

 c. 285, s. 13 (1). But such amicable 

 settlement at this stage will seldom 

 need enforcement, as the parties 

 thereto will, of their own accord, ful- 

 fil their parts, and no further proceed- 

 ings will be necessary. 



In case an agreement is not arrived 

 at, either at the meeting or within five 

 days thereafter, then the owner re- 

 quiring the ditdh may file with the 

 clerk of the municipality a declara- 

 tion of ownership of his land and also 

 a requisition naming all the parcels 

 of land to be affected by the ditch and 

 the respective owners thereof, and re- 

 questing that the engineer appointed 

 by the municipality be asked to ap- 

 point a time and place in the locality 

 of the proposed ditch at which he will 

 attend (R.S.O. 1897, c. 285, s. 14), and 

 examine the locality; and if he deems 

 it proper, or if requested by any of the 

 owners, he may examine the owners 

 and their witnesses present, and may 

 administer an oath or affirmation to 

 any witness examined by him (R.S.O 

 1897, c 285, s. 16 (1). Within thirty 

 days after his attendance the engineer 

 will make his award in writing, appor- 

 tioning the work and the furnishing of 

 the material among the lands affected 

 and the owners thereof, according to 

 his estimate of their respective inter- 

 ests in the ditch, fixing the time for 

 the performance by the respective 

 owners, and apportioning the main- 

 taining of the ditch, so that as far as 

 practicable each owner shall maintain 

 the portion on his own land. (R.S.O. 

 1897, c. 285, s. 16 (1). In case the 

 work apportioned to any owner- is not 

 completed in the allotted time, the en- 

 gineer may let the contract for its 

 performance to the lowest bidder, the 

 expense chargeable to the land of the 

 defaulting owner. (R.S.O. 1897, c. 285, 

 s. 28.) 



Thus we see that a man is bound 



to give outlet for the natural' drainage 



^ water from his neighbor's farm, and, 



-*^not only so, he is liable for cost of 



