SIDE DRAINS. 735 



all the water of the swale. As I advanced up stream I used 

 smaller tile. 



4 All four of these drains cut across the old open ditch and 

 its tributaries several times. My object in making this drain 

 in this way was to drain a large amount of land with a few tile 

 and get the water off as quickly as possible. If I had put all 

 these tile in one drain they would have carried only the same 

 amount of water, and would have drained only one-fourth as 

 much land as they do now. In digging the drains I had to cut 

 through a few ridges six to eight feet deep, but for all it is the 

 cheapest and best-drained land I have. By tiling the open 

 ditches I not only save thirty feet of the best land on the farm, 

 but save the cleaning of the ditch out every year, which, if 

 tramped with cattle, would cost nearly as much as a new ditch ; 

 besides, I get the fields in good shape, and save the lives of a 

 great many sheep, which are lost every year by the open 

 ditches, also the young of other animals. 



In draining, always remember that whenever you make a 

 cut-off, although it may cost a little more to dig the drain, you 

 not only save the tile but you get more fall, the water off 

 quicker, and the land better drained ; however, in some cases 

 the ridges are too high to dig through, and laterals must be 

 used. 



THE LATERALS OR SIDE DRAINS, 



as they enter the main drain, should be made to enter at an acute 

 angle, pointing down-stream. Experience shows that if their 

 current enters square across that of the main drain, one or the 

 other stream is liable to be arrested, and sand or gravel de- 

 posited, injuring the water-course. The tile drain emptying 

 into the main should have a fall of at least six inches, and the 

 more the better, although, I do not believe in having many 

 laterals, but the smaller the number of outlets the better. In 

 draining six hundred acres of land I have but twelve outlets. 



HOW TO LAY THE DRAIN. 



Before I had much experience in draining, I would dig my 

 drain the whole length and commence at the upper end and 



