THE HANDLING OF THE LAND 



89 



a good and continuous fall. For single drains and for laterals 

 not over four hundred or five hundred feet long, a two and one- 

 half inch tile is sufficient, unless much water must be carried 

 from swales or springs. In stony countries, flat stones may be 

 used in place of tiles, and persons who are skillful in laying 

 them make drains as good and permanent as those constructed 

 of tiles. The tiles or stones are covered with sods, straw, or 

 paper, and the earth is then filled in. This temporary cover 



keeps the loose dirt out of the tiles, and by the time it is rotted 

 the earth has settled into place. 



In small places, ditching must ordinarily be done wholly 

 with hand tools. A common spade and pick are the imple- 

 ments usually employed, although a spade with a long handle 

 and narrow blade, as shown in Fig. 79, is very useful for exca- 

 vating the bottom of the ditch. 



In most cases, much time and muscle are wasted in the use of 

 the pick. If the digging is properly done, a spade can be used 

 to cut the soil, even in fairly hard clay land, with no great 

 difficulty. The essential point in the easy use of the spade 

 is to manage so that one edge of the spade always cuts a free 

 or exposed surface. The illustration (Fig. 80) will explain the 

 method. When the operator endeavors to cut the soil in the 



