1 82 FARM DEVELOPMENT 



this level land is discharged at points along the borders 

 of the farm into these ditches. While the outside drains 

 along the highway and the broad farm drains leading 

 into them, of necessity, have very slight fall, the water 

 can pass through them rather quickly, because they are 

 broad and will hold a large volume of moving water. 

 The drains inside the farm, conducting the water to these 

 large roadside ditches, were placed so as best to conduct 

 the water off the land, and they were located with refer- 

 ence to the arrangement of the fields into which it was 

 decided to divide the farm. Thus, the north half of the 

 section was divided into four 8o-acre fields, and the 

 southeast portion of the farm was divided into five 40- 

 acre fields, with two triangular fields on the east border 

 of the lake. The triangular portion on the west side 

 of the lake was arranged for a single field and was 

 drained in much the same manner as is described for the 

 fields of the main portion of the farm. 



The ditches between the several fields were made by 

 means of the reversible road machine. Instead of mak- 

 ing a ditch and throwing the earth out on either 

 side, two flat ditches were made, throwing the earth to 

 the center between them, just as in throwing up a grade 

 for a road. This gave a place to deposit the earth, with- 

 out placing it between the ditch and the level field to be 

 drained. Since the very fine textured clay soils of this 

 region are often drifted before the wind into the drains, 

 this plan makes it practicable to clean the drains out 

 occasionally with the road machine and provides a place 

 to put the earth. If the area between the two ditches 

 becomes too elevated or too much rounded, it is remedied 

 by carrying the ditch farther out, thus making the 

 rounded strip between the two ditches broader. The 

 fence line can be placed on top of the roadlike bank, or, 

 if there is no fence between the two fields, this can be 

 used as a road over which to draw the loads of grain. 



