DRAINAGE 



215 



keeping the ditch below it clear, it is necessary to build 

 a fence to keep hogs and other animals from inter- 

 fering. 



Cost of laying tile drains. Where labor costs $1.25 to 

 $1.50 per day, the j:ost, though varying greatly in dif- 

 ferent soils, is approximately 10 cents per rod for each 

 foot of depth for tiles laid 2 to 5 feet deep, where the 

 work is all done by hand. Experienced ditchers can 

 make good wages at this price, while inexperienced 

 men will find it very hard to make moderate wages. 

 Where machinery can be used for part of the work, 

 the cost can be materially reduced. In laying 3 and 4- 

 inch tiles that cost an average of $10 per thousand, or 

 one cent per foot, the cost of the tile per rod of 

 ditch is i6y 2 cents. The cost of digging an average 

 ditch 3^2 feet deep is 

 35 cents, making a total 

 of 51/^2 cents per rod 

 for the completed ditch. 

 Where the tiles must 

 be shipped on railways 

 the cost will be con- 

 siderably higher, and 

 for larger sizes of tile 

 the cost is greater. 

 (See Cost of Drain 

 Tiles, page 169.) 



The cost per acre. 

 The cost per acre 

 where tiles are laid at regular intervals apart can be 

 closely estimated by using the prices per thousand for 

 drain tiles and adding to this the above estimates for 

 the cost of labor. There are many cases where tile 

 drains are economical where it is difficult to figure the 

 cost per acre, since instead of systematically covering 

 flat areas, the drain follows some low slough or carries 



Figure 108. Filling the tile ditch with the re- 

 versible road machine. 



