2l6 



FARM DEVELOPMENT 



the water from some low or otherwise bothersome spot 

 in the field. Here the cost and probable benefit must be 

 compared in some general way, rather than by using 

 the acre as the unit. 



MAKING OPEN DRAINS 



Capstan plow ditchers. Very large ditching plows are 

 used for making open ditches in sloughs and in level 

 lands where there are long stretches of alluvial till or 



Figure 109. Tile-ditching machine opening a 4-foot ditch. 



clay sufficiently free from stones to cause no serious 

 interference to the coulters or lay of the capstan plow 

 ditcher. Generally, the power can be applied in a direct 

 line from the capstan to the machine. In some cases, how- 

 ever, the capstan set in a direct line with the line of the 

 ditch and directly in front of the machine will not give 

 good footing to the horses or oxen on the capstan sweep, 

 and it is necessary, by means of heavy stakes set in the 



