TILE DRAINING. 363 



cost of collecting the stones, of breaking (or selecting them) 

 to a proper size, of laying them in the drain, and of pro- 

 tecting them from the rattling down of loose dirt among 

 them, and from the burrowing down of field-mice, is very 

 great, and in addition to this we have to calculate the cost 

 of digging the very much wider ditch that is required for 

 their use. 



To drain land in the best manner there are required about 

 sixty rods of drain four feet deep, and fifty cents a rod for 

 the above items (which is the utmost that tile should cost) 

 would not pay one-half of the actual cost of stones, if we 

 calculate the labor of teams and men at anything approach- 

 ing their full value. 



As to durability. A tile drain, when properly laid, is pack- 

 ed closely in the most compact subsoil within our reach, has 

 its joints (which are very close) encased in an earthen collar, 

 is closed at its upper end by a flat stone against the tile, and 

 its outlet secured by a grating. No dirt can get in to stop 

 it up, and no vermin can use it for a camping ground. The 

 only thing (except in rare instances the roots of trees) that 

 can enter it at all is the water that it is intended to carry 

 away. 



Of course I speak of a tile drain that is made of good 

 materials and is made in a proper manner. It is very easy 

 to make a drain that will not be worth the cost of the tiles, 

 not worth anything ; and many such drains are made by 

 careless or ignorant people, who, seeing their uselessness, 



