364 



TILE DRAINING. 



are loud in the praise of stone drains, and never want to see 

 another draining tile so long as they live. 



A good tile-drain, made of good clay and well burnt, 

 properly laid on a uniform descent, and having a good out- 

 let, is practically as permanent as the earth in which it is 

 imbedded. 



And now, how to make such a drain. It would take 

 much more than the few pages that can be here devoted to 

 the subject to tell. All that my space will allow me to do 

 is to give a few general rules and directions, which will suf- 

 fice to enable a farmer to understandingly decide for himself 

 whether he will make his drains of stones or of tiles ; and a 

 few arguments which may convince him that he cannot 

 afford to let his wet land go undrained. 



The draining tile is made in several forms, known as the 

 " round," the " sole," and the " horse-shoe." The last men- 

 tioned represents the first step that was taken in advance of 

 the use of stones, and it has long been condemned as an in- 

 ferior article by all who have had experience in the use of 

 the other kinds. The sole-tile, which has an egg-shaped ori- 

 fice, and has a flat side to lie upon, is theoretically very 

 good, and is really very good, only not the best. The flat 

 side is a delusion, for the reason that it generally is not flat, 

 being very liable to be warped out of shape in the burning, 

 while the uneven drying of the clay before it is burnt, or 

 the friction of the die through which it is moulded, is very 

 apt to so distort its shape as to make it difficult to make a 

 good joint. 



