THE FARMER'S MONTHLY VISITOR. 



And in practice, it is well to wait to mark the effects of a drain cut in tiie 

 higiier part of the slope to be drained, for these effects often extend further 

 than miglit be anticipated, removing springs, bursts, or oozings, at a great 

 distance. 



On the other hand, a single swamp, as from B to A, in the following figure, 

 may be produced, and^'etone drain at 13 may be insufficient to remove it. hi this 

 case, the water being brought to the surface by more than one channel, it is 

 necessary to form several drains to reach tlie several beds in which the water 

 is contained, as at B, C, and D. 



137 





[Fig. 34.] 



These examples will show, that one rule, with respect to the laying out of 

 drains, is not applicable to all cases, but that the drainer sliould adapt liis 

 remedy as much as possible to the cause of injury. One end, however, to 

 be aimed at in all cases, is to reach the bed, channel, or reservoir, in which 

 the water is contained. 



Before beginning to drain a field or tract of ground, it is frequently well to 

 .ascertain, by examination, the nature of the substance to be digged through. 



At the upper part where the wet tract to be drained appears, or between 

 the wet and the dry, let a few pits be digged. The place of each pit is to be 

 marked out nearly in the direction of the proposed line of drain, six feet long 

 by three in width, in which space one man, and if required, two, can work. 

 Let the earth be thrown out to the lower side, and to such a distance from tiie 

 edge of the pit as not to press upon and break down the sides. Let these pits 

 be made to the depth of five or six feet, or more if necessary, so that we may 

 reach, if possible, the porous bed in which the water is contained. Should 

 we find no water, then let us apply a boiing rod, in order to ascertain at 

 what depth the porous substance lies in whicli the water is contained. 



Sometimes water will not be foimd until we come to a great depth. It may 

 be so deep that we cannot reach it by any drain, or even by boring with the 

 auger. In this case a previous examination saves us tiie labor of making the 

 drain unnecessarily deep. Sometimes we shall proceed to a consideralile 

 depth without finding any appearance of water, wlien, all at once, by break- 

 ing througli some thin stratum, we shall reach it. The water is frequently 

 seen in this case, to boil up like a fountain, and this affords the assurance that 

 we shall succeed in our object. 



This species of preparatory examination by means of pits, is therefore, in 

 many cases useful. It affords the means of judging of the proper deptli and 

 dimensions of which the drain shall be formed ; it prevents the committing of 

 errors in the laying out of the lines of drains; and it enables the drainer to 

 enter into contracts with his workmen with precision. 



When we have thus, by sinking pits in various parts of our intended lines, 

 obtained an idea of the nature of the ground, of the substances to be digged 

 through, and of the depth of the water, we mark our lines of drains upon the 

 ground. 



This may be done by pins, or by a plough drawing a furrow along the in- 

 tended line. 



It is at this time very convenient to make a hand-sketch of the piece of 

 ground to be drained, marking each line as it is laid off in the field, and not- 

 ing the depth and direction in which the water is to run. 



The lines being marked off in the manner described, these are from the up- 

 per edges of the drains. 



The width of the drain at the top depends upon its depth, it being usual, ex- 

 cept in the case of very hard tenacious substances, to make it slope from the 

 top to the bottom. Thus, if it be six feet deep, and from 18 inches to 2 feet 

 wide at the bottom, it may be 9 1-2 feet wide at top. 



The workman, in forming the trench, works up to the higher ground, and 

 never from tlie higher ground to the lower. The instruments which he uses 

 in the operation are — the common spade, a shovel for throwing out loose sub- 

 stances, a pick or mattock, for raising stones and breaking the earth when 

 hard, and the foot-pick. 



The materials to be used for filling the drain may be stones, tiles, or other 

 hard and durable substances. When stones are to be employed, if they are 

 inconveniently large, they may be broken to the weight of three or four 

 pounds. They may be laid down for use, before the cutting of the drain is 

 begun, along the upper line of the drain, the earth being thrown by the work- 

 men to the lower side ; or else they may be brought forward while the work 

 JB going on, and thrown from the cart into the drain. 



In the larger class of drains it is regarded as beneficial, and even necessary, 

 to form a conduit at the bottom. This is done by building a little wall rough- 

 ly on each side at the bottom, about six inches in height, and so as to leave an 

 aperture or conduit of about six inches in width. The workman then covers 

 it with such flat stones as he can procure, filling up also the interstices of 

 those covers with smaller stones, so as to defend the conduit from earth and 

 other substances that might fall into it. When this is done, the remaining 

 stones are thrown in promiscuously to the height of 18 inches or two feet a- 

 bovc the cover. The stones are then to be made level at the top, and eitlier 

 covered with the sod wliicii, on breaking the ground of the drain, had been 

 laid aside for the purpose, or with a covering of straw, heath, or the like. 

 This covering is to prevent the loose earth from falling amongst the stones. 



When these operations are completed, the earth which had been thrown 

 out of the trench is siiovellcd upon the stones until it be above the level of 

 the surface. The purpose of raising it higher than the surface is to provide 

 for the subsidence of the loose earth, which is generally found to be render- 

 ed more compact, and to occupy a emaller space than it did in its original 



state. When a portion of the earth is shovelled in, it is an economy of labo 

 to employ a common plough for filling in the remainder. 



A drain thus formed will appear on a transverse section, as in Fig 35, and 

 after the subsidence of tlie earth as in Fig. 36. Where the soil is very soft. 

 It IS of benefit to pave tlie lower part of tlie drain with stones or slates. In 

 the whole operation of forming the trench and conduit, great care is neces- 

 sary in seeing that all the parts of the work are executed well. 



The stones used for this species of 

 drain may be sandstone, or any other 



harder stones that can be obtained. 



But in many cases, stones are not to 

 be obtained, in which cas.e titea may be 

 substituted. 



[Fig. 35.] 

 The tiles which are made with an arch as 

 In the annexed figure, 37, may be formed of 

 separate pieces of about fourteen inches in 

 length. Flat soles are made of the same ma- 

 terial, on which the arched tiles are to rest. 



The method of forming the drain when tiles are the material employed, 

 may be somewhat different from that adopted when stones are used. 



The drain is carried down as narrow as a man can work 

 and at the bottom an excavation is made by me.ans of a 

 narrow-mouthed spade, to fit the dimensions of the tile, 

 which is then placed upon its stand or sole. Above this 

 should be laid some loose materials, as clean gravel or sand 

 for allowing the filtration of the water. Even brushwood' 

 and such materials, may be used ; for though they are not of 

 great duration, they serve the purpose, even after they have 

 decayed, of rendering the earth more open and pervious to 

 water. 



Drains formed in this manner, whether the material em- 

 ployed be stone or tile, will be found eflicient when they 

 are laid out in the proper direction, and when the pervious 

 substances are reached in which the water is contained. 

 ■■'•But it is often impracticable to reach these substances 

 with a drain of common deptli. In this case apertures may [Fig 381 



be formed at the bottom of the drain, by boring or sinking down at the prop- 

 er distances, until the pervious beds in which the water is contained are 

 reached. By this means the water will lie allowed to flow up from below in- 

 to the cavity of the drain, and so will be carried aw,ay. 



The application of this principle had been familiar from the remotest times 

 in the sinking of wells. But it was not till after the middle of the last cen- 

 tury that the same principle was applied to the draining of land. This was 

 done by Mr. Elkinton of Warwicksliire, who employed the auger and the 

 boring rod for the purpose of reaching the channels and reservoirs below the 

 surface, when an ordinary drain could not reach them. 



The auger employed for this purpose is similar to-a carpenter's wimble. It 

 may be from four to five inches in diameter. Square rods are made to be 

 screwed into one another, so that the length of the line of rods may be in- 

 creased in proportion as the auger penetrates the ground. In the annexed 

 fig., A is the auger, B one of tlie rods, C a key for turning it round and work- 

 ing it, D another key for holding the rods when they are to be unscrewed by 

 means of the key C. 



This instrument may be sometimes found useful 

 when the channels and reservoirs of water can be 

 reached in this manner. The apertures are farm- 

 ed by the auger in the bottom of the drain. When 

 the water is reached, it will spring up into the 

 drain, in the same manner as water in the bottom 

 of a well. It is not necessary to employ any arti- 

 ficial means for keeping the apertures open, as the 

 flow of the water will suffice to maintain for itself 

 a passage. 



[Fig. 39.] 



n 



[Fig. 38.] 



Sometimes, in place of an auger hole, wells 

 are sunk at intervals along the side of the drain, 

 and filled with stones in the manner shown in the 

 figure. 



In all cases of draining where the water to be 

 reached is at some depth, the drains should be 

 made of sufficient dimensions. They should not 

 be less than 4 feet deep, even when the pervi- 

 ous strata lie at less depth ; and tlie reason is, 

 that they may be more permanent, and better 

 defended from injury from mud and sand carried 

 down by surface water. It is not necessary that 

 they be made deeper than 4 feet when that is 

 found to be sufficient ; bnttliey must be carried, 

 if necessary, to the depth oi' six feet, or even 

 sometimes of seven feet, though the expense and 

 dlfiiculty of executing the work increase, in a 

 great proportion, as the dimensions of the drain 

 increase. 



The importance, in this species of draining, 

 of proceeding upon principles in laying out the 

 lines of drains, instead of acting at random, as 



