36 THE HANDBOOK FOR PRACTICAL FARMERS 



volume of water must be handled, the ojpen ditch may be the 

 only available means of drainage. 



Under drains. — Farm drainage should generally be synony- 

 mous with tile drainage. Covered drains of any kind free the 

 surface of obstruction and are likely to be more permanent and 

 less expensive to maintain than open ditches. Tile drains, where 

 needed, and in which good clay or cement tiles are used, are 

 both a satisfaction and the very best kind of a business invest- 

 ment. The earlier substitutes, such as poles, brush and stone 

 drains, now have very little place in competition with tile for 

 drainage purposes. They are nearly, if not quite, as expensive 

 to construct, and much less permanent, especially on low grades. 



Fig. 13. — Yiew of system of xinderdrains placed at regular in- 

 tervals. Adapted to land wet throughout and on which 

 intensive cropping is to be practiced. — Neto York State 

 College of Agriculture. 



In a few cases, namely, where the bottom is very soft or w^here 

 they are deeply placed and where the soil has a very pronounced 

 tendency to silting the drain, wooden box drains may be the 

 better material. This is especially true in draining seepy, irri- 

 gated lands. But for the humid land farmer, tile drains are 

 usually the most satisfactory method of drainage. 



Quality of tile. — A good tile has walls that are nearly or quite 

 impervious to water, that are straight and fairly square at the 

 ends, smooth inside and Avithout flaws due to lime nodules or 

 pebbles in the clay. They should give a sharp, clear ring when 

 struck with a hammer. They may be either hexagonal or round. 

 A single flat side is an undesirable form, since it increases the 



