132 HANDY-BOOK OF HUSBANDEY. 



PLANK, BRUSH, AND POLE DRAINS. 



When 2-inch planks or slabs can be cheaply procured, a good 



drain may be made by cutting the bottom of the ditch so as to 



leave a shoulder at least three inches on each side as shown in 



Fig. 57, and lay across — resting on the shoulders — pieces of 



Fig. 57. plank or slab sawed to the proper length, 



-. ^^^^^_ ^j/,i,i,„,;,, , |,g^ ^.^^^^ to reach from one side of the ditch to 



^': ^^ff the other, and fitted as closely as possible 



/ at their edges. For the smaller drains — 



^ not more than six inches across, between 



'" ^^ ;i_ ■ the shoulder, common hemlock boards, 



^^^^^ one inch thick will suffice, and will last 



for a long time. In all cases the wood should be thoroughly 



soaked before laying, so that it will not be necessary to leave 



joints to allow for swelling. In a clay subsoil, such a drain would 



last long enough to be economical. In quicksand it would be 



good for nothing. The grain of the wood must run across the 



ditch. 



If a ditch is filled with brush (especially cedar) to its top, com- 

 mencing at the upper end, and laying the butts toward the mouth 

 of the drain, and the brush then pressed down as closely as pos- 

 sible, and covered with well-compacted earth, it will make a very 

 good " make-shift " drain — so much better than none at all, as to 

 commend itself highly to those who cannot afford to make stone 

 or tile drains. 



Small poles laid evenly in the ditch, with just enough fine 

 covering to keep out the loose dirt of the filling will often prove 

 very good. 



When either the poles or the brush decay, the earth itself will 

 often preserve the channel for a long time. 



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