136 LAND DRAINAGE 



haps with the use of dynamite. On land that is not too 

 stony, the ditching plow drawn by one or more teams is 

 very helpful. There are on the market a number of plows 

 that are very useful for this purpose. Next in complexity 

 is the large ditching plow equipped with wheels and drawn 

 by several teams. This plow tears up the soil and ele- 

 vates it out of the ditch. There are two or three machines 

 of this type, such as the Cyclone and the Bennett. 

 Finally, there are the large engine-driven ditching tractors, 

 including the Buckeye, the Austin, and the Pawling 

 machines, which cost upward of twenty-five hundred 

 dollars. 



" The large plow is suitable for the individual farmer 

 who has a considerable area to drain and has the horses 

 for other purposes. The tractor ditcher costs so much 

 that it is seldom a single farm is large enough to justify 

 its purchase. It may be purchased conjointly by a 

 number of farmers who have drains to be constructed, 

 or it may be purchased by one person and the ditches 

 may be dug by contract. Machines of this kind have 

 been put into several communities for this purpose." 



177. Setting up grade bars. This is sometimes put off 

 till after the digging is well under way. The objection to 

 this delay is that the grade stakes are likely to be dis- 

 turbed by the workman when the digging begins. 



The grade bar, sometimes called batter board, should 

 be 4 to 6 feet long, of f-inch material, with one straight 

 edge. With each bar there must be two stakes, pref- 

 erably J inch by 4 inches, sharpened at one end, and 

 sufficiently long to stand higher, when they are driven 

 into the ground, than the height of the bar at that stake. 

 The two stakes should be driven firmly into the ground, 

 one on each side of the ditch, so that they will stand out 



