1076 



DRAINAGE 



DRAINAGE 



thoroughly drained, the area excavated and re-filled 

 with soil when the trees are planted becomes a pocket 

 for ground- water. This pocket or reservoir collects 

 the water, which, if not carried off by means of drains, 

 will very likely cause the death of the trees. All large 

 trees, especially those which do not grow best with 

 their roots in the 

 water, must be pro- 

 vided with drainage. 

 The common method 

 of drainage is to in- 

 stall a line of 4-inch 

 tile leading from the 

 bottom of the ex- 

 cavated hole to a 

 main line of tile which 

 may have been in- 

 stalled for other 

 drainage purposes, or 

 to the nearest outlet 

 if no such line exists. 



6. Drainage to prevent mosquito-breeding. 



It is a frequent practice, especially on 

 large estates, to install open ditches from 50 to 100 

 feet apart in swamps and in salt marshes, in order 

 to provide a means for draining such areas, and 

 thus preventing the presence of stagnant water, which 

 is conducive to the breeding of mosquitos. These 

 trenches are excavated at depths varying from 2 to 

 3^2 feet. The more frequent the trenches, the shal- 

 lower they may be made and still provide adequate 

 drainage. 



The foregoing article pertains only to the particular 

 phases of drainage especially to be considered in con- 

 nection with landscape work. For additional informa- 

 tion on the general details concerned with drainage, 

 refer to the main article upon drainage, p. 1072. 



A. D. TAYLOR. 



roots and finding them of blue-black color with a sour 

 smell. Sometimes this decay has not reached through 

 the bark of the roots and other times it has penetrated 

 the bark and turned the cambium blue-black. Sour 

 soil is likely to be of bluish or greenish color rather than 

 chocolate-brown, and have a sour smell like that under- 

 neath a manure heap. 

 The smell is most 

 readily detected by 

 breaking open a lump 

 of soil. In digging 

 into sour soil and 

 soil that is over-satu- 

 rated, the spade 

 makes a peculiar 

 sucking noise as in 

 digging in a bog. If 

 at the time of exami- 

 nation the soil is 

 already become sour, 

 it is best to take out this sour soil and 

 put in fresh soil covering the roots only 

 4 inches. The ball of earth in the cen- 

 ter will not be so liable to get 



4 TILE. 



1360. Detail of drain connections. (See Fig. 1356.) 



Drainage and watering for newly transplanted trees. 



Drainage is an essential in all retentive soils and is a 

 safeguard even on sandy gravelly subsoils against 

 overwatering. Drainage is likely to be vetoed on the 

 score of expense or on the excuse that the subsoil is 

 gravelly; whereas, there are only gravel stones in hard- 

 pan which holds water. A drain made by filling a pit 

 with stones is frequently inadequate as it fills with 

 water, which backs up into the hole, saturates the soil 

 around the roots and rots them. Rotting of only a 

 part of the roots may injure the tree more than the 

 cutting off of that amount of roots. 



The soil in which to plant should be open, porous 

 and aerated. Soil which has been piled up as in grading 

 operations is likely to be sour from the decay of the sod 

 and from the packing by teams and scraper. Muck 

 from ponds which has been piled and mixed with lime 

 for a year may still be sour. Clay soil packed by the 

 water and packing-sticks may remain too compact 

 and not aerated enough, may be too much saturated 

 with water and, therefore, rot the roots. Manure 

 should not be mixed in the soil around the roots on 

 account of the danger of souring and rotting the roots. 

 This rotting is determined by digging down to the 



so liable to get sour 



because it has not been disturbed. As brought out by 

 Stringfellow in the "New Horticulture," soil that is 

 dug over will take in water and become saturated; 

 whereas, soil that has not been disturbed will retain 

 air in the soil-spaces even if submerged. The ball of 

 earth is also prevented from becoming saturated by the 

 undisturbed feeding-roots which absorb the moisture. 



Watering cannot be by rule, but must depend on 

 examination of both ball of earth in the center and the 

 outer roots. The difficulty will be to keep the ball of 

 earth sufficiently damp on account of the rapid with- 

 drawing of moisture by the roots. The danger will be 

 that the soil outside the ball of earth will take up the 

 water too rapidly, remain saturated several days and 

 rot the roots. Examination is best done by shovel and 

 fork, digging down 1% feet both in the ball and outside. 

 An easier way is to bore into the soil with an auger. 

 It will usually be found that the central ball of earth 

 is dry and dusty in the summer even if the surface 

 and outer soil is damp. The growth of weeds and grass 

 will indicate the same. A good way to water is to make 

 a basin around the width of the ball of earth, fill it 

 with water 6 

 inches deep, make 

 crowbar holes into 

 the ball for it to 

 soak in. Many 

 mistakes are made 

 in overwatering 

 letting the hose 

 run all night or 

 watering every 

 day, thereby rot- 

 ting the roots. 



Mulching is 

 frequently ne- 

 glected, the tree 

 starving for lack 

 of humus. A close- 



1361. Setting a newly transplanted 

 large tree. 



cut lawn around a newly planted tree may be the 

 ideal of neatness, but it means starvation and thirst 

 for the tree and is the principal cause of slow growth 

 over several years, making new, bare and ugly land- 

 scapes. The mulch should extend as wide as the roots 

 and be from 3 to 6 inches deep, of strawy manure, 

 leaves, grass, salt hay or similar organic matter. Too 

 much manure may sour the soil and rot the roots, if 

 it lies heavy and compact and keeps out the air. 

 Light strawy manure is better. If the mulch blows 

 about and is untidy, it may be kept in position by 

 wire netting, earth, or the planting of small shrubs. 



HENRY HICKS. 



