CHAPTER V 



DRAINAGE 



IN ATTEMPTING to accomplish the object 

 sought in this work i.e., that of embodying 

 in one publication as nearly as possible all 

 that is available and valuable information in the 

 potato field the subject of drainage is held to 

 be of such importance that considerable space is , 

 devoted to it. The following article is made up 

 of extracts from "Bulletin 199" of the Agricultural 

 Experiment Station of the University of Wis- 

 consin and is by E. R. Jones, one of America's 

 foremost drainage experts: 



"Of the several conditions which influence the 

 growth of crops none is more important than the 

 amount of water in or on the soil. While water in 

 a thin film around the soil grains is absolutely es- 

 sential to plants, an excess is as bad as a deficiency. 

 The removal of this excess is known as land 

 drainage. Surface drainage deals with the sur- 

 face runoff, and under-drainage with the water 

 which occupies the spaces between the soil grains. 

 Most land has some natural drainage, but many 

 acres have it to such a limited degree that an im- 

 provement therein is found profitable. 

 "Too much water is detrimental because: 

 "1. It makes areas so soft that they cannot be 

 cultivated. When these soft areas are long and 

 narrow in form, they cut the upland into ir- 



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