218 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 



thing, even puddled clay, and you cannot keep the water out, 

 because that will soon crack and let the water through. The 

 question every man asks about tile-drainage is, ^ How is the 

 water going to get into the drain ? " I can say, from my expe- 

 rience, as well as from reading, that if you can keep the earth 

 and sand from getting in, the water will take care of itself. 



The only form of tiles made here is the egg-shaped tile, flat 

 on the bottom. No doubt the round tiles are better, for this 

 reason — that you can turn them over and fit them better ; but 

 they are not made here. I have never seen any in New England. 

 1 have seen some in New York, where they are used in the 

 Central Park. 



A Member. Have you ever used cemented tiles ? 



Mr. French. I never have. I never have seen any u§ed for 

 draining land. I saw some in Hadley used for carrying water 

 from one place to another, but not for the purpose of draining 

 land. 



A Member. Do you know whether they are manufactured at 

 Northampton and Springfield ? I have heard, lately, that there 

 were some manufactured there. 



Mr. French. I know nothing about that. 



Mr. Manning. I recollect once building a stone drain in 

 a piece of land where was, generally, only a foot and a half of 

 mud, thovigh in some places it was four feet deep. In digging 

 down into that, it would cut off readily, but in some places it 

 would cleave off and fall in. I put in a stone bottom and stone 

 sides, and laid stone over it and covered it, about a foot and a 

 half from the surface ; but the sand kept constantly running 

 down, and in a little while there was a place where it caved in 

 at the side ; and finally the stone washed away and it caved in. 



Mr. French, As experience is always more satisfactory than 

 theory, I will say that I had occasion to lay a drain through a 

 piece of land that looked on the surface like dry land. I put 

 in four inch tiles mainly, and there was a run of water that 

 filled this drain full, and I had to put in plank to support the 

 drains in order to get the tiles down. I laid this drain in 1852 

 or 1853, and the last time I was there, the whole thing was 

 working just as well as it did originally. I should not expect 

 that stone could ever be used, in a place like that, so as to 

 exclude sand. 



