1889.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 4. 175 



and the depth you run your plough. Now, in our sandy soil 

 we should have to put the drains certainly a foot and a half, 

 because ^ye plough nearly fifteen inches ; but in many soils, 

 where you plough only six or eight inches, ten or twelve 

 inches would be sufficient distance, and the tiles to irrigate 

 the land should be laid about ten feet apart. I irrigate my 

 celery, which is in rows of six feet, by ploughing a furrow 

 for each row. Now that will wet the land three feet each 

 side very well. The farther apart you put your tiles, the 

 more water they will require to irrigate the land between. 



Question. Do you use the common drain tile ? 



Mr. Rawson. Yes, I should if I used any, so that the 

 moisture would come through the joints. 



Mr. Smith. I suppose that the water in the ordinary 

 drain tile would go to the lower end of that quite rapidly, 

 and escape there through the land at the lower end before 

 you could get any to staiid in your tile near the upper por- 

 tion of your field to be absorbed by the soil, would it not? 



Mr. Kawson. Yes, sir ; but it is not always necessary to 

 run it down the steepest way. You could run it across,, 

 make a slight decline of the tile. An incline of a few feet 

 would be sufiicient to make a tile at the end take down the 

 water. You would need it at the end to take it off. 



Mr. Smith. Would you drain the land at all ? 



Mr. Raavson. It would drain it if there was pitch enough. 

 Tiles six or eight feet apart would drain almost any land, 

 with outlets at the end to take the water ofi*. 



Question. I understand you irrigate by the surface, and 

 not by the tile ? 



Mr. Rawson. Yes, sir. 



Question. How do you apply it? 



Mr. Rawson. I apply it in furrows. I plant my cabbages 

 in rows, and fill the furrows between them with water once 

 in 80 often, and the same with my celery and beets. I 

 arrange my land for irrigation. 



Question. AVhy would you need any tiles at all ? Why 

 would not the furrow be better? 



Mr. Rawson. It is according to what your sul^soil is. If 

 the subsoil is clay, it would be necessary to have some tile. 

 If the subsoil is gravel, I do not think you would need any 



