42 TILE DRAINAGE 



on them. An improvement will be sure to result and the 

 chances are that it will cost less and be more permanent 

 than the carting off of tons of stone. 



DRAINAGE SYSTEM PUT IN AT NEW HAMPSHIRE STATION. 



During the fall of 1904 four acres of land were laid off 

 into one-tenth and one-twentieth acre plots for experiment 

 purposes. These plots were twenty feet wide with a two- 

 foot alleyway between them. Between every other plot a 

 line of tile was laid, making the lines 44 feet apart. The 

 land was a heavy, sticlry clay or clay loam, and came under 

 the preceding classification of "meadow." A diagram 

 showing the arrangement of these drains is given on page 

 43. It will be noticed from the diagram that instead of 

 running the laterals straight through to the open ditch a 

 main was put in 44 feet from the ditch and running par- 

 allel with it, into which the laterals emptied. By this sys- 

 tem the same length of tile and amount of digging was re- 

 quired, and instead of having fifteen separate outlets to 

 construct only one was made. 



The cost of drainage, which has not been hitherto men- 

 tioned, is an important consideration. The cost will de- 

 pend largely upon three things: (1) cost of tile, (2) cost 

 of digging, (3) distance apart of drains. The cost of the 

 tile will vary with the distance from the factory. Nearly 

 all the New England dealers handle Western made tile. 

 Three-inch tile at the factory cost from $10 to $12 per 

 thousand, but by the time the freightage and dealer's com- 

 missions are added, the New Hampshire farmer must pay 

 from $20 to $25 per thousand. The cost of digging will 

 depend upon the nature of the ground and the skill of the 

 ditcher. Ditches in ground that can be thrown out with 

 a shovel without the use of a pick can be dug for half the 

 cost when the pick must be used. Workmen, too, who are 

 accustomed to ditching and who have a certain natural 

 skill, will do the work cheaper than those unskilled. The 

 further apart the drains the less cost is evident. 



