TILE DKAINAGE 45 



It will be seen from the above that the cost of the tile 

 delivered on the ground is just about half the total cost in 

 this section. The cost of the digging was 38 per cent., 

 although it may be said that this is higher than can usually 

 be counted on. The digging was done by unskilled work- 

 men and at a season when the ground was so hard and dry 

 that every shovelful, after the first eight inches had been 

 thrown out, had to be picked loose. If the work had been 

 done in the spring the cost of the digging would have been 

 reduced at least one third. The average depth of the 

 ditches was 'two and one half feet, although for a distance 

 of about 400 feet they had to be dug between three and 

 four feet to bring them to grade. The fall of the main 

 was six inches to the hundred feet, while the average for 

 the laterals was about ten inches. 



The total cost in this case has been $53 per acre, which 

 may be considered about the maximum for ordinary work. 

 It must be remembered that here the lines of tile were 

 placed close together, and that the cost represented is that 

 for "thorough drainage." It is estimated that most lands 

 of the state could be thoroughly underdrained for between 

 $35 and $40 per acre, while many of them could be greatly 

 improved by putting in a single line or two at an expendi- 

 ture of $15 or $20 for each acre benefited. Drainage is a 

 permanent improvement, and although its first cost seems 

 high its effects are timely and far reaching. 



