TILE DRAINAGE. 21 



cent, while the whole appearance is less thrifty. Two photo- 

 engravings and a diagram in the next chapter illustrate this. 



Figures 6 and 7 are fair illustrations of corn growth on 

 tiled and on untiled land. In 6 the line A B is the top level 

 of hydrostatic water frequent saturation ; arid in Fig. 7, 

 C D is the line. Now, as the available plant-food of the 

 soil is diffused all through the pores of the soil, and can be 

 taken by the roots only by actual contact, it is plain that an 

 increased depth of root-growth means an increased supply 

 of food for the plant, and the corn shows the results about 

 as shown in Figs. 6 and 7. Tile drainage doubles the depth 

 of the farm ; or^ as Ralph Waldo Emerson (quoted by 

 French) aptly puts it in an address at Concord, Mass., " This 

 year a very large quantity of land has been discovered and 

 added to the agricultural land, and without a murmur of 

 complaint from any neighbor. By drainage we have gone 

 to the subsoil, and we have a Concord under Concord, a 

 Middlesex under Middlesex, and a basement story of Massa- 

 chusetts more valuable than all the superstructure. Tiles 

 are political economists. They are so many young Ameri- 

 cans, announcing a better era and a day of fat things." 



My friend Mr. T. B. Terry and I are both fond of quoting, 

 concerning farming, Daniel Webster's remark about real 

 talent in law practice ; to wit, that " there is always room 

 in the upper story." But tile drainage, according to Emer- 

 son's apt metaphor, shows to every owner of a clayey farm 

 large areas of valuable unused land ; " room in the lower 

 story;" nay, in the very basement! 



Eighth. Removing the surplus water down through the 

 soil by means of tile drainage helps to disintegrate the soil and 

 make pulverization possible. I have already spoken of the 

 increased disintegration through deeper frost action ; but 

 during the crop season the surplus moisture must be re- 

 moved before we can " pulverize " with tillage imple- 

 ments. The exact meaning of " pulverize," as its Latin 

 derivation shows, is to reduce to "dust" or fine soft pow- 



