90 TILE DRAttfAGE. 



boot. It is unbuckled, removed, and cleaned each night 

 and noon. They should be kept ready made and of various 

 sizes at hardware stores among ditching tools, but they are 

 not. 



PLACING THE EARTH IN DIGGING. 



An expert will place the earth in a high, narrow ridge,' 

 very dose to the edge of the ditch. Thus left it takes very little 

 time or strength to fill it in. if it is filled almost as soon as 

 dug. 



THE MOTION IN THROWING OUT EARTH. 



If your spade is held nearly vertical in digging, and the 

 earth is either quite moist, so as to slip on the spade, or so 

 dry as to crumble into small lumps, a. part or 'the whole 

 of the spadeful is inclined to escape from the smooth spade 

 and remain in the ditch. A green hand will leave three or 

 four times as much loose earth in the bottom of each " lift," 

 or coursers an expert digger will. The expert first sinks his 

 spade to the true grade, keeping one side -edge out as de- 

 scribed, then pushes his spade-handle slightly forward to 

 loosen the cut at the top, and then pries back with the 

 handle, lifting at the same time with the lower hang,, and, as 

 soon as the side-edge and the bottom of the spadeful are 

 loosened, gives the whole a swing, or curved motion, outward 

 and upward, and lands the whole of it, spade on top, close to 

 the edge of the ditch ; and the spade is sinking for the next 

 spadeful in a moment. The various motions described follow 

 each other so rapidly that you can hardly distinguish them. 

 The point is, that the spade is swung with just such speed and 

 motion, and in such a curve, that the centrifugal force holds 

 the earth against the spade-blade and prevents its either 

 slipping or crumbling off. The speed and the curve must be 

 regulated according to the tendency of the earth to slip or 

 crumble. If it sticks to the spade tightly you can lift it as 

 you choose. If very slippery or crumby you must give quite 

 a quick swing, and keep it up until you land it. I remember 

 that, when I first learned, as a child, to swing half a pailful 



