TILE I) HA IX AGE. 



91 



of milk over my head, bottom side up, aided by centrifugal 

 force, 1 once unconsciously stopped, with pail in mid-air, to 

 explain to admiring village friends just how the thing was 

 done, and the milk descended ingloriously upon my foolish 

 head ! Just so, by not getting the right motion or " turn of 

 the wrist," the green or inatten- 

 tive hand lands much of his loose 

 earth in the bottom of the ditch. 

 To dig a tile drain rapidly, easi- 

 ly, well, and with true grade, is a 

 trade of skill, and takes as much 

 practice and knack as to learn 

 how to use plane, saw, hammer, 

 and chisel deftly and well. No, 

 " any fool " can not dig tile 

 drains and lay tiles well. 



THE TIIKEE - TINEI) l)ITCIIIN(i- 

 Sl'ADK. 



In most of the prairie soils that 

 require or need tiling, the oppo- 

 site tifa slipping or crumbling 

 takes place. The black, mucky 

 earth is intensely sticky. It slices 

 easily, being soft when moist, 

 and being practically stoneless ; 

 but it sticks all over the spade, 

 especially to its back, and will 

 not tu let go. 1 ' You can't dump 

 your spadeful clean, and must 

 clean the spade every few spade- 

 fuls with trowel or large knife be- 

 fore it will slice the mucky earth 

 again. Hence there has been in- 

 vented, and, of course, patented, ditching.*"" 

 what we may call the three-tined sticky and innp.ky soils. 



