DRAINING. 



DRAINING. 



been highly approved of in Scotland, and seems | 

 so simple in its construction and mode of ma- j 

 nagement, we think it perhaps better adapted 

 to common purposes than the more formidable 

 contrivance of the Marquis of Tweeddale. A 

 description and cut of the instrument, by which 

 300Qi tiles can be made in a day, with an ex- 

 planation of the mode in which it is managed, 

 will also be found in the 12th volume of the 

 work to which we have just referred. 



Mr. Stephens thinks that the very best me- 

 thod of draining land, is by the union of stones 

 and tiles in the same drain. The width of the 

 bottom of the drain covered with the sole, may 

 be 7 inches ; width at the top 12 inches ; total 

 depth 2 feet, consisting of the drain-tile and 

 covering of stones, packed with the hand 

 above and on each side, extending 12 inches 

 above the sole, leaving 18 inches to be filled in 

 with turf and earth. Such a drain, when properly 

 constructed, is pronounced the ne plus ultra of 

 the art. But it is seldom done, either for 

 want of the necessary supply of stones of the 

 proper size, or the additional expense in- 

 curred. 



Judge Buel was among the first who em- 

 ployed tiles in draining in the United States, 

 being, he says, led to it by necessity, having no 

 stone. He has laid some 10,000 feet of tiles, at 

 an expense of about $15 per 1000 feet, and 

 found them to answer an excellent purpose. 

 Dr. J. J. Spencer, of Moorestown, New Jersey, 

 has also drained a piece of low ground by 

 means of tiles, and can now drive carts, plough 

 and raise heavy crops of Indian corn, &c., 

 where before there was a useless, unsightly, 

 and unhealthy morass. 



In general, under-drains may be dug no 

 broader than is just necessary to afford room 

 to work in, the sides being left straight or per- 

 pendicular. The ditch should be commenced 

 at the lowest end or outlet, and opened up to 

 higher ground. Where stones are employed 

 either as a conduit at the bottom, or to form the 

 drain of themselves, they should be broken to 

 so small a size, that moles or ground-mice can- 

 not penetrate among them, as they are very 

 much inclined to do, opening holes through 

 which the surface water enters, mixed with 

 clay and earth, by which the interstices of the 

 drain will be ultimately choked up. Judge 

 Buel recommends the stone to be broken so 

 as not to exceed 4 inch pieces. The expense 

 of doing this, he says, will not be more than 

 25 or 30 cts. the cubic yard. 



The use of draining tiles is evidently on the 

 increase, and every improvement which is 

 made in them naturally extends their field of 

 usefulness ; they are by far the most perma- 

 nent and effective of all the materials used 

 for draining land. Of drain- 

 ing bricks there are various 

 shapes ; the annexed figures 

 represent a few of the most 

 common, and the mode of 

 placing them. 



1 and la, 84 bricks are required for 

 every eight yards. In fig. 2, 55 bricks are re- 

 quired for every eight yards. In fig. 3, 110 

 bricks are required for every eight yards. Figs. 

 116 



4 and 5 have been found very useful in the 

 drainage of peat-bogs or quicksands. They 



are all, however, for most purposes inferior to 

 the. draining tile. 



In the formation of drains, a shovel taper- 

 ing to a point, and scoops of a peculiar shape, 

 are commonly used. These are represented 



in the figures 6, 7, 8. The old-fashioned way 

 of forming a drain is depicted in figures 9 and 



10; in these the bottom of the drain was filled 

 up partially with brushwood, stones, long ropes 

 of twisted straw, others of ling or heath, which 

 are much more tough and permanent. The 

 expense of digging and filling in any of the 

 above drains (exclusive of the brushwood or 

 other materials) varies from 4s. 6d. to 5s. 6c/. 

 per score rods (120 yards local measure). The 

 expense per acre will be, according to Mr. S. 

 Taylor (Brit. Farm. Mag. vol. ii. p. 359), 



g. d. 



If the drains are 8 yards distant 1 13 9 



7 1176 



_ _ 6 200 



_ _ 5i _ 250 



_ _5*__ 289 



.. 4 2176 



