No. 8. 



American Institute — Drainage, 



255 



increased the products of their farms suffi- 

 cient to pay for tlie most expensive system 

 of drainage, in three years. There is a pri 

 vate geutleinan in Grent Britain, who has 

 made over 350 miles of drains on a single 

 farm of 1000 acres land. Before it was 

 drained, he rented it for two dollars per acre; 

 and afterwards for eight dollars. As soon as 

 the land becomes dry, the agriculturist had 

 an opportunity afforded liim of displaying his 

 exertions to advantage. Bones, ashes, nitrate 

 of soda, lime, and other artificial manures, 

 which on his wet soil exhibited no fertilizing 

 v'rtue, now yield him adequate remuneration 

 for all his labor and expenditure. The man 

 who drains and improves a wet piece of boj 

 land, should be looked upon by all his neigh 

 bors as a public benefactor ; for the reason 

 that mists, mildews, miasma, &c., arise from 

 EU'h land, and injure all the crops in its im 

 mediate vicinity — and not only that, but they 

 do far gretiter injury to the surrounding po 

 pulation, by causing intermittant, bilious, 

 typhus fever, fever and ague, &c. By drain- 

 age, then, the climate of the locality is en- 

 tirely changed in reference to the general 

 health of the inhabitants, and the growth of 

 plants. "Dr. W'Ison, in the English Qtiar- 

 terly Journal of Agriculture, vol. 12, page 

 317, has shown that fever and ague, which 

 formed nearly one half of all the diseases of 

 the population during the former ten years, 

 had almost wholly disappeared during the 

 latter ten, in consequence of the general ex- 

 tension of an etTicicnt drainage throughout 

 that part of the country, (district of Kelso) 

 while, at the same time, the fatality of dis- 

 ease, or the comparative number of deaths 

 from every 100 cases of serious ailment, has 

 diminished in the proportion of four to two. 

 Such beneficial results, though not immedi- 

 ately sought for by the practical farmer, yet 

 are the inevitable result of his successful 

 exertion. Apart therefore, from mere con- 

 siderations of pecuniary profit, a desire to 

 promote the general comfort and happiness 

 of the entire inhabitants of a district, may 

 fairly influence the possessors of land to for- 

 ward this method or ameliorating the soil; 

 while the whole people on the other hand, of 

 whatever class, ought gratefully to acknow- 

 ledge the value of those improvements which 

 at once render their homes more salubrious, 

 and their fields more fruitful." 



Drainage, then, in the first place changes 

 the soil, improves the climate, and adds to 

 the health of the surrounding people. 



In the second place — it deepens the soil, 

 dissipates the water, and cleanses the sub- 

 Eoii of unprofitable ingredients. And in their 

 place renders the land capable of producing 



all the cerealia by the free admission of at- 

 mospheric air. 



Three yenrs since, I made seven and r\ half 

 miles of st(;ne under drains on a piece of bog 

 land. The ditches were dug to the depth of 

 three feet, and were three feet wide at the 

 bottom. A wall was carefully laid on ecch 

 side, 12 inches wide and 12 inches hitrh, 

 leaving a 12 inch opening, over which flat 

 stones were placed — and tiie interstices filled 

 up with small stones; the whole were then 

 covered with dirt; shortly after the field was 

 plowed, harrowed, and seeded with rye, clo- 

 ver, and red top. The crop of rye was a 

 fine one, grain weighed 60^ lbs. to the bush- 

 el, and the grass made capital pasture after 

 the rye was harvested. This laud had never 

 been cultivated before; and was always 

 avoided by cattle, on account of the numer- 

 ous quicksand holes contained in it. I 

 brought all the drains to a point, and there 

 formed a chain of two ponds 800 feet in 

 length, and 14 feet deep — also a circular 

 pond of less dimensions, connected with 

 them. The muck taken from the ponds am- 

 ply remunerated me for all the expense in- 

 curred ; they are now stocked with European 

 Carp, Pickerel, Shad and fish from the great 

 lakes. 



I would not have the gentlemen who hear 

 jme, understand that to drain a piece of 

 ground effectually, it is only necessary to 

 construct a drain with a sufficient descent to 

 carry off" the water it contains, but that it is 

 indispensable they should know the structure 

 of the field's upper ciust, its capacity of per- 

 mitting water to course through it, the vari- 

 eties of strata of which it is composed, its 

 porosity, &c. Some fields are not capable of 

 allowing water to pass them at all, on ac- 

 count of oblique strata running through them, 

 and forcing the water to the surface; such 

 fields may be considered unfit for agricul- 

 tural purposes, and any expense laid out 

 upon them, by the proprietor, for the purpose 

 of draining, would be a dead loss. Before 

 this system is commenced I would advise 

 the farmer to examine his soil, and subsoil ; 

 find out of what materials they are com- 

 posed, — their depth, degrees of inclination 

 from the horizontal, &c. The subsoil is most 

 generally entirely different from the surface 

 soil ; the surface may be composed of clay, and 

 the subsoil of sand, or gravel, in which case 

 deep subsoil ploughing will answer all the 

 purposes of a drain ; most effectually break- 

 ing up the clay surface, and thus enabling the 

 sand or gravel to absorb all the excessive 

 moisture. I have heard farmers say they 

 derive no benefit from draining, although in 

 their estimation their drains were perfect, 



