4-2 



THE GEN'ESEE FARMER. 



Again, tlae higher parts of hUly ground are some- 

 times composed of very porous and absorbent strata, 

 while the ]o^^er portions are more impervious, the 

 soil and subsoil being of a very stiff and retentive 

 description. In this case, the water collected by 

 the porous layers is prevented from finduig a ready 

 cxit^, when it reaches the impervious layers, by the 

 stitf sui-face soil. The water is by this means dammed 

 up, as shown in fig. 4. It was on such land that 

 Mr. ELKi:yGT0X Avas enabled to accomplish such 

 astonishing results, by cutting off springs by means 

 of a few deep drains, aided by augur holes driven 



In fui-ming open drains, in loose soil, the sides 

 should generally slope at an angle of 45 deg., which 

 is the smallest angle at whi«h earth, if it be at all 



r^r c, 



J 





r 



down into the porous watery strata which consti- 

 tuted the reservoir of the springs. The British gov- 

 ernment awarded him £1,000 for a description of 

 the princii^le upon which his practice was founded. 

 In some districts, where clay forms the staple of 

 the soil, a bed of sand or gravel, completely satu- 

 rated with water, occurs at the depth of a few feet 

 from the surface, following all the undulations of 

 the country, and maintaining its position in relation 

 to the surface over considerable tracts; here and 

 there pouring forth its waters in a spring, or de- 

 noting its proximity by the subaquatic nature of 

 the herbage. Such a configaration is represented 

 in fig. 5, where A represents the surface soil, B the 



Fig. 5. 

 impervious subsoil of clay, C the bed of sandy clay 

 or gravel, and D the lower bed of clay, resting upon 

 the rocky strata beneath. 



In addition to the excess of water caused by 

 springs, we have also to remove that caused by 

 rain falling immediately on the land, and which in 

 spring and autumn greatly exceeds the quantity 

 required by plants. For this purpose, open ditches 

 and deep dead-furrows between tlie lands are re- 

 sorted to. They only carry off the surplus water 

 after the soil is completely saturated ; and this they 

 effect by carrying along with it the best portions 

 of the soil and the manure which may have been 

 spread upon its surface. 



Fig., ff. 



crumbly, will retain its position.. The above dia- 

 gram (fig. 6) represents a section of such a drain, 

 three feet deep, and one foot in width at bottom. 



Acute turns are to he avoided, more especially 

 where the t;ill is rapid, or the quantity of water 

 great ; for the hanks are generally hollowed out by 

 the force of the current where such turns occur : 

 and thus it may happen that at the very time when 

 a free channel is of the utmost consequence in dis- 

 charging some flood of rain, a stoppage or impedi- 

 ment may be created by the fall of a portion of the 

 undermined bank. 



Conduits under ground, or "blind ditches," are 

 the only kind of drains that are permanently effect- 

 ive. These are formed in a variety of ways. "Where 

 tiles or stones can not be had, imderdrains may be 

 made as follows : 



The first spit, with the turf attached, is laid on 

 one side, and the earth removed from the remain- 

 der of the trench is laid on the other. The last 

 spade used is very narrow, and tapers rapidly, so as 

 to form a narrow wedge-shaped cavity for the bot- 

 tom of the trench. The turf first removed is then 

 cut into a wedge so much larger than the size of 

 the lower part of the drain, that, when rammed into 

 it with the grassy side under- 

 most, it leaves a vacant space 

 in the bottom, of six or eight 

 inches in depth, as in fig. 7. 



This is the cheapest kind 

 of underdrain, and can be 

 made on almost any soil ex- 

 cept a loose gravel or sand. 

 Unfortunately, however, such 

 drains are very liable to in- 

 jury, and at best can last only 

 a few years. 



Stone-drains can be made 

 so as to be very durable and efficient. A few years 

 ago, we saw one in England that had been regularly 

 discharging a small stream of water for ninety years^ 



Fig. 7. 



