C a t o' s Farm Management 



Of Draining 



(XLIII) If the land is wet, it 

 should be drained with trough 

 shaped ditches dug three feet wide 

 at the surface and one foot at the bot- 

 tom and four feet deep. Blind these 

 ditches with rock. If you have no 

 rock then fill them with green wil- 

 low poles braced crosswise. If you 

 have no poles, fill then with faggots. 

 Then dig lateral trenches three feet 

 deep and four feet wide in such way 

 that the water will flow from the 

 trenches into the ditches. 



(CLV) In the winter surface 

 water should be drained off the 

 fields. On hillsides courses should be 

 kept clear for the water to flow off. 

 During the rainy season at the begin- 

 ning of Autumn is the greatest risk 

 from water. When it begins to rain 

 all the hands should go out with 

 picks and shovels and clear out the 

 drains so that the water may flow off 

 [41] 



