50 MUCK CROPS 



ditch. More fall is preferable. Almost all 

 marshes have fall enough to make an outlet 

 feasible if the ditch is continued far enough 

 downstream. A few lines of tile or open 

 ditches at the foot of the upland to cut off the 

 seepage connected with the outlet ditch near 

 the center of the marsh may prove satis- 

 factory. 



A ditch 6 feet at the bottom, 7 feet deep, 

 and 20 feet wide at the* top, costs about 

 $1,600 a mile when there are 3 or more miles 

 to dig. A single mile would cost $2,500 or 

 more. Depending upon the width of the 

 marsh, the average cost for each acre is from 

 $5 to $10. 



The water in an outlet ditch should be 

 enough below the banks to afford an outlet 

 for a line of tile or open ditches which may 

 be laid to it from any part of the muck of 

 which the main ditch is the direct outlet. If 

 tile are used, the line should have a depth of 

 3 'feet at the head or upper end and a gra- 

 dient or slope of one-tenth foot in 100 feet. 

 On a level marsh w r ith no part more than a 

 mile from an outlet ditch, this means that 

 the 3 feet of depth at the head, added to the 

 2.64 feet of fall in the half mile, requires a 



