RECLAIMING MUGK LAND 57 



Insufficient borings. The borings taken 

 along the line of the west main showed that 

 the subsoil was uniformly clay. Upon dig- 

 ging the trench a bed of unlooked-for quick- 

 sand was encountered, which made the main 

 cost at least $25 more than it would have 

 cost in clay. Ten-inch planks were used as 

 sheet piling on the sides of the trench to 

 keep out the running sand while the tile were 

 being laid. 



Poor Management. In an attempt to 

 hurry the work, a larger crew was employed 

 than could work advantageously in the num- 

 ber of trenches ready for construction, and 

 the cost of the labor was thus materially in- 

 creased. It is a mistake to begin digging a 

 trench for a lateral before the main has been 

 dug up to its outlet. Where only two men 

 were employed, the cost of construction was 

 less than 30 cents a rod for a 3 foot trench, 

 while it was about 40 cents for the same 

 work where 10 men were employed. Natur- 

 ally with only two men employed, on a 

 system as large as the one on the east side 

 of the marsh, the work lasted long enough to 

 make the men quite proficient at their work. 

 Then also, the progress of construction was 



