34 HOW TO PLAN THE HOME GROUNDS 



country places or village lawns. Why can we not dispense 

 with these gutters? They are expensive, and are, to say 

 the least against them, not attractive looking. In regard 

 to the drainage, the pipes and road basins, the author 

 can suggest no way of dispensing with them ; the water 

 must have a way to flow off. But many of our readers 

 may not be aware that there is such a device as a sod 

 gutter, which, if properly constructed and connected with 

 the drainage system, will perform its duty quite as well 

 as the ordinary stone gutter, and be at the same time 

 more attractive and economical. The trouble with sod 

 gutters generally is the danger of gullies forming in 

 them by sudden floods of heavy rain. This can be pre- 



CROSS SECTION OP ROAD WITH SOD GUTTERS 



vented by attending to thorough ramming of small, thick, 

 strong sods on a gutter that has only dish enough to 

 collect the water, and, in practice, it will be found that 

 a very slight concavity will accomplish a satisfactory 

 result ; but this all presupposes that the drainage system 

 established is perfected with field basins and road basins 

 near enough together, and a sufficient number of other 

 outlets, to properly care for all the water that flows from 

 the surface of the road. 



It is often a good idea to lay two-and-a-half-inch agri- 

 cultural round tile without collars a foot under the low 

 part of the gutter, to lead the water that flows from the 

 side slopes away from the sod gutters and the roadbed 

 to the basins and pipe drainage system. It is wonderful 



