OPERATIONS OF DRAINING. 



101 



very soft, it is of benefit to bed the bottom of the drain 

 with stones or slates, or with boards or plank. 



We believe we were among the first to employ tiles in 

 draining in the United States, though they have long been 

 in use in Europe. We adopted them as a matter of ne- 

 cessity, having no stone. They are made of a peculiar 

 kind of clay, and resemble, when burnt, red earthen. 

 When sufficiently burnt, they are very durable. They 

 are used with soles made of like materials, or are laid 

 upon boards. The draining-tiles and soles are represent- 

 ed by fig. 3. We have laid some ten thousand feet of 

 tiles, for which we paid ^15 per thousand feet, and find 

 them to answer an excellent purpose. We recommend 

 their use only where stone cannot be readily obtained. 



Fig. 3. 



Fig. 4. 



Tile drains, as seen at fig. 4, may be finished at bot- 

 tom by using a narrow-mouthed spade, somewhat taper- 

 ing, and broad enough to admit the tile and its sole, or a 

 board ; the tiles are then laid down close, and the joints 

 covered with turf, or straw, or brush, and the space on 

 the sides compactly filled, so as to prevent the passage of 

 water there ; small stones or porous earth may be then 

 laid on, so that the water from above may pass freely into 

 the drain, and the trench then filled with earth. 



What we term soil-draining, is most frequently resorted 

 to in swamps and low lands, into which the water collects 

 from higher grounds, and which is prevented from passing 

 9* 



