CHAPTER XVI. 



DRAINAGE. 



WHERE NEEDED AND HOW DONE. 

 " The ability to overcome obstacles is a certain guarantee of success.'' 



HE best garden soil — that adapted for the 

 production of early vegetables, and composed of 

 a dark, sandy loam resting on a porous subsoil 

 — needs no artificial drainage. My experience 

 with red sandy subsoil in New Jersey was highly 

 satisfactory. The soil water moves freely up 

 and down through subsoil of this character, and 

 the air has a chance to warm it deeply and 

 quickly. The possession of such land (without a single under- 

 drain on it) gives advantages against which the proprietor of 

 clayey loam underlaid with stiff blue clay will find it utterly 

 impossible to compete successfully, no matter how much money 

 he may expend for drainage. Whatever may be said in favor or 

 greater fertility and the retentiveness of clayey loam, and the 

 leachy character of " lighter " soil, the fact remains that vege- 

 tables grown on the former will be days if not weeks later than 

 on the latter. This only shows the importance of selecting a 

 more or less sandy loam with porous subsoil for general garden- 

 ing purposes, and of steering entirely clear of clay on clay 

 foundation. Muck resting upon blue clay meets with the same 

 objection. Still such cooler soils, when properly drained, can 

 generally be utilized with advantage for certain crops, such as for 

 instance, onions and celery. Ifa piece of such land belonging 

 to the gardener is yet in an undrained condition, he should lose 

 no time to make it available, and often exceedingly profitable by 

 preparing a thorough system of drainage. In some cases an 

 otherwise fine garden soil is underlaid with a fairly porous loam 

 which, however, offers some obstruction to the free passage of 

 surface water. Then drainage will improve it wonderfully, and 

 perhaps render it equal to the best garden land in earliness and 

 productiveness. 



The first concern is to find an outlet 2^ to 4 feet below the 

 lowest part of the field, as a starting point for the main ditch 

 that is to be carried right along the lowest line of the surface 

 across the whole field, with a gradual rise of not less than 



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