Drainage. — 99 



plants in well-drained soil can be planted closer than in undrained 

 land. But good drainage gives still other benefits. It warms the 

 soil by admitting air more freely, lengthens the season at both 

 ends, and by promoting the circulation of air and moisture, 

 furnishes chances for chemical action by which insoluble plant 

 food is rendered available. 



But, after all, tile drains, if ever so well laid, cannot be 

 expected to last forever, and often they give out quite unex- 

 pectedly, making it necessary to take up parts of them for 

 repairs In an emergency of this kind it is quite convenient to 

 know the exact location of every drain, and to be able to find it 

 without having to dig over a large area. A map showing the 

 location of every tile drain put down, with distances marked in 

 rods and feet, will be of great advantage, and a valuable assist- 

 ance sooner or later. 



Surface Drainage. — An opportunity for the easy escape of 

 surface water, especially during the winter, is a good thing for 

 all soils, and urgently needed on tile-drained, level lands which 

 otherwise are liable to be saturated at times to such an extent 

 that the drains are unable to carry the surplus off as fast as it 

 accumulates. Beds that were kept high and dry all winter by 

 plowing during the fall in ridges allowing the surface water to 

 run off at once in deep dead furrows, are always ready for plant- 

 ing earlier in spring, and then usually give better crops than land 

 just plowed level. Good surface drainage, in short, is an advan- 

 tage not to be ignored, even on land supposedly well tile- drained. 

 I would always advise to plow such land in the fall in narrow 

 beds, giving the dead furrows a suitable outlet. It will pay. 



