Surface-Drainage of Orchards. yy 



or eighth of the land, as it is of much less value than the interest on the 

 outlay for tile-draining. 



We may surface-drain all our lands with the use of the plough, without 

 a dollar's extra labor ; and it is a matter of surprise that we have not be- 

 fore attended to so important a matter. There can be no doubt in my 

 own mind that the loss of the fruit-crop this season was, to some e.vtent, 

 due to this neglect, especially in the more southern portions of the State. 



There is scarcely a place on our prairies that has not more or less of 

 fall sufficient at least for surface-drainage. If we desire to plant such 

 lands to vegetables or small fruits, we can lay it off into lands of, say, 

 thirty-three feet ; and, by repeated back-furrowing, we shall have a raised 

 seed-bed that will answer nearly all the conditions of tile-draining. We 

 shall lose about an eighth of the surface for planting ; but then we have 

 the remaining seven-eighths comparatively well drained. 



In the case of vegetables and small fruits, the ploughings must precede 

 the planting. This mode of preparing the soil deepens it without the 

 expense of trench or subsoil ploughing, and is especially adapted to 

 the autumn work. No water can stand on the beds ; but it sinks into the 

 soft mass ; and, where the hard pan presents itself below, it passes along 

 its surface to the dead furrow, whence it is discharged or is evaporated. 

 Before it reaches the dead furrow, the gases that it held have been retained 

 in the soil for the use of the plants. 



A large proportion of our orchards have been planted and cultivated 

 on the flat system. These, at times, suffer from an excess of moisture, 

 which, at the time of setting the fruit, is liable to weaken the vigor of the 

 tree ; and the result is, the fruit drops off while small. To remedy this, 

 the same system of ridging or back-furrowing will apply. It is true that 

 you deepen the soil over the roots near the tree ; but as it lowers the 

 water-level, and gives the outer ends of the roots free access to air and 

 moisture, no injury is done, while the dead furrow acts as a surface-drain. 



In my orchard, in some instances, the bottom of these dead-furrow 

 drains is three feet below the surface at the base of the tree ; that is, 

 a foot and a half of soil between the rows has been in the course of six 

 or seven years moved by the plough towards the base of the tree. It can 

 be readily seen that this deepens the bed very materially ; and, as the roots 



