22 How THE FARM PAYS. 



ditches were made to allow the surplus water to pass off, but of course, 

 as all cultivators well know, even for pasturage no fertile crop can be 

 obtained if stagnant water remains on the soil. 



Draining is one of the most important operations in horticulture. 

 No matter how fertile the normal condition of the soil, no matter how 

 abundantly it is fertilized, no matter how carefully and thoroughly it 

 is tilled, if water remain in it at the depth to which roots penetrate, 

 all labor will be in vain; for no satisfactory result can ever be attained 

 until the water is drained off. The subject is one of such importance 

 that we cannot give it full attention here, and to such as require to 

 operate on a large scale, works specially devoted to the subject should 

 be consulted, or a draining engineer employed. Soils having a 

 gravelly or sandy subsoil ten or twenty inches below the top soil do 

 not usually need draining; but in all soils underlaid by clay or hard 

 pan, draining is indispensable, unless in cases where there is a slope 

 of two to three feet in a hundred; and even in such cases draining is 

 beneficial if the subsoil is clay. 



In soils having a clay or hard pan subsoil, drains should be made 

 three feet deep and not more than twenty feet apart. If stones are 

 plenty, they may be profitably used to fill up the drains, say to a depth 

 of twelve or fifteen inches, either placed so as to form a "rubble " drain, 

 if the stones are round, or built with an orifice at the bottom, if the 

 stones are flat. In either case, care must be used to cover the stones 

 carefully up with inverted sods, or some material that will prevent 

 the soil being washed through the stones and choking up the 

 drain. 



Drain tiles, when they can be obtained at a reasonable price, are 

 the best material for draining. The round tile is generally used. If 

 the drain has a hard bottom they can be placed directly on it 

 when leveled to the proper grade ; but if the ground is soft and 

 spongy, a board must be laid in the bottom, on which to place the 

 tiles. It is often a very troublesome matter to get the few drain tiles 

 necessary for a small garden, and in such cases an excellent and cheap 

 substitute can be had by using one of boards. Care must be taken 

 that the boards are not nailed together too closely, else they might 

 swell so as to prevent the water passing into the drain to be earned 

 off. These drains are usually set with a flat side down, but they will 

 keep clear better if put with a point down, though it is more trouble 

 to lay them. Drains made in this way will last twenty years or more. 



Of course, in draining, the greater the fall that can be got, the 

 better, though, if the grading is carefully done by a competent engi- 

 neer, a very slight fall will suffice. Some of the trunk or main sewers 

 in our cities have only a grade of one foot in a thousand. 



