THE DRAINAGE OF FARM SOILS 191 



nearby higher land: or they may be lands that 

 are regularly flooded by fresh water or by tides. 

 Farm land which dries out slowly in spring, mak- 

 ing the working and growing season shorter, or on 

 which water stands for a long time after heavy 

 rains, needs to be drained. If water oozes into 

 the plow furrow the soil is too wet for good farming. 



The kind of plants that take possession of a 

 field, before it is broken up or after it has been 

 laid down in sod, or after it has been neglected for 

 a year or more, are usually a reliable index to its 

 need of drainage. If bog and water-loving plants 

 become established here and there, especially 

 sedges, rushes and mosses, the soil is too wet. 

 Certain spots in the field, usually the lowest places, 

 will indicate their need of drainage in this way, 

 although most of the field is all right. 



All of these surface indications, however, should 

 be supplemented or verified by an examination of 

 the water table. Dig a hole in the field from four 

 to six feet deep. If water stands in this hole within 

 three feet of the surface or less, during most of the 

 growing season, it is quite certain that the roots of 

 cultivated plants do not find enough room, air and 

 warmth in that soil to produce the largest crops. 

 The growth of the crops themselves supplies evi- 

 dence. On poorly drained soils the plants start 

 slowly, look sickly and stunted, and never make 

 the profitable growth of neighbouring plants on 

 well-drained soil. Both yield and quality are re- 

 duced. Within the boundaries of one field there 

 are often both well-drained and poorly drained 

 places. The contrast in the growth of plants 

 under these two conditions is usually sufficiently 

 marked to impress the farmer with the need and 

 profit of draining the land. 



