Peat Lands 491 



We quote this table regarding the cost of mains, 

 as estimated by Mr. Elliot, where the price paid for 

 good ditchers is $2 per day; but in this estimate the 

 board of the men is not included, neither is the cost 

 of hauling the tile from the station to the field. 



This same writer estimates the cost of 3 -inch lat- 

 erals, placed 3 to 3.5 feet deep, at $2 per 100 feet for 

 the digging, laying and filling, and tile at the present 

 writing would add another dollar, making $3 per 100 

 feet, not including board or hauling the tile. 



The cost per acre w r ill, of course, vary with the 

 distance between lines of tile, and will increase very 

 nearly in proportion to the number of feet of tile 

 used. 



PEAT LANDS 



There are many marshes underlaid by beds of peat 

 not yet well rotted ; peat so free from silt and so 

 fibrous in texture that when dry it could be used for 

 fuel. Where fields are underlaid by such beds having 

 a depth of three or more feet, they are not likely to 

 become at once productive if well drained. On the 

 other hand, where the peat deposit is only from 6 to 

 18 inches deep, there are likely to be better returns 

 from thorough drainage. 



In the first class of cases referred to, underdrain- 

 ing is not usually to be recommended as the first 

 step toward improvement. The difficulty lies in the 

 fact that when peat beds are drained they shrink 

 greatly in volume, thus lowering the surface in a 



