Preparation of the Ground 



in the bottom of the ditch (putting the larger stones in the bot- 

 tom and finishing with the smaller ones, covering the whole with 

 sods or long straw to keep the soil from choking the crevices) will 

 answer the purpose very well although not so lasting as the tile. 



It may be stated that where there is too much water lying 

 stagnant in the soil, few plants will thrive, for, as soon as the 

 roots of the trees or other plants reach the stagnant saturated 

 soil, they invariably begin to show it by their upper twigs or 

 leaves dying off and by their eventually dying altogether. 



Drain ditches should be dug just wide enough for a man to 

 work them out. If the top soil is loose, it should be given enough 

 slope to prevent the soil from crumbling into the drain when the 

 tile is being laid. If the soil is heavy and solid, twenty-four 

 inches wide at the surface of the ground will be ample width, 

 tapering to the size of the tile at the bottom, so that the pipes 

 may bed in the solid ground accurately. 



Pipe tiles are made of round shape and should be furnished 

 with collars as these tend to keep the tiles from shifting, and also 

 prevent, to a large extent, roots from entering and interrupting 

 the flow of water. After laying them, cover the tiles with fine 

 crushed rock or gravel to keep the soil from entering the drains. 



Where the ground is undulating in its character, a main 

 drain should be laid along the lowest portion of the ground, and 

 lateral drains laid obliquely according to the shape of the ground, 

 each entering the main drain by a Y or T shaped fitting, care 

 being taken that each drain has a fall of at least six inches in one 

 hundred feet as formerly recommended. 



In digging the ditches for the drains, place the top soil on 

 one side and the bottom soil on the opposite side so that, when 

 filling in the ditches, the subsoil may be replaced and the surface 

 soil saved for the top where it is most needed. 



39 



