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often acts as beneficially by intercepting the water from above and 

 preventing it from entering the parts requiring drainage as another 

 one would by carrying off the water which is already there. 



The main drains should, if closed, be made of stone, slabs, or 

 earthenware pipes, and should be of sufficient size to enable them 

 to carry off all the water brought to them by the others. The 

 secondary drains may be made of slabs or stones, but more economical 

 and quite as effective ones may be made of vine-cuttings or scrub, 

 the former being preferable. 



These drains should be dug to a depth of 2 to 3 feet, or until the 

 good clay subsoil be reached ; they may be from 9 inches to 1 foot in 

 width at the top, tapering down to 6 inches at the bottom. They 

 are then filled in with vine cuttings, which must be put in carefully 

 in order that no vacant places are left where the water lodging would 

 cause the whole drain to collapse and become useless. They should 

 not be put in bundles, but by small quantities at a time, starting from 

 the top of the slope and working down, so that the layers are 

 arranged the reverse order to that which slates are fixed on the 

 roof of a house. They should be rammed tight, and filled in with 

 earth. A layer of straw or weeds will prevent any loose earth from 

 falling through, and will thus keep them more open than would 

 otherwise be possible. Drains of this class may be made of a 

 maximum length of 200 to 300 yards, they last for upwards of 

 twelve years, and even when quite decomposed leave sufficient spaces 

 to insure an escape for surplus water, whilst the decomposed cuttings 

 make an excellent manure for the vines growing in proximity to 

 them. The small drains need not be so deep as the secondary ones 

 in Fig. 10. The secondary drains are 300 yards in length, and the 

 small ones being 80 yards long and 40 yards apart; in this case we 

 have a gradual slope, for which reason the angle between the small 

 and secondary drains is acute, in order to insure a sufficient fall for 

 the water ; on a steeper slope the angle might be made obtuse, an 

 advantage, as it would enable less drains to be made per acre. It is 

 not always on ground without much slope that drains are wanted; it 

 frequently occurs that on steep hillsides there are sour wet spots 

 which must be drained ; in such cases the whole block would not 

 require to be systematically treated, and the vigneron must use his 

 judgment and only drain what is necessary, as the process is 

 expensive, and should not be applied unless where required. 



