THE ILLIISrOIS FA.RMER. 



107 



into the furrow. After the operatiou of har- 

 rowing, the field will look thus : 



Fig. 3. 



In the centre of the small furrow thus 

 filled up, are planted corn, sugar cane, cot- 

 ton, tobacco, &c. 



The roots have twelve inches of deep pul- 

 verized and well-mingled soil, to extend in, 

 and the subsequent hilling, which by this 

 system can be carried on to the fullest extent 

 without injuring the roots of the crops, pro- 

 vides the plants with sufficient soil to develop 

 their roots in the most complete manner, 

 which is very important for corn and the 

 sugar cane, as we will show hereafter." 



Draining and Subsoiling. 



We have an elaborate article on the 

 above subjects from the pen of H. D. 

 Woodruff, Secretary of the Adams Coun- 

 ty Agricultural and Mchanical Associa- 

 tion, but our space will only admit o£ a 

 portion of it. We do not like to divide 

 an article in two numbers, so we have 

 the necessity of condensation : — Ed. 



In many parts of our State tiie soil 

 when new and first broken up was filled 

 with fibrous substances, which kept it 

 loose, so as readily to filter the water, 

 and winter wheat was successfully culti- 

 vated. But as those substances have 

 decomposed and left the soil more com- 

 pact, so that the filteration of the water 

 is obstructed, the crops are to a great 

 degree liable to suffer from the frost. 

 Draining is the only means to bring 

 back such fields to wheat culture, and to 

 secure at all times a sure and heavy crop. 

 Under-draining as an art, has made 

 great advances among the better class of 

 farmers, especially in England, since the 

 introduction of draining tile, or perhaps 

 wp should say since the modern use of 

 tile, for prior to 1620 the garden of the 

 monastery at Maubeuge, in France, was 

 drained with earthen tile placed at a 

 depth of about four feet, and so late as 

 1850, when the conformation of the sur- 

 face was changed to make a park, this 

 garden was famous for the excellence 

 and abundance of its productions, and 

 the people of the district had been at a 

 loss to account for its astonishino^ fer- 

 tility until the grading exposed a 

 thorough system of drainage which had 

 been make earlier than interments dating 

 at 1620. * * * * 



The object of under-draining is not 

 simply to relieve the wet parts of the 

 land of their surface water, but to re- 

 move from the whole soil, to a depth of 

 from 3 to 4 feet, all the water which 

 does not attach itself to the surface of 

 its particles b}'^ the force of capillary 

 attraction. This, and nothing loss than 

 this, is thorough drainage, and this con- 



dition of the soil must be attained be- 

 fore we can anticipate all the good re- 

 sults which are rightfully attributed lo 

 under-draining. Such a condition is 

 best effected by the use of the tile, and 

 it is well always to bear in mind these 

 principles — that in thorough drainage the 

 object is to provide an outlet for water 

 at the top of the water-level, and that 

 which falls on the soil does not travel 

 diagonally toward the drain, but settles 

 at once m a vertical direction, and thus 

 raises the level to such a height that the 

 water enters the tile and is carried away. 

 It continues to flow until water from the 

 upper soil has ceased to descend to raise 

 the position of that below. 



To illustrate this more fullj, let us 

 suppose a barrel, standing on its end, to 

 be filled with soil, and that water be 

 poured into it until the soil is saturated 

 — that is, until the space between the 

 particles is filled with water. If we 

 now remove the buna: of the barrel the 

 water will flow out until that above the 

 level of the lower side of the bung-hole 

 is entirely removed; except such as is 

 held by capillary attraction. The water 

 which has parsed out is not all of that 

 which was originally above the level of 

 the outlet, for that water did not take 

 a diagonal direction toward the outlet 

 from all parts of the upper half of the 

 barrel. Its weight carried it directly 

 down, and caused it to force up that 

 which was below it until it passed off by 

 the outlet. Probably, for short distance 

 from the hole, the water moved in a 

 slanting direction; but this is only local, 

 and does not invalidate the illustration. 

 Now, if we pour water into the barrel, 

 in imitation of a heavy shower, it is at 

 once absorbed by the soil in the upper 

 part of the barrel, and it passes down 

 as before, raises the water level to a 

 point above the lower edge of the bung- 

 hole, and the outflowing again com- 

 mences. Here we see that the water 

 passes out as soon as it reaches the low- 

 er part of the outlet ; it would not ac- 

 celerate the flow to enlarge the hole on 

 the upper side, supposing it originally 

 large enough to carry off the "water as 

 fast as it settles and raises the level. 



The same is ihe case with the soil. 

 The position of the lower side of the 

 tube which is formed by the tile decides 

 the water level ; and whenever, from 

 rains or any other source, what is given 

 to the upper soil, it passes down in a 

 vertical direction, and raises the level 

 until a like amount ^passes off through 

 the tile. It may move sideways for a 

 foot or two each way from the drain, but 

 this does not effect the principle. When 

 a cubic inch of water falls on the soil 

 at a point midway between two drains, 

 it does not travel along until it finds an 

 outlet, but it passes down to the le'vel of 

 the water below, and by its weight it 



causes a rise in the whole mass until, 

 other things being equal, a correspond- 

 ing amount of that which is in the im- 

 mediate vicinity of the drain passes out. 

 Hence we see that water enters the tile 

 almost entirely from below ; and in view 

 of this fact, it is obvious that all that is 

 necessary in practice is so to lay the tile 

 that will carry of the water thus re- 

 ceived. Filling in the ditch above the 

 tile is entirely useless in all cases where 

 the tile is large enough to carry off the 

 water — and it should of course be al- 

 ways so — for it does not at all facilitate 

 the entrance of water into the drain. If 

 there were any loose material needed it 

 should be placed below the tile, for it is 

 from below that the water comes. Lut 

 it is never needed. Lay your tile so 

 that the water will run out and you can- 

 not keep it from running in. 



Drains should invariably be dug par- 

 allel to each other, and run directly 

 down the steepest descent, because the 

 water will have the shortest way to per- 

 colate to enter the drain, and when once 

 in, its delivery is of course very rapid. 

 Formerly this plan was objected to, and 

 oblique drains always used. The direc- 

 tion of the main drains and sub-drains 

 depend on the nature of the ground. 

 When the surface undulates, lay the 

 main drain along the hollow and open 

 into it at right angles. The distance 

 at which small drains are placed apart 

 depends upon the nature of the soil, the 

 depth of the drain, and whether it is sub 

 or surface water they have to deliver. 

 In stiff clays drains may be dug two or 

 three feet deep and twenty feet apart ; 

 in porous soils from three to four feet 

 deep and thirty feet apart. If the out- 

 fall will permit, drains should never be 

 less than four feet deep on any ordinary 

 soil, and from twenty to thirty feet 

 apart, though they are sometimes effi- 

 cient forty-five feet apart, in soils of 

 varied texture. 



When lands are to be drained, mucli 

 judgment must be exercised, as some 

 soils would give inferior crops during a 

 dry summer, if drained deeper than two 

 feet. When land is thoroughly drained, 

 we anticipate that every drop of rain 

 will sink precisely on the spot where it 

 falls and pass down to the level of the 

 drains. Thus all the water is so filtered 

 as to leave its valuable substances held 

 in solution in the soil. In lands that have 

 beend rained for ten years, have changed 

 their sub-soils into the nature of the 

 surface soil to the depth of the drains ; 

 this is produced by the ameliorating ef- 

 fect of water and air, decomposing the 

 inorganic and organic elements and pro- 

 ducing matters which constitute the food 

 for plants ; also by eradicating deleteri- 

 ous substances, rendering the texture 

 loose for the penetration of roots, and 

 thus increasing the fertility of the land 



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