GETTING A STAND OF ALFALFA. 103 
ing swiftly, will probably do no harm. Even a few 
hours of stagnant water lying over the land in hot 
weather may kill the alfalfa. Drain. Drain deep. 
Drain thoroughly. Alfalfa roots are living things. 
Alfalfa bacteria are probably destroyed by being 
under water for a long time. 
Tiling.—In laying tiles where alfalfa may some 
day be sown see that they are laid as deep as the 
nature of the soil will permit. Soils differ much in 
this respect; sometimes the subsoil is so dense and 
impervious that water cannot well penetrate it. In 
such case it is useless to lay tiles deep in it. They 
will not drain the land any deeper if laid in the hard- 
pan than if laid just on its surface. Usually, how- 
ever, one can lay tiles in clay loams and ‘‘joint 
clays’’ much deeper than he has been accustomed to 
laying them. The extra depth pays largely. Tiles 
draw water from a much greater distance when laid 
deep, and plants thrive in proportion as the perma- 
nent water table is lowered. If the water level in 
the soil never rises above a depth of 10’ from the 
surface all the better. Alfalfa roots will readily 
penetrate that distance. Tiles cannot be laid deeper 
than 4’ or 5’ with economy, owing to labor cost; 
if they could, and the soil were permeable enough 
to let them operate to their full depth, it would be 
all the better. On Woodland Farm the rule is to 
lay no tiles at a less depth than 36” and the standard 
depth where soil is right and outlet can be had is 
48”. In early days many drains were laid too 
shallow; these are often taken up and laid deeper. 
