DRAINAGE 
Second—It renders the soil porous and 
spongy, which enables it to take in the 
water easily. 
Third—It prevents the adhesion or ce- 
menting of the soil, assists in pulver- 
izing it, and allows the roots of trees or 
vegetables to pass easily through it. 
Fourth—It assists in the mixture of the 
chemicals from manure through the pul- 
verized portions of the soil, thus greatly 
increasing the amount of plant food avail- 
able. 
Fifth—It allows water which falls on 
the surface to pass down into the soil, car- 
rying with it fertilizing substances. 
Sixth—The temperature of the water 
of falling rain is generally much warmer 
than the subsoil of the earth, as is prov- 
en by the fact that the water drained from 
the subsoils is colder than the falling 
rain. A proper drainage system, there- 
fore, will enable this warmer water to 
penetrate the earth and warm the roots 
of vegetables or trees, thus stimulating 
their growth. 
Seventh—The increased porosity of the 
soi] renders it a more perfect non-con- 
ductor of heat, and therefore the roots 
are kept warmer and the trees less in- 
jured by freezing in winter. 
Highth—It assists in aerating the soil, 
therefore aiding in the decomposition of 
any vegetable or organic matter in the 
soil. 
Ninth—Farming operations may be be- 
gun earlier on account of the earlier dry- 
ing of the soil in the springtime and an 
increase of crops is almost sure. 
Tenth—It economizes labor by allowing 
work to go on at almost any time without 
waiting for the ground to become dried 
out after a rain and before plowing is 
begun. I have seen farmers with adjoin- 
ing lands, one with his farm properly 
drained and the other not drained, and 
have seen the farmer with his land drain- 
ed, plowing and cultivating, economizing 
the time and labor of men employed to 
work on the farm, the labor of teams, 
etc.; while the one by his side, with con- 
ditions almost identical, except that his 
land was not drained, with his hired men 
and teams lying idle, waiting for the 
895 
ground to dry so that he could plow and 
cultivate. 
Soil Conditions Where Drainage Is 
Desirable 
It is better to drain where the water 
stands on the surface and interferes with 
the growing crops; where the water ac- 
cumulates beneath the surface and orig- 
inates springs; where there is a sub- 
stratum of hardpan or hard soil that will 
not allow the water to pass through, but 
compels it to seep along on a hard sur- 
face called a water line; where they are 
basins or ponds that hold the water. Gen- 
erally these basins are very rich in humus 
and under proper conditions would pro- 
duce abundant crops. It is better to 
drain where the water flows from high 
lands that are being irrigated and where 
waters seep from higher lands. No mat- 
ter whether these higher lands are irrigat- 
ed or unirrigated, if there is seepage 
above, they should be drained. Drains are 
made of tile or burned clay, of concrete, 
or stone, or of boards, depending on the 
character of the soil and the choice of 
the one who does the draining. They 
are generally placed at such a distance 
apart as to carry off the waste and seep- 
age water, and if the object is to open 
up and make porous a compact soil, they 
are generally placed about 2% to 3 feet 
deep and 25 to 30 feet apart. 
The problems of drainage in the vol- 
canic ash soils of the Northwest are vast- 
ly different from those in the open, por- 
ous and sandy soils of some other sec- 
tions of the country. This grows out of 
the fact that the volcanic ash soils incline 
to pack and puddle when the water is 
placed upon them and are not so suscept- 
ible to the influence of drainage systems, 
as are most other soils. 
GRANVILLE LOWTHER 
History and Principles 
The primary object of drainage is to 
decrease the excessive supply of soil 
water, while in irrigation the chief ob- 
ject is to increase the amount of soil 
moisture. In either case we are dealing 
with moisture, and a knowledge of its 
forms, movements and control is of great 
importance at the beginning. 
