CHAPTER V. 

 LAYING OUT DRAINS IN THE FIELD. 



Staking Out Drains. 



One or more lines of drains, or an entire system hav- 

 ing been determined upon, the next work is to stake out 

 the lines and prepare them for the construction of the 

 drains. Stakes should be prepared beforehand. A 

 good material for stakes is what is known as fence lath. 

 They are 4 feet long, i\ inches wide, and f inch thick. 

 They may be cut in three pieces, making them 16 

 inches long, which is a suitable length for land which 

 is reasonably free from grass and heavy weeds, but 

 ordinarily they should be 2 feet long. These are 

 called guides, and serve to carry the necessary figures 

 and to show the location of the grade stakes. An 

 equal number of grade stakes should be made to ac- 

 company them. They may be of the same material, 

 but only i foot long. Prepare as many sets of these 

 as there are stations of 100 feet to measure off, with 

 some extras for intermediates. Where the work of 

 making the ditches is to be done without much delay, 

 common plastering lath, which are more easily carried, 

 may be used for guides. 



Begin with a main drain, first flagging out the course 



SO that the stakes may be lined in straight. Set the 



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