CHAPTER. XII. 

 DRAINAGE OF BARN-YARDS, CATTLE-LANES, ETC. 



The stockman is familiar with the difficulties to be 

 met in keeping ground which becomes puddled by the 

 frequent tramping of live stock from becoming exces- 

 sively muddy. Such ground cannot be materially ben- 

 efited by placing tile drains underneath the puddled 

 surface. The remedy consists in preventing all water 

 from outside sources from finding its way to the yard, 

 leaving only the direct rainfall to be contended with. 



The roof water from all buildings adjoining the yards 

 should be taken care of by eaves-troughs, and down- 

 spouts which should conduct the water either into cis- 

 terns or into a tile drain provided for the purpose. 

 This receiving drain should be laid around the buildings 

 and discharge into some open channel or into a system 

 of field drains. A tile of 8 -inch diameter will carry the 

 roof water from a large barn, and may discharge into a 

 field main without overcharging it, for the reason that 

 in all heavy rainfalls the roof water will have passed 

 through the drain before soil water will have had time 

 to enter. It is not desirable that stock-yards should 

 be kept dry by surface drainage unless the value of the 

 manure is to be disregarded. It is the practice of many 

 good farmers to so arrange the stock-yards that all 

 rainfall will gravitate toward the center, which thereby 



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