1921.] 



Mole Draining 



979 



a considerable amount of hand labour. As a temporary measure 

 main drains can be made by the mole plough and connected 

 with a boundary ditch, or the mole drains can be run direct into 

 a ditch. In this case, however, they should be protected, by 

 the insertion of pipes, for two or three feet from the outfall; 

 but it is not advisable to do without a main drain. A number 

 of mole drains lunning into an open ditch will require more 

 labour to keep clean than is likely to be available, and as some 

 width of headland mu-^t £ enerally be left for the engine to stand 

 on, it is not always possible to rim the moles direct into a ditch. 

 Where it is desired to save expense, Faggot, or Bush Drains, as 

 described in the Ministry's F.P. Leaflet No. 62, are sometimes 

 used. Sometimes pipe draining is combined with bush draining. 

 The main drain is dug about a foot deeper than the moles are 

 to be driven, and filled in above the pipes with brushwood up to 

 the level of the moles. When this is put in before the moles 

 are drawn it should consist of twigs not more than 1 in. in dia- 

 meter. The coulter will cut through these quite easily. When 

 considering how deep to set the coulter of the drainer care should 

 be taken to put it at the minimum depth of the mains, as these 

 will of necessity be a few inches shallower in some places than 

 in others. 



A main drain should always have a cheap facing of brick or 

 stone round the last pipe. This prevents damage and serves to 

 mark the outfall. 



The mole drains are usually made about 2 ft. in depth and 

 about 5 yd. apart. Where the field is laid up in ridges or 

 stitches the distance between the moles is usually determined 

 by the distance between the furrows, but this is not always a 

 certain guide, as the nature and lie of the land may require more 

 drains. In fields where the water percolates to the subsoil very 

 slowly, it- is best to put in the mole drains fairly close, say, 

 about 3 yd. apart, and not deeper than about 18 in. or 20 in. 



It is most important that a plan of each field should be kept, 

 showing the mains and their shallowest points. Such a plan 

 will be useful in case the field should be moled again. 



In Essex, where a good deal of mole drainage is performed 

 annually, it is the custom for the tenant to carry out the work 

 and the landlord to find the pipes for the main drains. In cases 

 where the tenant leaves his farm after doing the work, compen- 

 sation is generally given on a basis of three to six years. 



(This article i§ also issued hij the Ministrii as Leaflet No. 356.) 



