Utilisation of Peat Land. 



149 



various kinds of bush drains. Drain pipes are very liable to be 

 displaced in consequence of the softness of the ground, but in 

 experiments at the Bernau Experiment Station the following 

 plan has been found satisfactory, subject to modifications to 

 suit local conditions. Ditches are dug about 2 ft. wide and rather 

 over 2 J ft. deep, about 65 ft. apart on some suitable system 

 according to the lie of the land. The vegetation is then 

 thoroughly destroyed by hoeing, roots and stumps removed, 

 and the whole surface levelled and if possible harrowed two or 

 three times. In the following spring the ditches, which will 

 have settled during the winter, are deepened to about 4 ft., 

 earthen drain pipes carefully laid, and the ditches filled in. 

 The pipes may, if the nature of the subsoil makes it necessary, 

 be supported by wooden laths placed underneath to keep them 

 in position. 



Two less expensive methods are recommended by Dr. Bersch,* 

 the Director of the Admont Station, as very suitable where the 

 pipes are liable to displacement. In places where rough boards 

 and waste wood from saw-mills can be obtained cheaply, the 

 drainage can be effected by placing boards at the bottom of a ditch 

 with supports between, so as to leave open spaces for drainage. 

 A somewhat similar method consists in the use of thin poles from 

 the undergrowth of alder, mountain pine, birch, &c., a material 

 which exists in abundance on most Alpine moorlands, and has 

 hardly any value as timber. A ditch is dug about 2| ft. wide 

 at the top, 1 ft. wide at the bottom, and about 4 J ft. deep. Two 

 stout sticks about 2 J ft. long with their ends against the side of 

 the ditch are then placed crosswise over a strong rail, which is 

 laid on the bottom of the trench and which prevents them sinking 

 in the soft ground. These cross sticks are placed at distances 

 about 3 ft. apart and leave a considerable opening for drainage. 

 They serve as supports for three or four stout alder or pine 

 poles, which are laid on them and bear the weight of the earth 

 when the ditch is filled in, thus preventing the " drain " from 

 sinking. The space between the poles is filled in with loppings 

 from boughs, &c., and the whole covered in, so that the upper 

 layer of soil is again placed on top. A wooden pipe hollowed 

 out of a stout pole may be also inserted to secure free drainage. 

 This method, according to Dr. Bersch, is preferable to any 



* " Die Praxis der Moorkultur." Zeitschrift fur Moorkultar und Torfverwertung. 

 1. IV, No. 3, 1906. 



