80 Mole-draining and the Renovation of Old Pipe Drains. 
Mole-draining is tlie making of a long hole 3 in. to 4 in. in 
diameter under the surface of the land at varying intervals and 
at depths from 3 ft. to 18 in., without digging and without 
pipes. It derives its name from its resemblance to a mole run. 
The actual draining tool consists of a 3J- in. round steel 
plug brought to a sharp point at one end and firmly secured to 
a blade of steel 8 in. wide, which is sharpened to a cutting 
edge on one side and secured to a suitable frame. A hole is 
dug to the required depth, the tool dropped into the ground 
and then drawn up the field. The result is that the earth is 
cut with the blade to the depth of the plug, and that a round 
hole is left by the plug in the clay with the sides quite smooth 
and compressed. The cut soon closes up, leaving the round 
hole in the clay. 
Before giving any detailed description of the different tools 
and the method of working them, it would be advisable to 
discuss the conditions under which this method of draining 
may be effectual. I am not at all certain whether plug draining 
is not as old, or older, than pipe draining, at any rate I have 
found plug drains in fields which date back beyond the 
proverbial memory of the oldest inhabitant. The reason why 
it has been lost sight of in recent years is that pipe draining 
took its place as being more reliable and not so very much 
more expensive forty years ago. Very considerable advances 
have been made with mole-draining implements and engines in 
quite recent years, with the result that the cost has been 
materially decreased and the efficiency increased, while during 
the same time the cost of pipe draining has considerably 
increased. 
Mole-draining is of no use unless the subsoil is clay. If 
there are patches of sand, gravel or stone, these drains will 
soon block up. The best results are obtained on a heavy clay 
soil when the field has a good fall, but this second condition is 
often absent. I have, however, satisfactorily drained fields 
nearly flat, but more mains are then required. 
The first thing to be done when it is decided to mole-drain 
a field is to find out whether there are any old mains, and if so, 
where they run. They can be best seen in June or July when 
the land is under a white straw crop, and when found the next 
step is to ascertain whether they can be made serviceable. It 
is absolutely necessary to have proper pipe mains, for the 
system of running each mole drain direct to the ditch is not 
good. The mouths get filled up and lost, with the result that 
2 or 3 acres at the bottom of the field stand in water. I have 
seen a field mole-drained satisfactorily without mains, when 
the field has been previously drained with tiles by taking the 
mole drains across the old pipe drains (Figs. 1 and 2). The 
