AMERI CAN AGRICULTURIS T. 
105 
18G1.] 
Draining—Why—Where—How. 
(Continued from page 70.) 
WHERE—HOW. 
A few more illustrations are needed to show 
the reader that his soil may need draining, even 
though upon a hill side where it would generally 
be thought that the water must certainly “ run 
off” at all times. The wettest soil we have ever 
worked, and the one that showed the best re¬ 
sults from draining, was one that every body 
thought a dry one, because lying upon an in¬ 
clined plain where no water could stand upon 
the surface. Fig. 5 will illustrate one of the 
many varieties of soils. This engraving is an 
accurate sketch, of the surface soil at least, and 
probably of the interior formation, of an eleva¬ 
tion about 150 feet high, and between three or 
four miles across the base. The hight is shown 
out of proportion in order to bring it within the 
column. The slope is very gradual, and the 
several farms lying upon either side appear near¬ 
ly level, the average descent being only about 
one foot in fifty. The illustration holds good, 
however, whether the hill he a large one with 
gently inclined sides, or a small one with steep 
sides. 
Fig. 5. 
The lower dark portion of the engraving is the 
underlying rock. Above this is an open porous 
gravel, y. Upon this, at the left, is a still more 
porous soil, coming out to the surface between 
d and e. The next bed above, (i), is a stiff clay, 
which permits wafer to filter through it very 
slowly. Above i is another gravelly porous soil, 
upon which lies another clay bed. The upper 
layer, about 50 feet deep in this case, is a loam 
interspersed with gravel. Just at the top is a 
small basin-like bed of clay (not shown), which 
holds a pond of water on the very summit at a. 
A farm of about 100 acres occupies the top of 
the broad elevation, which is usually dry, ex¬ 
cept in the vicinity of the clay bed that holds 
the pond of water at a. 
Now let us examine the effect of this particu¬ 
lar structure of the soil. The rains falling upon 
the top of the hill, outside of the pond a, sink 
down until the water meets the thin layer of 
clay, through which it can not pass readily. It 
therefore flows out to the surface at 6, and at all 
times the surface soil between 5 and c is more 
or less saturated with water, making it cold and 
even sour. The wettest land upon the whole 
elope is between 6 and c, though the superficial 
observer would say it was not possible that the 
land should need draining so near the summit. 
From c to d, the impervious clay subsoil pre¬ 
vents the absorption of rains, and they run off 
down to d , where they sink into the porous sub¬ 
soil, and through it into y. This land (from c to 
d) is wet during Winter and Spring, but is com¬ 
paratively dry in Summer, except after rains. 
From d to e, and from e to f the surface is com¬ 
paratively dry during most of the year. Below, 
or at the left of f a clay bed comes to the sur¬ 
face and there we find a swamp. On the right 
slope a similar succession of dry and wet soils 
is found. Let it be remembered that these sev¬ 
eral plots—from 6 to c, from c to d, from d to e, 
etc.—may each extend half a mile or more, or 
they may be only a few rods or feet each, so 
that the wet and dry plots may occupy whole 
farms, or several of them may be found on the 
same farm, or in the same field. Sometimes a 
dozen or twenty alternate layers of compact 
clay beds, and porous soils, may be found in the 
same elevation of land, producing corresponding 
alternations of wet and dry soils upon the slopes. 
Fig. 6 represents a valley where a like succes¬ 
sion of wet and dry soils may be found. This 
valley may he a small one, occupied by a single 
farm, or it may be a broad one, so large that a 
dozen or twenty farms may he scattered over its 
sides, and the inclination or slope be so gradual 
as to be barely perceptible to the eye. Such an 
arrangement of soils is not unfrequent on the 
broad gently rolling prairies of the West. 
It will be seen that from r to s, for example, 
the surface receives not only the falling rains, 
but also the water flowing out from the porous 
soil between o and r. The same is the case be¬ 
tween v and m, between x and w, etc. But in 
the very bottom of the valley, from u to s, where 
we would look for the wettest soil, it is, on the 
contrary, the dryest, because a porous subsoil 
carries off all the surplus water. These illustra¬ 
tions serve to convey to the reader some idea of 
the impossibility of judging of the wetness or 
dryness of a soil, merely from the situation and 
inclination of the surface. The different soils of 
every part of the country are made up of a great 
variety of layers, and a study of their character¬ 
istics, upon and below the surfhee, is necessary to 
determine the real condition of any farm as re¬ 
spects its wet and dry condition, and the great¬ 
er or less need of draining. 
HOW TO DRAIN. 
The importance of freeing land from water is, 
we trust, now appreciated by all those who have 
read what has been stated in the previous two 
papers. The brief illustrations given above, and 
at the close of our last paper, page 70, indicate 
the difficulty of laying down rules for draining 
which will be applicable to all circumstances of 
soil and location, and also show the necessity of 
a careful study of each and every field by the 
cultivator himself. We can only offer a variety 
of suggestions, of a general character, which may 
afford useful hints, and we will, from time to 
time, throw out such hints as have been gather¬ 
ed from a somewhat extended observation and 
study of the subject. We also invite the sugges¬ 
tions of practical men on the topic. 
The simplest method of freeing the surface soil 
from water, is that of plowing it into narrow 
“ridge lands” with deep open dead furrows. 
This is far better than no drainage, though ob¬ 
jectionable, because it is but superficial at best; 
because it wastes a considerable portion of the 
land; and because it breaks up the surface so 
much as to partially unfit it for driving over, 
and for working with machinery—the mower, 
reaper, liorse-hoe, etc. But until better modes 
can be adopted, we strongly a dvise every culti¬ 
vator to practice ridging land more thoroughly 
than has hitherto been done. It can not have 
escaped the notice of the most careless observer, 
that, when a wet cold soil is plowed into very 
high narrow lands, say of four or five paces wide, 
the best growth of crop is found upon the cen¬ 
ter of the ridges. By careful examination, we 
have found that on a clay, or stiff loam, with a 
compact subsoil, plowed into high ridge lands 
10 to 12 feet wide, the yield of good plump 
wheat gathered from the center one-tliird of the 
lands, is larger than that from the remaining 
two-thirds of surface including dead furrows. 
Two or three hints may be offered on ridging 
land. The heavier and wetter the land, the nar 
rower and higher should the ridges be made. 
It is better to not try to secure much growth on 
a foot or two of the soil occupied by the dead 
furrow. When the crop is sown and covered, 
let the last operation be to run a double mold- 
board plow as deeply as possible through the 
dead furrow. If a double mold-board plow be 
not at hand, run a single mold-board twioe 
through, to throw a bank of earth on each side. 
At first thought, it would seem that turning a 
furrow or ridge upon each side, would defeat the 
object of the drain, or dead furrow. But there 
is this advantage in the plan, that the ridge of 
soil, or embankment, on each side prevents the 
water running over the surface into the furrow, 
and it soaks through the loosened soil, which fil¬ 
ters out and retains the manure and fertilizing 
elements that would he lost if the water ran 
freely into the drain. These embankments also 
prevent the filling up, by washing in of the 
soil which would take place if the falling rains 
flowed directly off from the surface into the 
dead furrows. In any soil loosened by the plow, 
the water collected upon the surface, and even 
held there by the embankment on either side o! 
the dead furrow, will soon soak down and find 
its way in at the sides. 
Make the dead furrows as deep as may he, 
and be sure that they are left open and clean 
throughout their whole length, and that a good 
outlet is secured. Cross-furrows run through 
hollows in a field are often important, when the 
surface is not a regular inclined plane. A final 
thorough clearing of the intersections of furrows, 
and of their outlets, with a hoe or spade, is im¬ 
portant. All these items take time, but a field 
well fitted with good open dead furrow drain¬ 
age, is likely to be far more productive than one 
not so treated, and after going to the expense 
of preparation and seed, it is economical to 
spend a little more time in finishing the work. 
If the dead furrows be properly prepared as 
above described, they will seldom be closed up 
in Winter; but they should always he exam¬ 
ined in March or April to see that they are 
clogged at no point. One of the most successful 
farmers in our acquaintance, who has a heavy 
clay soil, always plows his wheat land into nar¬ 
row ridges ten feet wide, and in Spring he runs 
a small one horse plow through the dead furrows 
to clean them out and deepen them, following 
with a hoe to remove any lumps that fall back. 
We shall continue the subject with directions 
for other more thorough modes of draining. 
-—. —»♦— -- 
A Bad Custom.— In no pursuit or profession, 
is there required so great an exercise of judg¬ 
ment, experience, observation, and of science 
also, as in the proper treatment of the great 
variety of soils with which the cultivator 
has to deal. The rule is: make professional 
men of your smart boys—leave the dolts to till 
the soil. It should be : devote the best talent to 
the cultivation of the soil where the highest de¬ 
gree of judgment and skill is required; and let 
the lower grades of intellect be sent into the 
routine of professional life.— Arner. Agriculturist. 
