1861 .] 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
169 
Draining—Why—Where—How. 
(Continued from page 137.) 
HOW. 
Wood Drains are frequently resorted to, and 
are often necessary, where neither stones nor 
tiles are available. In new, swampy land, we 
have seen quite serviceable drains made by 
opening a deep trench, and putting in a layer of 
brush or faggots. Such a drain should be eight 
to twelve inches, or more, wide at the bottom, 
and at least 2 k feet deep. The best method of 
Fig. 8. 
putting the brush in, is to begin at the highest 
end of the drain, and keep the but ends forward, 
letting the twigs lap back half their length upon 
the previous layer. In other words, lay in the 
brush with the but or larger ends forward, and 
inclined downward, as shown in Fig. 8. This 
leaves the surface with a continuous layer of tire 
smallest twigs, which will better support the 
earth thrown upon them. The brush used for 
such a drain should be somewhat straight; 
many cross branches would leave it too open. 
The brush should be well packed, and the 
smaller limbs be pressed down smoothly on the 
surface, as the earth is thrown on. A layer of 
inverted sods, placed on the brush, is veiy de¬ 
sirable. Leaves, coarse grass, or flags, may be 
used to prevent the sifting in of earth among 
the brush. Such drains will be effective for a 
few years, and will doubtless pay where perma¬ 
nent drains can not be conveniently made. 
Another kind of wood drains is made by cut¬ 
ting a ditch, and laying 
in the bottom two straight 
logs or poles, or split tim¬ 
bers, and covering them 
with a third one, as shown in 
Fig. 9. The size of the open 
passage will depend upon 
the diameter of the logs or 
poles, which may be from 4 
to 7 or 8 inches, if conve" 
niently obtained. Unless the 
timber is unusually straight, 
so as to form very close 
joints, a covering of sods 
or brush and leaves should 
be used, to prevent the 
soil from running in. The permanence of such 
drains will, of course, depend upon the kind of 
wood used, and the proportion of time the drain 
is filled with water. A drain of this kind, made 
of locust timber, would last a lifetime, or longer; 
but this variety of wood is seldom accessible in 
quantity, and when obtainable, is too valuable 
for fence posts, to allow its use for drains. Per¬ 
haps the efforts now making to grow locust on 
the Western prairies, may be so successful that, 
after a few years, there will be enough of this 
timber to be used for drains, in localities to* 
distant from clay beds to obtain tiles cheaply. 
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Fig. 10. 
Wooden tubing is sometimes used, like that 
shown in Fig. 10. Bottom and cover pieces, 
4 to 6 inches wide, and 1 to 1| inches thick, are 
nailed upon side strips 2 to 3 inches wide, leav- 
ng a passage of 2 to 3 inches for water. The 
water will enter freely at the joinings of the side 
and top pieces, though it is better to pierce the 
wood with numerous small holes. The boxes 
are rapidly put together. It is best to let the 
top and side pieces break joints in laying them 
down, as this secures them from being displaced. 
Slabs, or the imperfect bark side portions left in 
sawing timber, may be used, as no straight edges 
are required, except for the side pieces. These 
may be imperfect scantling. Such a drain, if 
made of larch or other durable timber, would 
last many years, and be very effective. If put 
in firm clay, the opening will remain long after 
the wood had rotted away. In these various 
kinds of drains, there need be no fear about the 
entrance of the water. Water will not remain 
in the surrounding soil, when there is the small¬ 
est aperture or crack, into an open drain; it 
would require no little care to construct a drain 
of any material so tight as to keep water out. 
Stone Drains are as yet the most feasible, since 
in mauy places this material is still the only 
available one for a permanent drain; though we 
shall see, further on, that even where there is an 
abundance of stones, it is often cheaper to use 
tiles. Indeed, taking into account the large 
areas where stones are wanting, or are not 
abundant, tiles will soon be the principal mate¬ 
rial used for draining in our country.—A very 
common method, but a very bad one, adopted 
in laying stone drains, 
is that illustrated in 
Fig. 11, in which the 
drain is simply filled 
with small stones 
thrown in at random. 
Such drains last for a 
time, and at first ope¬ 
rate well; but we 
doubt if one out of a 
hundred will be effect- 
tive for a dozen or 
twenty years. The soil 
will in time clog them 
at some point, and a 
single stoppage anywhere in the drain renders 
it useless. They may be made somewhat 
permanent, in a compact soil, however, if 
the stones are small, and care be taken 
to cover them well. The best plan is to 
smooth off the top of the stones with pebbles 
or the smallest stones; then put on a layer of 
refuse hay or straw, evenly, but not thick, and 
put upon this clay, or soil that will pack well. 
The first layer should be tramped or beat down 
firmly; otherwise the first water that runs in, 
will open passages through, and gradually wash 
in large amounts of soil, leaving pitfalls above, 
and clogging the 
drain. Great care 
should be exercised 
in laying in the 
stones, that at no 
point two larger 
stones, lying close 
together, stop or 
nearly stop the free 
passage of water. 
T li e precautions 
above named, in re¬ 
ference to covering 
with hay or straw, pjg. jg 
and packing down 
the earth, etc., should be used for the protection 
of all kinds of stone and brush drains. 
Where the stones are small, if flat stones are 
accessible, it is preferable by far, to get enough 
of these, even at considerable expense, to form 
an open passage under the small stones. 1 f the 
soil be firm, the form shown in fig. 12, is a very 
good one. Here two stones are placed lean¬ 
ing outwards, and coming together at the 
bottom; and a third stone is laid on as a cover, 
so as to leave the continuous passage, a. In 
such a drain the smallest flow of water will 
keep up a current in the narrow bottom, and 
clean out any soil washing in. If, as is some¬ 
times recommended, the opening be made broad 
at the bottom, the stones inclining inward at the 
top, a small flow of water would be spread out 
so much over the broad base, that the current 
would not suffice to clear the passage of soil. 
It seldom happens, however, that there are 
not large stones enough to build the drain in the 
manner shown by fig. 13 ; that is, with a row 
of stones along each side of the ditch, and a flat 
one across the top, to form 
an arch or cover. This is 
the best method in all cases; 
yet many drains of this con¬ 
struction fail. Moles, rats, and 
mice burrow in them, and un¬ 
dermine the side stones; a 
current of water often does 
the same thing. Soil washes 
in and clogs the drain at 
some point where there is 
little current, and the whole 
Fig. 13. becomes choked. The cap 
stone,if round, is often so turned as to nearly close 
the opening, and perhaps quite so, after the side 
stones settle. A bungling workman will, ten 
chances to one, leave some stone so poorly laid, 
that one end of it will slip down during the set¬ 
tling of the earth, and perhaps it will be knocked 
down before completion, by the stones thrown 
in above. All these points are to be carefully 
guarded against. Only yesterday we noticed 
the laying of a drain, 900 feet long, which was 
being done by contract, for 56 cents a rod. Ac¬ 
cording to the contract, it was to be “ 10 inches 
in the clear;” but, owing to carelessness of the 
workmen, we saw places where there was not 
2 inches of space left under a round stone, used 
as a cap ; and the chances are that, when the 
drain settles, there will not be an inch left, if in¬ 
deed the drain be not wholly closed. The fact 
is, no such drain should be laid by contract, and 
none but the most skillful, faithful workmen 
should ever be entrusted with laying a cobble 
stone drain. With flat or quarried stones there 
is less risk, but still a risk. An error in laying one 
stone may destroy the whole, and require the 
taking up of the entire length, to find the fault. 
We have recently proposed a plan to counter¬ 
act the operation of moles, the settling of the 
stones out of place, the washing out of earth 
from under the side stones, as well as from the 
bottom of the drain. It is simply this: When 
all ready to lay the stones, spread upon the bot¬ 
tom of the drain a thin layer of mortar, made 
of hydraulic cement (water-lime) and sand. 
Bed the side stones in this, and smoothe the 
bottom of the drain with a board or trowel. 
The side stones will then be held firmly in place, 
and the bottom will afford a smooth passage for 
water, and one impervious to moles. We con¬ 
sider this an important improvement. A barrel 
of hydraulic lime (costing $1.25 to $2.50), and 
two barrels of sand, will suffice for a long stretch 
of drain. With this addition of a cement bed, 
which will not cost sixpence per rod, and with 
suitable care in putting on the cap stone, and a 
layer of small stones above, and the proper 
covering of refuse hay or straw, and packing 
earth over the latter, such a drain will not only 
be effective, but very lasting. 
