AUG. 29 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
STRIKING EFFECTS OF TILE DRAINAGE ! 
Lighten and Loosen the Logy Land. 
The camera cannot He; every chance for the untiled land 
to uln; trees cannot stand wet feet; drainage saves 
four times the trees; tiles add 50 per cent to the wheat; 
no tiles, miihty little clover; Timothy takes courage 
trom tiles; drainage bursts the big barn; can we 
make potato soil out of clay and tiles ? Tiles useful 
in both extremes of wet and dry. 
W. I. CHAMBERLAIN. 
Tile Drainage Is Not an Evil. 
My very good friend, B. F. Johnson, of Champ ign 
County, Illinois, has bad much to say for several years, in 
the various agricultural papers for which he writes, of the 
evil effects of tile drainage in Illinois, especially upon or¬ 
chards and in increasing the tendency to drought and 
flood. I have lived, traveled and observed pretty widely 
in the West, but have never seen any evil effects except 
upon weeds, swamp grass and malaria. On my own farm 
the effects have always been good upon all valuable crop*, 
especially upon wheat, clover and apples, and I wish to 
present them to the eye and the understanding of all the 
readers of The Rural New-Yorker. I premise that of 
my total 115 acres I have thoroughly tiled nearly 65 with 
about 15 miles of mains and laterals, and that, as stated, 
the effects have always been good, and sometimes very 
remarkable and striking. 
The two companion photo engravings (Figs. 224 and 225) 
seem to me on comparison with Fig.226, to furnish an ocu¬ 
lar demonstration of the excellent effects of tile drainage 
upon apples and wheat; and I have other couplet photo¬ 
graphs that furnish as striking proofs in regard to clover, 
Timothy and weeds. Soon after my apple orchard was 
set about 13 acres of it were 
thoroughly tiled with neces¬ 
sary mains and with laterals _ 
83 feet apart and 80 inches I 0 o 
deep, while about two acres R 
were only partially drained, 7 + 2 -f- 
as shown in Fig. 226. This fig¬ 
ure is an exact graphical illus- +. -+■ 
tration of the drainage system 
of 6 % acres of the 15 in the ! -t- 4 
orchard. At the right side of 
the cut, A, B, C, with a spur, 4 4 
F B, is the one main drain, 
and D E is the one lateral in + _±. 
this part, 2 1-10 acres not [ _l_ 
thoroughly tiled. At the left ' ■*" + 
4% acres are thoroughly 
tiled, as shown in the dia- + + 
gram, having laterals half v 
way between all apple tree K i 
rows. The rows and hence n. / | + _ f 
the laterals are 33 feet apart \/X 
(see Fig. 226 and explana- yX. + 
tions.) The camera stood / 
near the line of thorough +. +. 
drainage, at S, and pointed ^ 
diagonally to the left to take + o 
Fig. 224, and to the right to 
take Fig. 225, as shown by 4 + 
the darts at S in Fig. 226. = 
Do the Pictures Tell a 
Fair Story? PJ.AGRAM 
Yes, and more too I By this EXPLANATI 
I mean that they are too ________ 
favorable if anything to the * * 
undrained part, Fig. 225, and • CAMERA 
for the following reasons. + ORIGINAL T 
Naturally the land in Fig. 225 
is better adapted to orchard 
than that in Fig. 224, beiDg 
more rolling and hence having better surface drainage. 
Still further, for 40 years past to my certain knowledge it 
has had more manure per acre than that in Fig. 224, being 
nearer to the street and to the barn, as seen from Fig. 226. 
Sometimes the front has been manured and the supply has 
failed before the back of the field was reached. As to the 
slope, it was so much better than in the rest of the orchard 
that I thought it might go untiled at least until I had 
learned whether so large an outlay f or tiling would pay. 
The point of view was fairly chosen, nearly on the line of 
the last tile. The rows, varieties, tillage and wheat drilling 
all run across both plats, that is, perpendicular to tne 
street. Hence the same varieties of original trees are 
seen in the same relative positions in Figs. 224 and 
225. This is important, since some varieties (like the 
Baldwins, Astrachans, etc.,) are surer livers and thrif¬ 
tier growers than others (like the Roxbury Russets, 
Peck’s Pleasants, Spitzenburgs, etc.) The photographs 
were both taken June 5,1891, and the light was from the 
same relative direction. Every effort was made to have 
everything fair and true The original trees were set 21 
years ago, and nearly all lived the first four years. They 
have had the same treatment (except as noted in favor of 
plot 2 ) and the same vicissitudes from mice, rabbits and 
from bruising and barking during the tillage and har¬ 
vesting of crops. 
Effects of Drainage upon the Trees. 
Compare the two figures. If they do not give a most 
striking ocular demonstration then I never saw one. In 
the tiled part, Fig. 224, the trees (compare Fig. 226) are nearly 
all of the original setting. They are nearly all strong and 
thrifty, their branches “shake hands across the chasm” of 
33 feet; they shade nearly the whole ground, and some of 
the.trunks are over a foot in diameter. But in Fig. 225 the 
trees are clearly seen to be far smaller, there is none of the 
density, thrift and uniformity found Fig. 224, and most of 
the original trees have died out (compare Fig. 226) and been 
replaced by new ones within the last 16 years. 
Why Did the Trees Die ? 
Most of those in plot 2, Fig. 226 (the same as Fig. 225) died 
of wet feet. In spite of the excellent slope that averages a 
fall of over three feet to the 100 feet, the tenacious clayey 
soil has much of the time been supersaturated beneath 
the surface, and the soil “puddled,” so that it bakes in 
hard chunks on drying. Now, tree roots (except of water¬ 
growing varieties) must have air as well as moisture. But 
when the proper air spaces of the soil are soaked full of 
water much of the year, the roots can get air only by run¬ 
ning close to the surface or even on it. This is notably 
true of the roots of the Sugar Maple and the apple tree. 
For example, in my sugar camp part of the trees grow 
along a brook valley on rather gravelly soil naturally 
underdrained. These strike their roots very deep down 
and are strong and thrifty. But some of them grow on 
stiff, tenacious upland clay. Here the roots run for rods 
sometimes near to and even upon the surface. I used to 
think this was from lack of fertility, but am now convinced 
that it is chiefly because of the surplus water of super¬ 
saturation, which no land plant can endure. They run 
upon or very near the surface to avoid surplus moist'-'re 
or to get necessary air. 
Apple Trees Abhor Wet Feet. 
The same is true in the apple orchard. In plot 2 the 
roots grew so near the surface even while the trees were 
young, that a few years of cultivation in hoed crops cut, 
broke or bruised many of the roots, ana the trees died 
partly from such bruising and partly simply from exces-- 
sive moisture. In plot 1 the roots struck down deep, 
found enough but not too much moisture the year around, 
and were helped and not damaged by the tillage of hoed 
crops among them. In plot 2 more than half of the trees 
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D|AG_RA M PART °f 
EXPLANATIONS: 
W. T. CHAMBERLAIN S 
BOUNDARY LINES? — 
-- MAIN TILE DRAINS? -^ SHOWS DIRECTION °F SLOPE, OR FALL; 
X/cAMERA. DIRECTION oF EXPOSURE. 
+ ORIGINAL TREE, 2lVR$ OLD, o, DEAD TREE, RE-SET WITHIN IG YEARS. 
Fig. 226. 
lace drainage. died out during the first 10 years or since, and have been 
i knowledge it replaced by small nursery trees set from year to year as 
Fig. 224, being the original trees died. Hence their uneven appearance in 
from Fig. 226. Fig. 225. 
the supply has Figures that Tell Nothing but the Truth, 
ed. As to the 226 is a correct diagram, showing not only the 
of the orchard drainage system and the location of each main and lat- 
ist until I had era i t but exactly where each tree has died and been re- 
lg would pay. placed. The mark 4 indicates an original tree still living 
on the line of an( j thrifty, and the mark o shows where an original tree 
wheat drilling h ag < 3 ^^ an d been replaced within the last 16 years, 
iicular to tue The diagram will repay careful study, but even a glance 
inal trees are at it shows how very many more zeros there are in propor- 
Figs. 224 and • ^ on to ^be total number in plot 2 than in plot 1. Count 
ties (like the them, if you please, and you will find that in plot 2 49 
ers and thrif- out G f a total of 91 have died, or nearly 54 per cent; while 
bury Russets, j n p i ot ^ on iy 25 out of a total of 175 have died, or a little 
e photographs over 14 per cent That is, nearly four times as many in 
t was from the proportion have died in the part not tiled. But all other 
made to have causes have been alike, as noted, or else even more favor- 
ees were set 21 a]Q j e to p j ot 2 . Mice, rabbits, careless cultivation, bruising 
r years. They by implements and whiffletrees, etc., were all alike in both 
;ed in favor of plots. The tillage of hoed crops, and the harvesting of hay 
se, rabbits and an d gra i n have been across both plots alike, i. e., at right 
lage and har- an gies and not parallel to the street. Some varieties 
of apples (e. g., Greenings, Pippins, Spitzenburgs, Russets, 
Trees. etc.) are less thrifty growers and more likely to die than 
ot give a most others (Baldwin, Red Astrachan, etc.), but the varieties, 
• saw one. In like the cultivation, run across both plots alike, i. e., at 
. 226) are nearly right angles to the street (see Fig. 226). We are simply shut 
all strong and down to the conclusion that tile drainage on this clayey 
the chasm” of soil has made four times as many trees live, and has made 
d, and some of all on the tiled part far more thrifty than on the part not 
in Fig. 225 the tiled. 
3 is none of the Better the More You Study It. 
14, and most of A still closer examination of Fig. 226, shows that in plot 
;. 226) and been 2 fewer trees in proportion died in the two rows be- 
rs. tween the street and the cellar drain than in the other 
part of even plot 2. Here only 10 out of 28, or less than 36 
per cent died, while in the remainder of plot 2, 40 out 
of 63, or over 63 per cent died. Virtually these two tows 
are half drained, the one nearest the street by the street 
gutter which is six feet below the level of the trees only 
about 30 feet off; and the second one by the cellar drain. . 
Curiously the cellar drain has very little influence on the 
third row from the street. The reason I think is because 
the slope is from the drain towards the trees (see darts), 
and a tile drain will not “ draw” much up hill. The area 
of very decidedly greatest mortality is that which lies be¬ 
tween the cellar drain and the main drain, including rows 
3, 4, 5 and 6 from the street, which have no laterals. 
Still another fact: the row of trees northeast of the 
main drain H. I. has no lateral outside of it, northeast. 
That is, it has only half the benefits of drainage and that 
too with the tiles uphill from it. Well, in this row five 
out of 12 trees died, or over 41 per cent, while in the rest 
of plot 1, which is all thoroughly tiled, only 21 out of 163 
trees died, or less than 13 per cent. Let me restate these 
striking facts In concise form. 
Per cent of trees that died and were replaced within 16 
years. 
When thoroughly tiled on both sides of each row.13 per cent. 
When tiled only on one side.36 to 41 “ 
. When not tiled at all.63 “ 
It is also fair to add that the present thrift and bearing 
capacity are in about the same ratio. 
Extra Wheat on the Drained Land. 
As to this point compare the two engravings on page 
621. In Fig. 224 the wheat is nearly all headed (June 5th). 
and is about four feet high or above the waist of a six-foot 
man, and is very thick and thrifty. In Fig. 225 the wheat 
(same day) was fully a week later though drilled in on the 
| rsame day, and is very much 
I thinner and shorter, scarcely 
. up to the knees. As to yield; 
+• o o o ! the tiled part, Fig. 224, has 
,33 shocks per acre, and the 
o o other part not tiled has 22. 
SrTy In 8 Plte of most explicit dl- 
_i_ o rections the men did not mark 
Z&/ the line of division in the 
-t- o | stack so that the exact differ- 
Y/ I ence in yield cannot be given. 
? ° "*• ^ || Now these strikingly ap- 
- 0 ^ ^ parent effects of drainage 
Z-j | . | | y -riirrU Stmt/ t upon my orchard and wheat 
(I IALLJ—_H LLu _^ i are no j. my i ma gi na tion, 
\ nor are they of my creation, 
+ + 0 save as I caused or rather 
occasioned them by tile drain- 
o oj| o o ing a part of the orchard, 
til and gave means ot compari- 
o o° -+ 4 son by leaving a part not 
of i drained. Indeed I had not 
4 -h +' S(/recF noticed the effects very fully 
£ A until this present summer, 
44+4 for I have been absent from 
5 the farm for 11 years except 
4 o ? -t- ■+ during occasional visits. In- 
cc i deed I had almost forgotten 
4 +- o -+ j that plot 2 had not been tiled 
-„ ~ until this spring when I was 
filling in with young trees the 
1U D S 0 N . 0 vacancies all over the orchard 
• r p a i ti , r n r a i m where the original trees died. 
ERAL TILE DRAIN? That called my attention both 
SLOPE, OR FALL? to the condition of the soil 
itself and of the trees and 
5 .wheat. The more carefully I 
examined, the more striking 
did the facts appear, and the 
more manifest was it that 
they could be traced to no other cause than tile drain¬ 
age. During the past three months I presume more 
than 50 gentlemen from different parts of Ohio and 
other States have visited the farm; I have called the 
attention of all of them to the facts, and all have agreed 
that they are most striking and most conclusive in favor 
of tile drainage, at least for orchards and wheat on clayey 
soils. I had the photographs taken and have made a care¬ 
ful diagram of that part of the orchard, and I now offer 
them all with the facts to the readers of Thk Rural New- 
Yorker, in order that there may be an exact public record 
of the whole, widely disseminated. Until my good friend 
B. F. Johnson, shows similar clear ocular demonstration 
of the ill effects of tiling, we shall believe he is simply 
mistaken in his opinion, especially since he is the only 
prominent writer and observer, so far as I know, who holds 
that opinion. 
Effects of Tile Drainage upon Clover. 
Some of my good friends who own and cultivate warm, 
responsive soils of sandy loam, or of limestone basis, nat¬ 
urally adapted to clover, wheat, fruits and root crops, seem 
to feel and write as if clover were a means of creating fer¬ 
tility, or at least a sufficient manure to keep up fertility 
under cropping and tillage, and even of increasing fer¬ 
tility without commercial fertilizers or much manure 
from live stock. I wish they might test their theory on 
my cold and naturally unresponsive, clayey soil, as I have 
done for 26 years of ownership and 20 before that of obser¬ 
vant youth and young manhood when my father owned 
the farm. On this and similar farms clover itself is hard 
to get. When the soil is not tile drained, it can be grown 
heavily only by heavy manuring, and plowing in high, 
narrow lands with deep, dead furrows. Even when the 
soil is tiled, in order to get a stronq crop of clover, the 
clover must have considerable manure or commercial fer¬ 
tilizers applied that year and in previous ones. Especially 
marked are the effects of tile drainage upon the “ catch ” 
and “ stand ” of clover. I Lave before me now two photo- 
StrecF 
ORCHARD. HUDSON . 0.. 
- LATERAL TILE DRAIN? 
