1848. 
THE CULTIVATOR, 
17 
ing that time, no repairs whatever. Where no small 
stones are to be found, it is necessary to break larger 
.pieces with the hammer, as is practiced in the making 
of macadamized roads; an operation which adds greatly 
to the expense. 
To meet this difficulty, the expedient has been de¬ 
vised of making clay pipes. These carry off the water 
effectually, and at the same time lessen the cost of the 
drain. The tiles first used were made in a horse-shoe 
form, each piece beiaag about fourteen inches in length, 
and having a flat sole of corresponding dimensions to 
place under it, and prevent sinking in the soil, or un¬ 
dermining by currents, of water. These were much 
more cheaply transported than stones, one load going 
as far as 5 or 6, and the cost of digging was also con¬ 
siderably reduced; for the tile, being only about 4 inches 
wide, occupies a bed much narrower than the stone. 
The several pieces of tile were joined together in the 
bottom of the trench, and formed a connected channel 
for water. The earth was compactly filled in, and 
the water found its way through the joinings of the 
pieces. These tiles were very effective, and have been 
employed to an immense extent in all the better culti¬ 
vated parts of Great Britain and Ireland. Whole 
counties are now underlaid by them, and some of the 
most enormous incomes have been doubled by this 
simple improvement. At present, however, another 
form of tile is coming into general favor. It is a 
simple round pipe, made in lengths like the first, and 
for the cross drains of not more than an inch and a 
half in the diameter of the bore. These can be made 
much cheaper than the other kind, as they are smaller, 
and all in one piece. They are not more than half the 
weight of the old fashioned tile and sole, and there¬ 
fore an additional saving is affected on the transpor¬ 
tation. The trench for their reception is also much 
smaller, being at the top just wide enough to allow 
the trencher to work, and cut at the bottom with a 
narrow tool, to exactly the proper size for the recep¬ 
tion of the pipe. The pieces are simply laid end to end, 
and wedged with small stones when necessary. The 
water finds its way in at the joints. Many have ex¬ 
pressed doubts as to the operation of these drains, 
thinking that water would scarcely penetrate into so 
•small a channel, through such minute apertures. No 
difficulty has been experienced in any case. One gen¬ 
tleman, residing in the south of England, who has 
employed these small pipe tiles in draining exceedingly 
stiff clays, laying them at the depth of three feet, and 
ramming the clay hard down, offered a premium of 
.£100 to any person who would keep the water out of 
them. These tiles, of both varieties, are made by 
machinery. The clay is worked in an ordinary pug 
mill, such as used in brick-making, care being taken 
that no stones are present; it is then forced through 
a die of a circular or horse-shoe shape, according to 
the kind of tile intended to be made. It passes through 
in a continuous stream, which is cut off into the proper 
lengths by hand, or by a little apparatus connected 
with the machine. After drying sufficiently, they a.re 
burned in a kiln. By the use of machines, and by 
manufacturing on a large scale, the price of tiles has 
been brought very low. In some parts of England, 
the small round pipes now cost only ten shillings, or 
$2.50 per thousand, each tile being fourteen inches in 
length. This would make them only about four cents 
per rod. There is no doubt that should the demand 
be great, they may soon be obtained here at as low 
rates. I hope to receive in the course of a few weeks 
such information from one of my Scotch friends, as will 
enable me either to give directions for the making of the 
best tile machine, in this country, or for the importa¬ 
tion of a small one from England as a model. If the 
farmers only call for them in great quantity, I have 
full confidence that our American mechanics will soon 
improve upon the best English model that can be ob¬ 
tained. Even at $5.00 per thousand, or eight cents 
per rod, the employment of tiles would be cheaper 
than that of stones in most situations, unless they had 
to be transported many miles. It is moreover, much 
easier for inexperienced persons to cover them prop¬ 
erly. In the Repository of Arts in this city, are to be 
seen several of the horse-shoe shaped tiles ; they are 
made, I understand, at Enfield, but there seems to be 
no soles accompanying them, and I do not know their 
cost. It may not be inappropriate to mention in this 
connection, the importance of such an institution as this 
Repository; it is now in its infancy, but; if patronised 
as it ought to be, will become a place where models 
or specimens of such useful articles may be found,—a 
place of reference for all professions. 
We now come to the important question—How deep 
should the drains be made, and how far apart ? Smith, 
of Deanston, and many distinguished British farmers 
agree in the opinion, that the proper distance of sepa¬ 
ration is from sixteen to thirty-six feet. That first 
named is proper on stiff clay soils, and the latter only 
on those which are very light and sandy . From eigh¬ 
teen to twenty-four feet, is, I should think, the more 
common distance. Upon the subject of depth, great 
diversity of opinion has been expressed ; but I believe 
that all of the best farmers are now united in the con¬ 
viction, that shallow draining is in the end bad econ¬ 
omy. One of the principal benefits derived from the 
introduction of the drain, is the deepening of the soil, 
as I have before explained. But this benefit is never 
fully, and in many cases not at all felt, until the drain 
is followed by the subsoil plow. The layer of earth 
immediately over the drain, should never be disturbed; 
if the plow breaks it up, particles filter in, and soon 
impede the exit of water. It is clear, therefore, that 
the tiles or “Stones should be laid so deep that the point 
of the plow cannot approach within four or five inches 
of their upper surface. The improved implements now 
in use for subsoiling, go down in some instances as far 
as twenty inches. Our farmers may never have gone 
more than ten, but they ought not, by putting in shal¬ 
low drains, to preclude themselves from the ability to 
adopt improvements in this direction. Another argu¬ 
ment against such drains, is the fact that they do not 
draw as well as the deeper ones, nor dry so wide a 
surface. I have known repeated instances where far¬ 
mers who had made them shallow, were so disappoint¬ 
ed in their efficiency as compared with deep ones, that 
they went to the great expense of taking them up, 
and relaying them Some inches deeper. From twenty- 
six to thirty-six inches, is the depth ordinarily employ¬ 
ed at present, although some maintain that four feet 
or four and a half is still better ; this, however, seems 
carrying the matter to excess ; and there can be no 
doubt that at distances of from sixteen to twenty-four 
feet, drains at a depth of from twenty-six to thirty- 
six inches, will dry the stiffest and wettest land. 
Several plows have been contrived for the purpose 
of cutting the drain trench at one operation. These 
are drawn by from eight to twelve horses, and follow¬ 
ing an ordinary plow take out the earth to the depth 
of from eighteen to twenty inches. A few ihches 
more are then removed by the spade. This plow is 
said in some parts of Scotland to have greatly reduced 
the cost of trenching, but has never been generally in¬ 
troduced. I should think it too unwieldy and expensive 
an implement for this country. 
It may be useful to introduce here cuts (figs. 5 and 
6) of the various spades and other tools used in cut¬ 
ting the tile and stone drains, and sections of the 
drains themselves 
