EFFECT OF ORGANIC DECOMPOSITION PRODUCTS FROM 
HIGH VEGETABLE CONTENT SOILS UPON CONCRETE 
DRAIN TILE ‘ 
By G. R. B. Elliott 
Assistant Professor of Farm Drainage, Minnesota Agricultural Experiment Station 
PREFACE 
The work which is covered in the following report was begun purely 
as an engineering study. It arose out of the fiduciary duty of the engineer 
to protect the interest of his client, namely the man who ultimately pays 
the bill and upon whose prosperity the permanence of the whole business 
rests. Necessity made the scope of the investigation much broader than 
was at first expected. Accident drew attention to the apparent failure 
of a structural material under certain limited conditions which oppor¬ 
tunity gave a chance to investigate. This does not, however, mean 
that the material will fail under any other conditions than those investi¬ 
gated. Nor does it mean that material not investigated is therefore 
exempt from criticism. It is believed that this investigation very 
materially aided a movement for the general improvement of the mate¬ 
rial investigated, not only for limited but, also, for the general application 
of the material. 
Other material, not covered in the scope of these investigations, but 
used for the same purpose, is, under certain conditions, as liable to failure 
as is the material investigated. A general movement for its improve¬ 
ment is very much to be desired. A recognition of the special adapt¬ 
ability of each material to its own particular class of work would aid 
materially in stabilizing the business. 
PART I. GENERAL INTRODUCTION 
The extremely rapid development, particularly in the last few years, 
of the drainage of wet farm lands and the increasingly large investments 
in drainage that are being made by the farmers of this country are mak¬ 
ing necessary an intensive study of both materials and methods. Burned 
clay was the first material to be used extensively in this work, and by 
its use the early science of land drainage was developed. 
The adaptability of concrete for making drain tile soon became ob¬ 
vious and the manufacture of concrete drain tile is now one of our well 
established industries. A very large proportion of the lands which may 
be profitably drained are either in large alluvial deposits or in immense 
plains left by glacial action. Under each of these conditions the forma¬ 
tions which would carry good industrial clays are in many instances 
deeply buried and the farmer may have to go a considerable distance for 
his supplies, and pay heavy freight charges on them. 
Another factor of very considerable importance is that the efficient 
handling of clay products requires a very considerable outlay for plant, 
necessitating, in its turn, a market, developed before the establishment 
of the plant and of sufficient size to keep the plant busy. This is impos¬ 
sible in the newer districts. 
^ Accepted for publication Aug. 15, 1922. 
Journal of Agricultural Research, 
Washington, I). C. 
ady 
39363—23 - 3 
(471) 
Vol. XXIV, No. 6 
May 12, 1923 
Key No. Minn, -46 
