PRACTICAL PAPERS—UNDERDRAINS. 
283 
plant food, and absorb and retain moisture from the air which 
circulates through the finely pulverized soil. 
Having made four miles of such drains on my farm, the 
experience that I have had coincides with the best authori¬ 
ties on draining, somewhat varied by surrounding circumstances, 
and may be of some use to those who have draining to do. 
LOCATION OF THE DRAINS. 
. : t 4 
The price of farming lands in Wisconsin will not warrant 
the expense of what is termed thorough drainage, by making 
drains every 30 feet, or even every 60 feet. But on most 
farms with a tight or clay subsoil, there are lands which are 
too wet for profitable cultivation—a nuisance to the plow, 
seeder and reaper—causing much loss of labor and marring the 
beauty of the farm. Also in many fields, where the subsoil is 
generally composed of sand and gravel, there are pockets, or 
continued depressions between knolls, where the subsoil is stiff 
clay, and m some seasons worse than useless for cultivation. 
In these cases the proper position and course of the drains can 
be easily determined; in others the best location will be plainly 
suggested, if the farmer makes his observations in wet weather. 
It is often necessary to make a short open drain for the outlet. 
In this case two feet in depth will do for the under drain 
where it first enters the field, if no more can be obtained; but 
it is advisable to place it two and a half feet deep just as soon 
as the outlet and the fall in the field will admit. If the wet 
ground is narrow a single drain may suffice, but if wide and 
several drains are required, by making a branch or branches 
they may still have the same outlet. Where more than one 
drain is required for the wet belt of land it may sometimes be 
best to throw out short lateral drains, at an angle of from 50 
to 70 degrees from the main drain, using only one main drain. 
Where there are wet. pockets or detached wet places, throw 
laterals into them also. Care should be had that there is some 
fall throughout the entire drains. To secure this, it will often 
be necessary to dig more than two and a half feet at certain 
