a 
1 May, 1902.] QUEENSLAND ‘AGRICULTURAL JOURNAL. 313 
The latest experience as to distance apart of 4-feet deep drains is this :— 
1. Heavy clay soil ts 20 to 24 feet apart 
2. Clay soil rst Sex 24 to 30 ,, a 
3. Loamy soil. ... i. 30 to 36 ,, ) 
4. Light loamy soil es Heb 48 ,, “3 
5. Sand loamy soil As, oat GORE. 3 
6. Very light soil noe 80 to 120 ,, rf 
The length of drains is another important matter, and numbers of experi- 
ments have been made to ascertain the greatest length permissible with the 
diameter of drainpipe used. The fall enters into the question. With a fall of 
8 inches per rod (53 yards) and a 1-inch pipe, the length of drain should not 
exceed 50 rods, supposing the drains to be 16 feet apart. With a fall of only 
l-inch per rod and a 1-inch tile, the length may not exceed 28 rods, but with a 
1}-inch pipe and a fall of 1 inch, the drain may be 79 rods (4843 yards) long, 
so that a 14-inch pipe will suffice for all small drains. 
As to the cost of draining, you must take three things into consideration— 
digging the drains, the price of tiles, and the cost of hauling them from the 
kiln to the land. These items will vary in different parts of the State. In the 
North, labour—unless kanaka—will be costlier than in the South; so also will 
be the price of tiles. What do tiles cost? Whilst a 4-inch tile costs double 
the price of a 2-inch, a 6-inch is double the cost of a 4-inch, and 1,000 tiles 
will lay 330 yards. 
At 33 feet apart there will be 440 yards per acre of drains. Then the 
main drains have to be considered, and authorities on the subject add 10 per 
cent. for these, for, as a general rule, one-tenth of all the drains in a field are 
main drains, and they cost about double of the minor drains. 
You may wonder how the water gets into the pipes, because well-burnt 
drain pipes only allow water to filter through them very slowly, far too slowly 
for drainage purposes. The water, however, goes in through the joints, which 
cannot be made so tight as to prevent the water from streaming through them 
In the next lesson you will learn how to lay out drains. 
Remember that I am only giving you these lessons on draining because 
they may possibly some day be of use to you. Asa matter of fact, not one 
farmer in a thousand in Queensland has occasion to drain, but that is no reason 
why a farmer should not know how to do it if the occasion should arise, and 
therefore the subject fitly enters into this little book. 
Questions on Lesson 5. 
1. What is the first thing to be considered when you propose to drain your 
land? 
2. On what does the proper depth to which underground drains should be 
dug depend ? 
3. Why is a 3-feet drain to be preferred to one 4 feet deep? ~ 
4, How far should drains be apart ? 
5. What is the effect of placing drains too far apart—too close together ? 
6. How far apart, generally speaking, should drains be placed—(a) in clay 
soil; (2) in loamy soil; (¢) in loamy sand; (d) in sand P 
7. How would you determine the length of drain permissible when using a 
l-inch pipe with a 38-inch fall per rod---with a 1-inch fall—with a 1-inch fall 
and a 14-inch pipe ? 
8. In reckoning the cost of drainage, what three things must be taken into 
consideration ? 
9. How much must be reckoned for the additional cost of main drains ? 
10. How does the water find its way into the drain pipe? 
