592 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COT  TACK  GARDENER. 
December  25,  1902. 
Land  Drainage. 
As  this  topic  is  one  which  annually  crops  up  during  the 
winter  season,  a  few  special  words  in  connection  with  it 
may  not  be  out  of  place.  England  is,-  in  itself,  rather  a 
flat  country,  and  although  we  see  on  the  map  ranges  of  hills, 
they  are,  as  a  rule,  of  slight  elevation,  and  the  lower  reaches 
of  the  rivers  are  almost  at  a  dead  level.  Very  little  of  this 
low  lying  land  is  now  out  of  cultivation,  for  enterprise  in 
drainage  works  has  converted  much  of  it  into  fertile,  and 
therefore  valuable  fields ;  buf  although  much  has  been  done 
by  landlords  and  drainage  commissioners  in  cutting  main 
drains  and  keeping  open  the  natural  fall  of  watercourses  and 
l’ivers,  yet  much  depends  upon  the  advantage  which  a 
tenant  may  take  of  the  draining  opportunities  which  lie  at 
his  elbow.  There  are  many1  ways  of  laying  drains,  and  it  is 
easy  to  find  any  but  the  best,  and  it  is  to  suggest  the  latter 
that  we  are  now  writing. 
Experts  on  drainage  matters  vary  as  to  the  depth  at 
which  drains  should  be  laid,  but  there  should  be  no  hard 
and  fast  rule.  We  will  lay  down  as  the  first  axiom:  Teat 
no  under  draining  should  commence  more  than  fifteen 
chains  from  the  outfall,  i.e.,  from  the  open  drain  into  which 
the  under  drain  falls.  Fifteen  chains  is  really  a  very  long 
length,  and  ten  chains  should  be  the  limit.  Water  will  not 
flow  readily  without  sufficient  vent,  and  the  longer  the 
length  the  greater  is  the  difficulty  in  this  respect.  Every 
field  should  be  drained  by  itself,  i.e.,  have  its  own  drainage 
system  independently  of  the  next. 
The  drainage  of  each  field  should  be  somewhat  of  the 
nature  of  the  branches  of  a  tree,  or  of  two  or  three  trees, 
the  branches  carrying  the  water  to  the  main  stem,  or  stems, 
and  through  them  to  the  open  drains  or  outfalls.  For 
drains  to  fully  carry  out  their  proper  functions,  however, 
they  must  have  an  air  supply  at  the  upper  end,  and  we 
apprehend  that  it  is  the  want  of  this  which  makes  so  many 
drains  work  so  badly.  The  more  sodden  the  land,  and  the 
more  necessary  the  drainage,  the  greater  the  vacuum 
caused  by  the  absence  of  vent  at  the  upper  end  ;  therefore 
we  would  urge  all  persons  who  have  drainage  of  the  land 
to  contend  with — and  when  we  use  the  word  contend  we 
mean  that  no  one  would  willingly  undertake  for  amuse¬ 
ment — to  make  the  best  use  of  their  outfall,  and  by  so  doing 
to  bring  the  upper  portions  of  the  drains  in  each  field  as 
near  the  surface  as  is  compatible  with  good  and  sufficient 
cultivation. 
If  the  land  be  fairly  well  drained  to  a  depth  of  20in,  few 
useful  plants  will  refuse  to  grow  in  it,  and  even  in  very 
stiff  soil  water  will  find  its  way  to  a  shallow  drain  which  has 
an  upper  vent,  and  we  are  therefore  strongly  in  favour  of 
carrying  the  upper  end  of  land  drains  right  up  to  the 
boundary  of  the  field,  and  to  an  open  ditch,  if  there  is  one. 
A  syphon  is  excellent  when  it  is  started,  but  what  of  it  when 
the  suction  is  the  wrong  way?  As  we  have  already  stated, 
all  drains  should  be  as  short  as  conveniently  may  be,  and 
the  system  of  drainage  of  each  field  arranged  in  the  simplest 
manner.  In  the  case  of  a  long,  narrow  field,  with  a  main 
open  drain  at  its  lower  end  and  a  subsidiary  drain  running 
down  one  side  of  it,  the  drainage  should  consist  of  a  number 
of  small  drains  running  across  the  field  in  a  slanting  direc¬ 
tion  to  the  side  drain.  The  water  is  much  more 
quickly  brought  into  the  open,  and  the  drains,  being  short, 
run  much  more  freely  than  they  would  if  they  were  under 
ground  the  whole  length  of  the  field. 
In  laying  field  drains  it  is  most  necessary  to  keep  the  fall 
even  and  regular,  and  as  there  is  much  less  difficulty  in 
doing  this  in  the  case  of  short  lengths,  this  is  an  additional 
argument  in  favour  of  independent  cross  drainage.  But  be 
the  drains  long  or  short,  the  ground  should  first  be 
thoroughly  surveyed,  and  levels  taken,  so  that  the  exact 
amount  of  fall  may  be  known.  If  stakes  are  driven  into 
the  ground  at  about  two-chain  intervals,  so  that  the  tops 
of  all  the  stakes  are  at  one  uniform  height  above  the  pro¬ 
posed  drain,  the  workmen  can  hardly  get  far  wrong.  To 
get  the  pipes  laid  quite  evenly  a  long  and  stiff  lath  may  be 
used. 
There  is  no  need  to  dig  much  wider  than  the  width  of 
the  -pipes  to  be  buried,  in  the  case  of  shallow  drains  ;  but 
deep  ones  entail  the  removal  of  a  quantity  of  soil  at  great 
expense,  and  it  is  often  quite  unnecessary.  It  is  not  a  good 
plan  to  take  advice  from  men  who  are  likely  to  have  the 
work  to  do,  for  if  work  be  slack  at  the  time  they  may  urge 
an  unnecessarily  expensive  scheme  in  their  own  interest. 
When  filling  in  after  the  pipes  are  laid,  fine  soil  should 
never  be  put  in  first.  In  the  case  of  grass  land  the  top  sod 
may  be  put  in  grass  downwards,  but  thorns  or  hedge  brush- 
ings  are  still  better,  as  they  act  as  conductors  of  the  water 
to  the  crevices  between  the  pipes,  and  prevent  these  joints 
from  becoming  closed  up.  In  the  case  of  arable,  and 
especially  strong  land,  something  of  this  kind  to  lie  above 
the  pipes  is  almost  a  necessity  if  the  greatest  benefit  is  to 
be  obtained,  or,  in  some  cases,  any  benefit  at  all. 
As  regards  the  pipes  or  tiles  to  use,  there  is  much 
difference  of  opinion.  Although  the  4in  pipe,  with  its  flat 
bottom  and  round  arch — but,  of  course,  entirely  round 
inside — is  now  almost  universally  used,  we  still  have  a  liking 
for  the  old-fashioned  tile,  like  an  inverted  U,  which  stood 
upon  a  separate  flat  tile,  forming  the  bottom.  These  were 
not  readily  laid,  but  they  had  to  be  laid  carefully,  and 
that  often  prevented  scamped  work.  The  flat  bottom  ren¬ 
dered  them  rather  more  liable  to  silt  up,  but  they  had  an 
attraction  for  water  and  made  a  most  effective  drain.  In 
the  words  of  an  old  drainer,  “  They  could  utter  a  lot  o’ 
watter.’ifvi 
Work  on  the  Home  Farm. 
We  have  had  a  mild  week  and  much  drier  weather,  and  at  last 
have  the  gratification  of  seeing  a  goodly  acreage  of  Swedes  in 
heaps  and  covered  with  soil.  The  crop  is  most  satisfactory, 
and  the  men  are  inclined  to  grumble  at  the  price  (9s.  per  acre). 
Perhaps  they  have  a  right  to  a  growl  sometimes.  Of  course, 
they  do  not  take  the  infection  from  their  employers! ! ! 
We  have  got  the  steam  cultivators  at  work  at  last,  and  aa 
the  owner  is  full  of  orders  and  most  anxious  to1  press  on  with 
his  work,  we  hope  the  work  will  soon  be  done.  The  work — - 
ploughing  seeds  for  Potatoes’ — must  be  properly  done,  and  the 
depth  of  lOin  maintained  throughout,  so  we  have  to  keep  a  strict 
look-out,  for  it  is  surprising  what  a  difference  is  made  to  the 
pace  of  the  plough  by  2in  of  depth.  If  the  man  on  the  plough  has 
a  monetary  interest  in  getting  the  work  done  quickly,  a  man 
will  be  needed  to  watch  how  the  work  is  done  and  report  failures. 
The  horses  are  occupied  in  ploughing  Turnip  land,  which  has 
dried  nicely  this  week,  and  turns  over  satisfactorily.  There  are 
also  a  good  many  Turnips  to  cart  for  the  cattle  in  the  yards. 
The  roots  are  rather  a  long  way  off  to  lead  home,  but  we  have 
plenty  of  them  and  they  are  very  good  meat,  ripe  and  sound. 
So  we  shall  use  them  freely,  and  save  straw  and  hay  as  much  as 
possible. 
With  plenty  of  roots  to  pulp,  dried  grains  are  a  most  useful 
form  of  purchased  food,  especially  for  growing  stock.  They 
provide  the  proportion  of  albuminoids  which  root  crops  lack,  and 
the  addition  of  a  small  quantity  of  sharps  or  barleymeal would  com¬ 
plete  an  excellent  ration.  Straw  is  fairly  plentiful  this  year,  but 
much  of  it  is  weathered,  and  with  plenty  of  Turnips  we  should 
reduce  the  use  of  cut  straw  where  possible.  Treacle  in  moderate 
quantity  is  an  excellent  addition  to  a  feeding  ration,  but  its 
extended  use  largely  depends  on  the  chaff  or  cut  straw  supply, 
for  it  must  be  well  diluted  with  water,  and  then  requires  a 
large  bulk  of  chaff  as  a  medium  to  be  consumed  with. 
We  have  had  a  sale  of  Turnips  in  the  parish,  and  there  were 
no  bids.  No  further  comment  is  needed  as  regards  the  Turnip 
crop.  As  a  consequence,  all  cattle  and  sheep  are  dear.  Although 
meat  is  scarce  and  commands  a  good  price,  store  cattle  ancl 
sheep  cannot  be  bought  to  pay.  Newspaper  quotations  of  the 
pig  markets  vary  very  widely.  Pork  is  dear  enough  here.  We 
know  that  8s.  per  141b  has  been  given  by  weight.  Young  heifers 
should  be  put  to  the  bull  now  and  they  will  calve  down  when 
they  are  most  wanted.  If  you  start  them  breeding  in  autumn 
it  is  not.  difficult  to  keep  them  to  it. 
Gardeners’  Provident  and  Charitab  e  Institutions. 
The  Gardeners’  Royal  Benevolent  Institution. — Secietirv, 
Mr.  G.  J.  Ingram,  175,  Victoria  Street,  S.W. 
!  nited  Horticultural  Benefit  and  Provident  Society. — 
Secretary ,  Mr.  W.  Collins,  9,  Martindale  Road,  Balham,  London,  S.W. 
Royal  Gardeners’  Orphan  Fund—  Secretary,  Mr. Brian  Wynre, 
c,  Danes  Inn  Strand,  London,  W.C. 
