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The cellar was first used only for manure, and for keeping swine. It was quite wet, and grew more and more so every year, as the water found passages into it, till it was found that its use must be abandoned, or an amphibious race of pigs procured. It was known, that the most of the water entered at the north corner of the building, borne up by the clay which comes to within three feet of the natural surface; and, as it would be ruinous to the manure to leach it, by drawing a large quantity of water through it into drains, in the usual mode of draining, it was concluded to cut off the water on the outside of the building, and before it reached the cellar. Accordingly, a drain was started at the river, some twenty rods below, and carried up to the barn, and then eight feet deep around two sides of it, by the north corner, where most water came in.
We cut through the sand, and four or five feet into the clay, and laid one course only of two-inch pipe-tiles at the bottom. As this was designed for a catch-water, and not merely to take in water at the bottom, in the usual way, we filled the trench, after covering the tiles with tan, with coarse sand above the level of the clay, and put clay upon the top. We believe no water has ever crossed this drain, which operates as perfectly as an open ditch, to catch all that flows upon it. The manure cellar was then dry enough, but the other cellar was wanted for roots and implements, and the water was constantly working up through the soft clay bottom, keeping it of the consistency of mortar, and making it difficult to haul out the manure, and everyway disagreeable.
One more effort was made to dry this part. A drain was opened from the highway, which passes the barn, to the south corner; and about two and a half feet below the bottom of the cellar, along inside the wall, at about three feet distance from it, on two of the sides; and another in the same way, across the middle of the cellar. These, laid with two-inch tiles, and filled with gravel, were connected together, and led off to the wayside. The waste water of two watering places, one in the cellar, and another outside, supplied by an aqueduct, was conducted into the tiles, and thus quietly disposed of. The reason why the drains are filled with gravel is, that as the soft clay, in which the tiles were laid, could never have the heat of the direct rays of the sun on its surface, there might be no cracking of it, sufficient to afford passage for the water, and so this was made a catch-water to stop any water that might attempt to cross it.
The work was finished last Autumn, and we have had but the experience of a single season with it; but we are satisfied that the object is attained. The surface of the implement cellar, which before, had been always soft and muddy, has ever since been as dry and solid as a highway in Summer; and the root cellar, which has a cemented bottom, is as dry as the barn floor. The manure can now be teamed out, without leaving a rut, and we are free to confess, that the effect is greater than we had deemed possible.
The following cut will show at a glance, how all the drains are laid, the dotted lines representing the tile drains:
The drain outside the barn, on the right, leads from a spring, some two hundred feet off, into the cellar and into the yard, and supplies water to the cattle, at the points indicated. The waste water is then conducted into the drains, and passes off.
CHAPTER XXIII.
DRAINAGE OF SWAMPS.
Vast Extent of Swamp Lands in the United States.—Their Soil.—Sources of their Moisture.—How to Drain them.—The Soil Subsides by Draining.—Catch-water Drains.—Springs.—Mr. Ruffin's Drainage in Virginia.—Is there Danger of Over-draining?
In almost, if not quite every State, extensive tracts of swamp lands are found, not only unfit, in their natural condition, for cultivation, but, in many instances, by reason of obnoxious effluvia, arising from stagnant water, dangerous to health.
Of the vast extent of such lands, some idea may be formed, by adverting to the fact, that under the grants by Congress, of the public lands given away to the States in which they lie, as of no value to the Government and as nuisances to their neighborhood, in their natural condition; sixty millions of acres, it is estimated, will be included.
These are only the public lands, and in the new States. In every township in New England, there are hundreds of acres of swamp land, just beginning to be brought to the notice of their owners, as of sufficient value to authorize the expense of drainage.
To say that these swamps are the most fertile and the most valuable lands in New England, is but to repeat the assertion of all who have successfully tried the experiment of reclaiming them.
In their natural state, these swamps are usually covered with a heavy growth of timber; but the greater portion of them have been partially cleared, and many of them are mowed, producing a coarse, wild, and nearly worthless grass.
The soil of these tracts is usually a black mud or peat, partly the product of vegetable growth and decay on the spot, and partly the deposit of the lighter portion of the upland soil, brought down by the washing of showers, and by spring freshets. The leaves of the surrounding forest, too, are naturally dropped by the Autumn winds into the lowest places, and these swamps have received them, for ages. Usually, these lands lie in basins among the hills, sometimes along the banks of streams and rivers, always at the lowest level of the country, and not, like Irish bogs, upon hill-tops, as well as elsewhere. Their surface is, usually, level and even, as compared with other lands in the old States. Their soil, or deposit, is of various depth, from one foot to twenty, and is often almost afloat with water, so as to shake under the feet, in walking over it.
The subsoil corresponds, in general, with that of the surrounding country, but is oftener of sand than clay, and not unfrequently, is of various thin strata, indicating an alluvial formation. Frogs and snakes find in these swamps an agreeable residence, and wild beasts a safe retreat from their common foe. Notoriously, such lands are unhealthful, producing fevers and agues in their neighborhood, often traceable to tracts no larger than a very few acres.
In considering how to drain such tracts, the first inquiry is as to the source of the water. What makes the land too wet? Is it the direct fall of rain upon it; the influx of water by visible streams, which have no sufficient outlet; the downflow of rain and snow water from the neighboring hills; or the bursting up of springs from below?
Examine and decide, which and how many, of these four sources of moisture, contribute to flood the tract in question. We assume, that the swamp is in a basin, or, at least, is the lowest land of the neighborhood. The three or four feet of rain water annually falling upon it, unless it have an outlet, must make it a swamp, for there can usually be no natural drainage downward, because the swamp itself is the lowest spot, and no adjacent land can draw off water from its bottom. Of course, there is lower land towards the natural outlet, but usually this is narrow, and quite insufficient to allow of drainage by lateral percolation. Then, always, more or less water must run upon the surface, or just below it, from the hills, and usually, a stream is found in the swamp, if none pours into it from above.
The first step is a survey, to ascertain the fall over the whole, and the next, to provide a deep and sufficient outlet. Here, we must bear in mind a peculiarity of such lands. All land subsides, more or less, by drainage, but the soils of which we are speaking, far more than any other. Marsh and swamp lands often subside, or settle, one or two feet, or even more. Their soil, of fibrous roots, decayed leaves, and the like, almost floats; or, at least, expands like a sponge; and when it is compacted, by removing the water, it occupies far less space than before. This fact must be kept in mind in all the process. The outlet must be made low enough, and the drains must be made deep enough, to draw the water, after the subsidence of the soil to its lowest point.
If a natural stream flow through, or from, the tract, it will usually indicate the lowest level; and the straightening and clearing out of this natural drain, may usually be the first operation, after opening a proper outlet. Then a catch-water open drain, just at the junction of the high and low land, entirely round the swamp, will be necessary to intercept the water flowing into the swamp. This water will usually be found to flow in, both on the surface, and beneath it, and in greater or less quantities, according to the formation of the adjacent land. This catch-water is essential to success. The wettest spot in a swamp is frequently, just at its edge, because there the surface-water is received, and because there too, the water that has come down on an impervious subsoil stratum, finds vent. It is in vain to attempt to lay dry a swamp, by drains, however deep, through its centre. The water has done its mischief, before it reaches the centre. It should be intercepted, before it has entered the tract, to be reclaimed.
This drain must be deep, and therefore, must be wide and sloping, so that it may be kept open; and it should be curved round, following the line of the upland to the outlet. Often it has been found, in England, that a single drain, six or eight feet deep, has completely drained a tract of twenty or thirty acres, by cutting off all the sources of the supply of water, except that from the clouds. This kind of land is very porous and permeable, and readily parts with its water, and is easily drained; so that the frequent drains necessary on uplands, are often quite unnecessary. Many instances are given, of the effect of single deep drains through such tracts, in lowering the water in wells, or entirely drying them, at considerable distances from the field of operation.
When the surface-water and shallow springs have thus been cut off, the drainer will soon be able to determine, whether he has effected a cure of his dropsical patient. Often it will be found, that deep seated springs burst up in the middle of these low tracts, furnishing good and pure water for use. These, being supplied by high and distant fountains, run under our deepest drains, and find vent through some fracture of the subsoil. They diffuse their ice-cold water through the soil, and prevent the growth of all valuable vegetation. To these, we must apply Elkington's system, and hit them right in the eye! by running a deep drain from some side or central drain, straight to them, and drawing off the water low enough beneath the surface to prevent injury. A small covered drain with two-inch pipes, will usually be sufficient to afford an outlet to any such spring.
When we have thus disposed of the water from the surface-flow, the shallow springs and the deep springs, and given vent to the water accumulated and ponded in the low places, we have then accomplished all that is peculiar to this kind of drainage. We have still the water from the clouds, which is twice as much as will evaporate from a land-surface, to provide for. We assume that this cannot pass directly down by percolation, because the subsoil is already saturated; and therefore, even if all the other sources of wetness are cut off, we shall still have a tract of land too wet for wheat and corn. If the swamp be very small, these main ditches may sufficiently drain it; but if it be extensive, they probably will not. We have seen that we have some eighteen or twenty inches of water to be disposed of by drainage; so much that evaporation cannot remove consistently with good cultivation; and, although this amount might, in a very deep peaty soil, percolate to a great distance laterally, to find a drain, yet in shallow soil resting on a retentive subsoil, drains might be necessary at distances similar to those adopted on wet upland fields. To this part of the operation, we should, therefore, apply the ordinary principles of drainage, putting in covered drains with tiles, if possible, at four feet depth or more, ordinarily, and at distances of from forty to sixty feet, although four-foot drains at even one hundred feet distance, in peat and black mud, might often be found sufficient.
Through the kindness of Edmund Ruffin, Esq., of Virginia, we have been furnished with three elaborate and valuable essays, on the drainage and treatment of flat and wet lands in lower Virginia and North Carolina, published in the Transactions of the Virginia State Agricultural Society, for 1857. The principal feature of his system is based upon his correct knowledge of the geological formation of that district; of the fact in particular, that, underlying the whole of that low country, there is a bed of pure sand lying nearly level, and filled with water, which may be drawn down by a few large deep drains, thus relieving the surface-soil of surplus water, by comprehensive but simple means.
We have before referred to Mr. Ruffin as the publisher, more than twenty years ago, of "Elkington's Theory and Practice of Draining, &c., by Johnstone;" and we find in his recent essays, evidence of how thoroughly practical he has made the system of Elkington in his own State. Indeed, we know of no other American writer who records any instance of marked success in the use of Elkington's peculiar idea of releasing pent up waters by boring. Mr. Ruffin, however, has applied, with great success, this principle of operation, to the saturated sand-beds which underlie the tracts of low land in his district of country. These water-beds in the sand lie at depths varying usually from four to eight feet below the surface. This surface stratum is comparatively compact, and very slowly pervious to water before it is drained. The water from below, is constantly pressing slowly up through it, of course preventing any downward percolation of the rain-water. By running deep drains at wide intervals, and boring down through this surface stratum with an auger, the pent up water below finds vent and gushes up in copious springs through the holes, and flows off without coming nearer to the surface than the bottom of the drains; thus relieving the pressure upward, and lowering the water-line in proportion to the depth of the drains.
Mr. Ruffin gives an instance of the drying up of a well half a mile distant, by cutting a deep drain into this sand-bed, and thus lowering its water-line.
No doubt in many localities in our country, a competent geological knowledge may detect formations where this principle of drainage may be applied with perfect success, and with great economy.
Is there danger of over-draining swamp lands? In speaking of the injury by drainage, we have treated of this question.
Our conclusions may be briefly stated here. There is an impression among English writers, that light peaty soils may be too much drained; but many distinguished drainers doubt the proposition. No doubt there are soils too porous and light to be productive, when first drained. They may require a season or two to become compact, and may require sand, or clay, or gravel, to give them the requisite density; but these soils would, we believe, be usually unproductive if shallow drained.
In short, our idea is, that, in general, a soil so constituted as to be productive under any circumstances, will retain, by attraction, moisture enough for the crops, though intersected by four-foot drains at usual distances; and that cold water pumped up to the roots from a stagnant pool at the bottom, is not, either in nature or art, a successful method of irrigation.
Still we believe that peaty soils may be usually drained at greater distances, or by shallower drains, than most uplands, because of their more porous nature; and we should advise inexperienced persons not to proceed with a lavish expenditure of labor to put in parallel drains at short distances, till they have watched, for a season, the operation of a cheaper system. They may thus attain the desired object, with the smallest expense. If the first drains are judiciously placed, and are found insufficient, others may be laid between the first, until the drainage is complete.
CHAPTER XXIV.
AMERICAN EXPERIMENTS IN DRAINAGE—DRAINAGE IN IRELAND.
Statement of B. F. Nourse, of Maine.—Statement of Shedd and Edson, of Mass.—Statement of H. F. French, of New Hampshire.—Letter of Wm. Boyle, Albert Model Farm, Glasnevin, Ireland.
It was part of the original plan of this work, to give a large number of statements from American farmers of their success in drainage; but, although the instances are abundant, want of space limits us to a few. These are given with such diagrams as will not only make them intelligible, but, it is hoped, will also furnish good examples of the arrangement and modes of executing drains, and of laying them down upon plans for future reference. The mode adopted by Shedd and Edson, of indicating the size of the pipes used, by the number of dots in the lines of drains, is original and convenient. It will be seen by close attention, that a two-inch pipe is denoted by dots in pairs, a three-inch pipe by dots in threes, and so on.
It is believed that Mr. Nourse's experiment is one of the most thorough and successful works of drainage yet executed in America. His plan is upon page 195.
STATEMENT OF B. F. NOURSE, ESQ.
GOODALES CORNER, ORRINGTON, ME., Sept. 1st, 1858.
MY DEAR SIR:—So much depends upon the preliminary surveys and "levels" for conducting works of thorough-draining and irrigation cheaply, yet to obtain the most beneficial results, that a competent person, such as an engineer or practiced land-drainer, should be employed to make them, if one can be obtained. Unfortunately for me, when I began this operation, some years ago, there were no such skilled persons in the country, or I could learn of none professionally such, and was forced to do my own engineering. Having thus practically acquired some knowledge of it, I use and enjoy a Summer vacation from other pursuits, in the prosecution of this; and this employment, for the last few weeks, has delayed my answer to your inquiries. Nor could I sooner arrive at the figures of cost, extent, &c., of this season's work.
This is expected to be completed in ten days, and then I shall have laid, of
Stone drains, including mains 702 rods Tile drains (two inches, or larger) 1043 " —— In all 1745 "
or, about five and one-half miles, laying dry, satisfactorily, about thirty-five acres. The character and extent of the work will better appear by reference to the plan of the farm which I send with this for your inspection.
The earlier portion was fairly described by the Committee of the Bangor Hort. Soc.—(See Report, for 1856, of the Maine Board of Agriculture.) It was far too costly, as usual in works of a novel character conducted without practical knowledge. No part of my draining, even that of this season, has been done so cheaply as it ought to be done in Maine, and will be done when tiles can be bought at fair prices near at hand. I call your attention particularly to this, because the magnitude of the cost, as I represent it, ought not to be taken as a necessary average, or standard outlay per acre, by any one contemplating similar improvement, when almost any farmer can accomplish it equally well at far less cost. My unnecessary expenditures will not have been in vain, if they serve as a finger-post to point others in a profitable way.
My land had upon its surface, and mingled in its super soil, a large quantity of stones, various in size, from the huge boulders, requiring several blasts of powder to reduce them to movable size, to the rubble stones which were shoveled from the cart into the drains. To make clean fields all these had to be removed, besides the many "heaps" which had been accumulated by the industry of my predecessors. A tile-drain needs no addition of stone above the pipe; indeed, the stone may be a positive injury, as harboring field vermin, or, if allowed to come within two feet of the surface, as obstructing deep tillage, and favoring the access of particles of soil upon or into the tile with the rapid access of water which they promote. Carefully placed to the depth of six or eight inches in a four-foot drain, quite small stones are, perhaps, useful, and they certainly facilitate the drawing of water from the surface. Such was, and still is, with many, the prescribed method of best drainage in Scotland, and some parts of England. The increased cost of adding the stone above the tile is obvious; and when the width of that drain is enlarged to receive them, the cost is materially enhanced. Yet such has been my practice, at first, under the impression of its necessity, and all the time from a desire to put to use, and out of sight, the small stones with which I was favored in such abundance. The entire cost of moving, and bringing more than 2,500 heavy loads of stone, is included in the cost of drains, as set down for the 1,745 rods.
Including this part of expense, which is never necessary with tile, and cannot be incurred in plain clay soils, or clay loams free of stones, the last 700 rods cost an average of 97 cents per rod completed. This includes the largest mains; of which, one of 73 rods was opened four feet wide at bottom of the trench, of which the channel capacity is 18 x 18 = 324 square inches, and others 110 rods of three and one-half and three feet width at bottom, all these mains being laid entirely with stone. The remainder of the 700 rods was laid with two-inch tile, which cost at the farm eighteen dollars per 1,000. These last were opened four rods apart, and lay dry about seventeen acres, at a cost, including the mains, of $678, or $40 per acre. In this is included every day's labor of man and beast, and all the incidental expenses, nothing being contributed by the farm, which is under lease.
I infer that an intelligent farmer, beginning aright, and availing himself of the use of team and farm labor, when they can best be spared from other work—as in the dry season, after haying—or paying fair prices for digging his ditches only, and doing the rest of the work from the farm, can drain thoroughly at a cost of $20 per acre, drains four rods apart, and four feet deep; or at $25 per acre, forty feet apart, and three feet nine inches deep.
My subsoil is very hard, requiring constant use of the pick, and sharpening of the picks every day, so that the labor of loosening the earth was one-third or one-half more than the throwing out with a shovel. The price paid per rod, for opening only, to the depth of three and a half feet (or, perhaps, three and three-quarters average,) of a width for laying tile, was 25 cents per rod. At this price, the industrious men, skillful with tools, earned $1.12 to $1.25 per day, besides board; and they threw out one-third more earth than was really necessary, for "room to work" as they said. But they labored hard, 14 hours per day. The same men, working in a soil free from stones, and an easier subsoil, would, in the same time, open from 50 to 100 per cent. more length of ditch.
The greater part of these drains were laid four rods apart. When first trying this distance upon a field, of which the soil was called "springy and cold," and was always too wet in the Spring and early Summer for plowing, a partial, rather than "thorough" drainage was attempted, with the design, at some future day, to lay intermediate drains. The execution of that design may yet appear expedient, although the condition of soil already obtained, is satisfactory beyond expectation.
Owing to the excess of water that saturated the soil in Spring and Fall, the former proprietors of the farm had not attempted the cultivation of the field alluded to, for many years. Originally producing heavy crops of hay, it had been mowed for thirty years or more, and was a good specimen of "exhausted land," yielding one-half or three-fourths of a ton of hay per acre. This field is designated in the plan, as the "barley field, 1858," lies south-west of the dwelling-house, and contains nearly six acres. Its northerly half, being the lower end of the field, was drained in 1855, having been Summer-plowed, and sowed with buckwheat, which was turned under, when in flower, as a fallow crop. The other half was drained in 1856; plowed and subsoiled the same Fall. In 1857, nearly the whole field was planted with roots—potatoes, rutabagas, mangolds, carrots, English turnips, &c.—and one acre in corn. For these crops, fair dressings of manure were applied—say ten or twelve cartloads of barn-manure plowed in, and one hundred pounds of either guano or bone-dust harrowed in, or strewed in the drill, for each acre; about fifteen loads per acre of seasoned muck or peat were also plowed in. There was a good yield of all the roots; for the corn, the season was unfavorable. Last Spring, a light dressing of manure, but all that we could afford, was applied, the whole well ploughed, harrowed, seeded to grass with barley, harrowed, and rolled. The barley was taken off last week; and, from the five and three-quarter acres, seventeen heavy loads were hauled into the barn, each estimated to exceed a ton in weight. The grain from a measured acre was put apart to be separately threshed, and I will advise of its yield when ascertained.[A] This was said, by the many farmers who saw it, including some from the Western States, to be the "handsomest field of grain" they had ever seen. The young grass looks well; and I hope, next Summer, to report a good cut of "hay from drained land."
[Footnote A: This was threshed about the middle of November, and yielded "51 bushels, round measure." The entire field averaged 45 bushels per acre.]
Last Winter, there were no snows to cover the ground for sleighing until March; and, lying uncovered, our fields were all frozen to an unusual depth. But, our drains did not cease to run through the Winter. And Mr. O. W. Straw, who works the farm, and was requested to note the facts accurately, wrote to me this Spring, "the frost came out of the drained land about one week first" (that is, earlier than from the undrained land adjacent); and, "in regard to working condition, the drained land was in advance of the undrained, ten days, at least." The absence of snow permitting this unusual depth of frost, had caused a rare equality of condition the last Spring, because, until the frost was out, the drains would not draw surface-water. Usually, when early snows have fallen to protect the ground, and it remains covered through the Winter, the frost goes off with the snow, or earlier, and, within a few days, the land becomes in good condition for plowing—quite two weeks earlier than the driest of my undrained fields, or any others in the vicinity.
These remarks apply to land in which the drains are four rods apart. The farm lies with an inclination northerly and easterly, the fall varying from 1 in 33 to 1 in 8; that in most of the drains laid four rods apart, being about 1 in 25. The drains in the "barley field" fall 1 in 27, average, all affording a rapid run of water, which, from the mode of construction, and subsequent subsoiling, finds ready access to the drain-channels. Hence, we never observe running water upon the surface of any of our drained lands, either during the heaviest rains, or when snows are melting, and the wasteful "washing" from the surface that formerly injured our plowed grounds, has ceased.
It is fair to suppose that it is the considerable descent which renders the drains so effectual at four rods apart; and that where there is but slight fall, other circumstances being the same, it would be necessary to lay drains much nearer, for equal service.
The results of one man's experiments, or practice, whether of success or failure, should not be conclusive to another, unless all the circumstances are identical. These are ever varying from one farm to another; and only a right understanding of the natural laws or principles brought into use, can determine what is best in each case. Therefore, a description of the methods I have used, or any detailed suggestions I may give, as the result of experience, would not be worth much, unless tested by the well-ascertained rules applicable to them, which men of science and skill have adopted and proved, by the immensely extended draining operations in Great Britain, and those begun in this country. These are now given in elaborate treatises, and quoted in agricultural journals. But they should be made familiar to every farmer, in all their practical details, and with methods suited to our country, where labor is dear and land cheap, as contrasted with the reversed conditions in England, where the practice of "thorough-draining" has so generally obtained, and has so largely improved the conditions of both landlord and tenant. Your book will do this, and thus do a great good; for draining will greatly enlarge the productive capacity of our land, and, consequently, its value, while it will render labor more effective and more remunerative to the employer and the employed.
The fact of increased production from a given quantity of land, by draining, being ascertained beyond question, and the measure of that increase, at its minimum, being more than the interest at six per cent. upon the sum required to effect it—even at $50 per acre—the question of expediency is answered. To the owner of tillage lands there is no other such safe, sure, and profitable investment for his money. He lodges it in a bank that will never suspend payments, and from which better than six per cent. dividend can be received annually.
Very truly, yours, B. F. NOURSE. Hon. H. F. FRENCH, Exeter, N. H.
STATEMENT OF SHEDD AND EDSON.
BOSTON, February 1, 1859.
DEAR SIR:—The plan for a system of thorough drainage, a copy of which we send you herewith, was executed for Mr. I. P. Rand, of Roxbury.
An outfall was obtained, at the expense of considerable labor, by deepening the Roxbury and Dorchester Brook for a distance of nearly a quarter of a mile, about four hundred feet of which was through a rocky bottom, which required some blasting. The fall thus obtained was only about two inches in the whole distance.
The fall which can be obtained for the main drain is less than two inches per hundred feet, but the lateral drains entering into the main, will have a fall varying from two inches to a foot per hundred.
The contour lines, or lines traced along the ground, intersecting points on an equal level, are drawn on this plan, showing a fall of four-tenths of a foot, each line being in every part four-tenths of a foot lower than the line above it. Where the lines are near together, the fall is greater, as a less horizontal distance is passed over before reaching a point which is four-tenths lower than the line above.
It will be seen by the plan, that the fall in the line occupied by the main drain is very slight, while the side drains have a fall much greater.
The lateral drains are run in the line of steepest descent, which is, of course, at right angles to the general direction of the contour lines.
The water from the entire system is collected, and escapes at one outlet into the brook.
A peep hole is placed at the intersection of the sub-main drain with the main, which commands about one-half the entire area—the other, half is commanded by the outlet.
Two-inch tile will be laid in the lateral drains, and three, four, and five-inch in the sub-main and main.
It is quite indispensable, to the successful execution of a plan of drainage on land so level as this, that careful measurements be made on the ground with an engineer's level, and such a representation of its surface projected as will show to the eye at a glance what all the natural inclinations are. The work can then be laid out with ease in the best position, and executed in a systematic manner. The time and labor which is devoted to such an examination of the ground is well spent, and, with the knowledge gained by it, the work can be carried on with such economy as to save the original cost of the examination many times over.
Very truly, yours, SHEDD & EDSON Hon. H. F. FRENCH, Exeter, N. H.
STATEMENT OF HENRY F. FRENCH, OF EXETER, N. H.
The drained field represented in the plan (Fig. 102), contains about eight acres. I purchased it in 1846. The upper part of it is sand, with underlying clay at depths of from four to ten feet. The field slopes towards the river, and, on the slope, the clay strata coming out to the surface, naturally bring out the water, so that the side hill was so wet as to produce cranberries—quite too wet for any hoed crop. At the foot of the hill the soil is a stiff clay, with veins of sand and gravel. Through the centre was a wet ravine, which served as a natural outlet for the springs, and which was so full of black alders as to make an excellent cover for woodcock. Until the land was drained, this ravine was impassable in the hay season even, except by a bridge which I built across it. Now it may be crossed at any season and at any point.
I first attempted to drain the wettest parts with brush drains, running them into the wet places merely, and succeeded in drying the land sufficiently to afford good crops of hay. I laid one brush-drain across the brow of the hill, five feet deep, hoping to cut off all the water, which I supposed ran along upon the surface of the clay. This dried the land for a few rods, but the water still ruined the lower parts of the field, and the drain produced very little effect upon the land above it. In 1856, finding my brush drains quite insufficient, I thorough-drained the side-hill on the lower part of the plan at the reader's left hand, at fifty feet distances, up and down the slope, at an average of about four feet depth, going five feet deep on the brow of the hill, to cut through the brush-drain. I used two-inch sole-tiles for minors, and three-inch for the main.
The effect was instantaneous. The land which, in the Spring of 1856, had been so wet that it could not, even though partially drained with brush-drains, be planted till the 5th of June, was, in 1857, ready to work as soon as the snow was off. My farm journal says, under date of April 6th, "plowed drained land with double plow two days after a heavy storm—dry enough." I spent that Summer in Europe. The land was planted with corn, which produced a heavy crop. I find an entry in my journal, on my return, "My drained land has been in good condition—neither too wet nor too dry—all Summer."
In the Fall of 1857, I laid about 170 rods in other parts of the field, at similar depths and distances, and in 1858 completed the upper part, on which is an orchard of apple trees. A part of this orchard was originally so wet as to kill the trees the first year, but by brush-drains I dried it enough to keep the next set alive. There was no water visible at the surface, and the land was dry enough for corn and potatoes; still the trees looked badly, and many were winter-killed. I had learned the formation of the earth about my premises, of which I had at first no adequate conception, and was satisfied that no fruit tree could flourish with its feet in cold water, even in Winter. All nursery-men and fruit-growers agree, that land must be well drained for fruit. I therefore laid four-foot tile drains between the rows of trees, in this apparently dry sand. We found abundance of water, in the driest season, at four feet, and it has never ceased to flow copiously.
I measured accurately the discharge of water from the main which receives the drainage of about one and a half acres of the orchard, at a time when it gave, what seemed to me an average quantity for the Winter months, when the earth was frozen solid, and found it to be about 480 barrels per day! The estimate was made by holding a bucket, which contained ten quarts, under the outlet, when it was found that it would fill in fifteen seconds, equal to ten gallons per minute; and six hundred gallons, or twenty barrels per hour, and four hundred and eighty barrels per day.
I have seen the same drain discharge at least four times that quantity, at some times! The peep-holes give opportunity for inspection, and I find the result to be, that the water-table is kept down four feet below the surface at all times, except for a day or two after severe rain-storms.
There is an apparent want of system in this plan, partly to be attributed to my desire to conform somewhat to the line of the fences, and partly to the conformation of the land, which is quite uneven. At several points near the ravine, springs broke out, apparently from deep fountains, and short drains were run into them, to keep them below the surface.
The general result has been, to convert wet land into early warm soil, fit for a garden, to render my place more dry and healthful, and to illustrate for the good of the community the entire efficiency of tile-drainage. The cost of this work throughout, I estimate at fifty cents per rod, reckoning labor at $1 per day, and tiles at $12 per thousand, and all the work by hand-tools. I think in a few years, we may do the same work at one-half this cost. Further views on this point are given in the chapter on the "Cost of Drainage."
After our work was in press, we received from Mr. William Boyle, Farmer at the Albert Model Farm in Ireland, the paper which is given below, kindly sent in reply to a series of questions proposed by the author. The Albert Model Farm is one of the Government institutions for the promotion of agriculture, by the education of young men in the science and the practice of farming; and from what was apparent, by a single day's examination of the establishment in our visit to it in August, 1857, we are satisfied of its entire success. The crops then growing were equal, if not superior, to any we have seen in any country. Much of the land covered by those crops is drained land; and having confidence that the true principles of drainage for that country must be taught and practiced at this institution, we thought it might be instructive, as well as interesting to the farmers of America, to give them the means of comparison between the system there approved, and those others which we have described.
Had the paper been sooner received, we should have referred to it earlier in our book; yet coming as it does, after our work was mostly in type, we confess to some feeling of satisfaction, at the substantial coincidence of views entertained at the Albert Model Farm, with our own humble teachings. With many thanks to Mr. Boyle for his valuable letter, which we commend to our readers as a reliable exposition of the most approved principles of land-draining for Ireland, we give the paper entire:
ALBERT MODEL FARM, Glasnevin, Dublin, January 31, 1859.
To the Hon. HENRY F. FRENCH, Exeter, N. H.:
SIR:—Your queries on land-drainage have been too long unanswered. I have now great pleasure in sending you, herewith, my views on the points noted. * * *
Pray excuse me for the delay in writing. I am, sir,
Your obliged and obedient servant, WILLIAM BOYLE.
LAND DRAINAGE—REPLIES TO QUERIES, ETC.
Introductory observations. Ireland contains close on to twenty-one millions of acres, thirteen and a half millions of which were returned as "arable land," in 1841. By "Arterial" and thorough-drainage, &c., effected through loans granted by government, the extent of arable land has been increased to fifteen and a half millions of acres. The "Board of Works" has the management of the funds granted for drainage and land improvements generally, and competent inspectors are appointed to see that the works are properly executed. The proprietor, or farmer, who obtains a loan may, if competent, claim and obtain the appointment of overseer on his own property, and thus have an opportunity of economically expending the sum which he will have to repay (principal and interest) by twenty-two installments. The average cost of thorough-drainage, under the Board of Works, has been about L5 per statute acre. In 1847, when government granted the first loan for land-drainage, tiles were not so easily obtained as at present, nor was tile-drainage well understood in this country; and the greater part of the drains then made—and for some years after—were either sewered with stones, formed into a conduit of various dimensions, and covered over with finely-broken stones, or the latter were filled into the bottom of the drain, to about one foot in depth, as recommended by Smith, of Deanston. The dimensions for minor drains, sewered with stones, were, usually, three and a half feet deep, fifteen inches wide at top, and three to four inches wide at bottom (distance apart being twenty-one feet); and the overseer carried about with him a wooden gauge, of a size to correspond, so that the workmen could see at a glance what they had to do. These drains are reported to have given general satisfaction; and they were cheaply made, as the stones were to be had in great abundance in almost every field. On new land, trenching was sometimes carried on simultaneously with the drainage; and it very often happened that the removal of the stones thus brought to the surface, was very expensive; but they were turned to profitable account in sewering drains and building substantial fences. In almost every case the drains were made in the direction of the greatest inclination, or fall of the land; and this is the practice followed throughout the country. Some exceptions occur on hill-sides, where I have seen the drains laid off at an acute angle with the line of inclination. It is not necessary that I should explain the scientific reasons for draining in the direction of the fall of the land, as that point has been fully treated of, and well illustrated, in your article already referred to. I shall now pass on to the Queries.
Depth of drains, and distance apart. There is still a great diversity of opinion on these points, and particularly in reference to the drainage of stiff clay soils; some of the most intelligent and practical farmers in this country hold to the opinion that, on such soils, the maximum depth should not exceed three feet, and the distance apart sixteen to twenty feet. On clay loams, having a subsoil more or less free, the general practice is, to make the drains three and a half to four feet deep, and at twenty-one to thirty feet apart. On lighter soils, having a free subsoil, four feet deep and forty feet apart are the usual limitations. This farm may be taken as a fair average of the land in Ireland, as a test for drainage; the soil is a deep clay loam; the subsoil a compact mixture of strong clay and calcareous gravel, almost free from stones. Thirty miles of drains have been made on the farm, the least distance apart being twenty-one feet, and the greatest distance thirty feet; the depth in every case, three and a half to four feet for minor drains. This drainage has given the greatest satisfaction; for although the greatest part of the work was performed by the Agricultural pupils, in training here, we have not had occasion to re-make a single drain, except in one instance, where the tiles got choked, and which I shall explain hereafter.
Tiles: Size, Shape, Draining, Capacity, &c. We use circular pipe tiles, of inch and a half bore, for all parallel drains whose length does not exceed one hundred yards, and two-inch pipes for any additional length up to one hundred and fifty yards, the greatest length, in my opinion, a parallel drain should reach before discharging into a main or sub-main drain. We do not find it necessary to use collars on this farm, as we have firm ground to place the tiles on, and we can cut the drain to fit the tiles exactly. As regards the size of tiles for main and sub-main drains, that can only be regulated by the person in charge of the drainage at any particular place, after seeing the land opened up and the minor drains discharging. As a general rule, a circular pipe of three inches internal diameter will discharge the ordinary drainage of five or six statute acres, and give sufficient space for the circulation of air. It should be observed, however, that this applies to a district where the annual rain-fall is from twenty-six to thirty inches, that of all Ireland being about thirty-five inches; besides, we have not the immense falls of rain in a few hours that occur in other countries. All these points should be carefully considered in estimating the water-way for drainage. I have said that collars are not used with the tiles on this farm, as the bottom of the drains is quite firm and even; but, where the bed for the tile is soft, and the subsoil is of a shifting nature, then collars should be used in every case. Collars cost about half the price of tiles, which they are made to connect, so that the use of them adds one-third to the expense of the sewering material; and, as I have already pointed out, I think it quite unnecessary to use them where the subsoil is firm, and where the drain can be bottomed to fit the tile. Where large pipes are not to be had conveniently for sewering main or sub-drains, I find a proportional number of pipes of lesser diameter to answer perfectly. It is very desirable to provide branch pipes for connecting the minor with the main drains. The branch should be socketed to receive the end of the last tile in the minor drain, and the point of attachment to the main pipe may be on the top or on the side of the latter. If the branch be made to lead the water into the side of the main pipe, then it should join the latter at an acute angle, that both streams may meet with the least possible opposition of forces.
Fall necessary in Tile Drainage. I consider one foot in one hundred yards the least fall to work upon with safety.
Securing Outlets. All the outlets from main-drains should be well secured against the intrusion of vermin, by a wrought-iron grating, built in mason-work. The water may flow into a stone trough provided with an overflow-pipe, by which the quantity discharged may be ascertained at any time, so as to compare the drainage before and after rain, &c.
Traps, or Silt Ponds. Where extensive drainage is carried on in low-lying districts, and the principal outlet at a considerable distance, it may be found necessary to have traps at several points where the silt from the tiles will be kept. These traps may be of cast-iron, or mason-work, cemented; and provision should be made, by which they can be cleaned out and examined regularly—the drainage at these periods also undergoing inspection at the different traps.
Plow-Draining. We have no draining-plows in use in Ireland, that I know of; the common plow is sometimes used for marking off the drains, cutting the sides, and throwing out the earth to a considerable depth, thereby lessening the manual labor considerably. Efforts have been made in England to produce an efficient implement of this description; but it would appear there is ample room for an inventive Jonathan to walk in for a profitable patent in this department, and thus add another to the many valuable ones brought out in your great country.
Case of Obstruction in Tiles. Some years since, one of the principal main-drains on this farm was observed not discharging the water freely, as it hitherto had done, after a heavy fall of rain; and the land adjoining it showed unmistakable signs of wetness. The drain was opened, and traced to the point of obstruction, which was found to be convenient to a small poplar tree, the rootlets of which made their way into the tiles, at the depth of five and a half feet, and completely filled them, in the direction of the stream, for several yards. We have some of the tiles (horse-shoe) in our museum here, as they were then lifted from the drain, showing clearly the formidable nature of the obstruction. Another serious case of obstruction has come to my knowledge, occasioned by frogs or toads getting into the tiles of the main-drain in large numbers, on account of the outlet being insufficiently protected. In this case, a large expenditure had to be incurred, to repair the damage done.
I have not observed any case of obstruction from the roots of our cultivated plants. It has been said by some that the rootlets of mangold will reach the drains under them; and, particularly, where the drains contain most water in rapid motion. I took up the tiles from a drain on this farm, in '54, which had been laid down (by a former occupier), about the year '44, at a depth not exceeding two-and-a-half feet, and not one of these was obstructed in the least degree, although parsnips, carrots, cabbages, mangolds, &c., had been grown on this field. Obstructions may occur through the agency of mineral springs; but very few cases of this nature are met with, at least in this country. I would anticipate this class of obstruction, if from the nature of the land there was reason to expect it, by increasing the fall in the drains and having traps more frequent, where the main outlets are at a distance to render them necessary. In my opinion, the roots of trees are the great intruders to be guarded against, and more particularly the soft-wooded sorts, such as poplars, willows, alders, &c. The distance of a drain from a tree ought always to be equal to the height of the latter.
Tiles flattening in the drying process. With this subject, I am not practically familiar. In most tile-works, the tiles, after passing through the moulding-machine, are placed horizontally on shelves, which rise one above another to any convenient height, on which the tiles are dried by means of heated flues which traverse the sheds where the work is carried on; or they are allowed to dry without artificial heat. I prefer the tiles prepared by the latter method, as, if sufficient time be given them to be well dried, they will burn more equally, and be more durable. The tiles will flatten more or less for the first day or two on the shelves, after which they are rolled. This is done by boys (who are provided with pieces of wood of a diameter equal to the bore of the tile when made), who very soon learn to get over a large number daily. The "roller" should have a shouldered handle attached, the whole thickness of which should not be greater than that of the tile. The shoulder is necessary to make the ends of the tiles even, that there may be no very open joints when they are placed in a drain. Once rolled, the tiles are not likely to flatten again, if the operation be performed at the proper time.
As good tiles as I ever saw were dried in a different way, and not rolled at all. As they were taken from the machine—six at a time—each carrier passed off with his tray, and placed them on end carefully, upon an even floor. When five or six rows of tiles were thus placed, the whole length of the drying-house, a board was set on edge to keep them from falling to one side; then followed five or six other rows of tiles, and so on, till the drying-ground was filled.
This was the plan adopted in a tilery near Dublin, some years ago. It is only a few days since I examined some of the tiles made at these works, which had been taken from a drain, where they had been in use for nine years; and the clear ringing sound produced by striking them against each other, showed what little effect that length of time produced upon them, and how well they had been manufactured.
Cost of Tiles. We have recently paid at the works—
For 1-1/2 inch pipes 17s. 6d. per thousand. " 2 " 25s. " " 3 " 45s. "
Each tile one foot in length, and the one and one-half-inch pipes weighing 16 cwt. per thousand.
One of the great difficulties in connection with tile-making is, in many districts, to procure clay sufficiently free from lime. Tiles are very often sold by sample, sent a considerable distance, and it becomes necessary to test them, which we do (for lime) by placing them in water for a night; and, if lime is present in the tile, it will, of course, swell out, and break the latter, or leave it in a riddled state.
I have now endeavored to answer the queries in your postscript, and I have carefully avoided enlarging on some points in them with which your readers are already familiar. If I shall have thrown a single ray of additional light on this subject across the Atlantic, I shall be amply repaid for any attention I have given to thorough-drainage during the past twelve years.
I should here observe that I mislaid amongst my papers the portion of your letter containing the queries (it was a separate sheet), and it has not as yet turned up, so that I had to depend on a rather treacherous memory to keep the queries in my mind's eye. It is highly probable, therefore, that I have overlooked some of them. This circumstance was the chief cause of the delay in writing.
You are quite at liberty to make any use you please of this communication.
WILLIAM BOYLE.
INDEX.
Absorption of moisture; 303, 304, 322 " Fertilizing substances; 268
Aeration; 269, 276
Albert Model Farm; 375
American experiments; 367
Anderson, J. F.; 112
Arrangement of drains; 173
Artesian Wells; 83
Attraction, adhesive; 301 " capillary; 302 " of soils for vapor; 304
Auger, Elkington's; 35, 246
Bache, Prof.; 65
Back water; 181
Barn cellar; 356-359
Bergen, Mr.; 199
Birmingham spades; 240
Bletonism; 36
Blodgett, Lorin; 51, 59
Bligh, Captain; 24, 27
Bogs; 91
Boning-rod; 234
Bore, form of; 129
Boring; 35, 365
Boring tools; 35, 346
Boyle, Wm.; 375
Branch pipes; 196, 378
Bricks, draining; 121, 144 " cost of; 204
Brush drains; 104, 105
Capacity of pipes; 131, 132, 134, 201
Capillary attraction; 302
Cellars, drainage of; 351-359
Challoner's Level; 235
Clay soil; 167, 329
Clays, drainage of; 322-332
Clays, cracking of; 275, 324-331
Collars; 47, 126, 127, 128, 219, 316, 320, 378
Cold from evaporation; 63, 272
Cost of drainage; 211-224, 309, 376 " tiles; 201-205, 381
Count Rumford; 272, 273, 287
Country Gentleman; 16, 198, 329
Crisp, Thomas; 203
Custis, G. W. P.; 18
Dams; 333, 347
Deanston system; 37
Delafield; 46, 76, 168
Denton, J. Bailey; 21, 161 " Letter from; 200
Depth of drains; 164-173, 326, 328, 377
Directions how to lay drains; 252-258
Dew, cause of; 305 " increased by drainage; 284, 306 " imparts warmth; 307
Dew-point; 65, 66, 306
Dickinson, A. B.; 108
Direction of drains; 146-155
Distance " ; 155-164, 377
Ditch diggers; 247-251
Drainage acts; 349 " companies; 333 " effects of; 258-276 " methods of; 99-120 " water of; 60, 61, 339
Drainage, will it pay? 95
Drain bricks; 121, 144
Drains of brush; 104 " larch tubes; 111 " plug; 106 " of poles; 113 " rails; 112 " stones; 114-119 " wedge; 110 " run before rain; 269, 270
Drought, drains prevent; 281-286, 300
Dry Wells; 197, 198
Durability of drains; 141-145
Elkington's system; 27, 33, 240, 365
Embankment; 18
Emerson, R. W.; 15, 23
Engineering; 163, 213
England; 19, 340 " wet land in; 89
English tools; 243
Evaporation; 48, 61, 62, 293-297 " cold from; 63, 272, 293-297 " from land; 62, 69, 72 " " water; 62, 69, 73
Excavation; 165 " cost of; 165, 201, 214 " table of; 216
Experiments, American; 367, 376
Factory reservoirs; 341-343
Fall in drains; 174, 378
Fences; 211, 346
Filtration; 41, 60, 61
Filtration tables of; 70, 71
Fitzherbert; 23
Flat-bottomed tiles; 129
Flowage, effects of; 333, 341, 343, 346
Flushing drains; 186
Freezing out; 75, 262 " of pipes; 171
French's plan; 373
Friction of water; 131, 133
Frost; 67, 143, 170, 172, 297, 299
Fruit trees; 298, 374
Furrows; 195
Gauge; 246
Germination; 276-281
Gillis, Lieut.; 65
Gisborne; 122, 126
Gravitation; 131
Grading drains; 233
Gratings at outlets; 183
Great Britain; 89 " wet lands in; 89
Greeley, Horace; 88
Haarlaem, Lake; 19
Headers; 153, 154
Heat in wet land; 288-290 " water; 272, 273
Hobbs, Doctor; 51, 54, 56
Holyoke, Doctor; 62
Horse-shoe tiles; 124
Implements; 225, 252
Indications of moisture; 93
Injury by drainage; 308, 313
Ireland, drainage in; 376
Irrigation; 14
Irish spade; 238
Johnson, B. P.; 17
Johnston, John; 46, 168, 256, 262, 328, 329
Johnstone; 28, 31, 120
Joints, how covered; 255 " spaces at; 134, 140
Junction of drains; 195, 196
Keythorpe system; 40
Klippart, J. H.; 16
Land Drainage Companies; 349
Larch tubes; 111
Lardner, Dr.; 270
Laying out drains; 213, 253
Laying tiles; 219, 252-258
Legal rights to water; 85, 86, 346
Legislation; 340
Levelling instruments; 229-235
Lincolnshire fens; 19, 310
Lines, use of; 233, 253
Lord Lincoln's Act; 347
Madden, Doctor; 276
Mains, position and size of; 190-194
Mangolds, obstruction by; 316, 317, 379
Mapes, Prof.; 16, 167
Massachusetts, laws; 347
Mechi, Sheriff; 260, 339
Methods of drainage; 99
Mice; 104, 116, 315
Mill dams; 340-344
Mill streams; 89, 333
Minors; 194
Moisture, sources of; 78
Moles; 104, 116
Mole drains; 107
Mole Plow; 108
Moon, influence of; 306
Morris, Edward; 60
Nash, Prof.; 199
Nene River; 337
New York Park; 47, 219
Nourse, B. F.; 285, 299, 367 " statement and plan of; 195, 367, 372
Obstruction of drains; 313-320 " by sand; 313, 321 " by frogs, &c.; 183, 315, 379 " per-oxide of iron; 317 " roots; 315, 316, 379 " filling at joints; 319
Open ditches; 99, 263 " objections to; 101, 102
Opening ditches; 252
Outfalls; 345
Outlets; 176-183, 219, 252, 257, 315, 378
Over-draining peats; 309, 366
Parkes, Josiah; 25, 38, 40, 128
Paul's ditcher; 250
Peat tiles; 113
Peats, over-draining of; 309, 366
Peep-holes; 187, 188, 321, 373
Per-oxide of iron; 317
Pettibone, J. S.; 329
Picks; 245
Pipes; 47, 122, 123, 144 " capacity of; 131-138, 159, 191, 193 " cost in England; 201, 204 " " United States; 202-205, 218 " position of; 190-194
Pipe layer; 244, 245
Plans of drains; 195, 372, 377 " importance of; 161
Plow, use of; 253, 379
Plow, Fowler's drain; 247, 248 " Shanghae; 109 Paul's ditcher; 250 Routt's; 251
Plug drains; 107
Pole drain; 113
Pratt's Ditch digger; 248, 249
Pressure of water; 131, 132, 331, 332, 356 " water of; 84
Process of draining; 252-258
Puddling; 198, 266, 323
Pulverization; 260, 282, 299
Rain; 48, 158, 159, 284
Rain-fall; 50, 158, 378
Rain-fall, tables of; 53-60, 70-73
Relief pipes; 184, 186
Reservoirs; 341, 343
Ridge and furrow; 195
Rolling pipes; 205, 380
Roots, length of; 258, 259, 283 " obstruction by; 315, 316, 379
Round pipes; 47, 122
Rumford, Count; 272, 273, 287
Ruffin, Edmund, Esq.; 29, 364
Rye and Derwent; 344
Saturation; 66
Scoops; 244
Screens at outlets; 183
Season lengthened; 261
Shallow drains; 168
Shanghae plow; 109
Shedd and Edson; 21, 51, 372
Shoulder drain; 110
Shovels; 236, 237
Silt basin; 186, 379
Sinkholes; 198
Size of tiles; 190, 201, 377
Smith, of Deanston; 26, 37
Snow, fall of; 59
Sole-tile; 125
Spades; 235, 236, 240-242
Spirit level; 230
Springs; 78-83 " drainage of; 34 " run before rain; 270-271 " how to preserve; 189
Staff and target; 231
Stagnant water; 93
Stone drains; 114-119, 377 " cost of; 114, 222
Stones above tiles; 118
Streams affected by drainage; 333-340
Subsoil plow; 169
Subsoiler, Marcus and Co.'s; 107
Surface washing prevented; 261
Swallow-holes; 197, 198
Swamps; 91, 360 " drainage of; 360-363
Swamp-lands; 17
Swan, R. J.; 168
System, importance of; 160, 173
Tables of evaporation; 72, 73 " excavation; 216 " filtration; 70, 71 " rain-fall; 53-59, 71-73 " of tiles to acre; 220 " number of rods; 220 " capacity of pipes; 135-138
Talpa; 23
Temperature; 67, 189, 280, 287-300 " underground; 187, 288, 291 " for vegetation; 271
Thermometer, wet and dry; 64, 65
Thomas, J. J.; 229
Tile-drainage; 120
Tiles, cost in England; 201, 212 " " United States; 201-205 " forms of; 122-130 " length of; 221 " size of; 130-138 " weight of; 219 " number to the acre; 220
Tile machines; 46, 202-210
Tile-works; 47, 121
Tools; 225-246
Tops and bottoms; 140, 319, 379
Traps; 185, 186, 379, 380
Velocity of water; 131
Vermin; 104
Virginia; 18, 364
Warder, Doctor; 346
Water, how it enters; 138, 314, 320 " stagnant; 93 " of drainage, uses of; 189, 339 " velocity of; 131
Water passage; 129
Water-line; 51, 139
Water-powers; 333, 335, 341-345
Water of pressure; 84, 161
Water, pressure of; 84, 140, 141 " rights in; 85, 86
Wedge drain; 110, 236
Weight of tiles; 219, 381
Wells, drainage into; 197-199 " dried by drains; 85, 366
Well and relief-pipe; 184-186
Well with silt trap; 186
Wharncliffe system; 44
Width of ditches; 215-218, 226
Wright, Gov.; 17
Yeomans, T. G.; 46, 108
* * * * *
Transcriber's Note:
Summarized here are the corrections applied to the text.
List of Engravings: Drain Gauge "Gauge" was printed as "Guage" H. F. French's Drainage 376 the page number was printed as "374"
unmindful of their obligations to him "unmindful" was printed as "unmindul"
of gauging the quantity of water traveling along an important drain "gauging" was printed as "guaging"
were removed, a pond would remain "would" was unreadable in the Original
knowledge of the subject "knowledge" was printed as "knowlege"
That drains will long continue to be opened in this vast country by hand labor "vast" was printed as "fast"
the greater permanency of tiles "permanency" was printed as "permanancy"
have come to our knowledge "knowledge" was printed as "knowlege"
lay drains deep enough to be beyond the danger of water bursting in "bursting" was printed as "brusting"
people of Great Britain "Britain" was printed as "Britian"
The farmer sees his thousand bushels of potatoes submerged "potatoes" was printed as "potatos"
the temperature at the latter depth "the" was printed twice
representing the cellar referred to "cellar" was printed as "celler"
and another outside "another" was printed as "auother"
becomes necessary to test them "to" was printed twice
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