Wet Cellars Unhealthful.—Importance of Cellars in New England.—A Glance at the Garret, by way of Contrast.—Necessity of Drains.—Sketch of an Inundated Cellar.—Tiles best for Drains.—Best Plan of Cellar Drain; Illustration.—Cementing will not do.—Drainage of Barn Cellars.—Uses of them.—Actual Drainage of a very Bad Cellar described.—Drains Outside and Inside; Illustration.
Wet Cellars Unhealthful.—Importance of Cellars in New England.—A Glance at the Garret, by way of Contrast.—Necessity of Drains.—Sketch of an Inundated Cellar.—Tiles best for Drains.—Best Plan of Cellar Drain; Illustration.—Cementing will not do.—Drainage of Barn Cellars.—Uses of them.—Actual Drainage of a very Bad Cellar described.—Drains Outside and Inside; Illustration.
No person needs to be informed that it is unhealthful, as well as inconvenient, to have water, at any time of the year, in the cellar. In New England, the cellar is an essential part of the house. All sorts of vegetables, roots, and fruit, that can be injured by frost, are stored in cellars; and milk, and wine, and cider, and a thousand "vessels of honor," like tubs and buckets, churns and washing-machines, that are liable to injury from heat or cold, or other vicissitude of climate, find a safe retreat in the cellar. Excepting the garret, which is, as Ariosto represents the moon to be, the receptacle of all things useless on earth, the cellar is the greatest "curiosity shop" of the establishment.
The poet finds in the moon,
"Whate'er was wasted in our earthly state,Here safely treasured—each neglected good,Time squandered, and occasion ill-bestowed;There sparkling chains he found, and knots of gold,The specious ties that ill-paired lovers hold;Each toil, each loss, each chance that men sustain,Save Folly, which alone pervades them all,For Folly never quits this earthly ball."
"Whate'er was wasted in our earthly state,Here safely treasured—each neglected good,Time squandered, and occasion ill-bestowed;There sparkling chains he found, and knots of gold,The specious ties that ill-paired lovers hold;Each toil, each loss, each chance that men sustain,Save Folly, which alone pervades them all,For Folly never quits this earthly ball."
In the garret, are the old spinning wheel, the clock reel, the linen wheel with its distaff, your grandfather's knapsack and cartridge-box and Continental coat, your great-aunt's Leghorn bonnet and side-saddle, or pillion, great files of the village newspapers—the "Morning Cry" and "Midnight Yell," besides worn out trunks and boxes without number. In the cellar, are the substantiate—barrels of beef, and pork, and apples, "taters" and turnips; in short, the Winter stores of the family.
Many, perhaps most, of the cellars in New England are in some way drained, usually by a stone culvert, laid a little lower than the bottom of the cellar, into which the water is conducted, in the Spring, when it bursts through the walls, or rises at the bottom, by means of little ditches scooped out in the surface.
In some districts, people seem to have little idea of drains, even for cellars; and on flat land, endeavor to set their houses high enough to have their cellars above ground. This, besides being extremely inconvenient for passage out of, and into the house, often fails to make a dry cellar, for the water from the roof runs in, and causes a flood. And such accidents, as they are mildly termed by the improvident builders, often occur by the failure of drains imperfectly laid.
No child, who ever saw a cellar afloat, during one of these inundations, will ever outgrow the impression. You stand on the cellar stairs, and below is a dark waste of waters, of illimitable extent. By the dim glimmer of the dip-candle, a scene is presented which furnishes a tolerable picture of "chaos and old night," but defies all description. Empty dry casks, with cider barrels, wash-tubs, and boxes, ride triumphantly on the surface, while half filled vinegar and molasses kegs, like water-logged ships, roll heavily below. Broken boards and planks, old hoops, and staves, and barrel-heads innumerable, are buoyantwith this change of the elements; while floating turnips and apples, with, here and there, a brilliant cabbage head, gleam in this subterranean firmament, like twinkling stars, dimmed by the effulgence of the moon at her full. Magnificent among the lesser vessels of the fleet, "like some tall admiral," rides the enormous "mash-tub," while the astonished rats and mice are splashing about at its base in the dark waters, like sailors just washed, at midnight, from the deck, by a heavy sea.
The lookers-on are filled with various emotions. The farmer sees his thousand bushels ofpotatoessubmerged, and devoted to speedy decay; the good wife mourns for her diluted pickles, and apple sauce, and her drowned firkins of butter; while the boys are anxious to embark on a raft or in the tubs, on an excursion of pleasure and discovery.
To avoid such scenes as the above, every cellar which is not upon a dry sandbank, should be provided with a drain of some kind, which will be at all times, secure.
For a main drain from the cellar, four or six-inch tiles are abundantly sufficient, and where they can be reasonably obtained, much cheaper than stone. The expense of excavation, of hauling stone, and of laying them, will make the expense of a stone drain far exceed that of a tile drain, with tiles at fair prices. The tiles, if well secured at the inlet and outlet of the drain, will entirely exclude rats and mice, which always infest stone drains to cellars. Care must be taken, if the water is conducted on the surface of the cellar into the drain, that nothing but pure water be admitted. This may be effected by a fine strainer of wire or plate; or by a cess-pool, which is better, because it will also prevent any draft of air through the drain.
The very best method of draining a cellar is that adopted by the writer, on his own premises. It is, in fact, a mereapplication of the ordinary principles of field drainage. The cellar was dug in sand, which rests on clay, a foot or two below the usual water-line in winter, and a drain of chestnut plank laid from the cellar to low land, some 20 rods off. Tiles were not then in use in the neighborhood, and were not thought of, when the house was built.
In the Spring, water came up in the bottom of the cellar, and ran out in little hollows made for the purpose, on the surface.
Not liking this inconvenient wetness, we next dug trenches a few inches deep, put boards at the sides to exclude the sand, and packed the trenches with small stones. This operated better, but the mice found pleasant accommodations among the stones, and sand got in and choked the passage. Lastly, tiles came to our relief, and a perfect preventive of all inconvenient moisture was found, by adopting the following plan:
The drain from the cellar was taken up, and relaid 18 inches below the cellar-bottom, at the outlet. Then a trench was cut in the cellar-bottom, two feet from the wall, a foot deep at the farthest corner from the outlet, and deepening towards it, round the whole cellar, following the course of the walls. In this trench, two-inch pipe tiles were laid, and carefully covered with tan-bark, and the trenches filled with the earth. This tile drain was connected with the outlet drain 18 inches under ground, and the earth levelled over the whole. This was done two years ago, and no drop of water has ever been visible in the cellar since it was completed. The water is caught by the drain before it rises to the surface, and conducted away.
Vegetables of all kinds are now laid in heaps on the cellar-bottom, which is just damp enough to pack solid, and preserves vegetables better, in a dry cellar, than casks, or bins with floors.
A little sketch of this mode of draining cellars, representing thecellarreferred to, will, perhaps, present the matter more clearly.
Fig. 99—Drainage of Cellar.
Fig. 99—Drainage of Cellar.
Many persons have attempted to exclude water from their cellars by cementing them on the bottom, and part way up on the sides. This might succeed, if the cellar wall were laid very close, and in cement, and a heavy coating of cement applied to the bottom. A moment's attention to the subject will show that it is not likely to succeed, as experience shows that it seldom, if ever, does.
The water which enters cellars, frequently runs fromthe surface behind the cellar wall, where rats always keep open passages, and fills the ground and these passages; especially when the earth is frozen, to the surface, thus giving a column of water behind the wall six or eight feet in height. The pressure of water is always in proportion to its height or head, without reference to the extent of surface. The pressure, then, of the water against the cemented wall, would be equal to the pressure of a full mill-pond against its perpendicular dam of six or eight feet height! No sane man would think of tightening a dam, with seven feet head of water, by plastering a little cement on the down-stream side of it, which might as well be done, as to exclude water from a cellar by the process, and under the conditions, stated.
Most barns in New England are constructed with good substantial cellars, from six to nine feet deep, with solid walls of stone. They serve a three-fold purpose; of keeping manure, thrown down from the cattle and horse stalls above; of preserving turnips, mangolds, and other vegetables for the stock; and of storing carts, wagons, and other farm implements. Usually, the cellar is divided by stone, brick, or wood partitions, into apartments, devoted to each of the purposes named. The cellar for manure should not be wet enough to have water flow away from it, nor dry enough to have it leach. For the other purposes, a dry cellar is desirable.
Perhaps the details of the drainage of a barn cellar on our own premises, may give our views of the best mode of drainage, both for a manure cellar, and for a root and implement cellar. The barn was built in 1849, on a site sloping slightly to the south. In excavating for the wall, at about seven feet below the height fixed for the sills, we came upon a soft, blue clay, so nearly fluidthat a ten-foot pole was easily thrust down out of sight, perpendicularly, into it! Here was a dilemma! How could a heavy wall and building stand on that foundation? A skillful engineer was consulted, who had seen heavy brick blocks built in just such places, and who pronounced this a very simple case to manage. "If," said he, "the mud cannot get up, the wall resting on it cannot settle down." Upon this idea, by his advice, we laid our wall, on thick plank, on the clay, so as to get an even bearing, and drove down, against the face of the wall, edge to edge, two-inch plank to the depth of about three feet, leaving them a foot above the bottom of the wall. Against this, we rammed coarse gravel very hard, and left the bottom of the cellar one foot above the bottom of the wall, so that the weight might counterbalance the pressure of the wall and building. The building has been in constant use, and appears not to have settled a single inch.
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 thebottom. 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, andanotheroutside, 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 cementedbottom, 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:
Fig. 100.
Fig. 100.
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.
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?
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 portionof 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, orsettle, 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 necessaryto 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 growthof all valuable vegetation. To these, we must apply Elkington's system, and hit themright 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.
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.
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, ofStone drains, including mains702rodsTile drains (two inches, or larger)1043"In all1745"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 therapid 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 nevernecessarywith 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 × 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, besidesboard; 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."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 ofscience 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.
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
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 therapid 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 nevernecessarywith 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 × 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, besidesboard; 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."
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 ofscience 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.
[A]This was threshed about the middle of November, and yielded "51 bushels, round measure." The entire field averaged 45 bushels per acre.
[A]This was threshed about the middle of November, and yielded "51 bushels, round measure." The entire field averaged 45 bushels per acre.
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.Thorough Drainage BY SHEDD & EDSON. AGR'L ENG'S BOSTON, 1859It 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 & EdsonHon.H. F. French, Exeter, N. H.
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.
Thorough Drainage BY SHEDD & EDSON. AGR'L ENG'S BOSTON, 1859
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 & EdsonHon.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 acrossthe 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."
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 acrossthe 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: