t l!
DRAINAGE SPECIAL.
. r , . . . v -.... .:.
L L , J ( U J u j I i j ck tea V o:
5a
A Farm and Home Weekly For the Carolinas, Virginia,
Georgia and Tennessee.
FOUNDED, 1886, AT RALEIGH, N. C.
Vol. XXVII. No. 46. SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 16, 1912. Weekly : $1 a Year.
i l v?;
I : : ! : 1 . II
WHEN DRAINAGE IS NEEDlE
TWO KINDS of soils
need draining; those
tnai.nave too mucn
water,
. . ... -tv "
liiiiiiiiiiiiii
' , ' " ' ' ?
" '
STUDENTS AT STATE AGRICULTURAL SCHOOL, MAGNOLIA, ARK., LAYING TILES FOR UNDER-DRAINAGE.
those that are
too shallow. The signs of
poor drainage are obvious.
Swamps, marshes, mead
ows and all other low lands
on which water stands for
any considerable time may
be drained provided there
is fall enough to secure an
outlet. These low lands
may be those which collect
surface drainage, or see
page from nearby higher
land; or they may be lands
that are regularly flooded
by fresh water or by tides,
Farm land which dries out
slowly in spring, making
the working and growing
season shorter, or on which
water stands for a long
time after heavy rains,
needs to be drained. If
water oozes into the furrow, the soil is too wet for good farming.
The kind of plants that take 'possession of a field, before it is
broken up or after it has been laid down in sod, or after it has been
neglected for a year or more, are usually a reliable index to its need
of drainage. If bog and water-loving plants become established here
and there, especially sedges, rushes and mosses, the soil is too wet.
Certain spots in the field, usually the lowest places, will indicate their
need of drainage in this way, altho most of the field is all right.
All or these surface indications, however, should be supplement
or verified by an examination of the water-table. Dig a hole in the
field from four to six feet deep. If water stands in this hole within
three feet of the surface or less, during most of the growing season,
it is quite certain that the. roots of cultivated plants do not find
enough room, air and warmth in that soil to produce the largest crops,
The growth of the crops themselves supplies evidence. On poorly
drained soils the plants start slowly, look sickly and stunted, and
never make the profitable growth of neighboring plants on well
drained soil. Within the boundaries of one field there are often both
well-drained and poorly drained places.
There is another class of soils those that are shallow that are
improved by being drained, but these are not too wet, except for short
periods. ... First, there are the soils that have a hard-pan close to the
8ur(ace, perhaps within one to three feet. This hard-pan may be a
stratum of rock, but more often it is a layer of stiff and impervious
clay. The rock hard-pan cannot be improved, but the clay hard-pan
can. Water cannot readily penetrate it. It is like the bottom of a
shallow pan; when a heavy rain comes, the pan soon fills and over
flows, making surface water. This can escape by surface drainage or
by evaporation. But such a soil quickly dries out and suffers in a
drouth, because it has so little depth. What is needed is to deepen
the soil so that it will hold more water.
Still another type of soils those poor in texture is often greatly
benefited by being drained. These are mostly the clayey soils that
get hard, lumpy and unmanageable when dry, and sticky when wet.
They are not what would be called wet soils, neither are they shallow,
but they are not mellow aad they run to extremes, either very dry or
very wet. It is impossible to work them early in spring. Heavy
rains put them in such a condition that they cannot be cultivated for
several days after the crops begin to need tilling. ' The surface bakes
and cracks. Such soils are improved by plowing under a green-manuring
crop, by under-drainage, or by both, In many cases the addi
tion of humus is sufficient, to bring the soil into good heart; in ex
treme cases under-drainage must be called to the aid of humus. Dr.
S. W. Fletcher in 'Soils'
FEATURES OF THIS ISSUE.
DEPTH. TO PUT TILE- From Three to Four Feet as a Rule. ... 22
DRAINAGE EXPERIENCES Letters From Our Readers. 8
DRAINAGE MATERIAL WITHIN REACH OF ALL Stones rind
Pine Poles Will Give Good Results : '. . 4
DRAINAGE PROGRESS IN NORTH CAROLINA 900,000 Acres
Organized Into Drainage Districts in Three Years 21
nOW TO LAY TILE Practical Advice by an Expert 0
KINDS OF DRAIN TILE Vitrified, Clay, and Cement 7
ONE WAY TO STOP GULLIES Pictures Which Show the Way. . 5
THAT LITTLE WET SPOT How to Make It Pay You 5
"THE BEST LIGHT I HAVE FOUND" A Symposium 10
TnE SOUTH CAROLINA STATE FAIR Comment on the Field
Crops and Livestock Exhibits . . 17
TWO GREAT DAIRY SHOWS Some of the Lessons They Taught 14
WHAT DENMARK TEACHES SOUTHERN FARMERS Co-operation
Possible Only -When Farmers Are Educated and Own
Their Homes 13