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Lorsque ia document est trop grand pour itro reproduit en un seul clieh*. il est film* * partir da I'angle sup*riour gauche, de gauche d droite. et do haut en baa, en prenant le nombre d'Imagea n*csssaira< ',es diagrammes suivants illuatrant la m*thode. 1 2 3 1 2 3 4 5 6 I I fi'^\ >ii' V*' -t-l--'J!J^--'..llAl:*'* .*•" * * * "* >***'***'* » * » >■ * ■ * . .* * , >** * i * f ' » • t^^f^MftiliJ^ THE CANADIAN Hand Book on Draining COMPILED FBOM THK M«)8T EMU BNT PBACTlCAL AUTHORITIES IN EUBOP» AKD AMERICA, AMD PtTBLISHBD BY CARTER Sc BTEWATIT I PBOPRIKtORS OS' Garter's Ditching Maclii&d AYLMKR p. 0., COUNTY OF ELGIN, ONTARIO. PRICE TEM CENTS. THE BOOK TRADK Sl'PPI.IKI) O.N LIBKRAl. iKRNtS. ■ -^♦♦♦-- ■ f » » f AVLMteE, OIST. : VR-Cfrftklt Al- iin; ivVTKRPRISE BOOR ANt) jot; UlI'lOl::, iSyt, Tonoi^'TO Agricultural Waraheuse WM. RENiNiIE, - 120 AdeWe Si Easl, Twoato Wholesale aoA Re^il I>*ii»Ier jb all kinds of ill Piel'' 5ae<|Pi Fruit Tvem, FerfcUizero, &c.. arter's Patttot iHtehang Mft- Ht-am wtA Horse ng-Maehima, OomWatd & rfngle Mowers fttiil Beapers, Wood Sawing Macbiuefi, Horse powersr, Machine Jack«, Vrtsm C'rvwljei-s, & Boilers, KootCuttera, - T uwrip and Grain Faaninjf Mil^s, Glover Huliers, Horse Baktis, C3oMi ^eflers, Hinmp Machines, Patent Fan For- ges, Mowing Maehine Knife (irinder f 'i-^er Itfilis, PloQghK, all kinds 'Eye*'»T»ttnt iron Hacrow, Field and T>awD Rollerii, Onltivatora, Hune Hoc«, Kci'.leij, HofM) Forks, Amaiqinin Hells, ('burns, Florence Sewing Machines, 'I^e Philft\ ull selected, and the largest in tjiB I iomin'.on. Semi for Illustrated Catalogue, P.O. Box 1355, TouojsTf*. INTRODUCTION. :o:- We ask for tl.e foilowing brief treatise, tiie candid consideration of Agriculturists, Legislators, Municipal Councils, Agricultural Societies, the Public Press,and the public generally. There is truth in the sajing '« that whoever causes two olades of grass to grow where but one grew before, is a public benefactor." The culture of the soil is the basis of wealth, and the supporter < ' all other Industrie.. In view of this fact, there can be at present, no matter of greater practical importance to our country than Draining The productiveness of the soil is by il often doubled, and at the same time the health of our people secured against these sources of disease which low, damp, undrained lands always originate. Little Holland reclaims her territory from swamps and marshes; ■supports a dense population and grows rich. What is the secret,'. \vhich, under these unfavorable circumstances, has made her the won-' der of nations ? Proper attention to the soil,and successful Draining. Who will say that the exports of the Dominion may not be greatly increased by similar judicious management 1 Let us read, think, and act. f p i Hi OS ea to m( ph COl I hit TREATIS]-: 0\ DRAINING. "»«•■» to cultivate the soil so as to rai^e the largest crops with the least ex- pense, and witliout permament injury to the soil. Iheoestauthorities on Agriculture say, that thorough Drainage will add at lea.c'.t oue-third to the product of the soil. Drainage will often save a crop. Drainnge will (,r.able a farmer to work his land much earlier in the bpring, and theieby liis crops escape risks to which late plantin- ex- poses them. ' ® Drainage will often convert useless land into tlie most productive Rain sho.ild not be permitted to run off the surface of the soiLnor should ,t remain i.i it to sour, but should percolate through it, and then be removed, t|ius imparting to vegetation the valuable properties It contains, so necessary to the sustenance of vegetable life For this reason tlie farmer should understand something of the chemistry of nature, know how to appropriate to the soil all the ferti- Imng elements that the clouds and atmosphere contain, the heat the oxygen,the carbonic acid and ammonia ; how to open the pore., of the earth to receive these disintegrators and fertilizers, to enable the soil to yield up Its conce-iled nutriment. This is the function of successful drainage. It is the process of re moving everything trom the soil that is deleterious to the growth of plants, and appropriating everything thpt the earth and atmosphere contain to furnish them with food and drink The means te accomplish this most important object have not hitherte been within the reach of the common farmer In some countries, such as England, Holland and Belgium, where I he jiii.v (.r l;m.| is Wv^U and luljoi' <'1kmi., liiiid (Iniliingc Is one of llic roniiiinii nio'los of r,irmiiicr, ^md '"'^ '^''i-'" ulleiulcil will) suipmiiif,' it - stilts. Til tliis country, wlipve l!vl)or Ims Ijeon soaroe,wa,i,'^s liis^li, land abun- dant iuid rlioii]). tuid tlio soil ricli. Init, littlo attention lias IxHiii J)aid t.' drainage. 'I'Ik! imiioitance of dniiuing hmd cannot be over pstiniuted and seems now to l>o \inivei-sally acknowledged throughout our counti-y, not only by agriculturists, but l>y scientific menof-all classes. In l':ngland, il three feet in depth, and the establishment of a free passage for i-ain water and heat from the siu'face of the earth to the level of the drain, speedily ellectsmcst important changes in the condition of the soil ami subsoil. The lirst (■V'l"i'"y '^^i'' ''''' ^^'"^'^ ^^""^'-^ of lands reiiuire draining ! The "•(•neral answer might bethatall lands require draining that con- tain loo much Wiitei /or t/ie uderided crupfi. To be more s]»eciric, all lands which at somo seasons of the year become tilled with water which has no natural outlet but remains on or near the surface >uitd it is removed by evaporation. When a plowed lield shows on the whole or part of its surface, a constant appearance of dampness, indicating that as fast as water is dried out from its surface more is forced up from below, so that after a vain-fall it is much longer than other lands in assunnng the color of dry earth, unmistakeably needs draining. Lands of whatever kind of soil in which the openings or spaces ]>e- tween the particles are tilled with waterwhether from rain-fwlls, springs, or .smfaoe-ove) flow within kan lliuii tlufti feet of i\u' .siiiliitc ul" tlje ground i.vniediately after heavy rain, require tliaiiiing. If the watei- of heiivy rains stands for some time on tlit. surfikce, of the earth, or if it collects in tlit furrow wliih^ plowing, draining is ne- cessary to bring it to its full fertility. Swamps and bogs require draining. No argunioiit is recpiired to convince sane men that tho large tracts of land usually known us swamps and bogs, aust in some way bo relieyed of their surplus wa- ter boforc they can he rendered fit for cultivation. All high lauds that contain too niiuh water at. any season, re(|uire tliainagc. There are other indications wl.iili may bo observed even in dry wcather,such as vide cracks in tho soil, "iiusad by tho drying of clays which by ]>roviou.s soaking have become pasted together. The curling of corn often shows that in its caily growth, it has been prevented Ijy a wet subsoil from .«iending down its roots, below the reach of the sun's heat, where it could find, e\ on in the dryest weather, sullicient moisture for a healthy growth. All soils of ordinary richness which contain a fair amount of dav, will v.-ithstand a severe drought without great injury to their crops, if thoroughly drained, so as to keep tin; poras openafcthesui-face. Very sli»dit '^' „ill be founil in determining what lands will be benefitted bv M »>uch less than in ascertaining what lands will uof he beni" Jung. DRAINS ACT AND AFFECT THE SOIL. La- . requires draining luuigs out a sign of its conditon, more or less clear, according to its circfimstances, but alway unmis- takable to the practi<;ed eye. Somjetimes it is the oroad banner of standing water, or dark. Avet st. .-aks in plowed land, wlien all shouhi bo dry and of evcii color ; sometimes only a fluttering rag of distress in curling corn, or wide-cnickiHg clay, or feeble, spindling, shivering grain, which has survived a precarious winter, on the ice stilts that have stretched its crown above a wet soil ; senietimes the quaran- tine flag cf rank growtli ami daidc iniasmalio fogs. To recognize these indications is the firat ollice of the drainer ■ the second, to remove the cau.ses from which they ai-ise. Jjaud »ihich requi^s draiuing,is that which,at son\e time tlurinAkage,from atljoining land,irom spiings which open within itjOr tiom a combination of two or ail of the,se sources,) becomes filled with water, tht.t does not readily tind a natural outlet, but Tff mains until removoil by evaponitioii. Every considerable add;tion to its water well>4 up, and soaks its very surface; and tliat which is add- ed after it i.s already brim full, must flow ofl'over the surface or lie ia puddles uj)ou it. Evaporation ia a slow process, and it becomes more and more slow as the level of the water recedes from the surface,andis sheltered by the overlying earth, from the action of sun and wind. Therefore, at least, during the periods of spring and fall p)'eparation of the land, during the early growth of plants, and often even in mid-, summer, the water inh/e, — th c top of the water of saturation, — is within a few inches of the surface, preventing the natural descent of roots, and, by reasoa of tlm small space to receive fresh rains, causing an interi'uptiou of work for some daya ^fter eiv h storm. Alderman Mechi,of Tiptree Hall, says : "Fil.vation may be too sud- den, as it is well enough shown by uur hot sandh and gravels ; but I apprehend no one will evor fear rendering strong clay too ; porous and manageable. The object of draining is to impart to such soih the mel. lowness and dark color of self drained, rich and friable soil. That perfect drainage and cultivavion will do this '~ a well-known fact. I know it in the case of my own garden. How it doss so I am not chemist enough co explain iu detail; but it is evident the effect is pro- duced by the fibers of the growing crop intersecting every particle of the soil, which they never could do before draining ; these with their excretions, decompose on removal of the crop, and are acted on bv the alternating air and water, v/hich also decompose and change, in a de- gree, the inorganic substances of the soil. Thereby drained land which was before, impervious to air and water, and consequently un- available to air and roots, to worms, or to vegetable or animal life becomes, by draiiuige,populated by both, and is a great chemical labor- atoiy,as our own atmosphere is subject to all the chang 's produced by animatsd nature." ^ FOROSITY OR MELLOWNESS. An open and mellow condition of the soil is always favorable for growth of plants. They require heat, fresh air, and moisture, to ena- ble them to take up the materials on which they live, a'K^l by which they grow. The heat of retentive soils is almost directly proportion, ate to the completeness with which their free water is removed by undergr-ound draining, and that, by reason of the increased facility ■with which air and water circulate within them, their heat is more evenly distributed amc-.g ail thn.se parts of the soil which are occupied by roots. The word moialur^ in this connection in used in oontradi^. tinction to loitmss ami implies a condition of freshness and dfimpness, — UDtat all of Hiitunition. la a siiturated, a soaking wet soil, every space bet'»^een the particles li filled with water t. the entire exclusion of t''e atmosphere, and in such a soil only aquatic plants will ^row. In a dri/ soil, on the other hand, when the ear^h is wntracted into clods and baked almost as in an oven,— one of the most important conditions for growth being wanting,— nothing can thrive, save those plants which ask of the earth only an anchoring place, and seek their norishment from the air. Both air plants and water plants have their wisely assigned places in the eoenoray of nature, and nature provides them with ample space for growth. Agricultuie h<)wever, is directed to the production of u class of plants very different from either of these, — to those which can only grow lo their greatest perfection in a soil combining, not <■ -■ or two only, but all three of the conditions named above. \ us they require heat, they cannot dispense with the moisture which too gi-eat heat removes ; while thty require mois- ture, they cannot abide the entire exclusion of air, nor the dissipation of heat which too much water causes. The interior part of the pellets of a well pulverized soil should contain all the water they can hold by their own abso\ptive power, just !is the finer walls of a damp sponge hold it; whil- the spaces between these pellets,liketheporesof the sponge, should be filled with air. In such a soil, roots can extend in any direction, and to considera- ble depth, without being parch':»d with thirst or drowned in stagnant water, and other tilings being equal, plants will grow to their greatest possible size, an.J .ill their tissues will be of the best possible texture. On rich land, which is maintained in this condition of porosity and mellowness, agriculture will produce its best results, and will encoun- ter thefewwst possible chances of failure. Of course. there are not manv such soils to be found, and such absolute balance between wai-mth and moisture in the soil cannot bo maintained at all times, and under all circumstances, but the more nearly it is maintained, the more nearly perfect will be the results of cultivation. CHEMIC.\L ACTION IN THE SOIL. Planta receive certain of their constituents from the soil, through thfir roots. The raw materials fi-om which the^e constituents are ob- tained ar% the minerals of the coil, the manures which aie artifi'.iall» applied, water, and certain substances which aie taken from the air by I the absorptive action ol'tlie fioil, oi' aie brought, to it by rains, or by water llowiug over the, surface from other hmd. The uiiueral matters, which constitute tlie a.shcs of plants, when burned, are not more accidental impuiities whicli happen to be canieil into their roots in solution in tho water wliich supplies the sap, al- thougli they vary in character and proportion with (jacli char.ge in the mineral com[»osition of tlie soil. It is proven by cliemical analysis, that tha composition of tlie ashes, not only of diflerent species of plants but of dift'ereno jiarts of the same plant, have distinctive characters, • some being lich in ])hosphates, and others insilex ; some in potash, and others in lime, and that these cliararters arc in a measure tlie same, in the same plants or parts of [ilants, without especial reference to the soil on which tliciy grow. The minerals whiclifotm the ashes of plarits, constitute but a vtny small part of the soil, and they are veryspavsely distributed thro'.ighout the mass ; existing in the inlcrioi' of its parti- cles, as well as upon their surfaces. As roots cannot penetrate to the interior of [lobbies and compact particles of earth, in search of thefood which they require, but can only take that which is e>' osed on their surfaces, and, as the oxydizing efl'ect of atmospheric air is uscf\d in ]»re2>aring the crude minerals for assimilation, as well as iu decompos- ing the particles in which they arc bound u[),- a process v/hich is jil- lied to thor U!^'tl)f'j of metals, -the more fveely atmospheric air is allow- ed, or induced, to circulate among the inner portions of tlit; .soil, the more readily aio its fertilizing pai-ts made available for the use of loots. l>y no other pi-ocess is air made to outer so lics of atii;os()lieric air, to con tinue the deconqiositiott v. 'lich alone can preptire them for thcii ]>io per efTecb on vegt.'tatitm. It kepi satuialcd with water, so that liie air is excluded, aiiiuial Uiaiiures lie neaily inert, and vegetable matttus decompose but iucoiu plelely, — yielding acids which are iiijuiious to vrgetation, ami which would not be formed iu the presence of i ,iiitUcient siqipl}' oi aii. An instance is cited by Jl. Wa\:er where sheep dung was preserved, I'of live yijars, by excessive moisture, which ki'pt it. IVoiri the air. If I lie I soil he fiiiLur.Ued willi wiitor in (lie spriii-, mul, in siiimncf (\>y thr (•ompacting of its .siirtUi'c, which is ciuised hy cvaiyriitioii,) he dosed ngainst the entrance of :iir, manuros will ho hut slowly doooniposed, and will act but imperfectly in tlm crop, -if, on the other hand, a complete system of drainage he adopted, manures, (and the '-oots which have been left in the g;ound by the previous crop,) will he readily decomposed, and will excercise their full inJluence on the soil, and on the plants growing in it. Again, manures are more or less cftective, in proportion as they aie more or loss thoroughly mixed with the soil. In anundrained,retentive soil, it is not often ].ossihin to attain that perfect flit//, which is best suited f(.i-:, |.ro])or M.lmixttM'o.a.Kl which is easily given aftei- thorousih