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Drainage. aThe following digest of a lecture be-1 P* fore the Iowa Agricultural College, by Prof. G. W. Jones, we find in the Iowa 1)0Homestead: I anThe practical and important question Pu asked by every .farmer andjgardener is, J will drainage pay ? That depends on Iab many considerations, to be developed in at' the course of these lectures. It may tu doubtless be said, however, at the out- I Pe set that on most of the lands of Iowa it Br would not pay at present; that most of an our farmers are at present too poor to j be undertake it; and further, that the J P* greater part of our lands do not need it. There remains a small part of our lands I that would be benefited by it, a few I farmers that are abundantly able to I undertake such permanent improve-1 raents, and some lands which, from t6.] their peculiar positions, would warrant j^11 the outlay. Among such may bo *1®enumerated gardens, nurseries, orchards,village lots, highways, dairy farms near large cities, and in general such as | are of great value in the market or re- j ceive much labor in cultivation ; and it Fa is manifest that the area of such lands in; is rapidly increasing year by year; but thlt; for cheap and remote lands the fro time has not yet come. On what lands eat is drainage needed? In general, lands bo with gravelly or sandy subsoil need no thi artificial drainage, for the subsoil itself wi allows the free overflow of the surface prlt; water. Lands with a clayey subsoil do only need drainage, It is needed whcr- tin ever tho subsoil does not of itself allow ap; a roady outflow. The indications of got such needs are numerous and distinct. J firt They are standing water, rank, coarse po; vegetable growth, wido cracks during bci drought, curling, corn, fogs, tho collec- ap; tion of water in pits in tho spring, or sta general muddiness. The conditions grt requisite to vigorous vegetation of our I it lt;cultivated plants are warmth, moisture, j and are in duo proportion in the soil, j and for subsequent growth fertility. A very dry soil checks growth by want of j moisture; a very hard or wet soil by lia' want of air; a very cold one by want of abl needed beat. ro;iOur soils are made up of particles I nal more or less finely divided, with spaces lin between. They are best fitted for cul- chi tivation when moderately moist, not qui wet—i. e.t when air fills the larger and tur water the smaller spaces. Tho office of prt drainage is to remove tho surplus water, j He The source of water in our soils is three- sea fold—rain, overflow, and springs. The to rain in summer is warm, and is loaded rot with ammonia and nitric acid. It thlt; should be absorbed and filtered by the Vn soil. The overflow is often hurtful and Ro seldom useful; it is generally to be wa avoided. The Bprings are cold, have no in fertility, chill and check vegetation; x they are to be cut oft’. Water is removed clu from soil in three ways : by evaporation, tic by overflow, and by filtration. The first pu cools tho soil by the absorption of heat ovt in tho act of evaporation; the second wh washes out and away all the finer and ext richer parts of the soil—they are both Th to be avoided; the last leaves its warmth Eai and fertility in the Boil, works down- rat ward, and is always to be chosen. To er£ this end the soil must be comparatively pri dry and mellow, for if it be hard the tiv rain cannot penetrate it; and it if it be vai alrcadly surcharged with water it can res receive no more. In both it must flow I Pa ofl‘ above tho ground. The kinds of drains are various. In stoney fields, wide ditches are sometimes dug and filled with stones, more or less carefully laid. It makes a useful drain and a good deposit of useless stones. Such drains are likely in time to be choked with dirt and fail. The bottom may be filled with brush, covered with a board or straw, then earth. It works well till decay and final settlement choke and destroy it. A plow with a long coulter makes a mole drain. Open drains serve well to carry off surplus water, but need constant attention to prevent filling; besides, they are convenient in thefields. The above is a uutke-shift affair,frequently useful, and frequently the only thing possible. The object of these lectures, however, is to explain a thorough and complete system of permanent drainage.ceipaiciethlt;emancotrotbueralarmeguwethitinmeveiintin]ion
Newspaper Details
Jones County Liberal
Monticello, Iowa, US
Thu, Oct 24, 1872
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IA, 26 Jun 2017
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