satisfactory that the soil is sufficiently porous, and then probably, four rods might answer. These laterals should be at least three feet deep, and not more than ten inches wide on top, and no wider at bottom than just to admit the tiles. Unless there are springs to carry off, two-inch tiles are sufficiently large; and for main drain three and four inches, which are quite large enough, if the line is not over sixty rods long and no springs. The four-inch tiles should be put at the first half, and three-inch in the upper half. These sizes will carry off an immense quantity of water-as for laying in sixinch tiles, and two abreast at that, is an extra outlay, and useless.

Some men prefer stones, rather than tiles. I have known drains constructed with this material to have worked well for thirty years, and may still answer for aught I know. It is twenty-eight years since I saw them. This requires a larger digging, and is made by setting up a good sized flat stone on one side of drain, and leaning another against it, and filling up with smaller, which make up eight or ten inches. I have had drains laid in the above manner, but prefer tiles, which require less digging, easier, and quicker laid, altogether a better job.

Have seen drains constructed with small stones, thrown in to the thickness of ten or twelve inches. This is slovenly, and can not be depended on.

The Cost. This, of course, will vary in different sections of the State, labor being more expensive, and tiles obtained at greater cost in some localities than in others. In Lorain county, two-inch tiles may be had at ten dollars per thousand, three-inch for fifteen dollars, and four-inch for twenty dollars; digging and laying, by experts, twenty-five to thirty cents per rod. The following is what would be called thorough and permanent. Take, for instance, a ten-acre field, and, if square, ten chains long and one wide is an acre. This will require, by putting the drains three rods apart, the following:

Which would leave the cost, exclusive of hauling tiles, $18.70 per acre. The labor might be reduced by employing two men at less wages, with an expert to lay the line, make the last spading, and put in the tiles. This man would keep the two employed in digging and filling in, and at little more than half his pay. A cheaper plan yet is to take the team and plow. By going twice along the ditch, from twelve to fifteen inches deep can be plowed out and loosened up, so that a man can shovel and smooth off a large amount in a day. The team must be handled by a man thoroughly master of the work, as the furrow should be perfectly straight and narrow. This is nice exercise for the farmer himself, who ought to be competent to the task, and in leisure time such cost need not be considered. I have constructed drains in this way, and the money paid out for labor has not exceeded fifteen cents per rod.

The high wages paid for ditching and underdraining in this country is unreasonable and unjust. An able-bodied man, accustomed to the work, can make, complete, in one day, a drain two chains long and thirty-six inches deep, unless when the digging is extra hard, or that he meets with obstructions in digging.

Benefits Derived by Underdrainage.-These are many and very great. There are many acres of our Ohio lands producing but little besides weeds, wild grass, and rushes, and under the present mode of cultivation is of very little value either for growing grain or the better grasses, it being so thoroughly saturated with water that it is next to impossible to plow and get in a crop in proper season; and even when a crop is planted on this land it will generally fall below half an average, and does not meet expense of tillage. Can we, as farmers of Ohio, afford to let land run to waste in this manner, when the large grain-growing and wheat-producing sections of the western States are filling up our eastern markets with their produce? With this large competition, we must bestir ourselves, and endeavor, by an improved system of culture, to increase the return from our soil, so that we may better afford to send our products to market at these reduced prices. On most of our lands this increase can be obtained by underdrainage Our grain crop can not only be put in at the proper season, but will be greatly increased in quantity and quality, and this to a large extent. And the same results will apply to the grass crops, whether for hay, fattening stock, or for dairy purposes.

All who have underdrained to any extent will be, or are already, satisfied with the result. Where a strict account has been kept of the product of land, previous to and after draining, the difference has been shown to be amazingly great, and in many instances almost incredible. I can not give a statement of much experience in this country with regard to the exact difference in the crops. I have put in some few drains the last two or three years. One piece was injured, when in grass, by water-so much so that the water would remain in the soil till evaporated in the late spring, and then a few weeks of drought would affect it more than any other part of the field. A corn crop was spread over this field, and this part was a failure when the balance was excellent; the next crop oats, with the same result. This was underdrained, and last year was in wheat, and this part exceeded any part of the field, and the grass seeding made an excellent growth. All that I have done the last few years is more than satisfactory.

In England, on the farm I occupied, there was a four acre piece of very stiff clay; this would come along for wheat once in four years. The last wheat before draining was a very poor crop. In the month of May it turned yellow (the result of previous rains), and it never recovered. When threshed the four acres gave but seventy-eight bushels, very poor for that country. That same fall the piece was underdrained with tiles. Laid thirty inches deep, and the drains thirty-two feet apart. Was plowed ten inches and followed by subsoil ten inches deeper. This plowing was across the drains. The following spring, was put into spring vetches and fed to sheep on the ground. Plowed after the vetches were off and the soil thoroughly pulverized. Before plowing for the wheat seeding, one hundred and twenty bushels of lime per acre was spread over the field. There was a fine tilth for wheat, and at the next threshing the result was sixty-three bushels per acre of fine quality. Another instance, which resulted in the most radical change in a field of twenty acres which had never been plowed. A neighbor of mine purchased a small farm very dilapidated, indeed. A twenty acre field in pasture, was one-third of the farm. The field was a mass of rushes, wild grass, and thistles. The purchaser asked me to ride over the field with him, and see what could be done to change that surface. He proposed to plow it over. I remonstrated with him, and eventually persuaded him to underdrain. He commenced immediately putting the drains twenty-six feet apart and thirty inches deep which was well enough. The change the first year was a remarkable decrease of rushes, etc. But he, being rich and very eccentric, put across the field drains thirty-six inches deep and a chain apart. This was expensive, having to make two connections at every crossing of the previous

drains. The field had a good dressing of compost made from banks of soil mixed with lime and barn yard manure. The result was, that this twenty acres would pasture and fatten fifteen large bullocks, when previously it would only carry a few yearling cattle and sheep all half starved.

I wish something could be said by me to induce members of the Convention, and farmers of the State who have not made a beginning in this important improvement of the farm, to try the experiment. On most farms there are low places where the water cannot be drawn off by plowing surface ditches sufficiently quick on which crops often suffer after heavy and continual rains, and generally this is the richest land in the field If an underdrain was put through these places it would more than pay the cost in one or two crops. It would be well for all far ners, who do not intend to drain where the surface water can be let off, to make this little outlay and watch the result. Men might learn by noticing the difference where an open ditch is cut. It may be seen that the crop for thirty or more feet on either side is superior to any in the field. Those of us who are not able to do all we desire in the matter must get along by degrees.

There are many of our Ohio farms abundantly able to make a permanent drainage of the whole farm. But too many of these men make their farm only a secondary object, seeming to care but little about profits so long as they grow sufficient for bread and provender for their stock, and still less do they concern themselves about making improvements of the soil, forgetting the old adage, "that he who helps to make two blades of grass to grow, where but one grew before, is a public benefactor." Many of these gentlemen have funds invested in United States bonds and other property, believing they are doing well by making themselves rich in obtaining a sure interest for their property without any laborious or but little brain work, when to expend a part of this capital in permanent improvements on the farm, by underdraining, and a better cultivation of the soil, would give them a better percentage for their capital, and also better satisfaction by having a farm in a high state of cultivation, and of superior excellence.

Probably the greatest preventive to an improved system of cultivation is the eager desire so many farmers have to increase the acres. This is well enough if the farm has undergone all necessary improvements, but when such is not the case, would it not be far better to sell off a portion, if not able without so doing, and invest the proceeds in improvements, such as underdrainage, etc.? Thus, by reducing the acres the working expenses would be greatly reduced, and the returns from two-thirds of the land far above those under the previous system.

There are men having high and rolling land who claim to have the advantage over those whose farms are situated on a flat and more even surface, claiming that the natural drainage is sufficient. This will bear looking into. Every experienced farmer knows that many of the hilly, clay soils are of the hardest clay imaginable, and though water may not lodge or remain on these hilly farms, that in a season of continued dry weather these soils are the first to suffer by drouth. Why is this? Because it is the very wettest and generally the coldest and worst kind of clay in a wet time, and consequently so soon dried in a time of drouth. Let the high clays be underdrained, and the drouth would not affect them so early. I believe it is a settled fact by those best posted on the results of underdrainage that the system is more beneficial to soils of this nature in a time of drouth than in a wet season. We have all observed that those lands thoroughly underdrained do not suffer so early in a dry time, and never so much as those not drained. We need not be afraid to let the air and sun into these soils.

The notion that these apparently dry soils do not need drainage is absurd, and belongs to the past and dark ages.

Can we not see by looking over our cultivated crops, such as corn, potatoes, etc. I We notice one man continually working at the soil, keeping a deep tillage all through a season of drouth. Another will not use a cultivator, or if he does, just skims the surface. What is the result? The field having the deep tillage is producing a thrifty crop, the other is of stunted growth. Thus, the more we drain these tenacions soils, so much the less will they be affected by a severe season of drouth. More luxuriant will be the herbage, and not only of better growth, but the quality will be superior by its producing finer and better grasses, and if put to a grain crop the product will be two or even three fold.

There are many advantages derived from this system of drainage. The land can be worked earlier in the spring, or after heavy rains, as the surface commences to dry immediately after the rain is over. The crops may be planted in good season, instead of waiting, and that very often till too late to secure a full crop. The land will not suffer so much by wheels and the tramping of horses in hauling away the crops. When in pasture, heavier stock can travel over the field without injury, when previously the pasture could not be fed at some seasons without disastrous results.

The benefits are not only for a few years; it is permanent. And so long as the outlets are properly attended to, and vermin and roots are kept from entering the tiles, we can see no reason why the drainage should not remain perfect for a century or more. The drains are often injured or even made useless after heavy rains. Anxious to see the water pass off quickly, thoughtless men will go with a crowbar and let the water direct to the tiles, and sometimes breaking through the tiles. If there is a proper outlet, the water will go off sufficiently quick to save the plants. Other men have been known to leave a small vacancy between each tile, claiming that the water cannot get through into the tiles, as though the water would not penetrate the tiles. If such men would just try the experiment by sealing the ends of a tile perfectly tight, and lay the tile in water for a few hours, they would find that the water had found its way sufficiently to fill the tile.

When tile drainage was first introduced in England, and for years after, this notion retarded its progress. But when the noted Smith, of Deanston, introduced his system of perfect underdraining, people generally became convinced that this notion was erroneous, and that when tiles were properly laid, the water would not only get into them, but pass off quite readily.

I will not close this paper without reminding those interested in the matter, and all who are making this improvement of the soil, that in none of the many improvements in our agricultural pursuits is a strict superintendency more needed by the owner or occupier. Some men can be trusted, but from experience we all know that many can not be thus trusted. Never should the digging be done without the spirit level being often used, to show whether the fall is uniform or not. Some men have a good eye for the business, but all are liable to err. It is also unsafe to have many yards of the drain left open for any length of time, as it is liable to cave in, and the action of the air on the bottom will cause the tile bed to become loose and unfit to receive the tiles, and the more so if the work is going on when the nights are frosty. Unless all these minor matters are attended to, we need not be surprised if the system partly fails to accomplish its purpose. No one thing in the business of the agriculturist needs more careful study and close attention than this underdrainage, as it underlies all of the many parts which are indispensable to make farming successful.

DISCUSSION.

The President declared this topic open for discussion.

J. M. DAUGHERTY. Mr. President, farm drainage is a very important thing, but from where I sit, I could not hear-I could not hear the remarks connectedly. He speaks of a ten-acre field, with the tile from sixteen to thirty feet apart, but the size of the tile I did not hear. It is a very important thing to know the size of the tile used. Some grounds need a larger tile than others. I live in the western part of the State, in Preble county. I find that we have to use different size tile for different qualities of lands, It is important to know from the different parts of the State, the kind of tile, and size, and kind of soils. We experimented on that pretty extensively in Preble county, for some years, and we found that in the start we used too small tile. Some of us were using two-inch tile entirely, but we have abandoned that now, except for waste water from a cellar, or something like that. Bat for farm purposes we are now using from four to ten-inch tile. In our clay soils we use a larger tile; we use different kinds of tile. We first commenced by using horse-shoe tile for the bottom. In making large tile we found difficulty in getting them dried; six or eight-inch tile would crack before we could get them dry in the kiln. Now we use round tile, making them twelve inches, and have no trouble in drying them. These things are very important to state. We generally expect, and I think it will pay. They are expensive tile, in our county, running from four to thirty-two inches in size. Every inch additional in size adds ten cents to the price per rod. Tile that is seven inches costs sixty-five cents per rod now. We have some seven or eight tile kilns in our county, running very extensively, four or five running by steam. During this season of the year, you would think that they would not be half used, but by next May you will find them all used. People are going into it extensively, paying from sixty-five to seventy cents a rod for the tile. We find that it draws the water off and dries the land off better, and crops are not so liable to be killed by freezing. We do some surface ditching, digging down, say two feet to two feet eight inches, giving a fall of six or eight inches to the rod. It will draw, but does not draw sufficiently to prevent its becoming stopped up; it does not draw like tile. All have now adopted tile in our part of the State, and I think we shall, in four or five years, all have big tile.

T. C. JONES. Mr. President, I infer from what the gentleman from Preble has said, that the drains he is speaking about are all mains. He is not speaking of laterals; and I also infer that there is no such thing as what is called thorough drainage in his neighborhood-that is, where we put down a main which would be six or eight inches, and have laterals run into it. The idea of putting in a drain without laterals, and putting in tile ten or fifteen inches in diameter, is a thing I never heard of anywhere. But, as to the quality of the soil, if there is any other reason for different size tile, then I dissent. It is something new to me. For example, in a level farm the tile must be larger, a great deal, than up where we live, in Delaware county. Most of the land in Union county is very level, and half the tile is too small; but there, as in the case the gentle-· man states, there was no thorough drainage-that is, no maiu drain with laterals running in. Where we have that, two-inch tile is large enough for laterals. I think there is no question about that, if you can get a reasonable amount of fall. I have seen some few fields in Ohio that were thoroughly drained-of the densest clays, the most thoroughly water-holding clays-that were drained in that way, with the main drains six or eight inches, and the laterals which would not be more than a rod apart. If the drain running, say a hundred feet long, and not more than a rod from another drain, will not