Farm drainage | Page 3

Land too Dry?--Adhesive Attraction.--The Finest Soils exert most Attraction.--How much Water different Soils hold by Attraction.--Capillary Attraction, illustrated.--Power to Imbibe Moisture from the Air.--Weight Absorbed by 1,000 lbs. in 12 Hours.--Dew, Cause of.--Dew Point.--Cause of Frost.--Why Covering Plants Protects from Frost.--Dew Imparts Warmth.--Idea that the Moon Promotes Putrefaction.--Quantity of Dew.
CHAPTER XVII.
INJURY OF LAND BY DRAINAGE.
Most Land cannot be Over-drained.--Nature a Deep drainer.--Over-draining of Peaty Soils.--Lincolnshire Fens. Visit to them in 1857.--56 Bushels of Wheat to the Acre.--Wet Meadows Subside by Drainage.--Conclusions.
CHAPTER XVIII.
OBSTRUCTION OF DRAINS.
Tiles will fill up, unless well laid.--Obstruction by Sand or Silt.--Obstructions at the Outlet from Frogs, Moles, Action of Frost, and Cattle.--Obstruction by Roots.--Willow, Ash, &c., Trees capricious.--Roots enter Perennial Streams.--Obstruction by Mangold Wurtzel.--Obstruction by Per-Oxide of Iron.--How Prevented.--Obstructions by the Joints Filling.--No Danger with Two-Inch Pipes.--Water through the Pores.--Collars.--How to Detect Obstructions.
CHAPTER XIX.
DRAINAGE OF STIFF CLAYS.
Clay not impervious, or it could not be wet and dried.--Puddling, what is.--Water will stand over Drains on Puddled Soil.--Cracking of Clays by Drying.--Drained Clays improve by time.--Passage of Water through Clay makes it permeable.--Experiment by Mr. Pettibone, of Vermont.--Pressure of Water in Saturated Soil.
CHAPTER XX.
EFFECTS OF DRAINAGE ON STREAMS AND RIVERS.
Drainage Hastens the Supply to the Streams, and thus creates Freshets.--Effect of Drainage on Meadows below; on Water Privileges.--Conflict of Manufacturing and Agricultural Interests.--English Opinions and Facts.--Uses of Drainage Water.--Irrigation.--Drainage Water for Stock.--How used by Mr. Mechi.
CHAPTER XXI.
LEGISLATION--DRAINAGE COMPANIES.
England protects her Farmers.--Meadows ruined by Corporation dams.--Old Mills often Nuisances.--Factory Reservoirs.--Flowage extends above level of Dam.--Rye and Derwent Drainage.--Give Steam for Water-Power.--Right to Drain through land of others.--Right to natural flow of Water.--Laws of Mass.--Right to Flow; why not to Drain?--Land-drainage Companies in England.--Lincolnshire Fens.--Government Loans for Drainage.
CHAPTER XXII.
DRAINAGE OF CELLARS.
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.
CHAPTER XXIII.
DRAINAGE OF SWAMPS.
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?
CHAPTER XXIV.
AMERICAN EXPERIMENTS IN DRAINAGE--DRAINAGE IN 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.
INDEX.

FARM DRAINAGE.
CHAPTER I.
INTRODUCTORY.
Why this Treatise does not contain all Knowledge.--Attention of Scientific Men attracted to Drainage.--Lieutenant Maury's Suggestions.--Ralph Waldo Emerson's Views.--Opinions of J. H. Klippart, Esq.; of Professor Mapes; B. P. Johnston, Esq.; Governor Wright, Mr. Custis, &c.--Prejudice against what is English.--Acknowledgements to our Friends at Home and Abroad.--The Wants of our Farmers.
A Book upon Farm Drainage! What can a person find on such a subject to write a book about? A friend suggests, that in order to treat any one subject fully, it is necessary to know everything and speak of everything, because all knowledge is in some measure connected.
With an earnest endeavor to clip the wings of imagination, and to keep not only on the earth, but to burrow, like a mole or a sub-soiler, in it, with a painful apprehension lest some technical term in Chemistry or Philosophy should falsely indicate that we make pretensions to the character of a scientific farmer, or some old phrase of law-Latin should betray that we know something besides agriculture, and so, are not worthy of the confidence of practical men, we have, nevertheless, by some means, got together more than a bookfull of matter upon our subject.
Our publisher says our book must be so large, and no larger--and we all know that an author is but as a grasshopper in the hands of his publisher, and ought to be very thankful to be allowed to publish his book at all. So we have only to say, that if there is any chapter in this book not sufficiently elaborate, or any subject akin to that of drainage, that ought to have been embraced in our plan and is not, it is because we have not space for further expansion. The reader has our heartfelt sympathy, if it should happen that the very topic which most interests him, is entirely omitted, or imperfectly treated; and we can only advise him to write a book himself, by way of showing proper resentment, and put into it everything that everybody desires most to know.
A book that shall contain all that we do not know on the subject of drainage, would be a valuable acquisition to agricultural literature, and we bespeak an early copy of it when published.
IRRIGATION is a subject closely connected with drainage, and, although it would require a volume of equal size with this to lay it properly before the American public, who know so little of water-meadows and liquid-manuring, and