Evening Republican, Volume 18, Number 212, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 8 September 1914 — BIG IMPROVEMENT OF THE CLAY LAND [ARTICLE]

BIG IMPROVEMENT OF THE CLAY LAND

Difficulty In Some Cases Exists in Getting Outfall 4or Good ' Drainage. - (By W. R. GILBERT.) If it contains much water, draining will be'a great improvement; one or two three-feet drains through a damp piece of land will be a; permanent improvement, but the difficulty Tn some cases is to get an outfall. Where the- outfall exists, wet land should be drained before planting fruit trees, and the drains should not be less than three feet deep. More will, in many cases, be better, as the drains which let out water will introduce air, and so a double improvement will bo going on. After draining, some of the day should be burnt like ballast, and after it has. cooled, screen It and lay the roughest over the pipes' in the drain and spread the fine material over the land. ' I have seen this carried -out on cold, clay land, and the improvement has been < immense. ,