CHAPTER IV. - HOW TO MAKE THE DRAINS.
Knowing, now, precisely what is to be done; having the lines all staked out, and the stakes so marked as to be clearly designated; knowing the precise depth at which the drain is to be laid, at every point; having the requisite tiles on the ground, and thoroughly inspected, the operator is prepared to commence actual work.
He should determine how many men he will employ, and what tools they will require to work to advantage. It may be best that the work be done by two or three men, or it may be advisable to employ as many as can work without interfering with each other. In most cases,—especially where there is much water to contend with,—the latter course will be the most economical, as the ditches will not be so liable to be injured by the softening of their bottoms, and the caving in of their sides.
The Tools Required are a subsoil plow, two garden lines, spades, shovels, and picks; narrow finishing spades, a finishing scoop, a tile pick, a scraper for filling the ditches, a heavy wooden maul for compacting the bottom filling, half a dozen boning-rods, a measuring rod, and a plumb rod. These should all be on hand at the outset, so that no delay in the work may result from the want of them.
Fig. 22 - SET OF TOOLS.
Flat Spades of various lengths and widths, Bill-necked Scoop (A); Tile-layer (B); Pick-axe (C); and Scoop Spades, and Shovel.
Writers on drainage, almost without exception, recommend the use of elaborate sets of tools which are intended[pg 115] for cutting very narrow ditches,—only wide enough at the bottom to admit the tile, and not allowing the workmen to stand in the bottom of the ditch. A set of these tools is shown in Fig. 22.
Possibly there may be soils in which these implements, in the hands of men skilled in their use, could be employed with economy, but they are very rare, and it is not believed to be possible, under any circumstances, to regulate the bottom of the ditch so accurately as is advisable, unless the workman can stand directly upon it, cutting it more smoothly than he could if the point of his tool were a foot or more below the level on which he stands.
On this subject, Mr. J. Bailey Denton, one of the first draining engineers of Great Britain, in a letter to Judge French, says: