McHenry County, Illinois - Chapter 12: Farm Drainage. How Tile Are Made, 1885

Chapter 12: Farm Drainage. How Tile Are Made

It would be hardly fitting to close this work without referring to the above subject, for, out of the 384,400 acres of land comprising McHenry County, nine per cent., or 34,956 acres, are wetland and totally unfit for cultivation, as shown by the report of the Secretary of the State Board of Agriculture. On this land the farmers of this county are paying taxes and yet receive from it no income, while the wet spots stand, a menace to the health of the family and a blotch on the appearance of the farm.

Owners of land in other sections of the country have discovered that this can all be remedied, and unnumbered instances elsewhere show beyond all question that these lands are the most productive and richest, as well as surest to depend on, of any lands found. Experience has demonstrated that when men once see the effects accomplished by thorough drainage they never hesitate about improving their lands at once - that all that is needed is for them to post themselves, which they can do in a measure from such articles as we offer here, but more especially from actual observation of the work itself. That this is true is shown by the fact that there was made and used in the State of Illinois in the year 1878 seventy-six per cent, more drain tile than in the year 1877, and 430 per cent, more than in the year 1876, while in the year 1884 their number was more than 700 per cent, greater than in 1878, and nearly 4,000 per cent, greater than in 1876, and yet they are all used and have begun and are continuing their work of redeeming thousands of acres of land - making it healthy and productive. There are places scattered about in McHenry, Lake and adjoining counties where the results of their use may be seen. The writer had shown him, adjoining Crystal Lake, on the extensive farm of C. S. Dole, Esq., a large tract of beautiful land, as productive as a garden, upon which his informant assured him that he himself had a few years since speared fish.

Another instance is on the farm of Geo. S. Young, Esq., near Harvard, where a pond in which there were fish was drained in 1883 and a fine crop of corn was raised thereon in 1884, despite the idea of many that the soil would be too light to raise anything if it were drained. Other instances might be mentioned but you have doubtlessly noted some in your neighborhood.

Now why is this so essential? and why should the placing of a tile drain add to the value of land? "Without water no plant life will flourish, but another thing is as certain - an excess of water is injurious if not fatal to any crop. In any soil except gravelly subsoil (which often has natural drainage) there is a line of saturation, probably a few inches below the surface, the soil above which is partially drained. That is porous and has air interposed between the particles of moist dirt. This is the soil that grows whatever crop is raised, for the plant roots must have soil in which to grow, when they have both air and water, and they will stop short and will not penetrate the soil below this line of saturation. Again, from this soil the only way in which water is removed, in many instances, is by evaporation, which requires the same amount of heat that is required to "boil away" a like amount of water on a stove, all of which heat is carried away from the soil by this process of evaporation and the soil left cold and sour. Again the rain in falling on such soil usually encounters a hard, dry crust which is the result of the last shower and which is almost absolutely impervious to water, and upon striking this the water is held back and carried off on the surface seeking some lower ground and carrying with it all its treasure of gases taken from the air as well as all the washings from the surface of the soil comprising its richest parts. You have noticed after a shower how the air was cleared and purified by the rain drops falling through it, and those same elements, taken from the air by the rain, are among the best stimulants and foods for plant life; and if the ground be provided with underground drains, the drops of the rain-fall percolate through the soil and, leaving in the soil all these gases and plant foods, the water issues from the drain as crystal spring water, pure and cool, having given off not only its nutriments but its heat also to the soil. Then in a well drained soil the line of saturation is lowered, the water gradually works down to the line of the drain, and the result is that there is a growing soil of from two to three feet into which the roots of the growing crops will extend and from which they will draw their treasures. The drops of rain are loaded with money, for plant food is money, and when it is washed away it is a washing away of money in reality, and when it is left in the soil it is money there to be gathered through the roots of the growing crops. Again, the water line being lowered, air is admitted. Yon know there is a terrific pressure to the envelope of air that surrounds the earth; you know how hard it is to produce a vacuum, to keep out this air, and you know, when you stop to think, that this force of atmospheric pressure will drive the particles of air clear down to the water line. And how is this in a dry time? The surface of the soil is left mellow by the showers, where the water is drawn off from below, and there is an entire absence of the dry crust, broken only by cracks, which is so commonly seen on an undrained soil in a dry time. The water is brought up from below by capillary attraction and air is carried through it, and air that is loaded with moisture, and "dew" is deposited through the soil as well as on the surface.

Good common sense is at the back of all practical drainage and if you follow that you will not be misled. Almost every farm has a wet patch of ten or twenty acres. Examine the natural outlet and see if it is not crooked and choked up. Dig it out straight and deep, and if it is to be a permanent open drain, don't be afraid of making the ditch too wide and the slope of the sides gradual. It ought to be about four times as wide as it is deep, and the dirt dug out should be thrown well back from the ed^e. This will begin the work by taking off the surface water and leave the lands in shape to put in the smaller lateral or branch drains. Dig your ditches for these, after having decided where you need them, and begin if possible at the mouth and work back, digging so that the water will all the time run from you. Get the new tools and find out the new way of doing it and you will be surprised to see how little dirt yon remove for laying tile. If you have but little fall, then you had better get a surveyor or drainage engineer to take the level, or get an instrument and take it yourself, or make one with a plumb line or level. If you are new to the business talk it over with some neighbor who has studied into it and put in tile. Eead all you can get about it and if you can't get information from any other source handy, goto the nearest tile manufacturer, for it is his business to know and to be ready and willing to tell you, and he will both be posted and glad to tell you if he amounts to anything and is not behind the times.

Remember to make thorough work of whatever you do put in. Don't try to run a drain at one pitch part way and then decrease the pitch; when you think of it you will see its fatal effect. Increase the fall as you go as much as you will, but never decrease it. Don't put in too small tiles. The difference in cost is not great, and you may want to add to them in the future, and have to dig up and replace at large expense be- ' cause the capacity is not great enough. Remember that the 2arrying capacity increases greatly with the size and is pretty nearly as the squares of their diameters, but friction is greater in the smaller. One eight inch will carry as much as two of six inch. The depth of laying and distances apart are approximately shown by the following table from " Haswell:"

Get them well down anyway, even if you do not get them so near as here stated. Remember that, generally speaking, the deeper you place them the wider strip will they drain. Get as , good a fall as you can, and not less than one in 500 if you can help it. The following table will give you an approximate idea of how many tile it will take per acre, laying the tile in rows at the distance apart stated:

So much as to the ditching - now as to the tile. The points of superiority are that they should be smooth, on the inside anyway; straight - not warped in drying or burning; the ends should be at right angles to sides so as to fit well against the end of the next tile; free from cracks and imperfections; and last, but by no means least, of a clay that works to a good body and not in layers, and burns to a hardness so that you cannot cut into it with a knife - can barely scratch it. On this last point yon must remember you are putting your tile in to last all time and you want something that will stand.

A line of tile will carry water from as many acres as the square of the diameter of the tile in inches, thus: A two-inch tile will serve as a main to carry the water which flows from four acres; a threeinch from nine acres, etc. In many instances you can carry off the cold water from hill-side springs by tile and thus easily save quite a patch of land made wet and cold by the seepage of the spring. If the whole length of the ditch is opened, begin laying tile at the upper end, the opposite gfrom where you begin to dig, then if you get a shower before you get through your tile are not clogged. When you start your drain put a round stone against the end to keep out the dirt, and when you stop laying at night, put a stone against the end to keep anything from crawling up. Be careful to fix a good opening where your tile empties into the open ditch, brick it up and make it substantial, and have it above the water so it won't fill up, and have it protected so nothing can get into it.

If you order tile shipped the following table will give you the number of the different sizes, constituting a car load of ten tons, so that the actual car load will be from this amount to double the same according to the capacity of the car.

Car Load

this subject, not alone as to drainage districts, but to apply to the reclaiming of land for agricultural purposes, by draining over the land of another, and all this accomplished, too, without expensive or vexatious litigation, so that with the laws so framed, if you have tile of good quality, manufactured within a reasonable distance, so that you will not be eaten up with freight charges, you are in a proper condition to wonderfully improve your land and to^ add materially to your income.

Havino- recently had occasion to examine some of the drain tile manufactured at the Spring Valley Tile Works, which are located between Crystal Lake and McHenry, at the new station of " Terra Cotta," on the C. & N. "W. E. R, the writer hereof can but conoratulate the people of the vicinity upon the excellent quality of the product sent out from these works. The proprietor, ¥m. D. Gates, known in the community from his boyhood, experimented upon the clay found here for a long time before beginning the actual work of putting in machinery, and then, having fully satisfied himself on every point, began pushing the work with all possible speed. He had become enthusiastic over the clay found and carried his enthusiasm into the line of making the works a study and a pet, wishing them to be among the very best in the land. To this end he has studied other factories and found what was best in each, and, profiting by their experience, and by using the new and most improved forms, he is able to better handle his materials and produce better results than older factories with oldfashioned appliances.

The clay is carried direct from the bank in small dumping cars, over a miniature railroad, directly into the factory and dumped into a tempering bin by the side of the machinery. Here, after being properly tempered, it is shoveled into the crusher, from which it falls into the tile machine proper. From this it emerges in a steady stream of tile.

As they have to stand until dry, a large amount of space is needed for this purpose, and large new buildings have been built. When dry the tile are wheeled to a kiln, which is a large structure of fire brick banded by heavy bands of iron and shaped not unlike an old-fashioned bee-hive. Each kiln holds about 10,000 tile, and as soon as filled is sealed up and the fires started. The heat has to be raised very slowly, constant attention being requisite, or all will be spoiled. About a week is required to burn a kiln and cool off, consuming about nine tons of coal in the operation. The heat generated is very intense, fusing iron easily, so that all the exposed parts have to be of the very best fire brick.

The works are provided with a fine fire protection separate and entirely distinct from the steam-power. This is a strong rotary pump, operated direct from the water-power, and thus always ready at a moment's notice, and by means of thorough piping, throws three powerful streams of water through lengths of hose constantly attached at different parts of the buildings.

Mr. Gates has manufactured some very fine red and white brick and has also made a new departure in building material, having made a quantity of square hollow tile for use in building walls of houses by means of which the wall has a double air space. He has already started a residence for himself at the works out of this material which we advise every one to see.

We confidently predict a good market for his pressed brick in Chicago, as well as for his Terra Cotta for ornamenting the exterior and interior of buildings, for which latter purpose he intends to push his works, producing ornaments, mantels, friezes, etc.

The manufactured products intended for shipment are loaded on cars at the factory, by means of a railroad track connecting with the railroad proper at the new station "Terra Cotta," about a mile from the works.

While all useless labor has been left out of the work, still great care has been exercised that nothing should be done that would in any way impair the quality of the goods, as quality is deemed by him the first consideration. The texture of the product itself is a guarantee of excellence, and we confidently predict that farmers layiDg these tile will never be troubled with having to dig up and relay their drains on account of defective tile.

We are glad to see that the proprietor intends manufacturing his clays, instead of shipping the crude article, as he has had opportunities for doing, as by this means he is using home labor and building on a sure and prosperous foundation.

The goods manufactured have stood the severest test of frost, and we would advise any one intending laying tile especially, to thoroughly investigate the product of these works before buying, as we are satisfied they will get a very superior quality of product and honest and fair treatment as well.