The Rural Voice, 1983-07, Page 43STRIKING BACK
Draining and Tiling - 1881
by Detonator Dan
Drainage! The very word conjures up
angry neighbours, incompetent engi-
neers, indecisive councils, high cost
contractors and out-of-date government
regulations. Yet, drainage of agricultural
land creates new money in the form of
higher crop yields and generally more
efficient field husbandry.
The farmers of the 1870's recognized
the many benefits of land drainage, a fact
attested to by the numerous favourable
submissions to the 1881 Agriculture
Commission.
Mr. Dickson of Tuckersmith gave a
typical testimony to the Commission:
"My drainage has produced excellent
results, the wet land which has been
drained is the finest land on the farm. In
the land with a clay bottom like ours, you
can grow one-third more when it is
drained than you can when it is not
drained. Cedar drains will last longer
than any other type of wooden drain.
project was undertaken. Once the general
layout was determined and the lateral
lines marked, a horse, plow and shovel
were used to turn out the dirt; the final
digging was done with the spade.
Quicksand was difficult to work in, and
many times, drains were laid open for a
few months to remove excess water, then
the tile would be placed sometime before
the fall wet season.
The best spades and shovels were
imported from Birmingham, England, at
a cost of $3.50 each.
Frances Malcolm, a member of the
1881 Agriculture Commission, suggested
that Canadian -made spades are entirely
worthless being weak and inferior in
material (we all thought that it was just
recently that Canadian manufactured
to those of other
goods were inferior
countries.)
will quote the costs involved in
draining a ten acre field during the
1870's:
301/2 days labour at 75c per day $22.871/2
Board for men $ 8.00
2400 feet of 2" tile $17.00
$ 1.30
$ 7.75
$ 7.00
$63.92 V2
100 feet of 1" tile
Laying of tile and filling, 5c per rod at 155 rod
Hauling tiles
Total cost
There are considerable quantities of land
in my district that ought to be drained."
Many different types of material were
used for drain construction - willow
sticks, hollowed out bricks, stone, wood,
for box -type drains and clay tile.
During the late 1970's, clay tile, 21/2
inches in diameter cost ten dollars per
thousand at the yard. Tile sizes were
available from one and 1/2 inch diameter
and up, along with "horse-shoe file", a
type that had no bottom.
Professor Brown of the Model Farm
suggested that wet land such as swamp,
is of no agricultural value; half -wet
meadow land is worth 50 cents per acre
in rent and well -drained land is worth
$3.50 per acre in rent.
In 1881, drainage paid for itself in four
years, if followed my good farming.
Drains were generally laid out by the
farmers themselves, working with what
capital and materials they had available.
Outlets, cutting and grading were given
serious consideration when a drainage
Detonator Dan [a pseudonym as you may
have quessedj is a practicing farmer in
the boondocks of Colborne Township,
Huron Cnl,nty
The construction costs really have
changed in 100 years!
The Ontario Government "got into the
Act" in 1878, with the Ontario Tile
Drainage Act. It stated: "municipalities
may borrow from the Government on 20
year debentures, bearing 5 per cent
interest, payable with sinking funds,
representing eight per cent in all, in 20
years, sums not less than 2,000 dollars or
more than 10,000 dollars, in amounts to
be loaned to owners of lands within the
municipalities for the purpose of the tile
draining. Not more than 1,000 dollars can
be loaned to any one person." The Act
was changed in 1879 to also include
stone or timber drains.
(The money which today's Government
uses to subsidize the tile drain loan
interest rate is an infinitesimal amount of
money in the scheme of government
spending. Yet, for every one dollar of
money spent by the Ontario government
in tile drain loan subsidy, up to four
dollars of new money is created. This
subsidy is the only one that provides a
plus -return to the economy, yet govern-
ment continues to reduce the amounts
available!)
Subsoiling was used in some instanc-
es to break up a supposed hard pan or
plow pan. Cost of the subsoiler was
about nine dollars, and required the
power of a span of horses.
Professor Buckland said subsoiling
was only beneficial on well -drained land.
Other farmers suggested that only
orchards would benefit from subsoiling.
There is no doubt that the pros and cons
of subsoiling created as much contro-
versy as the benefits of tiling.
Next month we share the Commis-
sions views on the Dairy industry in
1881.
011111#
lits
1:minofi
We manufacture
a heavier, stronger
tubing at
competitive prices.
Our representative
works closely
with the
local contractor.
?tam 7de Toe.
R.R. 3, WALKERTON, ONTARIO NOG 2V0
Plant location:
Four roads north of Teeswater,
one road west of Highway 4.
Use our Toll Free Number
1-800-265-3008
THE RURAL VOICE, JULY 1983 PG. 41