main.

Convey the pipes by wagon or otherwise, as is convenient, to the side of
the ditch where the soil lies, and where there is least earth, and lay
them close to the edge of the ditch, end to end the whole way,
discarding all imperfect pieces. If it is designed to use gravel, turf,
or other covering for the pipes, lay it also in heaps along the trench.
Then place the first pipe at the upper end of the ditch, with a brick or
stone against its upper end, to exclude earth. We have heretofore used
sole-tiles, with flat bottoms, and have found that a thin chip of wood,
not an eighth of an inch thick, and four by two inches in size, such as
may be found at shoe shops in New England, assists very much in securing
an even bearing for the tiles. It is placed so that the ends of two
tiles rest on it, and serves to keep them in line till secured by the
earth. A man walking backward in the ditch, takes the tiles from the
bank, carefully adjusting them in line and so as to make good joints,
and he can lay half a mile or more in a day, if the bottom is well
graded. Another should follow on the bank, throwing in a shovel full of
gravel or tan, if either is used, upon the joint.

If turf is to be used to secure the joint, pieces should be cut thin and
narrow, and laid along the bank, and the man in the ditch must secure
each joint as he proceeds. It will be found to cost twice the labor, at
least, to use turf, as it is to use gravel or tan, if they are at hand.

If the soil be clay, we do not believe it is best to return it directly
upon the tiles, because it is liable to puddle and stop the joint, and
then to crack and admit silt at the joint, while gravel is not thus
affected. We prefer to place the top soil of clay land, next the pipes,
rather than the clay in the condition in which it is usually found.

As to small stones above the pipes, we should decidedly object to them.
They are unnecessary to the operation of the drain, and they allow the
water to come in, in currents, on to the top of the pipes, in heavy
storms or showers, and so endanger their security. The practice of
placing stones above the tiles is abandoned by all scientific drainers.

We have, in England, seen straw placed over the joints of pipes, but it
seems an inconvenient and insecure practice. Long straw cannot be well
placed in such narrow openings, and it is likely to sustain the earth
enough, so that when thrown in, it will not settle equally around the