When the grade exceeds 3 inches in 100 feet the diameter should be squared and the result divided by 3. This gives the following results:

Wheeler has given rules which accord closely with the rules given by Chamberlain.

(c) Method of Determining Area. - Wheeler, however, has pointed out that owing to the fact that water more slowly finds its way to the drains in compact soils, the area satisfactorily served by a main of any given size is greater in such soils than in those of more open character.

LAYING OUT AND CONSTRUCTION OF DRAINS.

In all cases where the grade must be flat it will be wise to employ the services of an engineer with accurate leveling instruments. Such services will cost something, but the expense of expert services would be amply justified in the more accurate and better work which can be done. At the outset, beginning where the main drain will discharge into the open water course, stakes should be put in at each end of each line of drains, and at all intermediate points where the direction or grade changes. Beside each stake drive a grade peg or hub, level with the surface of the ground. On each of the reference stakes first driven mark the depth at which the drain is to be laid below the top of the grade peg. When ready to begin excavation drive a pair of stakes, one on either side of each peg and a sufficient distance apart to clear the ditch when it is opened. Across each pair of stakes nail a batter board, the top of which should be at some uniform distance above the proper grade at the bottom of the ditch, - 6 feet is a convenient distance. For example, if the figure on a given reference stake indicates that the ditch is to be excavated 3.8 feet at that point, the top of the batter board should be 63.8, or 2.2 feet above the top of the hub. If the figure on the reference stake is 4.2 feet, then the height of the top of the batter board should be 1.8 feet above the top of the hub. When the batter boards along any given line are placed the excavation may begin. It is best in almost all cases to begin at the outlet or lower end of the line, and in most cases it is best to begin laying the tiles also at the lower end. A convenient means of determining whether the ditch is just the proper depth at any point is to stretch a light and very strong cord over the tops of the batter boards, immediately above what will be the center of the bottom of the ditch. The workman who finishes the grading should be provided with a measuring rod 6 feet in length, and should excavate until the distance from the cord above his head to the bottom of the ditch is exactly 6 feet at every point. There is one rather serious danger connected with

the use of such a cord. It may sag between supports. It is necessary to take the utmost care to see that it is perfectly taut and in the true line of grade.

If in excavating the ditch earth of different grades is found, it will be best to throw that which is coarsest by itself, as such earth is best suited to fill immediately around and above the tile. In clay sands or soils made up very largely of silt and extremely fine sand, it will often be profitable, if the distance which it must be carted is not too great, to haul coarse sand or fine gravel in order to fill in immediately about and above the tiles. If soil made up either of quicksand or fine silt be placed next the tiles it is almost certain to wash in at the joints. In all cases where the bottom is quicksand, or soft and treacherous in character, it will be best to place slabs or boards in the bottom of the ditch and to lay the tiles on these. In laying the tiles the utmost care should be taken to make as close joints as possible. Considerable · security against the entrance of silt and fine sand is secured by carefully covering the joints between tiles. For this purpose tenacious sods, placed with the grass side against the tile, are often effective. Other materials which prove effective are strips of tarred paper, about two or three inches wide and long enough to reach around the tiles, or similar strips of burlap, old fertilizer sacks cut or torn up answer this purpose admirably.

As soon as possible after the tiles are laid the earth should be filled in, for until this work is complete there is danger of serious damage through washing and caving should excessive rains occur. Care should be taken in filling to compact the earth thoroughly, and to round it up immediately over the line of the drain.

Many authorities recommend putting in silt basins at the junction of laterals with main drains and at points where there is a change in direction. In the writer's experience such basins add considerable to the expense, and are in many cases somewhat difficult to keep in repair. He does not, moreover, regard them as essential, and would advise putting them in only at important points in the system. The simplest method of making a silt basin is to use vitrified sewer pipe set with the lower end about one foot below the level of the tile. The drains are led into and out of it through holes of suitable size, which may easily be cut through the sides of the pipe. A second length of pipe may be set over the first if the depth requires, but the author would advise against carrying such wells to the surface. He would have the upper end of the well at least a foot below the surface of the ground. This must be covered to exclude the earth which will be filled in above it, and for this purpose either a cast-iron cover or a flat stone will be best.

The location of a well may be marked by a stake driven beside it, or it may be indicated on a plan, which, indeed, it is always wise to make and preserve for future reference whenever underdrains are put in.

ARTIFICIAL HATCHING AND REARING OF CHICKENS, AS APPLIED TO "SOUTH SHORE ROASTERS."

BY HENRY D. SMITH, ROCKLAND, MASS.

The hatching and raising of chickens artificially has been practised for ages, but the last decade has been marked with the greatest strides, as is shown by the vast number of incubators and brooders that are being made daily by the various manufacturers, all of which are being sold and used, which means that the poultry industry is still growing.

The question is often asked, "With all of this increase in the production of poultry products, is not the time near at hand when the poultry business will be overdone?" The reply is, "No, not as long as the demand increases as fast as the supply." And to-day Massachusetts is only producing about one-fifth of the poultry products that she is consuming, and again, while the price for spring roasters has not been any higher for the last two years than formerly, it has remained high for a longer time, which is just as good if not better for the poultryman.

To illustrate the importance of artificial methods in the hatching and rearing of chickens, just imagine our going back to the old hen for an incubator and a brooder! We might as well go back to the ox team for our transportation, and discard the steam and electric cars as well as the automobile and the flying machine, which is almost here.

With all of the incubators mentioned above going broadcast all over the country, into the hands of the novice as well as the expert, the question very naturally comes up, "Just what is the proper method for operating an incubator to get the best possible results?" In considering this question we must assume that the eggs are from good, strong, vigorous stock, which means not only stock from good parents, but those that are fed properly and comfortably housed. Almost any good variety of grains thrown in the litter of from four to six inches deep every morning (three parts of corn, one part each of wheat, oats and barley, makes a very good mixture), with a so-called dry mash, composed of equal parts of ground oats, middlings, Indian meal and beef scraps, until the hens get to laying well, then reduce the scraps to one-half of a part, makes a very good feed. The dry mash is practically

before them all of the time in troughs or hoppers, and of course plenty of good water, shells, charcoal and plenty of green stuff in some form, clover, alfalfa, rowen hay, cabbages, mangels, beets, or any of the many things that are the most available about the farm. Then the eggs should be gathered at least once a day, and in cold weather often enough so that they do not get chilled, every egg being marked with the number of the pen in which it was laid, so that when there are sufficient eggs to set a machine, a record can be made of how many eggs came from each pen.

In starting the incubator, the manufacturers' directions are sufficient, and their instructions for operating are as good as can be given in a general way for all parties and all conditions; but right here is where the difficulty, the mystery, and all of the varied opinions and controversies begin. If it were possible to have the very same conditions in every one's incubator room, the same instructions would apply to all; but until then, no rigid, fixed, arbitrary rule can produce the best results. To illustrate the different conditions that it is possible to obtain, divide the humidity into the following classes, very wet, wet, damp, normal, dry, and very dry; then divide the ventilation. into very poor, poor, fair, good, and very good; then make as many divisions of the temperature, from freezing to 85° or 90° above; now figure up the number of combinations that there are in all of the above features, and see what the little, insignificant embryo chick must contend with before the operator begins to manipulate the machine at all.

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In starting an incubator, the best thing to do - and it is not difficult is to follow the manufacturers' directions, and then by careful experiments, and records of them correctly kept, ascertain just how the best results can be obtained under one's own conditions. Now this seems to leave the party seeking information right where he began, but it does not if he thoroughly "digests" it, or grasps the writer's idea. Suppose a party buys his first incubator, and before starting it he goes to half a dozen different poultrymen, all equally successful, and finds out just how each one is running his machines; the chances are more than even that there will not be two of them that are doing exactly alike, and the party finds himself more bewildered than ever, when as a matter of fact they have all been honest with him, and are doing the very best that can be done under their conditions. For instance, one may run his as high as 104°, and perhaps is "airing" or "cooling" the eggs a great deal; where another may run his from 1024° to 103°, and is not airing his eggs at all; again, one may not supply any moisture at all, where another will be sprinkling them twice a day; and another has a wet sponge or some water pans in the incubator, or a wet blotting paper around the heater, and another will wet the floor down wet; then there are all kinds of ways of ventilating both the incubator and the room, so that I will have to reiterate, as above, that there is no one rule that will apply to us all.