,
one-tenth of the expense,--what might have been a permanent improvement to
the land, may disappear, and the whole outlay be lost in ten years. A
saving of ten per cent. in the cost will have lost us the other ninety in
a short time.

But, while cheapness is to be shunned, economy is to be sought in every
item of the work of draining, and should be studied, by proprietor and
engineer, from the first examination of the land, to the throwing of the
last shovelful of earth on to the filling of the ditch. There are few
operations connected with the cultivation of the soil in which so much may
be imperceptibly lost through neglect, and carelessness about little
details, as in tile-draining. In the original levelling of the ground, the
adjustment of the lines, the establishing of the most judicious depth and
inclination at each point of the drains, the disposition of surface
streams during the prosecution of the work, and in the width of the
excavation, the line which divides economy and wastefulness is extremely
narrow and the most constant vigilance, together with the best judgment
and foresight, are needed to avoid unnecessary cost. In the laying and
covering of the tile, on the other hand, it is best to disregard a little
slowness and unnecessary care on the part of the workmen, for the sake of
the most perfect security of the work.

*Details of Cost.*--The items of the work of drainage may be classified as
follows:

1. Engineering and Superintendence.

2. Digging the ditches.

3. Grading the bottoms.

4. Tile and tile-laying.

5. Covering the tile and filling the ditches.

6. Outlets and silt-basins.

1. _Engineering and Superintendence._--It is not easy to say what would be
the proper charge for this item of the work. In England, the Commissioners
under the Drainage Acts of Parliament, and the Boards of Public Works, fix
the charge for engineering at $1.25 per acre. That is in a country when
the extent of lands undergoing the process of draining is very great,
enabling one person to superintend large tracts in the same neighborhood
at the same time, and with little or no outlay for travelling expenses. In
this country, where the improvement is, thus far, confined to small areas,
widely separated; and where there are comparatively few engineers who make
a specialty of the work, the charge for services is necessarily much
higher, and the amount expended in travelling much greater. In most cases,
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