before. Did he think it paid? Yes. What kind of tile did he use and
how was the work done? So A. planned and did his work in accordance with
information obtained from B. Neighbor C. followed A., and so the work
spread. It is now found that mistakes were made in the beginning which
were handed from one to the other, until now, no alternative remains but
to remove the whole work, and no little trouble and expense. This case
is but one out of many which might be stated illustrating the lack of
information at the beginning of drainage work. My observation upon this
point has been that those have availed themselves of information given
in books and papers upon drainage matters made fewer mistakes and did
better work than those who relied upon the general wave of progress to
push them along in the footsteps of their nearest neighbor. The theory,
as well as the art, of drainage should be studied, and all knowledge
adapted to the peculiarities of each case.

MISTAKE NO. 2--NOT PLANNING FOR FUTURE DRAINAGE.

A mistake often made by the novice is, that at first, drains are located
without reference to the future drainage of other parts of the farm.
Drains are put in as experiments, very much as we would plant a new
variety of fruit or grain, expecting that probably the chances are
against their success. Subsequently, when plans for more extended
drainage are made, the drains already in operation were found to poorly
serve the desired purpose.

In order to guard against this mistake, have faith in drainage. Put it
down on the whitest page of your memorandum, and with your best pen and
ink, that drainage will pay, and the fewer mistakes made about it the
better it will pay. Put it down that the time will come when you will
drain all of your wet land, and make your plans accordingly. Many times
have I heard this objection to locating a drain so as to benefit a
certain field, "O no; I'll never drain that field. It's all right as it
is. If I can only get this wet over here dry I shall be satisfied." In
two years this same farmer was planning how he could drain the rejected
field, and regretting that he had not made provision for it from the
beginning. I have in mind several miles of tile that will be taken up
during the coming season and relaid with reference to the drainage of
all land having a natural slope in that direction.

MISTAKE NO. 3--NOT BEGINNING AT THE RIGHT PLACE.

Many of the drains first put in are at the head o