Preparatory to laying, the tiles should be placed along one side of the ditch, near enough to be easily reached by a man standing in it. When collars are to be used, one of these should be slipped over one end of each tile. The workman stands in the ditch, with his face toward its upper end. The first tile is laid with a collar on its lower end, and the collar is drawn one-half of its length forward, so as to receive the end of the next tile. The upper end of the first tile is closed with a stone, or a bit of broken tile placed firmly against it. The next tile has its nose placed into the projecting half of the collar of the first one, and its own collar is drawn forward to receive the end of the third, and thus to the end of the drain, the workman walking backward as the work progresses. By and by, when he comes to connect the lateral with the main, he may find that a short piece of tile is needed to complete the length; this should not be placed next to the tile of the main, where it is raised above the bottom of the ditch, but two or three lengths back, leaving the connection with the main to be made with a tile of full length. If the piece to be inserted is only two or three inches long, it may be omitted, and the space covered by using a whole 2½-inch tile in place of the collar. In turning corners or sharp curves, the end of the tile may be chipped off, so as to be a little thinner on one side, which will allow it to be turned at a greater angle in the collar. If the drain turns a right angle, it will be better to dig out the bottom of the ditch to a depth of about eight inches, and to set a 6-inch tile on end in the hole, perforating its sides, so as to admit the ends of the pipes at the proper level. This 6-inch tile, (which acts as a small silt-basin,) should stand on a board or on a flat stone, and its top should be covered with a stone or with a couple of bricks. Wood will last almost forever below the level of the drain, where it will always be saturated with water, but in the drier earth above the tile, it is much more liable to decay. [Illustration: Fig. 32 - PICK FOR DRESSING AND PREFORATING TILE.] Fig. 32 - PICK FOR DRESSING AND PREFORATING TILE. The trimming and perforating of the tile is done with a "tile-pick," (Fig. 32,) the hatchet end, tolerably sharp, being used for the trimming, and the point, for making the holes. This is done by striking lightly around the circumference of the hole until the center piece falls in, or can be easily knocked in. If the hole is irregular, and does not fit the tile nicely, the open space should be covered with bits of broken tile, to keep the earth out.