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There are fome other plants which hdve been recom- 

 mended for fences, but thofe here enumerated are the 

 mod ufeful forts for fuch purpofes i wherefore I fhall 

 pafs over the others, as not worthy of the care of the 

 hufbandman. And as to the farther direftions for 

 planting and preferving of hedges, with inftrudions 

 for plafhing or laying them, the reader is defired to 

 turn to the articles of Fences and Hedges, where 

 there are particular directions for thefe works exhi- 

 bited, which I fhall not here repeat. 

 The draining of Land is alfo another great improve- 

 meot to it •, for though meadows and paftures, which 

 are capable of being overflowed, produce a greater 

 quantity of herbage than dry Land, yet where the 

 wet lies too long upon the ground, the Grafs will be 

 four and extremely coarfe ; and where there is not care 

 taken in time to drain this Land, it will produce little 

 Grafs, and foon be overun with Rufhes and Flags, fo 

 as to be of fmall value. The land which is moft lia- 

 able to this, is cold ftiff clays where the water cannot 

 penetrate, but is contained as in a difh ; fo that the 

 wet which it receives in winter, continues till the heat 

 of the fun exhales the greateft part of it. • - 

 The beft method for draining of thefe Lands is, to 

 cut feveral drains acrofs the Land, in thofe places 

 where the water is fubjeft to lodge ; and from thefe 

 crofs drains to make a convenient number of other 

 drains, to carry off the water to either ponds or ri- 

 vers in the lower parts of the Land. Thefe drains heed 

 not be made very large, unlefs the ground be very 

 low, and fo fituated as not to be near any river to 

 which the water may be conveyed ; in which cafe there 

 fliould be large ditches dug at proper dillances, in the 

 loweft part of the ground, to contain the water ; and 

 the earth which comes out of the ditches fliould be 

 equally fpread on the Land, to raife the furface. But 

 where the water can be conveniently carried off, the 

 beft method is, to make under ground drains at proper 

 diftances, which may empty themfelves into large 

 ditches, which are defigned to carry off the water. 

 Thefe fort of drains are the moft convenient, and as 

 they are hid from the fight do not incommode the 

 Land, nor is there any ground loft where thefe are 



made. 



The ufual method of making thefe drains, is to dig 



trenches, and fill the bottoms with ftones, bricks, 

 Rufhes, or bufties, which are covered over witli the 

 eartK which was dug out of the trenches'; but "this 

 is not the beft method, becaufe the water has hot a 

 free paffage through thefe drains, fo that'whenever 

 there is a flood, thefe drains are often flopped by the 

 foil which the water frequently brings dow^i with it. 

 The beft method I have yet obferved to make thefe 

 drains, is to dig trenches to a pfopef depth foi* carry- 

 ing off the water, which for the principal drains ftiould 

 be three feet wide at their top, and floped down for 

 two feet and a half depth, where there Ihould be a 

 fmall ledge or bank left on each fide, upon which 

 the crofs ftakes or bearers ftibuM be laid, and below 



r 



thefe banks there ftiould be an open drain left, at 

 Icaft one foot deep, and ten or eleven inches wide, 

 that there may be room for.the water to pafs through. 

 -Thefe larger drains ftiould be at convenient dif- 

 tances, and fmaller drains of about feveh or eight 



L 



be cut out to pieces of about fixteen or eighteen incks 

 in length, which ihould be laid acrofs upon t!ie two 

 fide banks of th<: drain, at about four inchcrs diftancc ; 

 then cover thefe fticks with the fmaller brufh wood, 

 Furz, Broom, Heath, or any other kind of brufii, 

 laying it lengthwife pretty clofe ; on the top of thefe 

 may be laid Rufhes, Flags, &c. and then the earth 

 laid on to cover the whole. Thefe fort of drains will 

 continue good for a great number of years, and are 

 never liable to the inconveniencies of the other, for the 

 water will find an eafy pafl^ge through them ; and 

 where there is plenty of brufh wood, they are made at 

 an eafy expence ; but in places where w^ood is fcarcc, 

 it would be chargeable to make them : however, in 

 this cafe, it would be a great advantage to thefe 

 Lands, to plant a fufHcient number of cuttings of 

 Willow, or the black Poplar, on fome of the moift 

 places, which would furnifli brufh wood for thefe pur- 

 pofes in four or five years; and as the expence of 

 planting thefe cuttings is trifling, there cannot be a 

 greater advantage to an eftate which wants draining, 

 than to praftife this method, which is in every perfon's 

 power, fince there is little expence attending in 

 In countries where there is plenty of ftone, that is the 

 beft material for rnaking thefe under ground drains ; 

 I for when thefe are properly made, they will never want 

 repairing. 



'The t)6ft timeof the year for making thefe drains 



Michaelmas, before the heavy 



^tumn fall, becaufe at, this ieafon the Land is ufually 

 dry, fo that the drains may be dug to a proper depth ; 

 for when the ground is wet, iFwill be very difficult to 

 dig to any depth, becaufe the water will drain in 

 wherever there is an opening in ffie groiirid. ' ' ' j^ 

 When thefe drains are made, and the water carried 

 off the Land, it will be proper to pare off the Rufhesj. 

 Flags, &c. which may be laid in heaps In proper 

 places to rot, and will afford a good manure for the 

 land. The ground muft alfo be ploughed to deftroy 

 the roots of noxious weeds, and if it be laid fallow 

 for one feafon, and ploughed two or three times, it 

 will greatly mend the Land. The Rufhes and Flags 

 which were pared off the ground when rotten, ftiouid 

 be fpread over the furface, and the Grafs-feed fown 

 thereon, which will greatly forward the Grafs, fo that 

 it may foon be brought to a good turf; which Land 

 " thus mended, has been lett for four times the rent it 

 •was fetat before. " ■'■'•-* • * ' . . _^ 



There are fome perfons, who, after tfieyfiave pared 



their Land 



in fmall heaps, and burn them in dry weather, nrhen 



'-^rea3 the' afhes oh tlie Land to improve it^ whidi is 



«r- good' method, where a pe'rfon'is in hafte to Have 



Grafs again ; but where ^he ground can be fallowed 



one year, it vyill loofcn the foil^ and more effectually 



^deftroy the roots of all noxious weeds ; and the Rufhes^ 



-i-&c. wihen rotted, -will afford a much larger'quantity 



■'. of nianure for the Land thari'wTieri it'is burnt: be- 



■ fides, this can 6nly be pradlifed in the fuihmer fea- 

 fon, when the weather is very dry j for if there fhould 

 fall much rain, the fires will go our, ang it will be 



i. impradticable to burn it. But where the metlioS of 

 l)urning is pradtifed, the heaps ftibuld not te too 

 great, and it fhould burn very flowly ; which will ten- 



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inches wide at top, and tlieTioUow under the bulhesj T^der the afhes a much better mjini^re,, th^n when the 

 eiffhr nr nin#» tnrTii^c rl^pn fhmild he rut arrofi the I j'^fire is too violent. Of the heaps too large ; for in this 



'^ cafe, the inner part will be over-burnt before the fire 

 reaches the outfide of the neap.*^J.:7; 



.-- ., be 



ground, which Ihould difcharge the water into thefe 



Jiarger drains. The number and fituation of them muft 



be in proportion to the wetnefs of the Land ; and the 



^pth of the earth above the bufhes, niuft alfo be 



proportioned to the intended ufe of the Land ; for if 



it is arable Land to be ploughed, it muft not be fhal- 



lowcr than fourteen inches, that there may be fuffi- 



cient depth for the plough, without difturbing the 



bufhes ; but for pafture Land, one foot deejp will be 



full enough ; for when the bufhes lie too deep in ftrong 



Land, they will have little effed, the ground above 



will bind fo hard as to detain the wet on the furface. 



y^hen the drains are dug, there fhould be prepared a 



quantity of good brulh wood, the larger fticks fhould 



As the draining of cold wet Lands is a great im- 

 provement to them, fo the floating or watering of dry 

 loofe Land is not a lefsjadyantage to them. This 

 may be eafily effefted where there are rivers, Or re- 

 fervoirs of water, which are fituated above the level of 

 the ground defigned to be ftoated, by under ground 

 drains (made after the manner of thofe before diredled 

 for draining of Land,) through which the water may- 

 be conveyed at proper feafons, arid let out on the 

 \ ground : .in order to this, there muft be good jluices 

 \ made at the heads of the drains, fo that the water 

 -niay never get out^ but at fuch times asTs required ; 



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