92 ON ENGLISH WATER MEADOWS. 



cliannel for carrying off the water. The water, after flowing over 

 from one carrier, is caught by the next, and the ease v/ith which 

 these meadows are formed on brae-set land is notable. The 

 ridge and furrow meadows, on the other hand, having frequently 

 to be formed by the spade, cost in some cases as much as L.20 

 an acre. 



The water meadows in the chalk districts referred to, are 

 famous and invaluable as adjuncts of the farm. The rich and 

 thick growth of early grass, some six or nine inches in length, 

 produced on these meadows, is fed off with ewes and lambs in 

 March and April. The sheep are folded on the meadows during 

 the day, and at night they are driven to a fold of swedes, or 

 rye growing on dry arable land. About July a heavy crop of 

 hay is harvested, say two to three tons an acre, and again after 

 a brief flooding, there is an abundance of grass for cattle and 

 horses till November. Some farmers give oilcake to their cattle 

 when feeding on the aftermath, and with this aid it is fair to 

 anticipate that a half-fat bullock will become prime beef for 

 every acre of meadow consumed. These meadows have natural 

 advantages of no slight agricultural importance. The farmers of 

 the Chalk hills have a succulent food for their ewes and lambs at a 

 time when other foods are scarce, the abundance of the summer 

 hay that quickly follows, the autunmal after feed, and the fer- 

 tility bestowed upon the adjoining arable land in the manure and 

 folding from the consumption of grass and hay, give a value to 

 them that is fully appreciated by the agriculturists of the district. 

 The water feeds the meadow, the meadow feeds the flock, and 

 the flock manures the arable land. The results are seen in the 

 number of lambs sold, and in the increased production of corn. 

 Truly we may say with the late and honoured Philip Pusey — 

 " A water meadow is the triumph of agricultural art, changing as 

 it does the very seasons ." The position of many of these meadows 

 imparts apicturesqueness to the landscape imequalled inEngland. 

 The narrow vales, with their emerald green meads and crystal 

 waters, are studded with villages, homesteads, and ancient churches 

 that compose quite a charming scene. Some of them are planted 

 as it were on the hump-back of a dromedary, and the tall trees 

 complete a picture that would demand the descriptive powers of 

 a Wordsworth to delineate. 



The water meadows of Scotland, like those in England, are 

 situated in hilly districts, and are almost all confined to the 

 south-west of Scotland. Great as is the annual rainfall on the 

 rising grounds inland from the sea-board in those western parts, 

 the farmer is not content with what pours down from tlie clouds, 

 but wherever the descent of a burn can be commanded, its waters 

 are diverted from their course, and poured in a great and con- 

 itnuous flow over the selected ground. Their copiousness increases 



