THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 



217 



droughts, but, fed in their courses by frequent springs, 

 they continue to pour uniform volumes of water from 

 about November to April, when the supply gradually 

 decreases until the autumn, with the exception of a few 

 valleys watered by springs which ordinarily become dry 

 in the summer, and hence these districts have usually 

 obtained the designation of " Winterbournes." He 

 next proceeded to observe that as far as our knowledge 

 yet goes there is nothing remarkable in the character of 

 the analysis of the water of these streams. The fer- 

 tilizing properties of these waters having been disco- 

 vered and applied, it may readily be supposed that they 

 were employed over as large an area as possible ; hence, 

 towards the termination of every valley, whereby its 

 extended breadth and area of irrigation is increased the 

 stream is found to be insufficient to afford that liberal 

 and constant supply which experience has proved to be 

 essential for perfect irrigation. He next observed that 

 the soils of v^hich the meadows of South Wilts chiefly 

 consist, are an alluvium, alternating occasionally with 

 strata of gravel, clay, and, frequently, peat. The most 

 favourable deposit is that where the alluvial soil is at 

 once deep and dry. He next called attention to a com- 

 munication which he had received from Mr. John 

 Combes, of Chicksgrove, near Tisbury (who might be 

 regarded as the authority upon all matters connected 

 with irrigation in the south of England) which con- 

 tained so much practical and valuable information on the 

 subject under consideration, in a condensed form, that 

 he (Mr. Squarry) was induced to present it in Mr. 

 Combes's own language: — "The water-meadows in 

 South Wilts lie generally in the valleys at the basis o( 

 the chalk hills ; their soil varies very much, some being 

 alluvial, some gravel, some peat, and some clay. The 

 land is of the most part too level to be irrigated by the 

 catchwork system which is adopted in some other coun- 

 ties ; consequently the water-meadows are mostly irri- 

 gated by what is technically called the riJge-and-furrow 

 system, or more commonly bed-work. Their extent 

 has been variously estimated, but I think it may be 

 fairly stated at 9,000 acres. Their cost of formation at 

 the present value of money may be said to average 

 £12 per acre. Their cost for repairs of hatchwork, 

 bridges, &c., is about £G per cent, per annum on that 

 sum. When new water- meadows are to be made, the 

 first thing to be done, where water is in the sub- 

 soil, is to get the land made dry. Except this be done, 

 no good water-meadow can be made. In the draining 

 of land for water-meadow, care must be taken to put 

 the underground drains in such a position as will least 

 interfere with the irrigation works, otherwise the water 

 used for that purpose will, by running down, carry with 

 it earthy matter, and choke up the under-drains. Of 

 course a great deal depends on the nature of the soil, 

 the quantity and quality of the water, and the evenness 

 of the land, as to the method best adapted for their for- 

 mation. A dry soil will require less declivity iu the 

 beds, and less water than will be necessary in a wet 

 clayey soil. In this latter description of land, the 

 gradients of the beds must be much greater, and their 

 breadths less than those necessary in any other kind of 

 soil. But experience has proved that water used for 

 irrigation must in all cases have rather a quick run over 

 the land ; otherwise, instead of proving beneiicial, it will 

 retard the growth, and deteriorate the quality of the 

 grass. This will be obvious to any one going over a 

 water-meadow in the month of April, as he will then see 

 that in certain spots, where the land lies too flat, their 

 is not a quarter as much grass 8S where the land is 

 thrown up into proper beds. Many of the old water- 

 meadows which I have before-mentioned were originally 

 formed too flat, in consequence of which, many of them 

 have within the last half-century been reformed, and of 



those remaining unaltered at least two-thirds would pay 

 good interest for the cost of being newly-made. The 

 gradients of the beds in these old meadows vary much, 

 some of them being one in sixteen, whilst others are no 

 more than one in seventy-two. The average quantity 

 of water used for irrigating these meadows is about two 

 thousand gallons per minute per acre. I shall next 

 briefly state what appears to me the best method of 

 management. Water-meadows should be led off rather 

 bare by the first week in October. The water carriers, 

 feeders, floaters, and drains should be then properly 

 cleansed out, and all the breaches at the hatch-work 

 and other places made good, and the rats' holes stopped 

 in order for watering. The watering should commence 

 the first week in November, by which time there will 

 be a crop of young grass about two inches high. It is 

 very desirable to have the young grass when the watering 

 begins, that the water may percolate through the grasses 

 so as not to flood them; otherwise, they will, if flooded 

 for any length of time, be stifled and become thin. The 

 meadows should always be in readiness to receive the 

 first fresh of the river from the autumnal rains, as this 

 water is, especially after a dry summer, rich with alluvial 

 matter. Many meadows are very much injured by being 

 fed too late in the season, and by the treading of cattle : 

 it should always be borne in mind that one mouthful of 

 water-meadow grass in April is worth five or six of the 

 same when fed in November. In general, the more the 

 land is watered in November and December the better; 

 but should the weather be very mild during this time, 

 the meadows may have a few days' drying. In January 

 the water should remain on the land about five days in 

 six, unless the frost be so intense as to cover the meadow 

 with ice, which is sometimes the case ; then the water 

 should be all turned off' the land until a thaw takes place ; 

 the young grass will be protected by the ice, and even 

 grow under it. In February three days in four will be 

 enough for watering. In March the irrigation should 

 be two days in four until the water is turned out to 

 make the land dry for feeding the grass, which will gene- 

 rally be fit about the last week. As soon as the sheep 

 have fed off" a portion of the meadow, or about the mid- 

 dle of April, the water should be again turned over that 

 portion, but care must be taken not to allow it to re- 

 main long on the land until the grass be grown high 

 enough to keep above the water ; during the remainder 

 of this month and the following months of May and 

 June, two days in a week will be enough for watering. 

 In general the grasps will be fit to cut for hay by the 

 middle of June. In July and August, or until the 

 second hay crop be fit to cut, the water should be used 

 sparingly — one day in six will be quite sufficient. In 

 September and October water-meadows should be kept 

 perfectly dry. The above rules apply to meadows that 

 have a plentiful supply of water; but those mead^.ws that 

 are short of water, which are by far the greater part, 

 some of them required to be watered in five or six por- 

 tions, technically called sterns, the whole of the water 

 should remain on each stern for about five days at a 

 time in winter, and two days at a time in summer, so 

 that all the meadow may be watered in about twenty or 

 thirty days in winter, and eight or ten in summer. A 

 good flow of water, or what is called thick watering, 

 is always to be preferred to that of' thin watering, espe- 

 cially during the summer months; for a very thin 

 watering for a week or more together at summer time, 

 especially on a clay soi^ is often injurious. I may here 

 remark that night watering is preferable to watering by 

 day, and the water will do more good in shady than in 

 sunny weather. The water of the streams in this part 

 of the country runs from the chalk, the upper green 

 sands, and the upper oolite formations. That best 

 adapted for irrigation is pure spring water. The water 



