THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 



263 



have lightly sketched out would be applicable to our present 

 situation, without trcncbiug too closely upou the liberties of 

 the subject. There appears, however, to be a feelinpr, with 

 Bome parties, in favour of a universal arterial drainage car- 

 ried out by the CJovernment, according to the designs and \iuder 

 the inspertion of coramisaioners : with a staff of hydraulic en- 

 gineers like those of our neighbours the marshy Hollanders, or 

 of our own India, cr of Northern Italy, where a warm climate 

 renders w.iter almost an institution of the country, and irri- 

 gating liquid is measured out to the husbandman almost by 

 the quart. But, of course, under any system short of absolute 

 despotism, it must be left for every locality at any rate to say 

 whether it will remain drowned or uo. We certainly do per- 

 mit the Government to aid ua in many ways besides " pro- 

 tecting person and property"': it carries our letter.^, enlightens 

 the inventive minds of would-be patentees, surveys and maps 

 our country, has jurisdiction over tidal streams and marshes, 

 lights our shores, and makes charts of rocks and soundings for 

 shipping, secures us a penuy-a-mile ride by the railway, and 

 violates theoretic political economy by fixing (nut the standard 

 value of precious metals, but) the fare we are to pay poor 

 cabby ! Whether the same power that figures so well as a mili- 

 tary storekeeper (on " the Weedon system") would shine 

 better in drainage works I cannot tell ; but it is clear that 

 Government can collect statistics and institute surveys; and I 

 shall therefore closo ray lengthy address by making the follow- 

 ing proposal : As a preliminary step to the framing of a 

 general act of parliament, Itt a Royal Commission be ap- 

 pointed to examine the real drainage condition of the whole 

 country, reporting upon the needful works and other require- 

 ments of our river valleys, somewhat as another commission 

 has already done for our tiJal harbours. What extent of 

 ground in this kiugdom is subject to inundation ? AVhat 

 still larger area is imperfectly furnished with outfalls for 

 drained arable and pasture? What actual damages are 

 periodically suffered ? What does the country lose by the 

 extent of good husbaridry prevented ? In what degree do 

 the town and rural populations owe tiie prevalence of disease 

 to the stagnant or delugmg rivers ? What are the special 

 evils and obstructions to be removed in each district ? How 

 could these be equitably abolished? !■; which cases would 

 the increased value of the lands or other benefit pay for ame- 

 lioration ? Where are the cases in which improvement would 

 be too costly ? We ought to possess full and clear aus.vers 

 to these and similar inquiries; but at present, all we know is 

 fragmentary, colecled by individuals who, with all their pains- 

 taking, cannot measure the mischief or form a just idea of the 

 alterations required. To arrive at approximative staiistics on 

 all these points (in many cases not needing a minute survey) 

 a commission need not expend a very heavy sura of mouey. 

 And then, still further, besides inquiring into the most satis- 

 factory methods of dealing with conflicting claims and interests, 

 with a view to the framing of a general act, investigations of 

 an engineering character might be instituted — as, for instance, 

 into the maximum daily downfall and the possible discharge 

 of districts varying in climate and geological structure ; the 

 augmentation of drainage d.livery, by improved farm manage- 

 ment ; the effects of the tidal ilowin different river channels ; 

 the rate of deposition of alluvial sediment upon salt marshes, 

 and so on — most important points for the guidance of the drain- 

 age engineer, and without a knowledge of which in greater ful- 

 ness than at present exists, works will be made of unsuitable 

 dimi'usio'.s, and money may be squandered in vain. As £n 

 illustration, I may mention that the usual tables of average 

 rainfall were utterly insufficient to guide the Irish drainers in 

 desiguiug conduits of the right capacity for conveying away 

 the surlden floo Js ; and it it was only after a long and patient 

 registry of observations in all parts of Ireland, they discovered 

 that from half a cubic foot up to thirteen cubic feet per minute 

 for each acre of catchment basin had to be discharged from 

 different districts, dependiLig upon locality, state of culti- 

 vation, aspect of the lauds, and other circumstances. Neither 

 were they at first prepared for the great additional volume of 

 water which descendc'd as the upper works procieded, and as 

 under drainage began to deliver into main ditches water thnt 

 had previously passed into the air by evaporation. The col- 

 lection of such engineering data, being of a more prolonged 

 character thau the simple examination of districts and inves- 

 tigation of the social and legal questions counected with the 

 improvement of river drainage, could be better carried out 

 perhaps by some other organization under one of the Government 



departments ; but the appointment of a drainage commiBsioD, 

 consisting of individuals (oiiversaut both with engineering 

 and agriculture, and capable of taking broad views of the 

 multitudinous claims and interests that would come before 

 them, is a step that the Government could easily take, and one 

 that would undoubtedly win the approbation of all classes of 

 the community. There are plenty of precedents, too, for such 

 a proceeding en the part of the Crown, as keeper of the soil of 

 the kingdom, to be found in the records of fen drainage, ex- 

 tending indeed back to the early institution of our Commis- 

 sions of Sewers. 



Mr. B.\iLEY Denton (Stevenage) would be glad to 

 say a few words upon this occasion, because the magni- 

 tude of the subject was such as all must acknowledge. 

 Everybody ad'uitted, that sooner or later something must 

 be done. It was only a question of time ; and many 

 efforts, besides those of the Earl of Carlisle, had been made to 

 promote legislatio.i on the subject. Lord Carlisle, however, 

 happened to introduce his bill just at that juncture, which 

 rendered it opportune ; though from circumstsnces the attempt 

 had not been repeated siuce. In that year (1852) when Lord 

 Carlisle introduced liis bill, more rain had fallen, thau 

 had fallen in the aggregate in the four years which had 

 succeeded. Now, during those four years drainage had 

 much progressed ; and he believed he had made it clear, by 

 certain experiments of his, that every acre of clay land 

 drainage added very largely to the influx of water into the 

 valleys (Hear, hear, from Mr. Mechi). Mr. Clarke himself 

 had referred to the Hinxwurth tables, which showed that a 

 thousand gallons per acre per diem were discharged into the 

 valleys from d:ait;.;gc. He (Mr. Denton) might add th:it 

 those tables showed, contrary to the expectations of many 

 men who did not believe in the porosity of clay, the clay 

 lands that liad beeu properly drained had, within 24 hours 

 of any heavy rain-fall, and after th^ lands had become 

 saturated, discharged at least oue moiety of the quantity 

 which had fallen on the surface (Hear, hear). Now, 

 he need not dwell on the importauce of improving the arterial 

 drainage of the country. He had remarked that, at the time 

 when Lord Carlisle introduced his measure, there seemed to 

 be an almost unanimous desire for arterial draiuage. In the 

 four months of November, December, January, and Februiry, 

 1832-53, there was a rainfall of 16 inches ; the average fall in 

 this country, in those months, during the last forty years, 

 having beeu 11 inches. Since 1832-53 there had not fallen in any 

 corresponding period more than 4f inches average. With these 

 facts before them, they had no difficulty in understanding how 

 it was that the interest in the subject of arterial drainage had of 

 late years decreased ; in fact, so little mterest had it excited 

 since the winter of 1852-53, that he had met with persons who 

 thought that there was no necessity for any drainage at all; 

 and he had almost felt that in his own case " Othello's occu- 

 pation" waa " gone" (laughter). But uature always balanced 

 herself; and, sooner or later, they would have a downfall, 

 which would make many people regret that they had not 

 taken advanta.geof Lord Carlisle's measure, and had slept during 

 the dry winters which succeeded its introduction (Hear, hear). 

 He quite concurred in what Mr. Clarke said about the desir- 

 ability of having a central commission, and of the division of 

 the country iuto districts ; such a commission was required for 

 many reasons. In the first place-, as regarded the main arteries, 

 they were obliged to go to Parliament for powers to interfere 

 with them, and having obtained those powers, they frequently 

 pledged themselves to works which it was afterwards found in- 

 convenient to carrv out (Hear, hear). In the Nene case it was 

 necessary to go to Parliament a third time to perfect the scheme ; 

 and after all, it would be found that the undertaking was one that 

 would not warrant the outlay — the area was too small to warrant 

 the expense that had been incurred and must be incurred. If 

 there were a central commission, it would operate in such a 

 manner that they would avoid the immature character of all 

 parliamentary plans, and have an opportunity of retracing their 

 steps — they might stop at any moment en making a proper 

 application ; v/hereas, under the present state of things, when 

 they had pledged themselves to Parliament, they must go on, 

 though incurring inevitable loss. So disastrous had been the 

 result on the Nene, that bonfires were now made in the ueish- 

 bourhood of Wisbeach of the materials used in the unfinished 

 works. There not being money enough to carry out the original 

 scheme, what had been done already was a failure, and hence 

 allwhower concerned in it were disgusted. These results would 



