sSoo. On the Benefit of Water Meadows. 327 



meadows are fuppofed to be dan^erou?. This is at prefent 

 an explicability in the operations of nature ; and a difcovery 

 of the reafon might perhaps lead, in fome rneafure, to a dif- 

 covery of the caufes of the rot in (beep. But the circum- 

 ftance itfelf is rather an advantage, than a difadvantaoje, to 

 this diftri^l ; as it obliges the farmers to a keep a few dairy 

 ^owf, to feed the water meadows in Autumn, and to provide 

 artificial grafTes, or other green crops, for their fheep during 

 that period. 



Proper soils for water meadows — From what has been fo 

 repeatedly urged, on the neceflity of making water meadows 

 dry, as well as wet, every reader might have inferred the 

 advantage of having them, if poflible, on " a warm absorb- 

 ** ent bottom" 



The bottom, or fubfoil of a water-mead, is of much more 

 confequence than the quality or the depth of the top-foil. 



Not but that land on peaty or clay bottoms may be confi- 

 derably improved by watering ; and there are many good wa- 

 ter meadows on fuch foils ; but they are not fo dcfireable, on 

 account of the difficulty of draining the water out of them, 

 and making them firm enough to bear trading. 



A loofe gravel, or, what perhaps is ftill better, a bed of 

 broken flints, with little or no intermixture of earth, where- 

 cver it can be obtained, is the moft defireable bottom. 



On many of the be ft water meadows in this dvIlri^V, where - 

 the bottom is a warm abforbent gravel, or rather a bed of bro- 

 ken flint, the foil is not fix inches deep, and that depth is quite 

 fufi^cient in thofe feafons when water is plenty, as the grafs 

 will root in the warm gravel, in preference to the beft top-foil 

 whatever ; and fuch meaiiows always produce the earliest grafs 

 in the Spring. Nor is it fo very material, of what kinds of 

 grasses the herbage is conpofed, when the meadow is made. 

 'That hit:d will always predominate, which agrees best luitb the 

 Joil and the ivater^ provided the fupply of wvtt.T is regular and 

 conltar.t every Winter ; otherwife, that kind will predominate 

 which wi!l bear ^v:t and dry ; and fome of the worft grafies, 

 in their native ftaic, will become the beft, when made fuccu- 

 lent by plenty of water. 



F f 4 WOMURh 



