Ayricultare of Durham. 117 



The Actual Cost of Draining a Field in the County of Durham, 

 containing 11 acres, 1 rood, 20 poles. 



Drain along top, 59 roods, 4 feet deep, at Is. Zd. .. £3 13 9 

 Tile drains — 



24 roods of main drains, 3 feet deep, at Is. .. 14 



406 roods of furrow drains, 32 inches deep, at 7 J. 13 6 



50 do. do. 30 inches deep, at Qd. 15 

 "Stone drains — 



30 roods of main drains, 3 feet deep, at 8(?. and Qd. 117 

 Cost of pipe tiles— 



10,660 pipes, at IGs. per 1000 8 11 



590 No. 3 tiles, at 3s. Gr/. per 100 10 7 



420 No. 2 tiles, at 2s. 6t/. per 100 10 6 



7 yards of socketed water pipes, at od. per 



yard 19 



Labour — 



Leading materials G 11 4 



£37 5 6 



Before leavin^^ the subject of draining I would beg to direct 

 •attention to a point wiiich has, I fear, been partially neglected in 

 draining particular districts of country — I mean the condition of 

 the main or trunk drain. I do not refer to the main drains laid 

 in a farm or in a range of fields, but to tlie stream or river which 

 forms the main drain of an entire district. I would point out 

 "the evil I allude to by reference to a case in this county which I 

 have in view. Down the middle of a valley, with a large extent 

 of sloping country rising up on each side, runs a stream, wliich 

 is the main or trunk drain for many hundred acres of land lying 

 on either hand of it. On each side of the stream there is a good 

 "breadth of haugh land, which stretches across, pretty level, from 

 the foot of one sloping ground to the foot of the other. All the 

 drains of the district must necessarily have their final outlet in 

 this stream, which in turn has its outlet in a river up which the 

 tide (lows. Tlie velocity of this valley stream is very trilling, 

 with occasionally places (jf almost dead level, for two miles or 

 more previous to its reaching its outlet. Thence arises the 

 practical evil. The tide flowing up the river meets every wet 

 season a Hood of water rolling sluggishly down this stream and 

 dams up its outlet. The flood thus pent up spreads over the 

 haugh lands, and for many days together they present the ap- 

 pearance (>f a lake — very Ix'autiful to the eye, but most dis- 

 heartening to the I'armer, for liis lands are half covered, his drains 

 are all stopped, and they are often permanently disordered, filled 

 up witii sediment and stopped. A remedy, or at least an allevi- 

 ation of the evil is verv apjiarent. The stream twists through 

 the haughs like the writhiugs of a serpent. Cut off some of the 

 sfolds and you miglit shorten its length l)y one-hall, and thus in- 



