110 Warping. 



One or more farms in this district have ah-eady been warped 

 and " taken off," and others are undergoing the operation. 

 Another instance might he given of how land has profitably 

 been prepared for warping. In this case the level of the land 

 was lowered by clay being dug out for the manufacture of 

 bricks. The pits were near the river, and were connected to it 

 by a culvert at a very small cost. At the head of the culvert a 

 door was hung, and at suitable tides this door was opened to 

 admit the warpy water. At low tide the clear water was 

 allowed to flow back into the river. These pits are now 

 level with the surrounding land and form a very fertile soil. 



Some land has occasionally been cart warped ; that is, warp 

 has been run in trucks on tram lines and spread on poor land. 

 This, however, can only be done on a small scale. 



Cost. 



It will at once be understood that the cost must vary within 

 wide limits, depending as it does on so many conditions. On 

 land near a river, and not lying too low, and therefore 

 necessitating high banks and a lengthened period under water, 

 the cost is low as compared with land under the reverse con- 

 ditions. Then again, if the warping drain, with its costly 

 sluice, can be made to serve for a very large tract of land, say 

 for instance, for two or three thousand acres, bit by bit, the 

 expense is obviously very greatly reduced. 



In the case of the Thorne Moors one would expect the cost to 

 be almost the minimum, for not only is the originally valueless 

 land prepared for warping at a profit, but here also is one of 

 those cases where a drain and sluice can be made to serve a 

 very large area which is being warped in successive enclosures. 

 The average cost is usually quoted at 20^. per acre, which 

 includes the cost of the drain, sluice, flood gates, banking, and 

 all other expenses entailed in warping, together with the after 

 preparation for farming. It further includes the loss of rent 

 during the time the land is being warped, but it does not 

 include the cost of erection of houses and buildings. The 

 sluice at the warping drain head is a very costly item, and may 

 be as high as 2,500/, but this, of course, would serve for a large 

 tract of land. On the other hand, when warping is on a small 

 scale, the cost of the sluice need not be high, and in the case of 

 the brick pits just quoted it was almost negligible. 



Cropping of Warp Land. 



Warp land on the whole is usually very well farmed, and 

 first rate crops are obtained. 



Forty or fifty years ago farmers of this land had almost the 

 entire monopoly of the potato trade, with consequent high 



