Natural History. 73 



occurred in 1795 when this bank gave way, and a great part of 

 Nottinghamshire and Lincolnshire was flooded. To the west 

 of Lincoln nearly 20,000 acres were covered to the height of 

 10 feet above the present level of the land, and remained so 

 covered for three weeks, during which time the only remaining 

 communication between the villages around, and for those 

 going to Lincoln market, was by boat. The people at Saxilby 

 had to get on to the higher ground in the village, the lower 

 part being under water, and many lived in the church. The 

 frightened cattle had to be rescued by boats from the knolls on 

 which they had gathered. The water ran over the High 

 Street at Lincoln ; and, on the far side of the gap, the land was 

 converted into a sea. Such a flood as this, one would have 

 thought, would have roused up the people to look after their 

 interests j but, Mr. Padley tells us, from the time the Romans 

 first made the banks referred to, up to 1852 when one of 

 these great floods occurred beyond a temporary patching up 

 as occasion required, they were entirely neglected ; a sign both of 

 the apathy, and of the contented state of the people in those days. 



This great flood of 1795 occurred at Candlemas; and it is 

 curious to note that, at Candlemas of the present year (1895), just 

 a century later, and owing to the same cause the melting of 

 the snow after a long and severe frost, when the frozen ground 

 was unable to absorb the moisture the Trent bank a little 

 above Gainsborough gave way, and this, notwithstanding the 

 resources and experiences of another 100 years. 



Since the year 1852, the attempts to keep out the floods 

 from the Trent and the fens have been carried out on a more 

 systematic scale. Up to that time the low land in Boultham, 

 North and South Carlton, and Broxholme, were mere swamps 

 covered with water the greater part of the year, while the 

 fens to the east of the Gap were in a permanent state of flood. 



The reclaimed land, at first, was of little value for ordinary 

 agricultural purposes, 2,500 acres at Blankney being let by 

 auction, Mr. Padley tells us, for jio per annum. Now, in 

 many of these reclaimed areas, we have the richest pasture land 

 in Lincolnshire. 



Many amongst us can well remember the great changes 

 which have taken place in the fens by drainage. In the early 

 part of this century, and far later, you might look down over 

 the fen country, winter after winter, and see nothing but water 

 for miles. Skating to Boston was a common event ; long lines 

 of water-fowl flitted across the sky ; " kite upon kite " could 



