AGRICULTURE. 



practising upon the same principle, in va- 

 rious parts of England, with complete 

 success ; am! ut length obtained from the 

 British parliament a thousand pounds, as 

 -cove rer of so valuable an improve- 

 ment. In Italy and Germany, however, 

 il Is stated, upon respectable authority, 

 that the art has been long known ami 

 practised. Some of the strata of which the 

 earth is composed will admit the free pas- 

 sage of water through them, while others 

 ettectually resist it. Gravel is obviously 

 characterised by the former quality, and 

 clay by the latter. The upper part of 

 mountains is frequently composed of gra- 

 vel, which extends far into their depth, 

 and conveys with it the water received 

 upon their surface from the clouds. 

 Meeting with layers of clay or rock, how- 

 ever, the water is unable to permeate 

 them, and flows upon the upper part of 

 them obliquely, according to that general 

 direction of the layers or laminae, which 

 form the earth towards the plain or val- 

 ley. After descending for some way, 

 the layer of gravel along which the water 

 had passed, and from which it could not 

 penetrate the clay, flowing only on its 

 surface, often passes, in consequence of 

 the obliquity just mentioned, under new 

 strata of materials, consisting of clay, or 

 some substance equally difficult to be pe- 

 netrated by moisture. The water is thus 

 confined between impervious beds. If 

 the layer of gravel suddenly stops, in such 

 circumstances, as it often does, the water 

 which it had conveyed between these two 

 beds, deriving fresh accumulation perpe- 

 tually from its original source, will at 

 length permeate the superior layer, as- 

 cending through its weaker parts, and 

 arriving at last at the surface, will there 

 stagnate. The art of draining lands in 

 this situation (the principle of which, in 

 whatever research or casualty its disco- 

 very originated, is of such happy applica- 

 tion) consists merely of digging or boring 

 with an auger into the earth, so as to reach 

 the layer of gravel ; the water in which, 

 finding an easy and rapid access upwards 

 by this vent,nolongerpressesin its former 

 diffused manner, to the injury of the su- 

 perior clay, which will consequently cease 

 to nourish moss and weeds through re- 

 dundant moisture, and be fitted for the 

 purposes of useful cultivation. The ap- 

 plication of this principle to the purposes 

 of improved husbandry may be consider- 

 ed at present as in its infancy. It may be 

 presumed that, in future periods, it may 

 be carried to an extent of incalculable 

 utility, and be connected with the supply 



of navigable canals, and the movement of 

 machinery adapted to various objects of 

 art and commerce. The manner in which 

 the various strata are intermingled with 

 each other must, it is obvious, as nearly 

 as possible, be ascertained, before this 

 practice can be applied with certainty of 

 success ; and the surest way of discover- 

 ing their direction consists in examining 

 tlie beds of the nearest rivers, and (he ap- 

 pearance of their steep and broken banks. 

 The examination of pits, wells, and quar- 

 ries, in the vicinity, will also contribute 

 information on the subject. Rushes and 

 other plants, which grow only in moisture 

 injurious to other vegetables, will likewise 

 often indicate where a collection of water 

 is impeded in its course below, and con- 

 sequently presses upward, to the destruc- 

 tion of useful vegetation. In draining a 

 large bog, it will be generally proper to 

 dig a trench from one end of it to the 

 other, with cross trenches at considerable 

 distances, to allow the water a free dis- 

 charge, by frequently piercingthe bottom, 

 at which the springs are to be found, with 

 an auger. A single perforation will fre- 

 quently, indeed, complete the object. In- 

 stances have occurred, in which water thus 

 raised has been made to ascend, by erect- 

 ing round the perforation a building of 

 brick, lined both sides with clay, above 

 the level of the bog, applicable to a va- 

 riety of purposes, and conveyed by pipes, 

 or otherwise, to a considerable distance. 

 Detailed regulations for the application of 

 this important principle, so productive a 

 source of improved cultivation, are pre- 

 cluded by the assigned limits of this ar- 

 ticle. 



On Fences. 



Without firm and close fences, the hus- 

 bandman might as well cultivate open 

 fields as inclosures, which in these cir- 

 cumstances, indeed, are only nominally 

 such. He is under perpetual and well- 

 founded apprehensions, lest cattle of his 

 own or his neighbours should break into 

 his corn or hay -fields. To prevent these 

 painful apprehensions and irreparable 

 mischiefs, every attention must be be- 

 stowed on the fences of a farm. Large 

 and rich pastures may most easily be di- 

 vided into fields of ten acres each, by 

 which the land is less liable to be injured 

 through the restlessness, and wild and 

 perpetual movements of cattle, which oc- 

 cur in extensive grounds, where they are 

 collected in considerable numbers. Di- 

 viding banks being raised, they may be 



