1838] 



FARMKRS' REGISTER, 



705 



■iiir (liiiiriir the wet wcailier, or water procured 

 from the adjoinitiii Hsh-poiids. As there is no ex- 

 teiu ot' hiii'hor utduiuI near lluit where Ihe well 

 was suidv, and as ihe depih of it is some hundred 

 leei below the boiiom of the Thames, the source 

 of the reservoir from whence the sprinu is sup- 

 l)lied, must he situate at a very irreat disUmce, and 

 must couiaiii a very larije and permanent body 

 of water, to raise it so suddenly to such a height, 

 and conimue to supply it. Great care is necessary 

 in conductiui; a drain for procuring and conveyinjr 

 water for the su[)ply of a house, &c. It should 

 neither be cut nor bored into so deep as lo reach a 

 secr^ad porous stratum; otherwise the water that 

 may have been found in the one, may be lost in 

 the other. Puddlinji may, in some degree, secure 

 it. but not in every case. Another thing should 

 be attended to in digsring wells Cor a permanent 

 supply of water: although a plentitul flow is 

 fouH'l in the sand or rock throuah which the pit is 

 proceediiiiT, before the bottom of such sand or rock 

 is come at; ye', Ibr the greater security of always 

 retaining a sufficient supply, it is proper to dig so 

 far into the clay, or other ini[)ervious stratum, by 

 which there will be no risk of the water being lost 

 in a dry season. 



There are many valuable tracts of land, called 

 holms or haughs in Srollaud,* wet, and covered 

 with rushes, which, when reclaimed, are by much 

 the most lertile and productive of any. As land 

 in this situation reo,uires particular treatment, and 

 cannot he laid perlectly dry without attending to 

 other circumstances than that ot" merely making 

 drains through it, it is necessary to describe these 

 minutely. 



The land alluded to lies alons; the sides of rivers 

 or smaller streams, which, having frequently al- 

 tered their course between the opposite banks, de- 

 posite sand, gravel, and other alluvial soil, as they 

 recede ti'om their last channel, forming a havgh or 

 flat piece ol land, in many situations, of consider- 

 able extent. From the nature of the materials of 

 which the soil of tliis ground is formed, it is evi- 

 dent they nujst be in a great degree porous, and 

 easily admit the reception of water; for if a pit or 

 drain is dug in such ground, it immediately fills 

 with water lo the level of that in the river. VVhere 

 the river has a quick descent, it is less apt to pro- 

 duce wetness in such haughs; but where its cur- 

 rent is slow, and the level of its water little below 

 that of the surface on either side, the soil will con- 

 sequently he very much saturated with water. 

 Any number of drains, therelbre, cut in any direc- 

 tion, can have little effect, while the water of the 

 river continues so high in its |)resent course. Tiie 

 only remedy in this case, when it can be done at 

 a moderate expense, is to deepen and widen the 

 channel of the river or burn, the earth taken from 

 which will serve to form an embankment on the 

 sides; for while it can rise higher than the outlet 

 of the drains, and flows back into them, the 

 ground becomes equally wet as before, and the 

 expense of making them is laid out to no advan- 

 tage. Where there is onlv one stream, running in 

 a serpentine or crooked course, it may be advisa- 

 ble to cut for it, a new, straight, and deeper chan- 

 nel; and even if there be other runs which the 



* In England, for most pari, called meadows. 

 Vol. V— 89 



water follows, tliese may be all directed into the 

 new course. The earth from the new cut will 

 level up all the old runs and hollows. 



But it IS not from the river water alone that the 

 wetness of haugh land proceeds. It frequently 

 arises ti'ou) the springs that issue at the bottom of 

 the adjoiniiig high ground; and from the nature 

 of the soil, as has been already described, the 

 Vvfater of these springs |)ercolates easily tnrough 

 it, keeping it m a constant stale of moisture and 

 steriliiy. This water may be easily cut off" and 

 lowere"d to the level of the river, by a drain along 

 the coui'se of the springs at the upper side of the 

 haugh. In some cases the wetness proceeds en- 

 tirely from springs, where the soil of the haugh or 

 flat ground, all ihe way to tho river, does not con- 

 sist of a porous nature, hut of a mixture of clay 

 and loam; tor here the sjjringsthat rise along the' 

 upper side of the flat, are prevented from finding 

 their way under the soil, as in the former case; 

 neither can the water of the river flow through it, 

 from the same cause: a drain, therefore, of no 

 great depth, cut along the line of the springs, and 

 discharging its water' into the river at the lowest 

 point, will eftectually cure it. This drain should 

 be cut below the line of the springs, or immediate- 

 ly under the bank, and kept open, to receive the 

 back flowing of the river in time of floods; and 

 likewise on account of any runs of surface water 

 from above, that may also be augmented in time 

 of rains, and which would choke and destroy it if 

 covered. From the drain under the bank, which 

 may in some places not draw down the springs,- 

 and therefore leave the face of the bank eijually 

 wet as beftbre, small cuis may be made up to 

 them, (if boring opposite has not that efl^ect), as 

 represented by the letters A, A, A, in Plate No. 

 XIV. (See next page.) 



There will be no occasion for any cross drainr 

 between this upper one and the river, as all the 

 water will be intercepted by that along the bottom 

 of the bank, and conveyed by it to the nearest and . 

 lowest part ol the river; unless the ground is of 

 such extent that it may be advantageously di- 

 vided into separate inclosures; in which caee, the 

 upper drain will serve as a division between the 

 higher and lower ground. The drainage of many 

 tracts of land of this description is reckoned im- 

 practicable, when a mill-lead, or other artificial 

 run of water, passes through it, or along the side . 

 lo which the fall inclines. The low situation of 

 the ground, and the height of the lead, prevents 

 the practicability of discharging the water of any 

 drain into it, that might be cut to the proper depth. 

 The drainage, however, of this ground may be 

 iTianaged, by conducting the water under the lead 

 to the nearest outlet. A drain should be therefore 

 begun at the river or natural stream, and brought 

 up to the lead, at the point where the outlet of the 

 upper drains is to cross it, of such depth as the 

 river admits, and the upper drains require. A cut 

 must then be made across the lead to the same 

 depth, and a strong wooden box, of sufficient size 

 to admit the water, collected above, to pass 

 through, placed across the lead, as at AB, in 

 plate No. Xi V. 



The length of the box or trough must be sev- 

 eral feet longer on each side ihan the width of the' 

 lead, and must have stakes driven in at the sides, 

 with bars across, to keep it secure. The space 

 betwixt the lop of' the box and boitom of the lead- 



