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FARMERS^ R E G [ S I^ E R , 



[No. 12 



It is always necessary to survey 'hem twice, first, 

 when tlie drains are opened, to see it they are ol 

 the proper depth; second, when the stones are set, 

 'before tiiesod is laid in. 



In regard to the distance necessary from drain 

 to drain, Sir Henry tried them at ten yards; but 

 the spaces in the middle between them were not 

 sufficiently drained. At five yards asunder they 

 were perfectly effective, in the most retentive soil; 

 at six, answered well; but he found that they would 

 not operate a cure anywhere, if more than seven 

 yards asunder. Drains made in this manner, 

 give, alter many years, no sign of failing, and will 

 probably last \hr a very lonLT period. 



The English acre being four thousand eiu'hl 

 hundred and forty square yards, the nearest square 

 of that is seventy yards; and a square of seventy 

 yards, drained at seven yards di.stant, is ten drains, 

 of seventy yards each ; consequently there are 

 seven hundred yards of drain in an acre, or one 

 hundred roods, of seven yards each, which, at a 

 half penny a yard, is £l 9 2, per acre. 



When this is the price, the stones are not more 

 than half a mile distant; if further off, allowance 

 must be made for the extra cartage; or, when the 

 around turns out stony, hard, and difficult to dig, 

 a farther allowance is "then made. 



XVII. Of opsn drains. 



As the mode of forming open drains is the same 

 in all parts of the kingdom, it is unnecessary to re- 

 peat here what has already been explained in 

 Section 8th of Part I. 



XVIII. General utility of draining. * 



In Section 1st, of Part I, the advantages that 

 arise from a perfect understanding of the theory, 

 and judicions application of it in practice, especi- 

 ally on the principles of Mr. Elkinglon's system, 

 as well in the draining of land, as inns applica- 

 tion to other useful purposes, has been fully ex- 

 plained. 



It is only necessary to add the further testimony 

 of the following eminent agriculturists to the last 

 species of draining, as described under the forego- 

 ing heads: 



Of its effects on grassland, Lord Petre observes, 

 that "the land, after draining, not being so much 

 ■chilled by the long continuance of the winter 

 water on the surface, produces earlier vegeta- 

 tion in the sprinfr; the grasses are rendered of a bet- 

 ter kind; the white clover is encouraged, which 

 seldom fails in Essex, and in Hertfordshire, to 

 chequer the land-ditched fields with its sweet ap- 

 pearance."* And again — "Tillage land is much 

 more manageable; it dries graduall}', and early in 

 the spring; the bad effects of land being catched 

 full of water, when the parching winds in March 

 suddenly harden the surface of wet grounds, is 

 prevented, and the earth breaks kindly. This, in 

 a short time, alters the very nature of soil; the 

 weeds and grasses change their color; every plant 

 that grows, loses the appearance of rankness; the 



*The ancient Romans were so sensible of this, that 

 Columella observes, " that wet land was fit neither for 

 being pleached, harrowed, nor planted." 



jAnnals of Agriculture. 



corn increases in quantity and weight; and every 

 benefit a iiirmer can wish, is more or less the con- 

 sequence oi' this first of all iniprovemenlSj in pro- 

 portion as the soil draws well or ill." 



Respectmg the farther ;idvantages of the prac- 

 tice on arable laud, he likewise observes — "the 

 great advantage of land draining is, v/e.can plough 

 earlier in the spring, and later in the autumn; and 

 it certainly makes ihe tillage easier; and the hmd 

 can be kept clean with little expense; but it is too 

 much iiu' the farmer to expect his return the first 

 crop. I believe I have known some particular 

 piece that has repaid the expense in two cro[)s. 

 It certainly is a very beneficial improvement to 

 the farmer," 



Air. Young of Clare, says — "1 have a field that 

 used to be so wet and poachy in the winter as not 

 to be able to bear the vveii>ht of a sheep. I land- 

 drained and fiiilowed if; then sowed it with wheat, 

 without any manure, and had a crop equal to iialf 

 the value of the land." 



In speaking of the improvements in the county 

 of Essex, JVIr. Vancouver lias the following re- 

 mark on the importance of draining: — "There is no 

 improvemt to which the heavy-land husbandry of 

 this county owes so much, as to the fortunate in- 

 troduction and continuance of the practice of hol- 

 low-draininii;. The means of melioration, and the 

 consequent sources of fertility thence derived from 

 the soil, over and above what it formerly yielded, 

 are not more important and valuable in the pre- 

 sent daj', than permanent and precious, as they 

 must prove in their consequences hereafter. The 

 few instances of invincible blindness to the bene- 

 ficial effects of this excellent practice, go no ftir- 

 ther than to prove, that where the work is not im- 

 properly executed, it never ceases to fail in produ- 

 cin<j- the desired efiect." 



CONCLUSION. 



In the course of this Treatise, the writer has en- 

 deavored to explain the principles on which the 

 art of draining land, &c. is founded; and to de- 

 scribe in such a manner, the various modes in 

 which it has been, and may be pnictised in all 

 parts of the kingdom, that intelligent agricuiiurists 

 may easily comprehend both, and be enabled to ap- 

 plyit in all those situations where it may be re- 

 quisite, and may be done with advantao;e. In the 

 arrangement that has been followed, it is hoped 

 that no material omission has taken place, in any 

 branch of the subject; and that each has been 

 treated in a clear and satisfactory manner, with- 

 out entering too much into elaborate or unneces.sa- 

 ry detail. The subject does not admit of fine lan- 

 guage, nor does the writer aspire to such; but he 

 trusts it has been explained with such perspicuity, 

 as to render it sufficiently intelligible to the practi- 

 cal, as well as to the more scientific agriculturis».s, 

 into whose hands it may come. It may be added, 

 that, nopart of the inlbrmanon herein detailed is 

 is the effusion of theory alone, or of speculation; 

 but is founded on the experience of upwards of 

 thirty years, in givinir plans for, and directing the 

 execution oi; all the various kinds of drains, in al- 

 most all the counties of Scotland, and in several 

 of those in the neighboring part of the kingdom. 



[The remainder of this work "On Embankments, 

 &;.c,'" to be continued.] 



