ON DEEP-DRAINING. 107 



was drained with tlie mole-plougli 18 inches, and well 

 manured; the otlier was drained 5 feet with 1-inch pipes, 

 33 feet apart, a very strong- brick clay. The wheat in one 

 case was nearly 6 feet hig-h ; in the other it was little more 

 than 4 feet. The diiference in the quantity of corn was what 

 I have stated — one quarter per acre and a load of straw. 

 The shallow-drained field looked the best all the Avinter; 

 having- had the most manure. I said to my m-an, " This is 

 only temporary ; it Avill g-o to Halstead fair in the month of 

 May." — "No," he said, "sir, this is the wheat for me;" 

 and everybody said, " That was the wheat for them." 

 When May came, the shallow-drained turned oiit yellow 

 naturally enoug-h, for the roots wanted to g-o down, they 

 wanted to move, but they refuse to do that which neither 

 you nor I would do — they refused to g-o down into stag- 

 nant air and stagnant water. What was the result i* The 

 wheat in the other field having the advantage of deep- 

 drainage, became the better crop of the two. Which is the 

 cheapest drainage 't The deep drainage. It is cheaper than, 

 the shallow. I drained my clays actually 33 feet apart, 

 5 feet deep, with 1-inch pipes ; the cost of this was 3Z. 2*'. Qd. 

 per acre. I have reason to believe that the interest this will 

 pay will amount to at least 60 or 60 per cent, on the invest- 

 meiit annually. Well, gentlemen, then I ask should it not 

 be done ? I believe some of you saw the drainage last year, 

 and I am happy to say that every drain runs freely — that 

 the water all passes through tlie land, except in the particular 

 case of a very heavy shower — for the pipes run like pumps. 

 What is drainage to do 1 To carry off the water we see ? 

 That is a very small part of its oper-ation. Water Ave have 

 always considered our enemy; an abundance of water has 

 always been considei-ed our enemy on heavy land. Now I 

 am prepared to prove that water is the very best fi-iend we 

 have ; and that if our land be thoroughly and deeply drained, 

 we never can have too much of it excei)t at harvest. I am 

 prepared to prove — and it is well known by chemists — tliat 

 water is the richest manure we have. We know practically 

 that irrigation is coveted by everybody for their meadows, 

 and that it is exceedingly beneficial. What are the rains 

 from heaven but the best of irrigation, providing we allow 

 them to perforate the soil. They come down charged with 

 ammonia, carbonic acid, and other g;ases, and disuniting- the 

 subsoil, descend and form new chemical combinations. And 

 there is another most particular use in the descent of water 



