102 



MONTHLY JOURNAL OF AGRICULTURE. 



Our engineer, Mr. Parkes, has since examin- 

 ed the subject of pipe-drainage most minutely. 

 He has proved that in theory an inch-pipe can 

 discharge the heaviest rains from the land, and 

 he has gone far to .show their efficacy in prac- 

 tice. Mr. Pai-kes. in his Report on the Imple- 

 ments shown at Southampton, announces that 

 such pipes are actually now selling in the Isle 

 of Wight for 12s. per" 1000. I may. therefore, 

 after so short an intei'val again have the plea- 

 sure of laying before the Society further re- 

 duced estimates of the price of drainage. The 

 most convenient measure is, I think, the furlong, 

 because that is the old dimension in length of 

 an acre, the width being 66 feet ; and if the cost 

 of one drain for that width be known, it is easy, 

 of course, to calculate for nearer distances. A 

 furlong, too, is equal to 40 poles, a common 

 length in calculation for the digging of drains. 

 Cost of T'horongh-draining one Acre. 



A trifling addition must be made for main- 

 drains. In laying down the pipes we should 

 look to those counties where draining w-as in- 

 vented, and has been practised most largely. I 

 mean our Eastern Counties, Essex, Suffolk, Nor- 

 folk, Herts. &c. For, as Mr. Copinger Hill* in- 

 forms us. " On the heavy lands of Suffolk and 

 the adjoining counties under-draining at a dis- 

 tance of I6^1reet and a depth of 26 or 30 inches 

 is as much a matter of routine as hedging- and 



*Society'B Journal. Vol. iv. p. 26. 



ditching." Now the usual shape of drains there 

 is extremely narrow at bottom, tapering down 

 from a width of 4 to that of 2 inches, as shown in 

 the drawing given by him, and here repeated. 



It so happens that this old and approved shape 

 from the birth-place of thorough-draining is pre- 

 cisely adapted to ourmo.st modem improvement, 

 the small pipe. The Essex tools which have 

 been for some time employed by my workmen, 

 W'ere found by them last winter equally adapted, 

 at least in very strong clay, for pipe as for thorn- 

 draining. They are the old-fashioned naiTow 

 spade and the scoop. ^Vith this narrow spade 

 three cuts are made, two on die sides of the cut, 

 and one across ; but m clays perfectly free from 

 stones, I believe that the bitting tool mentioned 

 by Mr. Arkell in his Prize Essaj-on Drainage is 

 even better. I will only add that if Mr. Hodges's 

 temporal^ kilns and sheds should enable the 

 fanner to make inch-tiles at 4s. 9d. per 1000, the 

 estimates for drammg an acre must be further 

 reduced as follows : on claj'-lands without stones: 



Feet. 

 66 

 44 

 33 

 22 

 16J 



H o. 



£. s. d. 

 11 2 



16 9 

 12 4 



1 13 6 

 3 8 



The ordinary distances may be taken at 33 and 

 22 feet, givirig the length of drains 2 or 3 fur- 

 longs per acre. If land can be thus permanent- 

 ly drained for little more than a pound or a 

 guinea and a half per acre, and if the closest 

 drainaije that can probably be required may be 

 done for three pounds per acre, there will really 

 be no longer any excuse for an undrained field 

 in any part of the countrj-. 



PH. PUSET. 



'<i%ji>jjiiiyiiiijij|iiji iii. 



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