196 



THE FARMERS' REGISTER. 



every two thouBanJ parts of river water, and that 

 every square yard of dry meadow soil absorbs only 

 eight gallons of water (and this is a very moderate 

 allowance, for many soils will absorb three or 

 four times that quantity,) then it will be found 

 that, by every flooding, more than one hundred 

 weight and a half of gypsum per acre is diffused 

 through the soil in the water, a quantity equal to 

 that generally adopted by those who spread gyp- 

 eura on their clover crops, lucerne, and sainfoin, 

 aa a manure, cither in the state of powder, or as 

 it exists in ashes. And if we apply the same cal- 

 culation to tile organic substances ever more or 

 less contained in flood waters, and allow only 20 

 parts of animal and vegetable remains 1o be pre- 

 sent in a thousand parts of river water, then we 

 shall find, taking the same data, that every soak- 

 ing with such water will add to the meadow near- 

 ly two tons per acre of animal and vegetable mat- 

 ters, which, allowing in the case of water mea- 

 dows, five floodings per annum, is equal to a 

 yearly application of ten tons of organic matter. 

 The quantity of foreign substances present in 

 river water, although commonly less, yet very 

 often exceeds what 1 have thus calculated to ex- 

 ist in it, I have found it impossible, however, to 

 give, from analysis, the amount which, under or- 

 dinary circumstances, is present m river waters, 

 with any tolerable accuracy, since the proportion 

 not only varies at different seasons of the year, but 

 a considerable proportion of the merely mechani- 

 cally suspended matters subside, when the speci- 

 men water is suffered to rest. In my conclusions 

 with regard to the theory of irrigation, I have 

 found many excellent practical farmers concur. 

 Thus, Mr. Simmons of St. Croix, near Winches- 

 ter, considers that the great benefit of winter flood- 

 ing lor meadows is derived, in the first place, from 

 the deposits made by the muddy waters on the 

 grass ; and, secondly, from the wimer covering 

 with water preventing the ill eflects to the grass of 

 sudden transitions in the temperature of ihe atmo- 

 sphere. This gentleman is perfectly aware of the 

 value of the addition ol the city drainage of Win- 

 chester to the fertilizing qualities of the Itchen 

 river water, and of its superiority lor irrigation 

 after it has flowed past the city, having water mea- 

 dows both above and below the town ; and he finds 

 that if the water has been once used for irriga- 

 tion, that then its fertilizing properties are so ma- 

 teriafly reduced, that it is of little value for again 

 passing over the meadows ; and so convinced is 

 he of this fact by long experience, that, having in 

 this way long enjoyed the exclusive and valuable 

 use of a branch of the waters of the Itchen for some 

 grass land, a neighbor higher up the stream fol- 

 lowed his example, constructing some water-mea- 

 dows, and using the water before it arrived at those 

 of my informant, who, in consequence, found the 

 water so deteriorated in quality (though not sen- 

 sibly diminished in quantity), that he had once 

 ihoughtof disputing the right with his more up- 

 land neighbor. The experience of other irriga- 

 tors tends to the same conclusion. In the best 

 managed water meadows of Hampshire the farmer 

 does not procure annually more than three crops 

 of grass ; yet in situations where a richer water 

 is employed, as near Edinburgh, four or five are 

 readily obtained. It is evident, therefore, that the 

 chemical properties of water have a much greater 

 influence in irrigation than is commonly believed. 



The quality of the wafer, therefore, employed for 

 the purposes of irrigation, is of the first import- 

 ance to be well understood by the farmer ; and al- 

 though many more modern discussions have taken 

 place upon the subject, yet the definition which 

 the great Lord Bacon gave in his Natural History, 

 of the advantages of " JNleadow Watering," has 

 never been excelled — " that it acts not only by 

 supplying useful moisture to the grass, but like- 

 wise by carrying nourishment dissolved in the 

 water." This nourishment is, generally speaking, 

 composed almost entirely of the animal and vege- 

 table matters mechanically suspended or chemi- 

 cally dissolved in the water ; the fouler the water 

 the more fertilizing are its effects. The objection 

 which has been sometimes urged to this explana- 

 tion, by instancing the prejudicial effects of some 

 very thick muddy waters (as those of the Humber) 

 on meadow lands, is very erroneous ; lor, in those 

 cases, the mud deposited on the grass did not con- 

 sist of animal or vegetable matters, but of fine 

 earthy particles, such as clay or chalk, eubstances 

 ol which the alluvial soil, on which the same flood 

 waters had lor ages occasionally deposited their 

 earths, was in lact entirely composed, and to 

 which, in consequence, any farther supply was 

 almost useless, the earthy slime merely covering 

 the grass with mud, without adding a single fer- 

 tilizing ingredient not already abounding in the 

 soil. If, however, the soil is naturally deficient in 

 any of the earthy ingredients contained in the 

 water, then even such flood waters are ever found 

 most fertilizing. 



"The agency of water in the process of vegeta- 

 tion," says Mr. Stephens, " has not till of late been 

 distinctly perceived. Dr. Hales has shown that, 

 m the summer months, a sunflower, weighing 

 three pounds avoirdupois, and regularly watered 

 every day, passed through it or perspired twenty- 

 two ounces each day, that is, half its weight. Dr. 

 Woodward found that, in the space of seventy- 

 seven days, a plant of common spearmint increas- 

 ed seventeen grains in weight, and yet had no 

 other food than pure rain water ; but then he 

 found that it increased more in weight when it 

 lived in spring water, and still more when its food 

 was Thames water." (Practical Irrigator, p. 2.) 

 And when speaking of the fact, that some irriga- 

 tors think clear spring water equal to any, he adds 

 (p. 24), " I would recommend to those who are 

 of the same opinion, to inspect the irrigated mea- 

 dows which are watered by the washings of the 

 city of JEdinburgh, where, I trust, they will find 

 the superiority of muddy water to that of clear 

 spring water most strikingly manifested." 



Edinburgh has many advantages over the most 

 of her sister cities ; the large supply of excellent 

 spring water is one of the greatest blessings to her 

 numerous inhabitants, both in respect to house- 

 hold purposes and keeping the streets clean, as 

 well as irrigating the extensive meadows situated 

 below the town, by the rich stuff' which it carries 

 along in a state of semi-solution, where the art of 

 man, with the common sewer water, has made 

 sand hillocks produce riches far superior to any- 

 thing of the kind in the kingdom, or in any other 

 country. 



By this water, about two hundred acres ofgrass 

 land, for the most part laid into catch-work mea- 

 dows, are irrigated ; whereof one hundred and 

 thirty belong to W. H. Miller, Esq., of Craigin- 



