472 



THE FARMERS' REGISTER. 



being laid on over one another. But in most in- 1 subsoil, which begins geeerdlly at the drain, 

 eian^-es, the making of me tiles can be acconn- j however close and dense it may have been ; it 

 plished on the spot, and in the course oC a few t heains to crack '.here by the water giving way. 

 daytj they may be |)ut into the drain. It i~", then, These cracks are continued till they pervade more 

 of great importance to cover them immediately or less ; and in the course of a lew months, or 



with some light soil, free I'rom stones, and lo beat 

 them down so as to ireserve it (rom injury. Ii 

 there are any stones in the soil, they may get 

 down to the ide and seriously injure it. 



['i'iie lecturer then exhibited the method of 

 (orming the tiles in the drains, which is done by 

 placing ilie mould in the place in the ilrain to be 

 occupied by the tile, then inying upon n the con- 

 crete, and after pressure by an instrument similar 

 to that used in the lormer process, d'^wing out 

 the mould by means cl a long liaudle at i ached to 

 it lor that purpose] 



i have an inleresting communication to day 

 from Scotland, which, thou<)[h not mi mediately 



perhaps a C(iu[)le of years, they may have obtain- 

 ed complete pfleci ; the whole of the soil has be- 

 come dry. The soil which haa been worked be- 

 fore on the surface of the subsoil, is in an open 

 stale from its former working ; the rain fails on the 

 earth, and is received into the intervening spaces, 

 the ciianibers all receiving so much rain, and the 

 different parts of the soil absorbing a quantity of 

 rain. But while the rain is falling, the drain's are 

 carrying off ilie water from the whole mass. Of 

 course when the rain ceases to liiil, this water 

 goes off more rapidly. — At first il will be brim full 

 (iU m;iy use the expression) of water ; it is con- 

 stantly running oil, and the water gradually 



connected wiih llie subject before us, t)ears inii- subsides. 



mately ujion it. There are great doubts respect- The u>ii!il practice is to make the drain two feet 



ing the propriety of putting seed deep into the j deep, but I prefer two feet six inches, lor this rea- 



Roil, or covering it very lightly. Experiments' 

 have been made on that subject, but none so 

 conclusively as that which I have now bribre me, 

 which relates to the springing up of the more 

 lender seeds, the grass seeds ; and it shows the 

 great importance of haviui^ a shallow covering 

 over them. This experiment was made by the 

 Messrs. Drummond of Siirlinu, ihe individuals 

 who first introduced the agriculiural museums. 



Tliis experiment lends to show the great impor- 

 tance of a light' covering to grass set^ds. I have 

 made a harrow of a fieculiar construction, which 

 reduces the surface soil very much wiihoiii tearing 

 up the ground. Ii has no teeth, but acts by linle 

 sharp discs closely set together, whicii nirve very 

 slightly. I have lound ihis insirumeiit also very 

 efficacious if used as a bush harrow. 



CONTINUATION OF BIR. SMITn's LECTURIC. 



The report of Mr. Smiih's Lecture was civen 

 from the Mark Lane Express-, which did not con- 

 tain the diagrams to which Mr. Smiih is reported 

 to have referred when lecturing. Alier that re- 

 port was in type, we received a second copy of the 

 Lecture in the London Farmer's Magazine, with 

 the diagrams. For the gratification of our rea- 

 ders we subjoin these diatrrams vviih the accom- 

 panying ex|)lanalion. Though not in their origi- 

 nal position, they will not be found out of place ; 

 and the mere report ofihis lecture to any intelli- 

 gent farmer is worth ten times the annual sub- 

 scription of our paper. — Ed. N. G. F. 



I shall first endeavor to illustrate by a diagram, 

 the mode in which this system of drainage 

 operates. 



A represents the atmosphere, B the active soil, 

 and C the subsoil stirred by the plough ; D repre- 

 sents the part ol'ihe subsoil above the level of the 

 drain. — VVhen the ground has been so drained, 

 the first effect that lakes place is the drying of the 



son, that ii is of the greatest importance that ihe 

 wholeshould flow off as rapidly as possible. Per- 

 sons are apt to suppose that ihe water will not 

 find its way 'o a drain at a gr'^at depih, but that is 

 in some measure a great mistake. When there 

 is more water to pass through, there is more re- 

 tardation to the passing of ihe soil ; but, notwitli- 

 staruliiifr, by giving the drain the inclination which 

 I propoisf, you have the water carried off much 

 faster. There is also this advantage — that when 

 there has been a long season of dry weather, the 

 whole of the bench becomes completely dry ; and 

 in that case- it takes much rain to wet it, and if the 

 rain is not very abundant, perhaps the water will 

 not stand higher ihan B. When water falls upon 

 the soil, there is one very great advai tage in bav- 

 ins a large bench besides. There is a quantity of 

 air which fills all the vacuities in the soils — the 

 active soil iisellj the siirred subsoil, and the subsoil 

 which has been laid dr3'. When the water has 

 drained off, air takes its place, and the action of 

 the air is very beneficial on the whole of the soil 

 mov'ed, particularly ihe active soil ; and just in 

 proportion as you liave a great area to receive Ihe 

 water, and lo receive air as the water is drawn off'", 

 so in proportion you have a tide of atmospheric air 

 passing through ihe belt of active soil which is 

 found very much lo improve it. We know this 

 soil is very much improved by exposure lo the 

 atmosphere; but if it improves in a greater de- 

 tzree by expo-ure to the sun and light, il is still 

 importan'ly improved by ihe passage of the air to 

 ihe lower strata when the water is withdrawn. 



In order to render a field completely dry, it is 

 necessary ihata great number of drains should be 

 placed in it ; and ilse position in which they should 

 be arranged will be obvious from this diagram, 

 which represrints a field sloping down, with a 

 rising ground in the centre, and rising ground 

 towards the side. 



This is made lor the purpose of illustrating the 

 mode oflaying offdrains, and the mode o' catching 

 ihe water when any hollows intervene. In laying 

 ofl the drains, you will drain the field more efl'ec- 

 tually by laying them off in parallel lines, than by 

 doing it in any other form ; because, if you depart 

 from the parallel lines, you get into corners, and 

 into some spaces not so near the drain, and others 

 too far from it. But in laying it off in the manner 



