306 



V A ft M E 11 S ' REGIS T E R 



[No.5. 



ally contracts its channel by mud and sand, and 

 the running water fills up all the deep holes with 

 sand, and the bottom becomes smooth. When 

 the current gets the sand to the edge of these 

 holes, losing its velocity, and being able no longer 

 to carry it, it drops it in. If the drought continues, 

 grass and bushes are apt to grow up, and tbrm ob- 

 structions. But the next freshet that conies, will 

 sweep out all the holes, and bear off all the banks 

 thus formed; and so on every succeeding freshet, 

 sweeping oil' the alluvial formations of the prece- 

 ding one by increasing the velocity of the current, 

 until a "king freshet," puts up a piece of masonry 

 on ihe sides of the channel, and says to all suc- 

 ceeding ones, "thus far shalt thou go, and no 

 iarther— here shall thy proud waves be slaved."'' 

 Upon this grass and bushes grow up, and thus the 

 bed becomes permanent, from a diminution of ve- 

 locity, without which, neither rock itself, nor the 

 tenacity of the soil, could fix limits to the beds ol 

 rivers, and the earth would be washed from under 

 us. 



Having pointed out the manner in which Ihe 

 new channel operates in the prevention and abate- 

 ment of freshets, we will briefly enumerate some 

 of the changes which have resulted, and the ben- 

 efits which have been derived to the land since 

 the excavation of the main carrier. 



In the first place, the old channel is fast filling 

 up, and trees are growing from the bottom of it. 

 My intention is to speed this operation, by cutting 

 a small ditch through the middle of the bottom. 

 This will drain the string of ponds, and by ad- 

 miilingthc two little branches R, H, into ii (which 

 now serve to change the water in the old chan- 

 nel,) will form a current that with the aid offresh- 

 ets will fill up all the holes. 



Secondly — the land may be cultivated to the 

 waters edge, in the old channel and the trees en! 

 down, and the bushes grubbed up to Ihe same, 

 and shortly the bed itself be cultivated, for corn 

 is now growing on a part of it, which is as 

 high as the adjacent ground. 



Thirdly — the old bed affords an inexhaustible 

 source of manure — a compost of sand, mud and 

 leaves. 



Fourthly — all the washed places are filling up, 

 some of which produce belter than the adjacent 

 ground. The little useless ditches also, and the 

 ponds, S, S, S, S, are filling with mud and sand. 

 Any pond now may be filled with sand, by 

 passing a current into it out of the ditch; or drain- 

 ed, by cutting one out of it into the main drain. 

 The land of course now is more level, and brought 

 more in a body lor the plough, which may at 

 length cross all these places. 



Fifthly — the island formed by the old and 

 new channel is gradually becoming higher, from 

 the deposites of the freshets. If you can ever get 

 a current to surround a piece of land, it will soon 

 raise it out of the reach ol' freshets, tor the eddy 

 water is always in the middle of a circular cur- 

 rent, and where the eddy water is, there will be 

 the deposites. The current in this instance takes 

 off earth from the opposite bank all around, and 

 throws it on the island; hence islands and penin- 

 sulas, or the bends of a channel are generally the 

 highest parts of low land: and hence too, they 

 are richer from the deposites, than other places. 

 The formation of islands is handsomely illustrated 

 by filling a vessel with water that has a little se- 



diment in it, then whirling it round, when the se- 

 diment will be collected in a little pile in the cen- 

 tre of the bottom. Here the water is eddy in the 

 middle, but formed into a swift current on the 

 sides of the vessel, which it washes severely. In 

 this way a single snag in the water, by forming a 

 current around itself, in the form of a whirlpool, 

 has formed an immense island. They arc also 

 formed by cutting across the bends of the creek. 



Sixthly. The current now never breaks out of 

 the new channel unless it is where it cross- 

 es indentations in the land, or some washed place 

 formerly made by the current of the old channel; 

 which when it happens, only serves to fill them 

 up. Before it could break out of the new channel, 

 it would run round the old, first filling up all the 

 low places of the low grounds, (lor the land 

 through which the canal passes is the highest 

 part of the ground generally.) This is evident, 

 from a property which belongs to water, to equal- 

 ize itself, or as it is commonly called, to "seek a 

 level." And even if it should break with violence 

 out of the new channel, the distance to ihe old 

 channel is so far, that it would soon lose its velo- 

 city, by spreading over the ground, or meeting the 

 eddy water of the old channel, and so pour out all 

 iis sand. Lately, during the greatest freshet I 

 have ever seen in the stream, the current at one 

 place was diverted from the new channel, occa- 

 sioned by a fish-dam below, which interrupted the 

 fall about two feet, but instead of an injury, it was 

 a great benefit to the land, for the. sand which it 

 gently distributed over the surface of a stiff pari 

 of the low grounds, was of incalculable benefit 

 to it; and the wheat then growing on the spot, was 

 not a little benefited by this top dressing of "allu- 

 vial formation." 



Seventhly — any kind of crop may be now cul- 

 tivated on the island, or any part of the low 

 grounds, with perfect safety; and if there should 

 come a freshet to inundate the land more than or- 

 dinary, and the water should spread over any part 

 of it, it would be so much reduced, and so shal- 

 low, that it would rather be a benefit than an in- 

 jury to eilher land or crop. In this point of view, 

 I look now upon every freshet that may occur. It 

 may be observed that what might, be thought a 

 very moderate freshet in the winter season, would 

 be considered an extraordinary one in the summer, 

 when crops are growing. It requires a vast quan- 

 tity of rain even to fill the channels in the sum- 

 mer season. 



Eighthly — the character of the land is vastly 

 altered. Where it was inclined to a stiff clay loam, 

 it is now of a different color and texture — not half 

 so stiff — more open and spungy — drier, and more 

 easily wrought. 



Ninthly — the freshets arc down in half the for- 

 mer times, and consequently less mud is deposited 

 on the crop, which is the effect most injurious to 

 crdps in freshets. Besides, the current being 

 swifter, less mud is deposited on that account, but 

 more sand. A dull sluggish stream deposites no- 

 thing but mud. 



Tenth — ample outlets are now offered to ail 

 the .necessary ditches, ponds, &c. the margin ditch 

 in particular, which on account of its length, (be- 

 ing nearly as long as the old channel) could never 

 be kept open, is now intersected nearly in the 

 middle, near the pond S. Before this, it emptied 

 into this pond, which never could be drained un- 



