no 



DR A 



DRA 



may grow fine and mellow. But 

 it is wasted by this practice, the 

 sun, air, and rain, depriving it of 

 its volatile, fine, and most fructify- 

 ing particles. I choose to be rid 

 of its putrid steams, and place it 

 where it may do good and not 

 hurt. I, therefore, have it sCraped 

 up clean every spring, clearing it 

 of the largest and brightest chips ; 

 and after it has lain in a heap for a 

 few days to ferment, apply il to the 

 soil in the field, though it be not 

 fine enough for the garden ; or else 

 add it to the compost dunghill. 1 

 find it to be a very proper manure 

 for land that is stiff and clayey ; 

 and it will do great service in any 

 soil. 



Those farmers are certainly guilty 

 of bad husbandry, who take no care 

 to avail themselves of this excel- 

 lent manure, of which they all have 

 more or less ; and that is common- 

 ly best, where the greatest number 

 of swine are permitted to run, 

 which, however, is a slovenly and 

 wasteful practice. 



DRAIN, a channel made in the 

 soil to carry off superfluous water, 

 or divert its course. 



Drains are of the highest impor- 

 tance in agriculture : For, by 

 means of them, lands that are so 

 wet and fenny as to be entirely use- 

 less, may oftentimes become by far 

 the most valuable part of a farm. 

 It would be happy for this country, 

 if the husbandmen were fully con- 

 vinced of the vast utility of them. 

 The real value of some estates 

 might be doubled, by a small ex- 

 pense in draining. 



Drains used in farming are of 

 two kinds, open, and hollow, or 



covered. The open drains are 

 mostly used, because more easily 

 made. But if the first cost be less, 

 the expense, in the long run, may 

 not be less, but greater than that 

 of covered drains. For they will 

 be continually filling up ; and, 

 therefore, will often need to be 

 mended. 



Open drains are to be shaped 

 like other ditches, wider at the 

 surface than at the bottom. And, 

 for a general rule, they should be 

 carried through the lowest and 

 wettest parts of the soil, though it 

 should cause them to be crooked 

 and unsightly. The water will be 

 carried off more effectually ; and 

 some labour in digging will be sa- 

 ved ; for if they pass through the 

 higher parts, the ditch must be 

 dfieper, at least in some places. — 

 But where a plain is incommoded 

 with too much water descending 

 from an adjacent height, the water 

 must be cut off by an open drain 

 drawn along at the foot of the high 

 ground, and the earth which is ta- 

 ken out should be laid on the side 

 towards the plain. 



Open drains serve well enough 

 in swamps, if the soil be not too 

 loose, so as to fill them up soon. In 

 this case the covered drains are 

 certainly best, especially where 

 materials for making them are easi- 

 ly obtained. 



The earth that is thrown out of 

 open drains in swamps should not 

 lie in banks by the side of them. 

 This will tend to prevent the water 

 from passing freely into them, and 

 conduce to their filling up the soon- 

 er. It should be spread over the 

 surface of the drained land, which 



