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inspection of the Commissioners of Water Sewers; but the powers, 

 vested in these commissioners by parliament, are not sufficient to 

 enable them to divert the course of the river, or to effect a radical 

 cure. 



The tide flows nearly seven miles up the river Yeo : and at six 

 miles from the mouth 01 the river, the spring tides flow five feet 

 above the level of the adjacent lands. 



This would be effectually prevented by the dam before men- 

 tioned ; and by cutting proper lateral drains, the whole district 

 might be advanced in value 10s. or 15s. per acre: and all this 

 might be done at an expence which two years profit would reim- 

 burse. Nothing is neceffary but effectual draining to make it as 

 good land as any in the county. It requires no dung or any extra- 

 neous manure ; but may be kept in good heart by the contents of 

 the ditches. 



To the northward of this district lie the parishes of Kenn, King- 

 ston, Seymour, Cleveden, Nailsea, Chelvey, and Claverham, pos- 

 sessing near four thousand acres, alike subject to inundation. 



These parishes are secured from the sea by a wall, built with 

 stone and lime, and elevated ten feet above the level of the land 

 within. High tides sometimes overflow this wall, and when a 

 strong westerly wind prevails at the equinoxes the wall is frequently 

 broken down by the impetuosity of the waves, and large portions 

 of the land are covered. 



Should this happen at the autumnal equinox, little injury is done. 

 But if in the vernal, it kills the best grass, and the crop of the 

 ensuing summer is worth but little. These lands discharge their 

 waters by two rivers called the little Yeo's. At the mouth of these 

 rivers are sluices, such as before described, which prevent inunda- 

 tion from the sea : but being not made deep enough at their outlet, 

 and the rivers, by which the waters are conveyed, not being pro- 

 perly bottomed, the country is subject to frequent land floods* 

 This level is susceptible of the same improvement, by a complete 

 drainage, as the former. 



Proceeding northward from hence you ascend Leigh Down, 

 This is a tract of elevated land, extending from Cleveden to the 

 Hot Wells, near Bristol. It is principally fed with sheep, and 

 consists of about three thousand acres. A large portion of this 



2 Down 



