104 THE PRINCIPLES OF 



top portion must be dry. When the water-table is reduced 

 to such a distance beneath the surface that we have this 

 improved condition of things, the water will do no injury 

 whatever to farming operations. 



If the soil is wet and requires drainage, of course we have 

 to bring about this desirable state of things, and it is done 

 by the placing of drains at sufficient intervals apart. Now 

 what happens if we place a drain in a porous soil, say, four 

 feet beneath the surface, and three feet below the level of the 

 water-table ? That drain begins to run just as surely as if 

 we were to knock a bung out of a full cask. The land being 

 free, the air easily follows, and there is not that resistance 

 to the passage of water which clay land offers, so that the 

 distance between these drains may sometimes be greatly 

 increased. Where there is a thoroughly porous or gravelly 

 soil wet from position in the way I have explained, it is 

 extraordinary to what distances drains will act. I know a 

 case of a farm in Gloucestershire which was entirely drained 

 without the use of a single pipe-tile. Merely by cleaning 

 out and deepening the ditches which intersected the fields 

 such a complete circulation of water was induced that the 

 whole intermediate ground was dryed the water-table was 

 lowered. It is not uncommon to find surface- wells dried by 

 neighbouring drainage works, and in such cases the conditions 

 are similar to what I have described. There has been an 

 underlying layer of gravel or open material, and the moment 

 the water was allowed free egress it flowed out rapidly ; 

 and the action of these drains extends a long way on either 

 side. 



This leads me to speak of the rival system of drainage 

 known as Elkington's system. It is much older than Smith's, 

 and was first practised in the year 1763 by Mr. Elkington- 

 of Princethorpe, Warwickshire. Mr. Elkington was engaged 

 in the work of draining his farm when he met with the 



