ENGLISH AGRICULTURE. 107 



across the slope, and then proceed to drain the surface below 

 on Smith's regular system. 



I wish to show in this little work that Agriculture is a 

 many-sided subject, and that numbers of considerations must 

 be taken into account in looking at any agricultural problem. 

 The practical advantages of land drainage are many. If a 

 farmer pure and simple were asked why he approved of 

 drainage he would not reply in the terms in which I explained 

 their advantages in the previous chapter. He would not tell 

 us he drained land because it increased the underground 

 temperature or checked evaporation ; but he would tell us 

 he drained because he got better crops. That is one of the 

 effects produced by drainage, not only better crops, but a 

 better quality better barley and better wheat, and less 

 mildew and less blight. And we also get a much larger 

 variety of crops. We are no longer restricted to beans and 

 rheat on wet clay lands, but we can introduce turnips, 

 swedes, mangels, kohl-rabi, rape, clover, and many other 

 x)ps. We get a much cheaper tillage, and the number of 

 >ur working days in the year on clay lands is much increased. 

 >ne of the difficulties farmers on clay lands have to deal with 

 that the number of days in the year on which they can 

 rork the land is very limited. Light land farmers can always 

 rork their land as long as it is dry overhead, but a clay land 

 farmer cannot do that. He must keep off his land for days 

 >r even weeks after heavy rains ; he knows that the carters 

 would be better employed toasting their toes over the fire 

 than ploughing the ground in wet weather. The consequence 

 that the clay land farmer must keep a force of horses for 

 emergencies. Now by drainage we lessen that evil the 

 lumber of working days is very much increased, and there- 

 fore fewer horses need be kept, or those horses can be kept 

 in good condition on cheaper food. The health of our 

 live-stock is also improved by the drainage of the ground 





