1342 ENCYCLOPEDIA OF AGRICULTURE. bopm.«mukt. 



8296. Tin- larch as piles. Two hundred and twenty-three trees, forty-two years old, were converted 

 into piles, and driven Into the river Thames in the trout ol the works ofthe Woolwich dockyard In the 

 year 1*1". A reporl on tiuir state was made In 1*17. when they were found to be as fresh a» when they 

 were driven in. It is Impossible to peruse this paper n Ithoul being strongly impressed with the patriotic 

 views entertained by John, the second Duke of At hoi. Living In a period when the country was Involved 

 in a war with almost all other countries, be dreaded, In common with other patriots and statesmen, a 



scarcity of timber tit tor naval pur] ■-. and be contemplated the idea of planting bo extensively as to 



provide against this scarcity for centuries to come. In all his plans and operations we see little or 

 nothing of the merely se-bisb principle at work ; his great object was to provide a regular yearly supply 

 of ship timber, the commencement of which supply could not take place till many years after he was 

 dead. The following table -how* the Duke's own calculation of the supply which would he afforded by 



the w Is of Athol, from 1832 to 1904. 



12 years cutting from 1832 to 184 I will give 1,280 loads annually from ?>0 acres. 



10 _ -II - 1854 — 8.1 00 — 



M _ 1854 - 1862 — Is.(Hii) — 650 



h _ 1862 - 1*7(1 — 80,000 — 1050 



16 _ l*7n- 1886 — 52,000 — 2000 



1* _ 1886- 1IM)4 — 120,000 — 8000 



R297. The relative duration qf timber has been thus determined by M. Hartlg, an eminent German 

 profe ■ of forestry. Small posts of lime tree, black American birch, alder, and trembling poplar, in- 

 serted in the soil, decayed in three years ; the <• mmon willow, horse-chestnut, and the platanus, in four 



years ; the purple beech, and the common birch in five years ; the elm. the hornbeam, the ash. and the 

 Lombardy poplar, in seven years; the acacia, the oak, the Scotch pine, the Weymouth pine, and the 

 spruce lir'. at the end of seven years were only decayed a little to the depth of a quarter of an inch ; the 



larch, the common juniper, the Virginian juniper, and the arbor vita', were, at the end of the same 

 criod. untouched by decay. Thin boards of the same woods decayed in the following order: platanus, 

 jorse-chestnut, lime tree, poplar, birch, purple beech, hornbeam, alder, ash, the maple, the spruce lir, 

 the Scotch pine, the elm, the Wevtnout'n pine, the acacia, the oak, and the larch. (£ rAgronome, torn. i. 

 p. 315.) It thus appears that the larch, whether as posts with the bark on, or sawn up into boards, is bj 

 far the most durable of our timber trees. 



\ 



BOOK III. 



IMPROVING THE CULTUUABLE LANDS OF AN ESTATE, (p. 690.) 



S29S 4213. Draining by steam power. The application of steam power to the draining "i land v. iiich 



the ordinary means of draining are insufficient to accomplish, is among the most important improvements 

 erf the time. Land which, otherwise, either could not be cultivated, or with the uncertainty of reaping 

 what was sown, is now cultivated with profit and certainty. Beyond the localities in which stem: power 

 draining is in operation, little is known of it. In the British Farmer's Magazine lor 1*39. and also, in 

 the Transactions of the Society qfArts of that year, will be found a detailed account of the steam pott i 

 draining which has lately been effected in Cambridgeshire and Lincolnshire. It will be found ol the -real est 

 interest to those possessing similar tracts of land. The water is lifted with wheels, and raised about 3} 

 feet higher than the surface, at which height it flows off to the rivers or main drains. 



8299—4267. The frequent drain system. The great importance of thorough drainage, ami deep 

 ploughing, has lately been placed in a striking point of view, by James Smith. Esq., of Deanston, in Stirling- 

 shire, in an article contained in a Report ofthe Exhibition of Agricultural Productions, &c, published, in 

 1832, by Messrs. Drummond, seedsmen, of Stirling. Mr. Smith observes. " that the practical drainers ol 

 the old school cannot see bow afield should be drained, unless by deep cross drains, to cut off the springs. 

 The portion of land, however, wetted by water springing from below, bears but a very small proportion 

 to that which is in a wet state from the retention of the water which falls upon the surface in the state 

 of rain, and a vast extent ofthe arable land ol Scotland and England, generally esteemed dry, is yet so 

 far injured by the tardy and Imperfect escape of the water, especially in winter, and during long periods 

 of wet weather in summer, that the working of it is often difficult and precarious ; audits fertility is much 

 be-low what would uniformly exist under a state of thorough dryness. A system of drainage, tliereh 

 generally applicable, and effecting complete and uniform dryness, is ofthe utmost importance to the agri- 

 cultural interests, and. through them, to all the other interests of the country. By the system here recom- 

 mended, this is attaint d. whilst the expense is moderate, and the permanency greater than on any other 

 System yet known. The drains, as applied in the carse. have been named wedge drains, from their 

 form, and being filled with wedges or keys to preserve the opening in their bottoms. They are sometimes 

 called furrow drains, from their being placed under the water furrows of the ridges ; but these terms give 

 no exposition of the principle upon which the eitc c t of this mode of draining depends. The principle of 

 the system is, the providing frequent opportunities for the water rising from below, or falling on the sur- 

 face, to pass freely and completely off i and, therefore, the most appropriate appellation for it is the 

 frequent-drain system." 



8300. Main drains. In proceeding to apply this system of drainage to land, the first object is to obtain 

 a sufficient fall, or level, as it is commonly termed, lor a main drain to receive the water flowing from the 

 various smaller or ordinary drains. This drain should be directed along the bnltnin of the chief hollow- 

 or valley of tin' grounds, where the w hole- or greater portion of the dr tills can be led into it. If any lesser 

 hollows occur in the extent of surface tiny must also base their proportional mains or leaders. The 

 bottom ofthe main should be at least thiee feet : and, if possible, three feet and a half or four feet under 

 the surface- where it passes along ; and it should have throughout as uniform a fall as the nature of the 

 ground will admit. It should be Sagged ai the bottom ; or, v. here flagstones are expensive, built as an 

 inverted arch, to prevent the possibility of rain, &c. washing aw. is the earth under the side building. The 

 dimensions necessary will depend em the fall or declivity, and the area of land from which the drain has 

 to receive water. With a fall in noplace less than 100 yards, a drain ten inches wide, and eighteen inches 

 deep, will receive the rain water from 100 ae-res. It is Of great importance to make the openings of such 

 drains narrow and high ; as they will thus require smaller bottoms and covers, and be less liable to give 

 way ; the current of water being also more- confined, mud and sand will be h-ss apt to settle in the bottom. 

 Let the sides be smoothly and secure I \ built with Hat stones, either with or without mortar ; and let strong 

 flat covers be placed over the drain ; or, where such are not to be found, a rough simple arch, with thin 

 stones and mortar, may be built, packing the haunches of the arch wall up to the sides of the cuts with 

 earth beaten in firmly. Where lesser hollows occur, crossing the fields, it is necessary to cut submains along 

 their bottoms, about three feet or three and a hall feel deep, end having openings of suitable dimensions 

 formed by stone couples (two flat stones placed together at the- t p and apart at the bottom, like the two 

 -ides of a triangle), or with drain tiles ; or, where a verj large flow of water has to be provided for, with 

 inverted tiles, and covering tiles placed above the bottom one, or with larger tiles made on purpose. 



