34 MANUAL FOR SUGAR GROWERS. 



long a period, and are said to be cold or wet ; this 

 may arise from want of porosity, as in the case of 

 stiff clays, or from a flat and low -lying situation, 

 or more frequently from a combination of the condi- 

 tions. The remedy for this lies in draining. 



Draining may be accomplished by two principal 

 methods surface or open-trench draining, and sub- 

 soil draining. So far, in our West Indian colonies, 

 the former method is the only one regularly prac- 

 tised, and the author's experience is that one of the 

 real objects of the operation is frequently lost sight 

 of or ignored. It is commonly supposed that sur- 

 face drainage, as here accomplished, has for its ob- 

 ject merely the removal of the superfluous surface 

 water, and, that being accomplished, that it is well to 

 leave the land wet. How erroneous this is has al- 

 ready been shown. It is necessary to remove all 

 superfluous water to a considerable depth, so as to 

 admit air, and thus particularly on flat lands it is 

 desirable to dig the trenches to as great a depth as 

 possible. The depth and distance apart of the 

 trenches of course entirely depends on the nature 

 of the land. A loose porous soil resting on a por- 

 ous subsoil will only require such open trenches as 

 will carry off the surface water during heavy rains. 

 A stiff clay resting on an impervious subsoil will 

 require close and deep trenching. The most con- 

 venient distance for trenches is thirty or forty feet 

 apart, and in stiff soil they should be at least eigh- 

 teen inches deep. 



Open trenches, however, possess many and great 

 disadvantages ; and in countries where agricultural 



