LARGE COUNTRY VILLAS. 343 



except in worn-out grass lands; and the most effective mode of getting rid of 

 them in this case, at least on a large scale, is, to break up the land, and to 

 keep it three or fom* years under the plough, before it is laid down again. 

 We can hardly recommend this practice, however, in the case of a paddock 

 of a few acres ; because, among other reasons, the loss of two or three years' 

 pasture would be a very serious drawback to the comforts of the family. For 

 so small an extent, therefore, we recommend draining, frequent top-dressings 

 with manure or compost ; and scattering in the seeds of rye-grass, fescue, 

 and white clover, wherever the grass appears thin. This ought to be done 

 early in the spring ; or in September, after a crop of hay is taken ; and the 

 ground ought afterwards to be thoroughly harrowed and rolled. 



^09. Ill order that the draining of permanent pasture may not appear a 

 more formidable business than it really is, we shall here describe some of the 

 cheapest and best modes of performing it, premising that the object is not to 

 drain the subsoil of water arising from springs, but to collect what rain-water 

 would otherwise stagnate on the surface, or soak into the ground, and be 

 retained there longer than is beneficial for the health of the plants, or to such 

 an extent as to render the soil unfit for the tread of heavy animals. The first 

 thing to determine is the direction of the drains ; the next thing, their distance 

 from one another ; and the third, their form and the materials with which 

 they are to be filled. If the surface of the land has been formed into ridges 

 before it was laid down in grass, it will, in general, be found sufficient to make 

 one drain in the bottom of each furrow ; because we may fairly presume that 

 the ridges were laid out in the direction best adapted for carrying off the 

 water, and that they were formed of such a width as to leave their furrows 

 sufficiently near one another for that purpose. If the land should not have 

 been laid out in ridges, and the surface should be nearly level, then, after 

 having discovered the lowest side of the field (because there is no such thing 

 in nature as a perfectly level field), drains ought to be made at 10 ft. or 15 ft. 

 apart, and parallel to each other, from the highest side of the field to the 

 lowest. If the field be very steep, however, then the drains ought to be made 

 more or less obliqnel}^ across the declivity, so as to intercept the surface 

 water, and, at the same time, not to carry it off with such a degree of rapi- 

 dity as to wear out the bottom of the drains. Where the surface slopes in 

 various directions, and consists of a series of eminences and hollows, then 

 drains must be conducted in such a manner round the eminences as to inter- 

 cept the water everywhere, especially near the bottoms of the declivities, and 

 to carry it off to the boundary of the field, or to some general outlet or 

 public drain. In strong clayey soils, having a moderate declivity, the distance 

 of 15ft. between the drains may be sufficient; in loamy soils, it may be 

 more ; and where the soil is a strong clay, and the surface quite flat, it ought 

 to be less. Under the last circumstances, we should not hesitate to recom- 

 mend putting in drains every 6 ft. or 8 ft., and filling up these drains to 

 within an inch of the surface with gravel, if it could be obtained, or with 

 small stones (in the manner we have already described in p, 163.), or with 

 turf and soil. 



410, With respect to the dimensions of the drains, as the surface is not to 

 be ploughed, they need not be deep ; and any greater width than may be 

 required for attaining the depth fixed on is unnecessary. In general, from 

 15 in. to 18 in. in depth, and from 8 in. to 10 in. in width at the surface, and 



