137 



improper obstruction. His idea of leaving 

 the surface uneven is certainly very erro- 

 neous ; for thus some parts will have too 

 much water, and other parts will have 

 none to pass over them ; and his direction 

 to throw together large lumps of peat-bog 

 matter, in order to make the " interstices 

 " larger," is still more improper, as is ex- 

 emplified in the Prisley-Bog meadows; 

 for when I saw them, tlie upper meadow, 

 which had not received so much of the 

 sand and gravel, which is abundantly 

 brought down by the stream that is there 

 used, had many of its beds in so porous 

 and open a state, that the water found a 

 ready passage through them, and did not 

 rise high enough to flow over the surface. 

 His feeders and floating gutters are aU 

 made too deep for such a soil : an expe- 

 rienced floater would have made them 

 wider and shallower, when he had such 

 ^loose materials to work upon. The ver^^ 



intelligent 



