IV. 

 A CONTEST, AND A HEEETIC. 



WE have heard and a little oftener than is pleasant, 

 of victories gained in the Field and lost in the 

 Cabinet. The civil war that has waged so long, be- 

 tween the partisans of the deep and of the shallow 

 drain presents an experience the converse of this. 

 Long after peace had been proclaimed upon paper 

 and most of the printed authorities had begun to pull 

 together in favour of the deep drain I say most, 

 for even to this day a parting shot is now and then 

 heard for the old system ; long after the shallow ad- 

 vocates had written themselves round to the other side, 

 the battle was still waging fiercely out-of-doors. Truly 

 may the Draining-tile be said to have " fought its way 

 downwards inch by inch." The benefit derived even 



