90 THE BOOK OF THE LANDED ESTATE. 



fore, that the comparative porosity of the soil is the only sure guide by 

 which a farmer is to drain his land effectually, he should study the nature 

 of it in all respects for this end, otherwise he is as likely to fail in his 

 attempts to dry his fields as to succeed in his object. 



There are in this country few pieces of land that will not be much 

 benefited and made more productive from being thoroughly drained; 

 and without this, in fact, no piece of land can be made so produc- 

 tive as it will be after it has imdergone the operation. Indeed, 

 without thorough drainage the latent capabilities of any kind of land 

 cannot be fully brought out, inasmuch as it not only removes super- 

 fluous water from, the subsoil, but also insures the circulation of air 

 through the soil, and thus secures a healthiness in the subsoil which 

 could not otherwise exist. Looking, therefore, at the extent of land 

 which has been drained in this country within the last thirty years, and 

 considering the very large proportion which at the present day is still 

 in a very imperfect state of dryness from the defective drainage, and 

 therefore requiring to be redrained, and at the same time from seeing the 

 many different opinions which still obtain on the subject, it is evident 

 that farmers have yet much to learn in regard to it before they under- 

 stand it so well as to be able to make it thoroughly available for 

 developing the hidden capabilities of their land. Any one not con- 

 vinced of this has only to look around him to see the many failures 

 which have taken place in respect to drainage, and in doing so he 

 will obtain some knowledge as to how much money has been, as it 

 were, thrown away upon it. Experience has been gained, however, 

 although certainly at a great cost, and the intelligent farmer will use 

 this experience as a guide to better success in future. But it must 

 be kept distinctly in view that no system of drainage can be made 

 thoroughly operative on the land unless it is followed by a thorough 

 opening up of the soil lying above the drains ; as without this the land 

 will remain to a great degree impermeable to the passage of water to the 

 drains, as well as to the roots of the plants cultivated on it. 



The Application of Manures falls to be noticed in the next place, and 

 this is a branch of agriculture as yet very imperfectly understood among 

 us. It is from the want of sufficient knowledge in regard to manures 

 fitted to rear particular kinds of crops on their land, that farmers are so 

 often disappointed in the results of the artificial manures they purchase. 

 If a farmer happen to have raised a very abundant crop by the use of a 

 particular kind of artificial manure, he proclaims his success among his 

 neighbours, who probably all purchase the same kind of fertiliser next year 

 for their subjects, and the result is likely to be very variable among them, 

 all depending on how far the manure used is suitable for the wants of the 



