CHAPTER XV. 



DRAINING. 



IN considering this part of estate management, I shall take it under the 

 following sections : 



1. The condition of land requiring draining, and its benefits. 



2. The draining of arable and meadow lands. 



3. The draining of hill-pastures for sheep. 



4. The draining of woods and plantations. 



5. The draining of bogs. 



6. How to conduct drainage operations on an estate. 



7. Other improvements which must follow drainage to make it effec- 

 tual. 



SECTION 1. The Condition of Land requiring Draining. 



In moderate quantities, water is necessary for the health of plants ; 

 but when we find it in excess in the soil, or in a stagnant state, it 

 becomes highly injurious. There are, no doubt, plants which require a 

 larger amount of water than others, and there are a few plants which 

 thrive well in stagnant water ; yet the cereals, roots, and forage-plants 

 which we cultivate will not come to perfection in land saturated with 

 water, nor yet will the finer grasses thrive unless the land is dry. All 

 the plants which we cultivate in our fields require a certain amount of 

 heat in the soil for their healthy development ; but an over-abundance 

 of water in the soil, and more especially water in a stagnant state, reduces 

 the heat required, and makes the soil too cold for the plants to live and 

 thrive. Land which is saturated with water, 'and therefore too cold 

 and wet to grow the finer plants, can generally be known on the surface 

 by the kinds of plants growing naturally on it. When we examine a 

 meadow or pasture-field, if there be any stagnant water in the subsoil, 

 it will generally be indicated on the surface by certain plants growing 

 there which luxuriate in a damp site. The following are a few of the 



