HISTORY OF STAFFORDSHIRE. [61 



with potatoes ; they pared and burnt it by moonlight after their 

 daily labour, spread the ashes, and paid for ploughing them in ; the 

 crop proved so good, and the price of potatoes so high, that they 

 shared c40. between them, besides reserving plenty of potatoes 

 for their families. 



A peat-bog on waste land was drained, then pared and burnt ; 

 the ashes immediately regularly spread, and the land ploughed in 

 twelve furrow ridges (it could not be ploughed in narrow ones from 

 toughness), the furrows were hacked and levelled with heavy hoes, 

 then planted across the ridges with potatoes in rows, and Owing to 

 the large quantity of ashes, produced an abundant crop. The land 

 afterwards produced the two next years two very strong crops of 

 oats in succession : it was then well limed, and clean fallowed, and 

 is now a good meadow. 



IMPROVEMENTS : 1. Draining. Of this most essential improve- 

 ment of all land that requires it, much remains to be done, though 

 great exertions have been made in it, and are now making. The 

 practice generally adopted is, after having found a sufficient 

 fall, to open ditches and main drains to a proper depth, arid to cut 

 from and into them, through all wet and unsound spots, a number of 

 drains of about fourteen inches wide at top, four or five at bottom, 

 and of a proper depth, three feet or more ; these last-mentioned 

 drains to be filled up with proper materials, so as to let a current of 

 water pass along the bottom, thus at all times keeping the moisture 

 in circulation, and freeing the land from the chill of stagnant water. 



The materials now used for filling up drains are most generally 

 draining tiles, made on purpose at the brick kilns, of a semi-elliptical 

 form, about four inches deep, two inches and a half wide within, 

 and a foot long, placed end to end along the bottom of the drains. 

 On the top of these is laid some straw, or heath, then turf, with the 

 turfy side downwards, and then filled up with loose earth : this is 

 the practice in arable land. In grass-land the natural turf may be 

 reserved, and replaced on the surface. 



In countries where stone is plentiful, two side stones, and a 

 covering stone may be used instead of tiles : close drains thus exe- 

 cuted will last a great length of time if properly done, and are a very 

 capital improvement to all lands injured by springs or stagnant 

 "water. The open drains and ditches must at times be cleaned out, 

 to let the water pass off freely. 



It is also a common practice to bore the bottom of Hollow drains, 

 with a view of tapping the spring, and sometimes with great sue* 



