JANTARY 18, 1862.] 
THE GARDENERS 
CHRONICLE AND 
AGRICULTURAT 
GAZETTE. 
ices 
and 
Whittlesea | Mere (now a district of fruitful corn fields, 
in 
| cultural Jonan) that he or i red a chann 
the body of the Fen 
e price 2 corn va rying every year, that 
difference in the money value of the 
wing the Act 
6s. 8d.; 
.. £31 175. 34d. 
E t е a 
» 5} 
nt. r^ es a 
rent charge 
estw 
| Peterbor ough, згад to this ded is p by the name 
of the King's Delpl 
It is impossible in our limited space to pursue this 
ends on the 
, narrative 
rovem nor indeed where so m 
renda Fes ү grophie character. rJ the 
would it be fair to do so. 
to Peterborough, the waves were so boisterous оп | 
their old dominium. 
t i 
interesting -amegi in the history of ig ена and | i 
d uch d 
became neglected and the old drains were suffered to 
be silted up, the waters 
ord 
Cornel; 
| Vermuyden, a Dutch engineer, who had gained а мота 
| amomni of qunojetion by his ЖӨ at Sedge Y i da 
t Halfield Level, o LI of York- 
Lr € with а view 
tl North L 
pt 
| shire and е at онам оп е Themes; 
A 
on a 
the 
ое, out by В an Mor rton, Bishop of Ely, in ther 
reign 
of Henry VII. “He sed a 
,40- fo ot, cut or canal to 
lvern Chase, in Worceste ershir ге. At a inter- 
which he was invited, Sir 1 
olired to ора the drainage of the Level on "con- 
grant of 95,000 acres of the land 
it catal, through Уо Р to the sea a, the — 
bei 
Its 
uiekly e vacuated, a nda t the о 
same ime between 
во | the po 
аа -— 
5 
во reclaimed ; but us h a contract was duly signed, it. 
was very soon afterwards broken through, because of. 
polan dislike to so large a concession of land to a 
Je -— under these circumstances that Francis, Earl 
Bedford, was induced to take the = of Ve r- 
da 4h haf 1 bal : { 
and the sea." This work, ' án хоп Ше Bishop took 
€ intere “К 18 known , to the е present day а as Mo rto on's | 
Leam 
"s so well known as the Bedford € 
prise the Earl was assi isted by s 
the 
S enter- 
ssurance Society, always 
Ass 
publishes a Table every WP showing. the yalue of АП 
t w 
of being the first ct inmpdnae into the Тина the 
ma 
sums from 9d. up to 2 
ficult; 
The 
ues ата-а 
Mebiecwg, 
Livës of the Engineers, with an Account of their 
Principal Works, arenen -6 "d of Inland |y 
Communication in uel Smiles. 
John Murray. 3561. vo! 
(Concluded from p. 32.) 
We have dwelt sufficiently long on what, pter 
all, can only be, regarded as 2e gero or intro 
fes P кө esting wor x: 
for 16 is au ru bist of the 
le grent edd of the Foris situated at the 
junction of the coun don, С: 
bridge and Norfolk, that the аео on of the | 
е commenc The b i 
is аз much t 
centuries ago this vast tract about uare | 
miles of жел entirely abandoned to the waters, 
f mense  estuary of the Wash, 
Witham, Welland, Glen, 
into "uer the. rivers 
Nene, 
t 680,000 acres aof үө richest] land i in LM nd, and Е 
d as the kin gdo 
nm, 
monasteries, the drainage of ч Pota, 
чуй up to that 7 had been principally ĉon- 
= zeto b received a serious sr sce а 
artificial rivers, | 
у Umen 
ssolution | also a 
| of receiving a proportionate acreage 
| claimed. To the Earl of Bedford ind c^ co-under- 
ed by W 
failur 
$^ 
y churehm 
ugh, in the ipe adi Elizabeth, а comm 
аре with the object of devisin 
es fo 
series of destructive 
arms and villages 
step was the appointment 
ssion, who reported that бее were not less 
as oa 
g ё! adopting | wage 
or the drainage of the North Level 
ing of a General 
be taken up 
its рдык i 
work Ls 1з "stil Vermuy- 
himself тей m means for 
veral thousand acres o 
f land as a 
the various drainage w 
Level of the Fen xd from the time of Vermu 
the year 1830, wo 
re ce, b h 
hem deserving notice. 
| had , 
| inhabitants of the Fen icts, his work was 
sin not so perfect in dts kin as to ensure its triumph over 
than 307,2 2a acres lying AR the 
— and pro tection ; and unless the. fol- 
+ кат 
under the auspices of. Charles. : B 
diim] > 
1 4^ 814 
wing pic жө 
the most той, course of a 
* The n f skilled Hals ae A r the rescue of 
the rowed ый in the was a this time cer- 
| tainly most im t. It would be difficult to imagine 
nen 
| anything шого dismal ад the ре: which n. еу 
-|sented. In w: withou es; in su 
hero was heavy wit th | со 
with insects. The 
mpoverished Exch equer, and the discontent being: 
thus fanned into a fierce flame, pro Стош- 
well, dis Шеше for Huntingdon, until then. 
, or 
e 
d ihe great proj e state it 
а. =ч rum E in iem уту near then. тм, fell б ка. round. us t а part of 
[Spalding every seventh ог eighth y year, vel aj again 7: waste till the year 1649, when 
vet ing the season ‚ bushel for field was grant William, Earl of Bedford, and 
Pikes were plentiful near Lincoln; hence the iiid to D and complete the works originally 
соте, *'Withan pike, England hath none like." | undertaken by his father, Sin Vermuyden being again 
Fen ni ghti MY frogs, ртт abou — te selected as engineer, after a remarkable succession of 
o wi 
irds prope ai 
la t an 194 widg ards, grebes, сооз, solli v idees < 
ва in winter, and а iou p ex ummer, the Кору донге, Yelpers, ruffs, and reev many of which 
waters expanding in many places into settled seas or have 10п ng been banished "фаи England. 
meres, warming with fish, aming with wild | M. allard 8 es do plentiful that 3000 uH ihem, 
fowl, The more elevated parts were overgrown with with other — in my have been kno 
fall. whi Кошен a distance like ht. d the borders of "the fens 
waving corn; and they hau there lived a thin and pet population of * Fen- 
Into 
oods descending from the 
mingling and widen- |. 
annels. be for re they reached the 
e|Slodgers, who derived a ренә subsistence from 
and fi 
fowling always hung over the 
river beds were | 
hrough 904 mean 
ash. nce thy 
f old rivers still жо ен 
he Fens, the old Nene, the m 
The Ouse, which in pas 
Wash at Wisbeach (or Ouse Bench) [е 
whic 
amidst the 
Que, ar 
e Great Bedford Level, from 
hei ү d numerous and frequently 
is into the 
эз 
n the district 
Wash, now known as 
nd. The same people also 
eral causeways acr oss „the Fens for 
Thus after 
oked up, Re n intercontd Xn 
h the der- | 
gural ceremony," he enabled 
to point out to the commissioners +3 adjudication that 
in the A and middle levels „there were already 
„000 acres of land d, Wheat, and 
other Bare grain, besides innumerable « quantities of 
sheep, cattle, and other stock where never had been апу 
. | before." 
It is impossible ve so span a emt of time to 
ascertain to what mbina causes the 
bed fall К Vi it is 
Mr. 
e ague, 
said of him * heis arrested by the bailiff of Marshland ; 
this disease extensively prevailing all over the district 
when - КРЕ air of the marshes odo ork,” 
That uch stat e of things should h 
ids | Сайраду: by w 
29 
without regret tha 
Smiler s vest that in carrying out his great work he 
not only impoverished himself, but h the Say the 
om he was eng ferred heavy 
claims against him Mee he had no means 
and in 1656 he had to i Pa 
ат for redress, and 
disap appears vm etae 
of meeting, 
rliament: аза 
encefor 
sight. i 
eers, including Per тту, did 
y; MiTo "fet en nga 
nga 
ачаа at, peser we find it stated, that ы 
med of pe ер. that had оу arta ken his 
Fens, 1 1 
°/ 
defects of 
| improvements, bu bu t it 
с 
t longer su о be 
ta тле to the will of the water nor let hem g 
aste and unprofitable, and if no one else 
snderake — , drainage, he himself жо ould кай 
bissl: out the t thor 
d | length accomplished, 
crowned the а е ды well be adduced 
ture i mprovers, though it а 
һеїг опа 
кч 
та? зб == were adopted; an 
ve for draining 6000 acresin 
Tant P 
Waldense 
that а; ап рне Ъ i it dd! 
Fen ша ematie at upy ЧЁ 
he daughter 
of the fc 
МАС БС Wia T 
w: 
mpany of London ki on, condition of кер the canal engineer ; of Smena 
ме claimed lands 
"e hara ur Nee т. on the -— Pages of Mx 
€ to 
е engineer of ' Eday. 
ceiving ei" ын ин of the 
anute more than once sailed | 
s With his ships; and the tradition s sur- 
tiai 
d of Telford. db ё , there iil 
recom works were о 
die Fons Pens 
| ful ; and, а after he. death. of James У ір proportion as r- nw a vast Ie of interest. and instruction, ; for 
ne occasion, when passing from 
we refer the read. 
