DRAINAGE AND IRRIGATION. 



79 



judicious irrigation. Thus man is the lord and master of the 

 earth ; but hitherto he has done but little to reap all the advan- 

 tages he might have obtained from his dominion, or even used 

 it to his own detriment. Drainage, irrigation, and a judicious 

 management of forest-lands, are only beginning to be under- 

 stood even among the most enlightened nations. A great part 

 of our damp island still remains undrained, and we allow the 

 rivers of India to pour their waters into the sea, instead of 

 diverting them upon her thirsty plains. But there can be no 

 doubt that as knowledge increases, man will gradually learn to 

 provide every soil with the exact measure of humidity that is 

 requisite to make it bring forth its fruits in the greatest abun- 

 dance. Views such as these teach us, that, far from having at- 

 tained the summit of civilisation, we are still on the threshold 

 of her temple, and that most likely our descendants will look 

 down upon our present condition as we do upon that of our 

 barbarous ancestors. 



Rocky Mountains at the bend of Bear La)re P-iver. 



G 2 



