THE DEAINAGE OF GEASS LAND. 18 



not penetrate very deep, and therefore it is desirable to have 

 the water somewhat nearer the surface than on the arable part 

 of the farm . 



As to the practical part of draining I need say but little. 

 There are tracts of country without any arterial drainage, no 

 river or stream being available into which drains, if laid, can 

 discharge their effluent water. The remedy is of course beyond 

 the power of private individuals except in a few rare instances. 

 Such works can only be carried out by Government, or by 

 companies with large funds and under parliamentary sanction. 

 This subject will, however, one day, and I hope not remotely, 

 claim more attention from statesmen. Scientific engineering has 

 rendered the task possible ; the real difficulty lies in its cost. 

 Meanwhile, in such exceptional districts, pastures having no fall 

 for drain-pipes may be considerably improved by a system of 

 gutter-cutting on the surface. This practice would often be 

 serviceable on land subject to floods. Water should not be 

 allowed to lie on portions of a field after the main stream has 

 retired sufficiently to enable this water to flow if only a channel 

 were provided. 



The manner in which drainage should be carried out in any 

 particular case depends on soil, climate, and other considerations. 

 These conditions must of course be taken into account, but they 

 concern the details and not the principle of the work. The 

 difierence between the rainfall in the eastern and western coun- 

 ties,^ or between the West of England and Ireland, will regulate 

 the nearness of the hues of drains and the size of the pipes. But 

 these differences do not touch the main question whether to 

 drain or not to drain. Soils which rest upon a porous subsoil 

 certainly do not need it. Other land may be retentive, and yet 

 lie so high, or at such a steep inclination, that the water is 



1 The annual rainfall in the North of Scotland exceeds that of the South of England 

 by ten inches; and in the West of Ireland it is larger than in Scotland. The case 

 named by Professor Ansted in his Physical Geography is still more remarkable. He 

 says: ' At Seathwaite the fall is 127 in., and a few miles off, at Bishop's Wearmouth in 

 Durham, on the other side of the moors, it is only 17 in.' 



