SPRING. 



above it muft be bored through, when the water will flow 

 up throuffh the fiffurea of the Itone, and through the auger- 

 holes, into the fough; but it is preferable, m cafes where 

 the level will admit, to dig the drain through the clay, and 

 fo far into the rock as will furniHi ftones for laying the 

 foutrh ; and then the water will meet with lefs reliltance, 

 and have a freer iffue, than if the ftone had not been opened 

 or broken. This will increafe the expence of cutting the 

 drain, but leflen that of quarrying the Itones elfewhere, and 

 of carrying them to the place where the dram is made. Al- 

 though in the ground to be drained there may be a ditch, or 

 other old water-courfe, in which it may be pradicable, by 

 means of boring, to tap the fpring, yet it is better to make a 

 new trench, in which the water of the fpring only can have 

 admittance; and where this mull crofs any ditch or oldwater- 

 conrfe, it mud be fecured hj puddling with clay, or be con- 

 veyed in a luooden trough, io as not to receive any furface- 

 water : which, by being augmented in time of floods, might 

 foon blow up and dellroy the fough. As the water thus 

 obtained by means of boring may be converted to feveral 

 ufeful purpofes, as thofe of irrigation, ferving fmall mills, 

 canals, houfes, fifh-ponds, paftures, fields, &c. caution is 

 neced'ary in ufing the auger, left the water procured in one 

 part of the drain may be loft at another, in the fame manner 

 in which it was found ; and, in the endeavouring to procure 

 a greater fupply, it may by that means be let down from a 

 met, into a dry, porous J'ubjlratum, as will be feen in its proper 

 place. 



Such are the chief objeifts that require confideration be- 

 fore beginning to cut the drains : the following direftions 

 will be ufeful in guiding the execution of them. If the 

 drain is to be cut through a foft boggy foil, it is better to be 

 open than covered, efpecially where it may receive other 

 water than that collefted from below, and can at the fame 

 time ferve as the fide of an inclofure or divifion betwixt the 

 upland and low grounds. Stones laid in fuch drains are foon 

 apt to fink, owing to the foftnefs of the bottom, and the 

 fough may alfo be foon choaked up. The width of a covered 

 drain may be from three to four feet at top, and one and a 

 half or two feet wide at bottom, thus allowing fix or nine 

 inches for each fide-ftone, and fix inches between, for the 

 pafTage of the water, forming a fquare conduit, or what is 

 termed the fough, being alfo fix or nine inches in height. 

 Or, when the quantity of water collefted, or to be con- 

 veyed in the drain, is fmall, it may only be coupled at the 

 bottom. This is a eonfiderable faving, both in materials 

 and labour, requiring much fewer ftones, and a great deal 

 lefs time in laying them. It is equally fecure when the bot- 

 tom is folid, the ftones good and properly laid, being well 

 packed at the fides, to prevent them from ftiifting. It is 

 alfo a faving in cutting the drain, as it requires lefs width at 

 the bottom fir this manner of laying the ftones, than it does 

 for a fquare conduit. In molt cafes, however, where 

 circumftances arc favourable, the other method Ihould be 

 preferred. The depth is regulated by the level of the place 

 where the drain is to empty itfelf, and the nature of the 

 ground through which it is cut, which is commonly four or 

 five feet, and never lefs than three. Where the drain is only 

 to aft as a conduftor for the water wluch is brought up by 

 the borer where the foil is all clay, its depth may only be 

 three feet, wliich will be fufiicient to allow a proper depth 

 of earth above the ftones laid for the conduit at bottom, 

 which need not exceed, nor fhould ever be lefs than one and 

 a half or two feet. Drains are fometimes feen, in ground 

 apparently very wet on the furface, cut to the depth of three 

 and even four feet, and feveral hundred feet in length, with- 

 out any water being collefted by thein ; but when the borer 



has been applied, and holes put down at the diftance of fix 

 yards apart, and eight or ten feet deep, a eonfiderable ftream 

 of water has been procured, and which has continued to flow. 

 In a particular inftance, a drain has been direfted to be cut 

 in a very retentive clayey foil, which, at the depth of four 

 feet, met with no water ; which gave occafion to the work- 

 men to fay, and the proprietor to think, that he was laying 

 out his money to very bad account ; but they were foon con- 

 vinced to the contrary. As the drain had a fmooth and uni- 

 form flope in the bottom, in order to expedite the work, fe- 

 veral men were employed to lay the ftones, beginning at the 

 loiuer end, and proceeding upwards, while others were en- 

 gaged in boring at the upper end, to proceed downwards- 

 When thofe below began their work, the drain was quite 

 dry, and had no appearance of water, either from the fides or 

 bottom ; but by the time they had proceeded a few yards, 

 and two or three holes were made above^ an unexpefted 

 ftrc^am of water made its appearance, to their no fmall 

 aftoniftimcnt ; and which has iince had the effeft of laying 

 dry a piece of very wet land. Tliis fully ftiews, that with- 

 out the ufe of the auger in fimilar cafes, many drains may 

 be cut to an extenfive depth, without effcfting the deCred 

 end, or without making any material change in the appear- 

 ance of the land. 



In foft boggy foils it is often neceflary, where the drain is 

 to be covered, to cut to a much greater depth than in other 

 cafes, or to the bottom of the mofs, in order to have a 

 fecure foundation for the ftones, as a great part of the 

 water is conftantly lodged between the mofs and the next 

 ftratum. In digging the drain, it is beil to cut the whole 

 length to the depth of two or three feet, at wliich there is 

 no danger of its falling in ; and when the ground near it by 

 that means has become more firm, and the ftones have been 

 laid down by the fide of it, then cut to the depth required. 

 In this way the ftones are at hand, and ready to lay (a foon 

 as the proper depth is dug, and the laying fiiould be be- 

 gun at the upper fide, proceeding downwards, fmootiiing 

 and clearing the bottom of the drain. By this means, the 

 fall of the water will be feen and kept, as there is a dan- 

 ger, when the work is begun at the lower end, and laying 

 upwards, in level ground, of digging too deep in clear- 

 ing the bottom, and thereby caufing a ftagnation of water 

 and fludge in the fough, which ought to be carefully 

 avoided. The turf, in opening the drain, ftiould be firft 

 pared off thin, and laid to one fide for after ufe, and all 

 the mould tlirown out to the other. The moft difficult 

 part of the work is laying the fough in running fands, 

 where it is neceflary to have the fides of the trench fupported 

 with flat boards and props, which are removed forwards as 

 they proceed in working, and which keep the fides from 

 falling in, and the loofe fand from faUing amongft the ftones 

 with which the conduit is laid. If the fough or conduit be 

 laid with brick, a fmall aperture muft be left betwixt each, 

 to admit the water from the fides of the drain, and the thin 

 turves muft be laid above, grafs-fide downwards, to prevent 

 the mould from getting through the openings. The turves 

 are laid grafs-fide downwards, immediately above the _fiones, 

 without any loofe ftones above the laid ones, as the water 

 is all collefted from the bottom of the drain, very little from 

 the fides of it, and none admitted from the top ; unlefs in 

 fuch cafes as where the ftratum containing the water, or 

 that may receive it in time of rains, is cut through to a 

 greater depth than the height of the conduit, then fmall 

 ftones muft be laid above the conduit or cover ftone, to the 

 height of fuch ftratum, or as far up as the water appears to 

 ooze out. Thefe fmall ftones admit the water to fubfide 

 through their interftices to the conduit or fough below, and 



thus 



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