WARPING OF LAND. 



jcff. The writer here obfervcs, that he little thought of 

 finding exaAly the hufbandry of the Nile in England. He 

 bad, however, before heard of clover-feed being fown in 

 this manner on frefti warp, and fucceeding greatly. 



It is dated in addition, that Mr. Webfter warped twelve 

 acres of wheat-ftubble, and fowed oats in April, which pro- 

 duced twelve quarters an acre ; then wheat, thirty -fix bufh>^ls 

 an acre : that his wheat is never lefs than thirty buftels ; 

 and that fix acres of beans produced thirty loads the acre, 

 or ninety bufhels ; that one acre, meafured to decide a 

 wager, yielded ninety-nine bufhels ; that he has had one 

 hundred and forty-four pods from one bean, on four ftalks ; 

 and Tartarian oats feven feet high ; that one piece, warped 

 in I79j, produced oats in 1794, fix quarters an acre. 

 White clover and hay-feeds were fown with them, and 

 mown twice the firft year: the firft cutting yielded three 

 tons of hay on the acre ; the fecond, one ton ; and after 

 that, an immenfe eddifh. Warp, it is obferved by Mr. 

 Webfter, brings weeds never feen there before, particularly 

 muftard, crefles, and wild celery, with plenty of docks and 

 thiftles ; alfo flax, from forty to fifty ftones the acre. 



It is remarked too, in the fame agricultural work, that 

 Mr. Nicolfon, at RawclifFe, when this praftice is intended, 

 takes the levels firft, then builds a fluice ; that if a quarter 

 of a niiie or half a mile in length, fixty acres may be done 

 the firft year ; the drier the feafon the better, as fuggefted 

 above. The clough or fiuice, when eight feet wide, and 

 five or fix feet high, will be 400/. ; and a drain made four- 

 teen feet at the bottom, and as much more at top, from 

 thirty to forty {hillings an acre of twenty-eight yards ; 

 banks made from four to eight feet high, and the expence 

 ftxjm feven to twenty (hillings the acre of twenty-eight 

 yards : that he begins the bufinefs at from Lady-day till 

 Martinmas, but all depends on feafon ; the depth will de- 

 pend on and be regulated by circumftances. If a landlord 

 irarp, it (hould be deep, it is faid, at once ; if a tenant, 

 (hallow and repeated ; for as good corn will grow at fix 

 inches as fix feet ; at three inches, great crops ; the ftiffer 

 the warp the better, as alreadv noticed. Some feafons, 

 corn is fown the year after. Warp is cold, and, if deep, 

 takes time ; a dry year beft ; great feed crops. The crops 

 ought to be beans, twenty loads ; oats, ten quarters ; wheat, 

 ten or twelve loads ; never barley. After fix years, pota- 

 toes, and good flax : he makes it worth from forty to fifty 

 pound* an acre, it is faid. And Mr. Wilfon's idea of 

 warping is confidered by the writer as very juft ; which is 

 to exhauft the low lands in favour of the hills ; then to warp 

 fix inches deep, to exhauft that to make the hills ; then to 

 vraip again : and by thus domg, to keep the warp-land in 

 the higheft order, and at the fame time to work a great im- 

 provement to all the higher grounds. 



The fubitance of the obfervations of a commiffioner much 

 employed in warping is, that warp leaves one-eighth of an 

 inch every tide on an average ; and that thefe layers do not 

 mix in an uniform mafs, but remain in leaves or layers dif- 

 tinft. That if there be only one fluice, then only every 

 other tide can be ufed ; as the water muft run perfeftly off, 

 in order that the furface may incruft ; and that if the canal 

 be not empty, the tide has not the effeft. At Altliorp, 

 Mr. Bower has warped, it is obferved, to the depth of 

 eighteen inches in a fummer. 



Ten quarters of oats an acre is common, on raking in the 

 feed on warp ; the more fait there is in the warp, the better ; 

 but one fallow, in that cafe, is, it is faid, neceffary to leflen 

 the effeft, or it hurts vegetation. 



It is remarked, that as a fort of new foil is created by 

 this mode of pradtice, it is of but little confcquencc what the 



10 



original nature or quality of the land may be, alnK>il all kind* 

 being improved by it, as feen already ; but that, at the famt 

 time, it may be the moft beneficial in fi.ch light foiled lands 

 as are very open and porous, and fuch ftiff ones as are de- 

 feftive in calcareous matter, and which require fubftances o*. 

 this kind to render them lefs tenacious : and that land, wheu 

 once well warped, will continue for a vaft length of time iu 

 a good ftate of fertility. But ftill it is fuggefted, by feme 

 experienced warpers, as a better practice, in this mode of 

 tillage improvement, to apply a fmall portion of warp 

 whenever the land is in the ftate of fallow, which will be 

 about every five or fix years ; as, by this means, the farmer 

 will be more fecure of having good crops. The depth to 

 which the lands are covered by the tides muft, it is faid, be 

 regulated according to their levels, and the height to which 

 the tides rife in the rivers from which they proceed. 



It is ftated in the Agricultural Report of the Weft 

 Riding of the County of York, that where it can be done, 

 the water may be admitted to the height of three, four, or 

 more feet ; and that the depofit of the muddy fediment or 

 material is in fome meafure proportionate to the height of 

 the tide-water ; but that the fame effefts may be gained 

 from much fmaller quantities of water, by continuing the 

 procefs or practice a great number of tides : alfo, that fuch 

 lands as have been fubjefted to this method of improvement, 

 (hould conftantly be kept in the ftate of tillage for forae 

 length of time afterwards, in order that they may be brought 

 to a proper condition for the produftion of graf'i. 



In refpeft to the expence of this mode of improving 

 lands, it muft neceflarily differ much, it is faid, in dif- 

 ferent cafes, according as the circumftances of fituatioB, 

 diftance, &c. may vary ; but it can feldom exceed twelve or 

 fifteen pounds the acre, according to fome, as the firft of 

 the above writers; and in moft inftances it muft, it i« 

 thought, be greatly below fuch eftimates. It is, however, 

 properly remarked by Mr. Day, another experienced writer 

 on the fubjeft, that no eftimate can be made, without view- 

 ing the fituation of the lands to be warped, and the courfe 

 and diftance it will be neceffary to carry the warp to fuch 

 lands : as, I ft, the fituation of the lands muft be fully con- 

 fidered ; 2dly, the quantity of land the fame drains and 

 doughs will be fuflBcienl to warp ; and jdly, the expence 

 of building the doughs, cutting the drains, embanking the' 

 lands, &c. An eftimate of which expence being made, 

 then it will be neceflary to know the number of acres fucW 

 doughs and drains will warp, before any eftimate ptr acre 

 can be made ; confeqnently it will be eafy to conceive, that 

 the greater quantity of land the fame doughs and drains will 

 warp, the eafier the expence will be per acre. It is hie 

 opinion, that there are great quantities of land in the above 

 county, and others, which might be warped at fo fmall an 

 expence as from four to eight pounds the acre, which is 

 nothing, it is thought, in comparifon to the advantages 

 which would arife from it. 



The writer has known land which haabeen raifed in value 

 by warping, from five to upwards of forty and even fifty 

 pounds the acre ; therefore it is eafy to conceive, it is faid, 

 that the greateft advantages arife upon the worft land, and 

 the more open and porous the foil the better, as has been 

 noticed, as the wet filters through readily, and it foon be- 

 comes fit for ufe. The advantages of warping are, it is 

 thought, very great ; as, after lands have been properly 

 warped, they are fo enriched thereby, that they will bring 

 very large crops for feveral years afterwards, without any 

 manure 5 and, when it is neceffary, the lands may be warped 

 again, by opening the old drains, which may be done at a 

 very trifling espencc, and will- bring crops in fucceffioin /or 



tDUJ 



