49 



prehends the carrying off as rapidly as possible, after it 



has fallen, all the water upon the surface which is not 

 absolutely necessary to the soil. A very small portion 

 of the annual rain-fall is absorbed by the soil or is requi- 

 site as a constituent of vegetable life. 



All the moisture that remains beyond this required 

 quantity is not only useless, but it is absolutely injurious 

 to fertility, and must be removed to insure the proper 

 growth of vegetation. Many interesting facts have been 

 developed by experience even in this country, although 

 a limited amount of attention has been given to the 

 subject, going to show not only its value in an eco- 

 nomic sense, but also its importance in a sanitary point of 

 view. In England, where thorough drainage has been 

 reduced to a science, it has elicited in its gradual pro- 

 gress much lively discussion and given birth to advocates 

 of different systems ; but the great difference of climate, 

 topography, and geological formation between this coun- 

 try and England precludes the blind adoption by us of 

 any system, no matter how successful it may have been 

 proved to be there. For our own guidance we must look 

 first to the character, the quantity and sources of supply 

 of the water which we wish to remove — knowing this, 

 the topography of the ground and the character of the 

 soil will determine the best course to be adopted in re- 

 moving it. 



Of the water on the park a portion flows from the ad- 

 joining lands, a quantity is developed in local springs, and 

 some of it is in stagnant deposits of rain water. From 

 these sources a large portion of the soil is saturated, cold 

 and sour. The immediate effect of this water in the soil 



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