414 



The Claying of Fen Soils. 



[Aug., 



Method of Claying. — Operations are begun by opening fur- 

 rows with a horse plough leS yards apart and parallel to each 

 other. It is usual to plough 2 furrows 10 to. 12 in. in width, 

 leaving 12 in. of unploughed land in the centre, thus making 

 the trenches roughly 3 ft. wide at the top. The workman 

 begins at one end of a furrow by sinking a hole about 5 ft. 

 long and 3 ft. wide. The top soil is laid on one side of the 

 hole ; the peat from the first hole is piled at the end of 

 the furrow. The clay, which lies directly under the peat, is 

 struck at various depths from 2 to 6 feet. If the clay is deeper 

 than 6 feet, then the operation becomes difficult and expen- 

 sive, and will not as a rule be attempted. From three to four 

 spits of clay (3 to 4 feet) are then thrown out into heaps, half 

 on one side of the hole and half on the other. The sides of 

 the hole are undercut to some extent, so that the maximum 

 amount of clay may be obtained from each hole. Holes are 

 then sunk all up the furrow, about 1 foot apart, the 

 space being left to shore up the sides of the trench and keep 

 them from caving in; also to act as a dam to prevent the 

 water, which rapidly accumulates in each hole as it is dug, 

 from filling the trench. In digging the second hole the top 

 soil is laid on one side as before, but 'the peat is thrown into the • 

 first hole, and thus the useless material dug from each hole 

 helps to fill up the preceding one. 



It is the custom among some farmers to cut away the par- 

 tition left between each hole after the clay has been removed 

 and the partition has served its purpose. In this way a con- 

 tinuous trench is made across the field, so that as it is filled 

 with porous peat it acts as a drain, which discharges its water 

 at either end into the dykes surrounding every field. This 

 practice seems to be thoroughly sound and may be commended 

 to the notice of those who are not at present in the habit of 

 carrying it out. 



Having completed several holes, the workman goes back and 

 spreads the heaps of clay evenly over the land to a distance of 

 6 yards on each side of the trench. 



The tools used are an ordinary spade for clearing away the 

 top soil and peat, a fork for spreading the clay, a small light 

 wooden shovel or spoon with a thin sharp cutting edge and 

 about 12 to 14 in. deep, for digging the clay, and a large 

 wooden scoop for throwing out the water as it accumulates in 

 each hole back into the preceding one. The amount of water 



