298 



Farming of Lincolnsliire. 



For several miles along the river Welland, south of Spalding, 

 is a tract of meadow unembanked from the overflow of the stream. 

 This is from a quarter to three-quarters of a mile wide, con- 

 taining about 1 500 acres, and is named Cowhit Wash : it is in 

 some places constantly under water, and the whole area is fre- 

 quently flooded with water several feet in depth. There are 

 tiiree great Washes in the Great Level of the Fens (this being 

 the smallest), which formed a prominent feature in the schemes 

 of Sir Cornelius Vermuyden, who was employed as engineer by a 

 company of drainers during the Commonwealth. The upland 

 rivers were supposed to bring down a sufficient amount of water 

 to preserve their own outfalls, especially when aided by the fen 

 waters; but there appeared to be too much in winter and too 

 little in summer, the outfalls being too contracted for the freshes 

 during the one season, and choked with tidal deposits in the other. 

 The " wash," or reservoir, being connected therefore with a river, 

 fulfilled the same office as the air-vessel of a force-pump — it 

 received the sudden flushes into an expanded area, and supplied a 

 constant current towards the sea, thus regulating and equalising 

 the flow. This was ingenious ; but experience has shown that 

 the grand defect was in the condition of the estuaries rather than 

 the irregularity of the current, and that nothing but the aggrega- 

 tion of force possessed by swollen winter floods can erode a 

 durable channel through the growing impediments of sand. 



All that is requisite for the draining of Cowbit Wash is an 

 alteration in the river channel through the town of Spalding; 

 either a new channel might be cut, or the present course enlarged 

 in dimensions. The river has so long been in a defective state 

 above its union with the Glen that it was very anciently aban- 

 doned as an outlet for draining the fens, and the lowland water 

 was discharged first by the Cowbit tunnel," under the river, 

 and then by the Vernatts drain, which joins it at a point nearer 

 the outfall ; and there is small hope at present of its ever being 

 renovated in direction and capacity for the improvement of a com- 

 paratively small extent of land. 



North of the Glen river is a triangular district of land called 

 Thurlhy Fen, bounded on the north by Bourn Eau, or Navigation 

 (which joins the Glen at Tounge End), and on the west by the 

 Koman Car-dyke.* It contains only 2000 acres ; but, being an 



dip of 3 feet 11 inches on the former, with which it lifts 140 tons per minute. The 

 total weight raised is therefore 3U0 tons per minute when both engines are at work. 

 The average annual consumption of coal is 1 200 tons ; but in 1848, 1700 tons were 

 used. An idea of the shape of a scoop-wheel may be formed from the drawing at the 

 end of this section. 



The Car Dyke is the remaining vestige of a great Roman canal which skirted the 

 high lands from Peterborough up to the Foss Dyke, another Roman canal, beyond 

 Lincoln. It divides the fen lands from the liigh grounds along its whole course, except 



