46 



Farming of Lancashire. 



In the Middle Division. 



Tile-kilns belonging to Mr. Clifton (2) . . Lytham. 



Mr. C. R. Jacson . . Barton. 



Mr. W. Garnett . . Bleasdale. 



Mr. Hull .... Whittingham. 



Mr. Wilson Ffrance . Rawcliffe. 



The Duke of Hamilton, Cabas. 



Mr. Threlfall . . . Hollowforth. 



Mr. Edmondson . . Caton.. 



In the Northern Division. 



The Earl of Burlington (2) Furness. 

 Other parties (2) . . Furness. 



But draining requires great care in the work, and a perfect 

 knowledge of the circumstances of soil, subsoil, springs, &c, and 

 the points suggested by Mr. Bullock Webster on this subject 

 cannot be too well known. The following are a few of the most 

 important, taken from a short letter addressed to the editor of the 

 ' Ayrshire Agriculturist :' — 



"1. No general rule can be laid down. 



" 2. Any one system for all soils is an absurdity. 



" 3. Depth and distance of drains must depend on the nature of the soil 

 and subsoil. 



" 9. That grass land can be over-drained. 



" 10. The direction the drains should be laid must be governed by the 

 strata to be cut through, the fall, and other local circumstances ; the rule 

 of going always with the fail is decidedly wrong. 



"11. There are instances (in the new red sandstone) where drains will 

 act perfectly at 40 yards apart ; and there are strong clay subsoils that re- 

 quire drains every 6 or 8 yards. 



" 15. On the strong clay subsoils (not surcharged with under-water) 

 drains 30 to 36 inches deep, at moderate intervals, are much more effective 

 than deep drains at wide intervals, and on these soils the clay should not 

 be filled in over the tiles or pipes. 



" 17. It often happens that drains 4 feet deep and 40 feet apart are placed 

 over a field, when one drain properly put in would cure the whole." 



Nothing has been so fatal to the progress of agricultural im- 

 provement as the dogmatical assertion of the absolute necessity 

 of conforming to or adopting one practice, as the only good one, 

 in all cases and under all circumstances. The real thing to be 

 studied is, how best to make those circumstances available which 

 are within reach, and not to abandon the hope of success, or the 

 effort to obtain it, because the same facilities which have enabled 

 our neighbours to be successful are not within the compass of 

 our grasp. 



As auxiliaries towards the advance of agriculture and the full 

 development of the resources of the county, the railways must 

 not be forgotten ; they are extending gradually like a network 

 over the' face of the county, especially in the Southern Division, 

 affording facilities before unknown in the transport of produce 



