498 



On the Advantage of Deep Drainage. 



Having satisfied my own mind that deep-draining is advisable, 

 I naturally stated the result of my proceedings to those of my 

 friends whose lands required draining. I will mention some of 

 those friends with whom I communicated upon the subject, 

 selecting- those whom I knew to be possessors of very strong clay- 

 land. I advised the Duke of Wellington, the Duke of Bedford, 

 Sir Francis Lawley, and Sir Robert Peel, to try the system 

 which had so entirely succeeded with me. I have seen land 

 belonging to the Duke of Wellington, at Stratfieldsaye, so 

 drained, and upon tenacious clay, as I know by the analysis of 

 it ; and with him it has had such good effect that his land-steward 

 is intending by degrees to have the whole of the Duke's estates 

 in Hampshire drained to a great depth; never at a less depth 

 than 4 feet, but in some instances, according to the nature of the 

 soil, at a still greater depth. 



I have seen also the beneficial effects of deep drainage at 

 Drayton Manor, the seat of Sir Robert Peel, in Staffordshire. 

 Some of Sir Robert's land in that county is strong, and some of 

 it inclining to sand. On all of his land, that which is clayey and 

 that which is sandy, the deep drains have been efficacious ; 

 taking care, of course, to drain at greater and at lesser depths, 

 and at wider or closer intervals, according to the nature of the 

 soil • but never, I believe, on land in his own occupation, putting 

 in a drain at less than 4 feet deep. 



I have not seen Sir Francis Lawley's land. He has, however, 

 told me that he considers deep drainage, upon his very strong 

 clays in Shropshire, the greatest improvement that he had ever 

 practised himself, and, in his belief, the greatest that had ever 

 been introduced into the agriculture of this country. 



I have reserved for the last what I have to say respecting the 

 practice of the Duke of Bedford. 



I wrote to the Duke soon after I had read the article by Mr. 

 Bullock Webster, and I requested him to let me see again a 

 letter which last spring he had received from Mr. Bennett, his 

 principal steward at Woburn. 



I have no doubt erroneously, but certainly I had imagined 

 that Mr. Bennett, when some few \ears ago 1 wrote to the Duke 

 of Bedford upon this subject, was adverse to deep-drainage upon 

 the very strong Bedfordshire clays, termed there " gault," I 

 think ; stating, as I thought, I recollected that it would be im- 

 possible for rain to percolate through their tenacious subsoils. 

 Whether I was mistaken or not respecting Mr. Bennett's first 

 opinion, it was highly satisfactory to me to read a letter of his to 

 the Duke of Bedford, in which he mentioned that after the 

 heavy rains of last spring he had found the deep-drained land 

 made sounder to ride upon than the land which had been shallow- 



