94 



Bedford Level. 



River; Feltvvell Fen, by a 30-horse engine, also on the bank of the 

 Brandon River ; Southery Fen, by a 60-horse engine, draining 7000 

 acres of fen and a large quantity of highland water, throwing- into the 

 Ouze ; and " Littleport and Downham " district, by 2 engines each of 80- 

 horse power, one on the bank of the " hundred feet," the other on the 

 Ouse, or "Ten-miles River," together draining about 30,000 acres, 

 besides which there is a private engine near Denver. The soil of this 

 Level is generally peat, with a subsoil of blue clay : some of it is soft 

 and " buttery," other parts of a harder texture ; underneath 4 or 5 feet 

 of peat-soil and moor. Over Fen has a surface of loamy clay on moor, 

 with a gravelly stratum beneath, and productive land. Cottenham Fen 

 is generally a strong fen land mixed with brown clay, on a subsoil of 

 moor and gravel ; and Haddenham Fen is of a similar kind, resting 

 upon gravel ; but both are productive land. Stretham Fen is princi- 

 pally moor, of several feet in depth, upon gravel. Thetford Fen is 

 strong, useful, good land, from highland warp deposited by continual 

 floods, and is but recently drained. Burwell Fen has a surface of weak 

 black soil, some parts on clay from 3 to 5 feet from the surface, others 

 too deep to be obtained for some years. This fen was drowned for 

 years by highland waters from chalk soils which brought no deposit ; 

 the previously named fens were formerly drowned by flood from the 

 clay soils, which brought down a large portion of soil and deposited 

 upon the fen lands. Swaffham Fen has been drained about 27 years 

 by steam ; the surface is a light moor, but it is now getting so reduced 

 as to allow of claying. Middle Fen (near Ely) has a different soil, the 

 upper part beirig a mixture of clay and moor, the lower part moor upon 

 clay. The soil of Burnt Fen is moor resting principally upon clay, 

 which has been and is still being applied to the surface. The surface 

 of Mildenhall Fen is black soil with sand under the moor, generally at 

 6 or 8 feet depth, and but a small portion of clay ; it has been recently 

 drained by steam. The moor in Lakenheath Fen is very deep, with 

 sand generally under it ; it has been drained by steam power about 3 

 years. In Feltwell Fen the clay and sand are too deep to be obtained 

 for some years, and the surface black, but very hght because not well 

 drained, having a great deal of highland water running down upon it, 

 bad drains, and an insufficient eugine. Southery Fen is peat, with 

 clay generally underneath it, and in many parts claying has become 

 general. Littleport Fen, between the Hundred-feet and Ouse, was 

 formerly badly drained by 75 windmills, but there are now two 80-horse 

 engines, one of which raises about 40,000 gallons per minute, lifting 

 it about 12 feet high. There are 26,000 acres of land taxable to the 

 Drainage Works, and about 4,000 acres of extra skirt land, taxable 

 only to the outer works, besides which it has upwards of 30 miles of 

 catchwater-drains, which take the highland waters into the great rivers. 



Before these catchwater drains were constructed^ the water 

 from 1*2,000 acres of high land flowed into the district, and in- 

 undated it before the engines could throw it out. The soil is 

 peat-earth and silt-land, made by the Old .Croft river and 

 l3ranches from it ; in some parts it is marl^ which of itself is a 



