TVildmore Fen and West Fen. 



]29 



Prior to inclosure, both West and Wildraore Fens were open 

 commons^ stocked by the freehoklers of the surrounding- parishes 

 in the summer with horses, beasts, and sheep; but generally co- 

 vered with water during the winter months. Upon driving West 

 Fen in 1784, there were found 3936 head of horned cattle ; and 

 in dry years it was perfectly white with sheep. Arthur Young 

 states that " in 1793 it was estimated that 40,000 sheep, or one 

 per acre, rotted on the three fens. Nor is this the only evil, for 

 the number stolen is incredible : they are taken off by whole flocks ; 

 as so wild a country (whole acres being covered with thistles and 

 nettles, four feet high and more) nurses up a race of people as 

 wild as the fen." 



The drainage of West Fen, containing 16,924 acres, and Wild- 

 more Fen, containing 10,661 acres, has been successfully accom- 

 plished by several large drains, which all empty themselves by 

 one outfall into the Witham, near Skirbech Church, a little below 

 Boston, and are kept in order by the Witham Commissioners, 

 who levy a tax of 2^. per acre on theVhole district for that purpose. 

 The two fens are also intersected by numerous small drains, or 

 sewers (all emptying themselves without the aid of any engines 

 whatever), which are under the management of the '^fourth dis- 

 trict'' Commissioners, who also levy an interior-drainage tax of 

 generally Q)d. per acre for cleansing them out. 



The soil of the West and Wild more Fens is most of it a rather 

 stiff clay, with an admixture of silt, having either a silt or clay, and 

 in some parts, a gravelly subsoil ; and a small portion of the lands 

 adjoining Revesby, Mareham, Tumby, and Coningsby^ consists of 

 a subsoil of gravel, covered by a top soil mixed with sand. Un- 

 derdraining has been carried on to a considerable extent ; scarcely 

 any large occupier omitting to do some, and many of the far- 

 mers are doing a great deal. ' The drainage of these fens is so 

 complete, that a good fall is obtained for the hollow drains ; and 

 the results have hitherto been all that could be desired. The 

 drains are generally made 10 yards apart, and about 2^ or 3 feet 

 deep; the object being to reach what are called the ''cold 

 springs,'' — that is, springs of water rising through the silt at about 

 two feet depth. 



W'edge or sod draining has been tried, but proved unsuccess- 

 ful in consequence of the lightness of the sihy subsoil ; round 

 pipes, fitting together in " caps," or collars, are becoming very 

 general ; but tiles and soles have^ as yet, been by far the most 

 common. 



Nearly all the land is arable, there being merely a few fields of 

 grass land scattered throughout these fens; in Wildmore Fen 

 there is but one patch of grass which equals 100 acres in extent, 

 the rest being all in isolated pieces near the farmsteads. 



