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XXXV. — Practical Statement of the Formation of an Economical 

 Water -Meadow. Bj William Paxton, Esq. 



To the Secretary of the English Agricultural Society. 



Sir, 



Being in the occupation of ameadoW;, containing 20a. 2r., situate 

 in the parish of Bicester, in the county of Oxford, which, from 

 time immemorial, had been subject at certain seasons of the year 

 to floods (causing the land to produce flags and all sorts of 

 aquatic plants, to so great an extent that some parts of the pro- 

 duce were of little greater value than to lay into the yard to make 

 dung), I was determined, in the autumn of 1838, from the confi- 

 dence I had in my landlord (being only a tenant-at-will), to try, 

 at my own expence, the effect of irrigation on the said meadow. 



My first object was to ascertain, as near as I could, the probable 

 expense of carrying my views into execution ; this done, my next 

 step was to satisfy myself of procuring a proper supply of water, 

 and its quality. This also, on trial, proved satisfactory, it being 

 the produce of a spring oozing out of limestone rock and marl 

 strata, distant from the spot about two miles, which was brought 

 to the meadow by the brook adjoining, as seen on the plan. 

 Having succeeded so far, my next step was to throw a dam across 

 the brook, and to do it in such a manner that it would not cause 

 my neighbour's land on the other side to be inundated ; therefore 

 I made a sort of moveable dam or sluice, which I can put up and 

 down at will, so as to regulate the water sufficiently for my pur- 

 pose without doing injury to the opposite lands. My next object 

 was to make myself sure that I could get the w^ater off" as quick 

 as I could get it on ; in this I was a little puzzled, as the middle 

 part of the meadow was the lowest, being nearly as low as the 

 bottom of the brook. This caused some consideration and trou- 

 ble : however, a thought struck me that I would carry the main 

 drain through the whole length of the mead, and dig it deep 

 enough over the rising ground, which I did, and again succeeded 

 to my entire satisfaction, as on this depended the completion of 

 my enterprise. I next turned the water out of the brook over 

 the whole twenty acres, in order to ascertain the levels, which I 

 did by sticking down pegs and laying bits of turf in the hollow 

 places level with the top of the water. I then let the water 

 off" by the main drain, which was already dug for that purpose ; 

 this enabled me to carry the water by small floats to the high 

 parts, and to make all the small drains in the low parts, which 

 made it something like running from ridge to furrow. I used no 

 spirit level, but proved the levels with the water. Be pleased to 

 observe that when I let the water on the land, all that part of the 

 brook below the dam was empty, which then became the prin- 



