174 Imyroved System of laymg out Catch-Meadows. 



Carriacfe GjiUcr. 



below the other, which catch the water, and again distribute it 

 evenly over the land. 



Thus, supposing a a to be a carriage gutter running along the 

 ridge of a piece of land full of small inequalities, the water, 



instead of making its way 

 along the hollows to the 

 bottom of the field, is 

 caught by the small gutter, 

 h which is so cut as to be 

 nearly level, and without 

 any fall at all from one end 

 to the other. The water 

 mast therefore accumulate 

 in the gutter, h 5, till it is 

 quite full, when it begins to overflow at all points, and is again 

 caught !by the next level gutter, c c, and so on, till it reaches the 

 drain at the bottom of the field. 



It is in the formation and use of these level catch-gutters that 

 the peculiar merit of Mr. Bickford's system consists. They, as 

 well as the carriage gutters, are cut with a plough, which will 

 presently be described ; but in laying them out, the use of the 

 spirit-level is superseded by an instrument of great simplicity 

 and convenience. It is of the form of the letter A, and stands 

 about 5 feet high, the feet being 4 feet apart. 

 A plumb-line is suspended from the apex, 

 and a notch is made in the centre of the cross- 

 piece, so that, when the two feet stand on the 

 same level, the plumb-line crosses the notch. 

 The gutterer rests one of the feet of the in- 

 strument on the ground, and, using this as a 

 pivot, turns the whole round like a pair of 

 compasses, till he finds, by the plumb-line, 

 that the two feet stand even ; then, marking the spot where the 

 first foot stood, and using the second foot as the pivot, he finds 

 the next level spot in the same manner, and so proceeds with great 

 rapidity to trace out a level line throughout the field, marking 

 each spot as he goes on ; then taking the plough, he cuts a furrow 

 along the line so marked out, which is consequently a perfectly 

 level gutter. At points where the ground changes, so as to render 

 it impossible to get a level, a stop is put in the gutter, and a fresh 

 level taken for its continuation. Thus, 



=1 ■ when the higher part of the gutter is full, 



the water runs over the land alongside of it, 

 and also flows over the stop, a, into the lower part of the 

 gutter, which distributes it over another portion of the field. 

 The width of these level gutters is usually about 4 inches, 

 and the depth nearly the same, the object being to economise 



