Farming of Cumberland. 



289 



county previous to the end of 1851. The number of tiles and 

 pipes made, of all sizes, is 275,528,000, and reckoning twenty of 

 these to the rood of 7 yards, and the drains at 7 yards asunder, 

 the number is sufficient to have drained 140,000 acres. A great 

 quantity of the land drained in the last five years has been done 

 at greater distances than 7 yards, and, of course, fewer tiles have 

 been put in to the acre. A few thousands of acres were drained 

 with stone, sod, &c., but much of this has been re-drained with 

 tiles, and nearly all require it. A part of the shallow tile- drains 

 have been re-drained, and some portions twice, and a very con- 

 siderable part of the residue is making some approach towards its 

 original state, or at least, so as it must still be called wet rather 

 than dry land. Taking all into account, there cannot be reckoned 

 more than 120,000 acres of the inclosed lands in a properly 

 drained state. 



In 1793 the old inclosures were estimated* at 470,000 acres. 



Improvable commons 150.000 



Lakes and waters 8,000 



^ Unimprovable wastes 342,000 „ 



970,000 „ 



The commons inclosed previous to 1816, and after the above 

 date, have been estimated at 200,000 acres;! and since 1816 there 

 may have been about 50,000 acres more inclosed, leaving the 

 mountains and uninclosed commons at 242,000 acres, about 

 40,000 of which may still be held improvable by the application 

 of modern enterprise to the skirts of the mountains. 



The old and the recent enclosures will now amount to 720,000 

 acres, of which about 7 per cent., or 50,000 acres, is dry soil 

 requiring no draining. Of the remaining 670,000, 120,000 

 having been tolerably drained, it will appear that there are still 

 550,000 acres, or something over two-thirds of the whole, which 

 cannot be considered as producing all it is capable of, till pro- 

 perly drained. 



The undulating surface and natural fall of the greater part of 

 the county renders drainage of easier accomplishment than in 

 level districts. The Abbey Holme contains the greatest extent 

 of land on so low a level as to present engineering difficulties in 

 the way of drainage ; and these are in a hopeful way of being 

 overcome by the recent application of the landowners for Govern- 

 ment assistance to erect machinery for lifting the water, when 

 collected from the drains, into the sea. The country there is 

 divided by parallel ridges, many of them some miles in length, 

 in the direction of south-west and north-east. 



* Agricultural Survey. 



t Mngna Britannia. 



