ON THE ALLUVIUM OF THE BEDFORD LEVEL, 
99 
sewers being neglected by the adventurers, it became again 
overflooded and so remaineth at tbis time.'' 1652. 
Even Cromwell, during the Commonwealth, whose name stood 
first on the list of Commissioners of Sewers appointed by the 
Lords of the Privy Council of King James, to enquire into the 
feasibility of the drainage, permitted the peasantry and malcon- 
tents (courting popularity with them), to make similar depreda- 
tions upon the works with impunity, and trespass upon the 
hunting-grounds, before preserved with considerable rigour by 
the unfortunate Charles. The Restoration bringing with it in- 
ternal peace, secured to the occupier of the soil unimpeded labour 
in agricultural pursuits ; the works of the drainage again pro- 
ceeded uninterruptedly, and ^^on the 25th of March, 1653, the 
Level was adjudged to be fully drained/' The great work com- 
pleted, a new era in agricultural proceedings commenced ; for 
although heretofore, at an early date, patches of the Level around 
religious houses, had been tilled and sown with corn ; and at the 
time immediately preceding the general undertaking of the 
drainage, the South Level, was in a flourishing condition hun- 
dreds of acres giving pasturage for sheep in the hardest time of 
winter, feed for three or four hundred milch cows for dairies, 
and on which the farmers fed their working horses, and bred 
stores of young cattle which were kept on the common in winter, 
time out of mind." (See Badeslade's History, p. 81). Still it 
was not till this period, that the labours of agriculture became 
general ; now rape and rye, afterwards oats and wheat, were sown 
and harvested, and abundant crops gave ample earnest of the 
richness of the soil ; Dugdale states that, " Since the drainage 
of Haxey Car (1631) a great part thereof has been sowed with 
rape and other corn for three years together, and borne plenti- 
ful crops." Again, That of the said drained grounds (in Lin- 
colnshire), they have usually had three quarters and a half of 
wheat upon one acre; three quarters of rye on one acre; and 
eight quarters of oats upon one acre ; and for six years together, 
