300 The Agriculture of Staffordshire. 
and the meadow was now unproductive, as it had been formerly. 
In both these last cases the grass, though abundant, was poor in 
quality, and the hay made from it was little better than the 
sweetest oat-straw ; and this is always the case when great crops are 
produced from poor land by means of water. The production of 
water grasses is an evil avoided by not keeping the water on 
more than twenty-four hours at a time. 
There are about 40 acres of irrigated meadows at Thorpe 
Hall, where, for want of a natural stream, the proprietor has 
formed reservoirs to catch drainage and spring water. There 
is a very ingenious and elaborate system of waterworks, with 
several inches of iron and *earthenware pipes, and enormous 
underground tanks, for adding doses of sewage from the farm 
premises. The varieties of the grasses are at present unchanged, 
and, as the pasture is very superior, it would be a mistake to sop 
it and spoil it with water. 
Mr. Harding, of Acton Trussell, and Mr. Keeling, of Ted- 
desley Hay, also showed me small extents of meadow, watered 
by small streams, and enriched occasionally in each case with the 
drainage from the farmyards. The instances of similar con- 
trivance which I observed in my journeys are too numerous to 
mention. On the banks of all the large streams there is a con- 
siderable extent of water meadows, and the abundant water 
supply of the northern, central, and eastern divisions of the 
county has been largely appropriated for purposes of irrigation. 
There is undoubtedly scope for further enterprise, but probably 
the general opinion is correct that it is unprofitable to irrigate 
with poor water, or to irrigate very rich pastures. Practical men 
test the quality of water by a very simple mode of analysis — 
when the watercress and the brook-lime grow luxuriantly, the 
water is suitable for irrigation. 
Nearly all the water in Staffordshire has the desired quality ; 
that which is deficient usually flows from the gravel-drift, and 
has a sterile look, with black pebbles at the bed of the stream. 
Mr. Pitt was very earnest on the subject of irrigation, and 
he pointed out the scanty supply of water in some streams in 
summer, and the superabundance discharged by them in winter, 
and showed how the waters might be equalised throughout the 
year by storing it in reservoirs, as they do in hot countries. 
Economy in this respect is not yet practised, and animals are 
occasionally nearly drowned in winter, and they sometimes suffer 
from thirst in summer. 
Agetcultural Customs. 
The custom of Staffordshire is a Lady-day entry ; the dung in 
yards belongs to the landlord ; the out-going tenant is paid for 
