320 
On the Drainage of Land. 
admire the masterly way in which that farm is drained, and the 
beneficial manner in which it answers ; so much so, that persons 
going to see it now, find it totally unlike the nasty wet land it was 
described to be when the late tenant had it : on the other hand, 
I have seen where persons have gone to a great expense, and the 
land very little drier than before. Two instances I observed a 
few days back ; one was a rubble drain, about 14 inches deep up 
the piece, and then turned across at almost or quite a dead level ; 
the other was an attempt to drain a flattish piece of clay-land 
with tiles laid barely a foot deep, and some bushes and straw 
placed at the top of them, I suppose to keep the soil hollow and to 
admit the water. But it is easy to see the consequence of laying tiles 
only 12 inches deep just in the place where the cattle must knead 
the soil over them every time that the land is ploughed ; such 
draining and much more equally absurd, perhaps, is one reason 
that it has not advanced more in different districts ; for that these 
shallow cuts will not drain the land is not to be wondered at, but 
instead of laying it to the mode of drainage, it is said that th^ 
farm is such extraordinary land, it will not drain, " the water 
will even stand within a foot of the top of the drain." 
Before going over the different heads, it will be necessary to 
know what land requires draining ; though this is easily known, 
still it is not sufficiently known, or at least acted upon by a greai 
number of owners and occupiers of land, and I would wish to 
make this essay capable of being understood by every one, even 
the labourer who has a wet garden. But first, a word on the term 
surface-water, which, I think, has misled many. Land is said to 
be wet from surface-water when the wetness is caused by the rain 
that falls directly on it, and it is free from springs. This is true, 
but if the surface be wet, the subsoil is equally so, and becomes 
overcharged with water first, consequently requires draining on 
the same principles as springy land. When I have seen drains 
being put in about 16 or 18 inches deep, I have said, " Why don't 
you put them deeper ?" and the answer has been, " We only 
want to catch the surface-water." But if the subsoil be dried, the 
top will certainly be so : now the water enters the drains at 
bottom, whether the land is wet from surface-water or from 
springs ; it does not run along the surface to the top of the drain 
and enter there, as many people appear to suppose. 
The means I take to find out whether land which I am doubt- 
ful about requires to be drained, is, when the springs are at their 
height, which is often in February, to go over the land about 
twenty-four hours after the rain has ceased, and make marks 
where drains are necessary, which will be where you find the 
land wet as you walk up the furrows; and if you are not quite 
satisfied, dig a hole about 18 inches deep; if you find water, be 
