On the D7-ainagc of Land. 
321 
satisfied it wants drainino;. Such trouble will be unnecessary on 
clay-soils and subsoils in ?ijiat country ; these you may be certain 
require it. If such soils have a considerable slope, it may be 
more questionable, but in general they will, although some argue 
that where land has a considerable fall, and the furrows and 
trenches are kept well open, draining is useless ; but you may be 
sure that where water furrows and trenches are necessary, drain- 
ing is required; but upon clay-soils with a porous subsoil it is 
quite necessary to take the above trouble if you want to do no 
more than is really requisite. 
A good portion of my farm is a strong clay-soil on the oolite or 
coral-rag formation.* This land is very wet, and even on some of 
the lightest, which is only 6 or 8 inches deep in soil . when the 
springs are very high, you cannot walk across it without sinking 
over your shoes ; other parts again, though deeper, are dry. It is ' 
almost, if not quite (I should say quite), certain that arable land re- 
quires draining, if the water runs off the top when the land is left 
in a healthy state, except after particularly heavy rains for a short 
time. What I mean by a healthy state is, that it has been worked 
off in a dryish state at the fall of the year, not trod and smeared 
about in the wet ; for you certainly may work dry land that is of 
a clayey nature so that it will hold water in the horse-treadings 
like so many cups, even after it has been drained ; that, however, 
is not the fault of the drains, but of the farmer, though some 
think it a proof that such land will not drain ; but a horse step- 
ping on a wet clay soil is somewhat like a potter tempering his 
clay for pots ; each will hold water. I was once told that it was 
of no use to put drains in a field that I was looking over, as the 
water would run over them without entering ; but I found after- 
wards that in this case the drains had been cut across the fall. 
Such remarks, I confess, used to have a little more weight than 
they have lately, but they led me to a more minute inquiry in 
order to know why such things were, and now I do not hesitate 
* I sent a portion from the lightest 
following is the return and reraarlfs :- 
The supersoil has the appearance of a 
clay loam, with large particles of lime- 
stone, being the debris of coralline 
oolite. 
120 grains consist of grs. 
Water, soluble salts, end vegetable 
matter 19 
Sand, with small portion of iron . 45 
Clay, coloured with iron ... 46 
Lime 7 
Loss 3 
part of the field to be analysed ; the 
120 grains of the subsoil : — 
Moisture, salts, and matter dissipated 
by fire, 20 grains 
grs. 
Sand, with small portion of iron 
oxide 17 
Clay 5 
Lime, carbonate and phosphate from 
coral 12 
White sulphate of iron, some arsenic 80 
Loss 6 
120 
120 
Y 2 
