On Drain 'uuj. 
423 
bein^ by great force drawn through the subsoil, makes the clay 
round the conduit more dense, and also the sides of the opening, 
traversed by the coulter connecting the niolo or spear to the 
plough. Persons without reflecting consider the water' enters the 
conduit from the surface, by the opening traversed by the coulter ; 
but I can assure them that a very small quantity of water enters 
in this manner, the greater part, as in block-draining, enters the 
conduit on a level with the bottom. Seven years back, in the 
month of March, I drained about 60 acres of land, upon which 
wheat, tares and seeds were growing : by attaching ten strong 
horses to a mole-plough, the horses did little or no injury either 
to the land or growing crops or seeds by trampling, which proves 
the land to have been so dry that there could have been no water 
to run from the surface into the conduit by the opening formed 
by the coulter ; still the drains ran freely on the following day 
after they were made. The system of block-draining, like the 
mole-plough, can only be temporary and in a stiff subsoil, free; 
from springs and sand- veins, for upon land where there are sand- 
veins, &c., their operation is not certain for a season; so that il 
drains Jormed bv this mode work well for ten or fifteen years, it 
is certain that the subsoil is a pure clay ; and if the water enters 
freely, the fallacy of filling drains with porous earth or other 
materials, as being necessary to infiltration of water, is evident on 
pure clay-soils of great thickness, where the fissures are formed 
perpendicularly. 
I have, from the time the Agricultural Society of this county 
have given premiums for draining (which takes place in the 
month of March), been appointed one of the Judges. The com- 
petition has taken place in a grass-field which has not been 
ploughed for ages. There are about 5 or 6 inches of soil, lying 
upon a subsoil of pure clay. This year six prizes were awarded for 
turf or wedge-draining, and the same number for tile-draining. 
Previously to this year prizes were given for turf or wedge-draining 
only; for it was considered that if a man could cut and execute, 
in a workmanlike manner, a drain of this description, he would 
be competent to make a tile-drain in a proper manner. 
The number of competitors has been upwards of twenty ; but, 
notwithstanding the number of prizes, from the superior per- 
formance of the work, the .Judges found it so difficult to award 
the prizes that it was necessary to lay down certain rules, to be 
strictly adhered to by the drainers, which were as follows: — 
1. The wedge or turf drain to lie not less than 30 inches deep. 
2. The tile-drain to lie not less than 28 inches deep. 
3. That the wedge should have the same inclination as the drain. 
4. That the sides of the drain shall have a uniform inclination 
from the top to the bottom. 
