JOURNAL 
OF THE 
ROYAL AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY 
OF ENGLAND. 
J. — Arterial Drainage and the Storage of Water. By W. H. 
Wheeler, Mem. Inst. C.E., Boston, Lincolnshire. 
The question of drainage is one of vital importance to the 
modern farmer, and has therefore received a very full share of 
attention in the 'Journal of the Royal Agricultural Society.' 
Nearly all the articles and discussions, however, have been 
devoted to the drainage of small areas and to the removal of the 
rain-water from the land ; and with the exception of an article 
by Mr. J. A. Clark " On Trunk Drainage," in the ' Journal ' of 
the Society for 1854,* which was principally devoted to a history 
of some of the large works carried out in the Fen districts, the 
subject of arterial drainage and the disposal of the water for 
useful purposes has not been touched. 
In a climate like that of England, where the fluctuations of 
cold and damp seriously affect the health, the rapid removal 
of the rainfall and consequent improvement of the temperature 
are most important from a sanitary point of view ; and to the 
proper cultivation of the soil they are an absolute necessity. The 
manner of removal and the ultimate disposal of the water due 
to the rainfall are the chief points for consideration. Water is 
a most useful friend and servant, if kept under proper control. 
Hitherto it has been too much the custom to treat the rainfall as 
an enemy to be got rid of as rapidly as possible, instead of 
endeavouring to control and regulate the supplies, and conserve 
the superabundance of one season to supply the deficiency of 
another. It is the stagnation of water in the land that is injurious, 
and for the prevention of this, drainage is essential. Even in 
floods, the mere overflowing of the water on the land seldom does 
any great harm if it be kept moving ; but if allowed to become 
stagnant, it soddens and injures the soil, spoils the herbage, sours 
* First Series, vol. xv. p. 1. 
VOL. XIV. — S. S. 
B 
