6 
On tfie Rain and Drainage - Waters at Rothamsted. 
be found in Table XXXVII Tp. 8). In all these cases the 
greater evaporation bv the heavier crops dries the soil, and thus 
diminishes the drainage. 
There are considerable differences in the rate of running of the 
pipes of some of the plots which are quite independent of any 
difference in the crop ; such differences are best seen by looking 
at the total runnings recorded for the winter months, October 
to March, as no irregularity is then introduced from differences 
in the bulk of the crop. 
It will be seen that the drain-pipe from Plot 2 runs with far 
less frequency than any other ; the running is only for a short 
time, and the water is always turbid. This plot has received 
14 tons of farmyard-manure each year since 1844. A great 
accumulation of organic matter has thus taken place, which has 
greatly increased the power of the soil to hold water. In a 
paper on the " Effects of the Drought in 1870 on some of the 
Experimental Crops at Rothamsted," published in this ' Journal ' 
in 1871, determinations are given of the water contained in the 
soil of three of the plots in Broadbalk, both in a dry summer 
(July 1868), and when in a state of winter saturation (January 
1869). In the latter condition the three soils contained the 
following amounts of water, expressed in tons per acre, to the 
depth of 3 feet from the surface. 
Plot 2. 
Fannyard 
Manure. 
Water in satu- 
rated soil 
}' 
Tons. 
1610 
Plot 3. 
Plot 8. 
Ammoniiim- 
Unmanured. | Salts and Mineral 
' Manure. 
Tons. 
1396 
Tons. 
1549 
The soil of Plot 2 thus contained, when saturated, 214 tons 
more water than the soil of Plot 3, and 61 tons more than 
the soil of Plot 8 ; quantities corresponding to 212 and 0-60 
inches of rain respectively. The small amount of pipe- 
drainage from this plot is thus to some extent explained. The 
drain-pipe of Plot 2 has been opened to ascertain if any ob- 
struction existed, but none was found. In consequence of the 
rare discharge of drainage-water from Plot 2, a series of glass 
bottles has been connected with the end of the drain-pipe ; a 
discharge occurring at any time is thus preserved. 
It is difficult to account for the very different rates of running 
of some of the pipes. The drains from Plots 2 to 13 must 
have a fall of about 16 feet in the length of the plot ; from Plot 14 
to 19 the fall diminishes to about 12 feet. All the plots 
running most frequently lie in the former group. Most frequent 
