Italian Irrnjation. 
183 
The project shall be submitted before the 1st of October, and the 
works shall be so distributed as to be terminated within the space 
I of eight years." 
In 1807 the works were commenced according to a project 
furnished by the celebrated engineer Brunacci, and for some 
vears were carried on with vigour ; but, as they were left un- 
finished at Napoleon's downfall, it remained for the Austrian 
Government to adopt the enterprise, which it completed in 1819. 
The works include 12 locks, 14 bridges across the canal, 16 
other bridges, 8 aqueducts, 2 tunnels, 38 syphons, and " no less 
than 122 icorhs of different kinds required solely for the maintenance 
of the pre-existinq state of irrigation." The execution of these 
works in first-rate style cost no less a sum than 296,875/., or 
14,800Z. per mile ; whilst the total income does not exceed 
3000/., of which sum nearly 1400/. are absorbed in repairs and 
establishment charges. The channel, however, — and therefore the 
water-supply, — is but small ; the loss from filtration is large ; the 
growth of water weeds and other obstructions have reduced the 
cun'ent from 225 cubic feet per second to 138 ; so that we must 
view this costly work as designed rather to promote navigation 
than irrigation. 
VIII. — Management of Irrigated Land. 
The characteristic features of Lombard farming are good-sized 
farms, chiefly in meadow, and devoted to the rearing of cattle. 
The permanent meadows are chiefly summer meadows, cropped 
only between March and September. There ai-e also some 
winter meadows, " marcite^'' which are peculiar to Italian agri- 
culture, and call for a special notice. Much advantage, however, 
has been derived from introducing the temporary meadow in 
'I rotation with other crops ; permanent grass is only retained in 
localities not well adapted for general cultivation. 
From the permanent meadow three cuttings of grass are de- 
rived in May, July, and September, which on an average furnish 
respectively 24^, 18^-, and 14 cwts., or in all nearly 2 tons 
17 cwts. of hay, worth 2s. 6(f. per cwt. The after-grass is worth 
about 8s. per acre, and the gross value of the produce is therefore 
about 11. 10s. 
The temporary summer-meadows {prati a vicenda) are arranged 
similarly to the preceding in all that regards irrigation ; but in 
the one case the land remains continuously under grass, while in 
the other it is so only for two or three years. " The ordinary 
period of rotation is for five years, in the following order : — First 
year, wheat, cut about the middle of July, grass-seeds being sown 
with the wheat. Second, third, and fourth, meadow under irri- 
gation, and abundantly manured. , Fifth, Indian corn or flax. 
