58.6 Abstract Report of Af/riculliiral Discussions. 
of Reading and Henley tlie water had remained on the ground for a 
fortnight, and even three weeks ; the case was still worse at Oxford ; 
but this winter there had been scarcely three days' flood lying on any 
portion of the flat. 
Mr. B. Denton said, the subject to which the Chairman alluded 
was under discussion the previous night at the Institution of Civil 
Engineers. It was introduced by Mr. Clutterbuck, and underwent a 
good deal of consideration. It seemed to be the general opinion, 
that in the alternation of soils from the close clays to the open beds 
of oolite and other strata, the water which travelled over the clay was 
lost in the porous beds, and that it was not possible, from any data 
now existing, to give in volume the result of what soaked in, and of 
what travelled over the different beds. 
Professor Simonds said, as he happened to be himself the occupier 
of a tolerablj' large hay-farm near London, and contiguous to the land 
to which Mr. Denton had referred, he should perhaps be able to throw 
some light on the prejudice which prevailed, as he thought very 
unjustly, against under-draining in that neighbourhood. It is well 
known that from the Harrow district London obtains a large portion 
of its hay ; and many suppose that Middlesex farming is carried on 
under very favourable circumstances for deriving a large return for 
the capital employed. All 'le could say on that point was, that he 
believed that a man who occupied a hay -farm exclusively near London 
would very soon find himself in the ' Gazette.' There was no profit 
to be obtained from hay-farming in the neighbom-hood of London. 
This was evident from the quantity of hay which the farms yielded 
on the average of a number of years, and the expenses attending the 
making and sending it to market. It might, he thought, be assumed 
that the average rent in the Harrow district was 506'. per acre ; and 
haymaking, even in a fine season, with all the appliances of macliinery, 
mowing-machines, tedding-machines, hay-collectors, horse-rakes, &c., 
had never cost him less than 22s. or 23s. per acre. In addition to 
these two items, there was at least a shilling per load for thatching. 
Thus, if a stack contained GO loads, it would cost 3Z. for straw and 
labour to have it thatched. Again, there v/as 2s. Gd. a load for truss- 
ing for market, and 4s. a load commission for selling. There was, 
further, the cost of the man's labour in carting the hay to the London 
market. He was gone a ^\■holo da}', with a cart and two ho3»ses, 
which also involved additional expense. The result of all this was, 
that a load of hay could not be sent to maz'ket at an outlay of less 
than 4?. ; so that, if the farmer got no more than 4Z. back from the 
salesman, he would have nothing in pocket. The only advantage 
that could be looked for was in drawing more than a load of hay por 
acre ; and hence, as Mr. Bailey Denton remarked, it was the supposed 
importance of getting quantity ratlusr tlian quality that made liay- 
farniers opposed to draining. Another thing which militated against 
the growth of good grasses in the district in question was, tliat the 
present system (if making hay had been in operation for so many years, 
tliat it thoroughly impoverislicd tlio fiirms. Suppose a man mowed 
200 acres of laud, and got from it on an average — which ho certainly 
