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XV. — Hinxicortk Drainage. 3Ionthb/ Records of the Daily Rain- 
fall, Discharge of Water from the Drains, Height of Barometer 
andThermometer, and of the Temperature of the Soil at\^ and 42 
inches, respectively, below the Surface. By J. Bailey Denton, 
Agricultural Engineer. 
My object in tabulating the results of the following experiments 
was not merely to gain tangible and irresistible proof of the 
draining capabilities of clay soils, but to demonstrate to what 
extent the close parallel system of drainage, so necessary for the 
drainage of clan's, may be profitably departed from in soils of an 
open and irregular character. 
The Hinxworth Estate was selected, with the permission of its 
owner, as embracing lands of the most opposite character. The 
clay lands presented a surface and subsoil, and had a local repu- 
tation, as forbidding as any clay lands I had visited in my practice 
as a draining engineer; and the open and mixed soils were from 
their position exceedingly wet and cold at that season of the 
year — from February to May — when a free and warm bed is most 
required by vegetation. 
In 1849, when I first reported on the drainage of the Hinxworth 
Estate, I advised the owner, Mr. Clutterbuck, of Watford-house 
(who then contemplated some partial work), not to attempt the 
drainage in any other way than as a whole, because I considered 
that nearly every part was more or less dependent on adjacent 
lands, and that the work would only be satisfactory and complete 
when effected altogether, and by a connected scheme of operations. 
Mr. Clutterbuck acted upon this suggestion ; and when the estate 
is viewed geologically in its relation to the surrounding district, 
and the several parts of the estate considered in relation to each 
other, I believe the value of the decision to deal with it as a 
whole will be fully appreciated. 
In the winter of 1855-6, Mr. Clutterbuck determined to drain 
the whole estate, which consists of three farms, containing together 
about 800 acres. 
Description of the Land. — The Estate lies at the bottom of the 
chalk escarpment of the London Basin, and covers a portion of 
the lowest bed of the chalk, the outcrop of the greensand, and a 
portion of the gault of the greensand formation. In several parts 
a superficial deposit of drifted gravel and sand overlies the older 
beds. The greensand separating tlie chalk from the gault is very 
thin, and, if collected in a distinct layer, would not exceed three 
inches in depth in its thickest part. The gault has gained a 
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