Farming of Monmouthshire. 
297 
by the Dutch must not be included. The presence of the Dutch 
rests upon supposition, and it appears uncertain whether this 
ina<i;nificent tract of land was not given to the country by the 
retrogression of the sea. Large sums, as may be seen above, 
have, in our own day, been expended in the management of 
the land ; but the great work now under the consideration of the 
Commissioners has yet to be accomplished. 
There is a now highly favoured district in Lincolnshire, of 
which an author of half a century ago could write, " I have, 
times out of mind, seen cows loosed out of their hovels and 
swim across a river with nothing but their faces and horns above 
water, and then take footing at mid-rib deep or less, but not one 
spark of dry land, and then forage till weary, and return to their 
hovels in a like swimming position." 
Without, therefore, being too sanguine, we may well prophesy 
that the time is not very far distant when by the aid of steam, 
as in the Fen districts, the levels of VVentlloog and Caldicot will 
be most completely and effectually drained, and brought into the 
highest state of cultivation. 
The drainage already done throughout the county has been 
very considerable. By means of parallel drains, under the direc- 
tion of the late Mr. Andrew Buchan, a wild district, near 
Rhymney Iron Works, was thoroughly drained about twenty- 
five years ago, and still remains in an excellent state. In this 
instance, the drains were filled entirely with stones. The present 
manager of the iron-works is, with great spirit, engaged in re- 
claiming a singularly wild and unpromising mountain-side, by 
the same means, at the present time. In some localities con- 
siderable work has been done by the aid of Government grants, 
and others by private enterprise. In all places the same re- 
mark is repeated, "the system of drainage on his farm does 
not suit mine ;" and it is difficult to find a district in England 
where the rules laid down by Mr. Bullock Webster apply with 
greater force than here : — 
" 1. No general rule can be laid down. 
" 2. Any one system for all soils is an absurdity. 
" 3. Depth and distance of drains must depend on the nature 
of the soil and subsoil. 
" 9. Grass-land can be over-drained. 
" 10. The direction the drains should be laid must be governed 
by the strata to be cut through, the fall, and other local circum- 
stances ; the rule of going always with the fall is decidedly 
wrong. 
" 11. There are instances (in the New Red Sandstone) where 
drains will act perfectly at 40 yards apart; and there are strong 
clay subsoils that require drains every 6 or 8 yards. 
