Drainage of the Upper Thames Valleij. 
371 
of the winter and the early spring of the present year the works 
underwent a very severe test. Not only was there a very high 
flood in the river, but at the same time vast masses of ice were 
hurried down the stream, and in places where they got blocked 
the water came with very great weight and violence against the 
new embankment ; but in no instance did the works give way, and 
in no place did the floods overflow the embankment. The cuttings 
the earth dug out of which forms the embankment, not only serves 
to carry off the water naturally flowing from the lands now pro- 
tected from flood, but it affords a 4-feet outfall for under-drainage 
in all but a very small part of the lowest portions of the district. 
The greater part of the lands contiguous to the embankment 
produced, before its formation, nothing else than herbage of the 
worst description, made up, in fact, of hassock and carnation 
grass, and this, too, poor and scanty. The water lay on the lands 
for months together, all through the winter without a break, and 
often during the summer. It need scarcely be said that the lands 
were, for the most part, never mown : occasionally, perhaps, a 
small piece here and there might be so, but it was quite the 
exception ; and the hay, when made, was naturally of the most 
inferior description. The floods sometimes came and carried 
off the crop, such as it was : I have, indeed, been informed 
that on some occasions the mowers have mowed the grass without 
either shoes or stockings on, so wet and damp was the land. 
Cattle were usually turned out to pasture on these lands about the 
end of May or beginning of June, and were kept on them up to 
about the middle of October, provided that thev were not, as was 
too often the case, driven up by reason of the floods during that 
time. In the course of one summer the before-mentioned Mr. 
Lord was obliged on two occasions to drive his stock up on 
account of the floods, and to keep them up for a fortnight each 
time. The lands were, as a rule, stocked with an equal number 
of yearlings and two and three years' old heifers and steers, at 
the rate of about one beast (taking them all together) to an acre 
and a half of land ; care was taken not to keep them too well 
during the previous winter and not to turn them out too " fresh :" 
had they been kept too well previously and were they in too good 
condition when turned out, they always deteriorated ; the farmer^ 
indeed, with all his care as to their condition when he turned 
them out, always considered that he did well if they kept in statu 
quo during the time they were on these lands, for they never 
improved. The yearlings had generally a small quantity of oil- 
cake given them, about 1 lb. per head per day. Sheep were 
scarcely ever turned out, sometimes in a very dry season a few 
were, but it was always considered that in doing so the farmer 
ran a great risk. 
