64 
Farming of Cambridgeshire. 
for draining certain fens and low grounds within the Isle of Ely 
and country adjoining, being 300,000 acres, but was rejected on 
the third reading. 
In the year 1607 the " Little Bill " for 6000 acres of fen land, 
called VValdersea Country, was passed. This was the first 
District Act for draining the fens. There, as in the fens gene- 
rally, after many years windmills were erected for pumping the 
waters up to the level of the river from the low lands below : this 
was only done imperfectly. In going over this district in 1846, 
I was informed that previous to the erection of the powerful 
steam-engine which drains it by throwing the waters into the 
river Nene, at certain periods of the year boats went over 
the land, which was the habitation of large quantities of wild- 
fowl. But immediately after the erection of this engine the 
lands were laid dry, and splendid crops of corn grown the first 
year. I was over this land just in a flood, and the lands were as 
dry as any in the upland part of the country ; I might say drier, 
for I found the plough going in most parts of the fen, although 
the rain had fallen in such quantities that we were not moving 
a plough on our dry chalk and gravelly soils. I looked upon 
this as strong evidence of their effectual system of draining. 
This steam-engine was erected in 1832 : it is of 60-horse power. 
The waters are raised by a pump six feet in diameter, and it 
lifts 46 barrels of water each stroke, and can take from six to ten 
strokes per minute, according to the height of tide in the river. 
It had that morning been raising the water 20 feet, so that at the 
time of high flood the water in the river Nene stood 20 feet 
above the level of the water in the drains in the level fen below. 
This engine, with buildings, cost about 3000/. ; the coal to work 
it costs about 150/. per annum. It drains 6500 acres of as fine 
land as I ever saw, the drainage-tax on which is 4s. 6c?. per acre. 
When the mortgage-debt is discharged, a portion of which is 
done annually, the tax can be reduced to Is. 6t/. per acre. 
In 1630 a contract was entered into with the Earl of Bedford, 
called the Lynn Law, sanctioned by the Commissioners of Sewers, 
and enrolled in the Court of Chancery. The Earl was to 
have 95,000 acres of the drained lands for his satisfaction, on 
account of the expenses and hazard consequent on such a work. 
In this he was joined by thirteen gentlemen adventurers. In 
order to carry off the superfluous waters wherewith the level 
was so much annoyed, from causes previously stated, the Earl 
and his associates caused numerous channels or drains to be 
made. 
1. Bedford River (now called the Old Bedford River), extending 
from Earith to Salter's Well, 70 feet wide and 21 miles in length. 
2. Sam's Cut, from Fcltwell, in Norfolk, to the River Ouse. 
