On Cheapness of Uraininf/. 
521 
secret consists in preferring a large business with small profits to 
high profits on a slow and insignificant trade. This tile-maker, 
having purchased Clayton's machine, offered, by my advice, pipes 
for sale at a graduated scale, namely 12s. per 1000 for any 
quantity under 50,000; lis. under, and 10s. above 100,000. 
The consequence was that he obtained at once last year very large 
orders, and this year, having extended his business, has received 
an order from one individual for 600,000 pipes. It is remark- 
able that on the very farm of which I have spoken the ])rice of 
100s. per 1 000 was paid for tiles, besides the soles, fourteen 
years since. 
Having obtained these cheap pipes, it remained to put them 
cheaply into the land. Here, instead of anything new, 1 have only 
to describe the oldest practice of English draining, which is known 
and proved to be a hundred years old; and 1 must remark that, 
though thorough-draining is spoken of as something new, and is new 
in the north of England and Scotland and Ireland, it is anything but 
new in our eastern and southern counties, where it is as familiar 
to farmers, and as easily performed by labourers, as ])loughing or 
threshing. My drains, then, were cut out in our old method of 
cutting them for thorn-draining, that is, by taking out one spit 
with three bouts of a common plough, another spit with a narrow 
spade, and the third spit an extremely narrow slit, into which 
the inch pipe fits exactly. The lumps of clay are thrown back, 
being rammed loosely down, but not pressing upon the tile; and 
the wages of the men for this work is 3J. per pole. 
Having recommended from experience the Essex lance-headed 
tool for making the bottom slit, I may mention that in this 
particular field the labourers having accidentally begun to work 
with our narrow Berkshire tool, found that they could not earn 
proper wages under Ad. per pole, nor hardly at that price ; but 
as soon as they received a supply of Essex tools they were well 
satisfied with 'dd., agreeing that, after this change, one man could 
do the work of two, and with greater ease. This tool, however, is 
only fit for clay subsoils which are free from large stones. 
Having fixed these two points, the price of pipes and the 
price of laying them in, we of course arrive easily at the cost of 
draining an acre. The statute acre is 660 feet, or 40 poles, or 
one furlong in length, by 22 yards in width. A single furlong 
of drains will cost 6s. 8^/. for pipes and 10s. for workmanship ; 
altogether 16s. 8(/. Two drains in width will generally, I think, 
be sufficient, making 33,s'. Ad. per acre, with a trifling addition for 
master-drains. 
It may be objected that the depth of 34 inches is an insuflS- 
cient one. Now, without at all denying the value of deep- 
draining in porous soils, I confess that in a really strong soapy 
