9(3 
Improvement  of  Land  by  Warping. 
By  the  above  plan,  however,  it  has  been  found  possible  to 
warp  land  in  one  year  to  the  depth  of  from  2 to  3 feet,  and  this 
is  generally  considered  to  be  quite  deep  enough  and  is  permanent 
in  its  action.  This  statement,  of  course,  only  applies  to  those 
lands  which  are  sufficiently  below  high-water  mark ; where  the 
level  is  higher,  a longer  time,  often  from  2 to  3 and  sometimes 
even  4 years,  is  required. 
In  the  year  1825  the  Society  of  Arts  voted  a premium,  con- 
sisting of  its  large  gold  medal,  to  Mr.  Ralph  Creyke,  jun.,  for  his 
description  of  the  process  of  warping,  by  an  improved  method,  a 
tract  of  429  acres  of  peat-moss.  The  particulars  of  this  stupen- 
dous undertaking  are  thus  detailed  in  the  following  extracts  from 
that  gentleman’s  letter  to  Mr.  Aikin,  the  Secretary  of  the  So- 
ciety : — ■ 
“ In  the  neighbourhood  of  Rawcliffe  House,  where  I reside,  are  many 
thousand  acres  of  peat  moss  and  waste  land,  which  yield  scarcely  any 
annual  rent,  and  which  I thought  (from  the  experience  I had  got  in  im- 
proving a considerable  quantity  of  my  own  land  near  home)  might  be 
improved  very  much  by  being  warped.  I accordingly  undertook  to  warp 
from  the  river  Ouse  1600  acres;  and  in  August,  1821,  a sluice,  with  two 
openings  of  16  feet  each,  and  19  feet  high  from  the  sole  to  the  crown  of 
the  arch,  with  substantial  folding-doors,  was  built  and  opened  ; and  at  the 
same  time  a main  drain  was  cut,  extending  from  it  two  miles  and  a half, 
up  to  the  waste  land  and  peat  moss : its  dimensions  were  30  feet  wide  at 
the  bottom  and  90  feet  wide  at  the  surface  of  the  land,  and  the  banks  were 
raised  upon  the  land  to  the  height  of  ten  feet.  In  the  river  Ouse,  at  the 
point  where  the  sluice  is  erected,  the  tides  flow  to  their  height  in  three 
hours, and  ebb  nine  hours.  The  height  is  from  14  to  18  feet.”  * * * “The 
sluice  was  built  of  stone  of  large  size,  backed  with  brick  ; the  foundation 
was  well  piled  with  550  piles,  13  feet  long,  squaring  11  inches,  upon  which 
were  firmly  secured  very  strong  beams ; upon  the  beams  the  whole  space 
upon  which  the  sluice  was  built  was  planked  with  four-inch  deals,  another 
set  of  beams  were  placed  crossways,  and  then  a second  floor  of  three-inch 
plank.  Sleeting  piles  were  driven  the  whole  length  of  the  woodwork,  both 
fronting  the  river  and  next  the  main  drain ; a wall  was  also  erected  from 
the  sluice  to  the  river,  to  protect  the  bank  from  being  injured.”  * * * 
“ The  length  of  the  embankment,”  he  goes  on  to  say,  “ to  retain  the  tide- 
water, must  depend  upon  the  quantity  of  land  embanked  ; these  banks  must 
be  well  puddled,  and  made  with  the  greatest  care.  The  dimensions  of  our 
banks  are  32  feet  at  the  base,  10  feet,  high,  and  6 feet  wide  at  the  top. 
The  cost  of  them,  3s.  per  floor  of  20  poles.” 
The  operation  was  commenced  in  the  latter  part  of  the  year 
1821,  and  in  the  following  season  429  out  of  the  1600  acres  were 
covered  with  a deposited  soil  to  the  depth  of  3 feet.  In  1823, 
this  land  was  sown  with  oats  and  grass-seeds,  and  on  the  fourth 
year  bore  an  excellent  crop  of  wheat.  By  this  time,  the  other 
two  compartments,  respectively  consisting  of  500  and  671  acres, 
were  completed  and  in  a state  of  preparation  for  their  first  crop 
of  oats,  &c.  In  this  case,  so  great  was  the  improvement,  that 
land,  which  before  warping  was  entirely  unproductive  and  yielded 
