Agricultural  Meehan  ics. 
395 
lished  in  this  Journal  by  Mr.  Charnock,  out  of  334-  inches  of 
rain,  no  less  than  25  inches  are  evaporated,  84  inches  only  reach  a 
depth  of  3 feet,  and  therefore  pass  through  a drain.  This  was 
in  Yorkshire.  But  at  Kendal  there  fall  54  inches  of  rain.  The 
evaporation  there,  however,  would  be  not  more,  but  less,  because 
the  air  being  moister  must  dry  what  is  exposed  to  it  more  slowly, 
and  the  evaporation  would  not  exceed,  probably  fall  short  of  21 
inches.  There  remain,  therefore,  for  the  drains  33  inches  depth 
of  water  in  this  case,  84  inches  only  in  the  other — four  times  as 
much  in  Cumberland  as  in  Yorkshire.  Yet,  hitherto,  if  a man 
living  in  Oxfordshire  said  that  inch  pipes  would  drain  his  land 
well,  a voice  from  Ayrshire  might  exclaim  that  it  was  absurd  to 
use  less  than  pipes,  which  he  found  far  the  best.  Yet,  the 
smaller  pipe  might  be  more  competent  to  its  duty  in  one  place 
than  the  larger  one  in  the  other.  The  same  thing  may  be  said 
of  farmyards.  Living  in  one  of  the  driest  counties  of  England,  I 
adhere  to  the  old  fashion  of  making  muck  in  farmyards.  This 
was  somewhat  blamed  by  a northern  writer  whose  talents  I sin- 
cerely respect.  At  the  very  time,  however,  we  were  obliged  to 
use  a fire-engine  to  moisten  the  litter,  which  was  growing  white 
and  mouldy  for  want  of  moisture.  When  it  rains  here  in  winter 
our  labourers  say,  “ This  is  fine  weather  for  making  dung.” 
Henceforth,  in  speculations  on  the  agriculture  of  the  country, 
we  must  never  lose  sight  of  our  material  variations  in  climate. 
Agricultural  Mechanics. 
This  is  certainly  the  branch  in  which  the  increase  of  know- 
ledge has  done  the  most  good  to  farmers,  that  increase  being 
partly  extension,  partly  advance.  Ten  years  ago  it  was  shown  by 
me  in  this  Journal,  that  even  in  the  same  parish  on  the  same  soil 
one  farmer’s  plough  was  heavier  for  three  horses  than  the  other 
farmer’s  for  two.  In  many  parts  of  England  you  might  then  see 
three  horses  ploughing  light  loam  : such  a thing  could  scarcely 
be  found  now.  It  appears  from  official  records  that  the  number 
of  agricultural  horses  has  been  greatly  diminished  in  the  last  few 
years.  The  account*  of  the  number  of  horses  claimed  as  “ wholly 
exempt  from  Duty,”  as  being  kept  and  used  solely  for  the  purpose 
of  husbandry,  stands  as  follows  : — 
Year.  Number  of  Horses. 
1840  . . . 371,937 
1848  . . . 297,858 
Decrease  . 74,079 
* It  should  be  stated  that  as  the  claim  for  exemption  is  not  compulsory,  it  is  pos- 
sible that  fewer  of  the  horses  actually  kept  may  have  been  returned,  but  there  is  no 
reason  to  think  that  this  has  been  the  case. 
