402  Draining. 
known,  though  trunk-drainage  is  a very  general  want  in  many 
parts  of  the  country. 
Under-drainage  has  been  used  in  England  since  the  great 
rebellion,  as  Lord  Braybrooke  has  shown,  has  long  been  a com- 
mon practice  of  our  Eastern  counties,  and  received  a new  impetus 
from  the  late  Mr.  Smith,  who  coupled  with  it  subsoil-ploughing — 
a practice  which,  in  his  rainy  country,  was  probably  right  on 
certain  soils ; but  which,  on  the  dry  side  of  England,  is  I believe 
frequently  useless,  especially  on  our  strong  clays,  where  the 
clay  in  three  or  four  years  completely  closes  again.  On  the 
other  hand,  where  there  is  a pan  to  break  through,  subsoil- 
ing is  sometimes  enough  without  any  draining.  Up  to  this 
time  the  depth  of  drains  was  under  three  feet.  It  is  to  Mr. 
Parkes  we  owe  the  improvement  of  sinking  them  to  four  feet  or 
five,  and  it  does  not  detract  from  his  merit  if,  as  I believe,  his 
rule  upon  the  strongest  clays  suffers  exception.  I shall  not  enter 
on  that  debatable  ground,  but  it  is  equally  certain  that  shallow 
drains  have  been  taken  up,  to  be  replaced  by  deep  drains,  and 
deep  drains,  in  other  places,  been  superseded  by  shallower  ones. 
Draining,  at  whatever  depth,  for  some  years  known  to  be  profit- 
able, is  now  indispensable,  being  only  checked  by  want  of  means, 
and  well  it  is  that  the  cost  of  materials  is  so  greatly  reduced  by 
tile-machines,  which  can  deliver  their  goods,  like  the  new  print- 
ing-press of  the  ‘ Times,’  at  a score  in  a minute — that  instead 
of  paying  for  tiles,  as  I have  done,  90s.  for  1000  feet  (60s. 
for  tiies  and  30s.  for  soles),  we  now  get  lpinch  pipes  for  15s. 
— one-sixth  of  the  former  cost.  Mr.  Hodges’  temporary  kiln,  too, 
should  not  be  forgotten,  which  cost  him  5 1.  only,  has  been  used 
for  six  years,  and  will  at  least  bring  an  unreasonable  tilemaker  to 
reason.  Still  we  hear  estimates  of  51.  or  6 1.  an  acre  for  draining, 
and  that  over  a whole  farm.  The  fact  is,  that  we  are  too  sys- 
tematic in  draining,  especially  when  the  work  is  begun  upon  a 
grand  scale.  The  source  of  economy  now  must  be  in  the  maxim 
that  “ one  drain  well  laid  to  suit  the  circumstances  will  often  save 
a dozen  by  rule''*  Instead  of  saying  that  a whole  farm  shall  be 
drained  at  24  feet  interval,  unfold  your  plan  as  you  proceed. 
When  the  outfall  ditches  are  cut,  you  may  find  gravel  bottom 
instead  of  clay ; and  a swamp  of  40  acres  may  be  drained,  as  was 
my  own  case,  by  an  open  ditch  that  cost  20/.  Money  is  often 
wasted  in  over-draining.  I speak  from  experience.  In  the  same 
field  there  may  be  clay  on  one  side  requiring  £0  feet  interval, 
and  loam  on  the  other,  where  drains  at  45  feet  will  be  ample. 
To  prove  this  I may  give  a few  figures  of  the  sums  I am  paying 
From  the  Prize  Report  on  Somersetshire. 
