742 
On  the  Farming  of  Somerset. 
w ith  fourteen  tileries  in  the  Middle  and  Eastern  Divisions.  The 
Western  Division  draws  its  supply  by  sea  from  Bridgewater. 
Nevertheless,  underground  draining,  as  a system,  has  yet  to  begin 
in  the  Marsh,  and  yet  no  land  is  more  easily  drained  where  there 
is  a fall,  or  pays  better  for  it— for  wet  land  is  the  stronghold  of 
couch,  a thick  mat  of  which  may  be  generally  seen  on  each  side  of 
a surface-gutter. 
Mr.  Gabriel  Poole  has  set  a useful  example  of  draining  on  a 
farm  which  he  has  purchased  near  Bridgewater;  he  drew  my 
attention  to  a remarkable  peculiarity  of  the  alluvial  soils  : the 
surface  is  frequently  more  tenacious  than  the  subsoil  ; a horse 
footmark  will  hold  water  like  a dish,  till  it  evaporates,  close  to  a 
drain  which  is  in  full  work.  The  land  frequently  becoming  more 
sandy  the  deeper  you  go,  he  recommends  that  in  draining  alluvial 
soils  the  distance  of  the  drains  should  never  be  fixed  till  a trial 
has  been  made ; the  water  discharged  by  the  first  drain  he  cut 
was  found  at  a foot  below  the  surface,  and  a 3-inch  pipe  laid  at  a 
depth  of  4 feet  could  not  discharge  it.  He  cut  a second  drain  at 
60  feet  off,  and  did  not  find  water  till  he  had  dug  3 feet  6 inches 
down  ; he  was  therefore  satisfied  that  the  first  drain  was  acting 
for  60  feet  on  each  side,  and  drained  the  whole  field  4 feet  deep 
at  that  distance,  and  the  drainage  is  quite  effectual  ; he  has 
had  magnificent  crops  of  mangold-wurzel  and  corn.  In  King’s 
Sedgemoor  I met  with  some  marl-draining,  that  is,  drains  filled 
in  with  a marl  very  common  in  Somerset,  and  almost  as  hard  as 
stone  when  first  dug  up.  Mr.  Gillett,  of  Higham,  informs  me 
that  his  father  has  practised  this  plan  for  many  years,  and  that 
drains  put  in  with  marl  25  years  ago  act  as  well  as  the  day  they 
were  made : the  material  suits  deep  draining,  as  it  must  be  laid 
deep  to  be  out  of  the  way  of  the  air  ; the  marl  must  be  broken 
very  small,  as  small  as  stones  for  the  highways,  and  stones  or 
some  hard  material  must  be  placed  at  the  mouth  of  the  drains : 
the  reason  whv  marl  is  used  in  Sedgemoor  is  because  stone  is 
very  distant,  and  the  ground  is  so  spongy  that  there  is  much  doubt 
about  pipes  answering  without  collars. 
On  the  confines  of  the  lias  and  oolite,  in  the  heavy  clay  about 
Alford,  drainage  has  made  rapid  progress  of  late  years  ; and 
some  useful  examinations  of  old  drains  have  been  made,  all 
tending  to  increased  confidence  in  deep  draining  with  pipes.  I 
am  informed  that  the  tenants  are  satisfied  that  their  produce  in 
corn  is  raised  to  the  amount  of  a quarter  per  acre,  and  are  begin- 
ning to  grow  mangold-wurzel. 
Of  the  draining  in  the  Western  Hill  country  not  much  need 
be  said,  except  that  system  without  common  sense  and  observa- 
tion will  not  carry  a drainer  through  a single  field,  so  rapid  are 
the  changes  of  the  subsoil  in  the  red  sandstone  and  grauwacke. 
