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open a drain through it till one part of it is 
first drained, and becomes solid ground. In 
a situation of this kind, the undertaker, after 
having opened a drain to convey the water 
from the lowest part of the bog, must ap- 
proach as near to the swampy ground as Ire 
can, and there make his first pit, which will 
drain off the water from the nearest parts of 
the bog. When this has continued open for 
some time, and that part of the bog is be- 
come so solid as to admit of being worked, 
let him continue the ditch as tar forward 
through it as the situation it is in will admit 
of, and there sink another pit, and proceed 
gradually forward in the same manner, mak- 
ing cross-cuts where necessary, till the whole 
is finished. 
In this manner may any bog or track of 
spouting ground of this nature be rendered 
dry at a very inconsiderable expence ; and 
as there can tie no other method of draining 
ground of this sort effectually, we recom- 
mend the study of it to the attention of every 
diligent farmer who may have occasion for 
it. Let him first be extremely cautious in 
examining all the circumstances of his par- 
ticular fields, that he may be certain which 
of the classes above enumerated it may be 
ranked with; and when he is perfectly sure 
of that, lie may proceed without fear, being 
morally certain of success. 
There is, however, one kind of damp 
ground not yet particularly specified. The 
soil we have now particularly in view consists 
of a deep strong clay that does not vary its 
nature even on the surface, but in as far as 
manures may have rendered it more friable 
and tender; the colour usually inclines to a 
reddish cast, and for the most part it is situ- 
ated upon the side of some declivity. This 
bed of clay reaches to a great depth, without 
any variation, and is intermixed with a con- 
siderable quantity of small round stones. 
Many soils of the sort now described are apt 
to be continually moist and full of water dur- 
ing the winter season; but when the dry 
weather of summer sets in, the moisture is 
diminished, and the surface becomes hard, 
and it is rent into many large gaps which al- 
low free admission to the sun and air, so as 
to scorch up almost every plant that is sown 
upon it: and as these soils are usually in 
themselves naturally fertile when drained, it 
is to be wished that some method could be 
discovered that would be less expensive than 
what is usually practised with regard to 
soils of this kind in Essex ; where they make 
covered drains of two and a half feet deep, 
running diagonally through the whole field, 
at the distance of '20 feet from each other. 
With regard to the making of these drains 
we have the following directions by T. B. 
Bayley, esq. of Hope, near Manchester: 
First make the main drains down the slope 
or fall of the field. When the land is very 
wet, ordias not much fall, there should, in 
general, be two of these to a statute acre ; 
for the shorter the narrow drains are, the less 
liable they will be to accidents. The width 
of the trench for the main drains should be 
30 inches at top ; but the width at the bottom 
must be regulated by the nature and size of 
the materials intended to be used. If the 
drain is to be made of bric ks ten inches long, 
three inches thick, and four inches in breadth, 
then the bottom of the drain must be twelve 
inches; but if the common sale bricks are 
VOL. I. 
D II A 
used, then the bottom must be proportion- 
ably contracted. In both cases there must 
be an interstice of one inch between the bot- 
tom brick and the sides of the trench, and the 
vacuity must be filled up with straw, rushes, 
or loose mould. For the purpose of making 
these drains, the bricks should be moulded 
ten inches long, four broad, and three thick, 
which dimensions always make the best drain. 
The method to be pursued in constructing 
the main chains is as follows: When the 
ground is soft and spongy, the bottom of the 
drain is laid with bricks placed across. On 
these, on each side, two bricks are laid flat, 
one upon the other, forming a drain six inches 
high and four broad, which is covered with 
bricks laid flat. When the bottom of the 
trench is found to baa firm and solid body, 
as clay or marie, the bottom of the drain 
does not then require being laid with bricks, 
in that case the sides are formed by placing 
one brick edgeways instead of two laid fiat. 
'1 his latter method is much cheaper, and 
in such land equally durable with the other. 
When stones are used instead of bricks, the 
bottom of the drain should be about eight 
inches in width. And here it will be proper 
to remark, that in all cases the bottom ot 
the main drains must be sunk four inches 
below the level of the narrow ones, even at 
the point where the latter fall into them. 
The main drains should be kept open till 
the narrow ones are begun from them, after 
which they may be finished ; but before the 
earth is returned upon the stones or bricks, 
it will be advisable to throw in straw, rushes, 
or brushwood, to increase the freedom of the 
drain. 
The small narrow drains should be cut at 
the distance of l6or 18 feet from each other, 
and should fall into tire main drain at very 
acute angles, to prevent any stoppage. At 
the point where they fall in, and eight or ten . 
inches above it, they should be made firm 
with brick or stone. These drains should be 
18 inches wide at top, and 1(5 at bottom. 
Fig. 61. represents a field with drains laid 
out according to Mr. Bayley’s method, ri he 
black lines represent the main drains, "and 
the dotted lines represent the narrow drains 
communicating with the former from all 
parts of the field. 
The celebrated Mr. Elkington’s method 
differs very little from that which we have 
now laid down, except that iu draining lands 
of the first description pointed out in this 
article, viz. those which are rendered wet by 
waters confined under the surface, and at- 
tempting to rise in the manner of springs, lie 
employs that very useful instrument, a drain- 
ing auger, which he observes need not be 
above two inches in diameter. He was led 
to this discovery by attempting to drain a 
piece of ground of this kind on his farm at 
Princethorp, by making a trench of five feet 
deep, but without success: he thought it 
might be of use to know what kind of strata 
lay under the trench. Accordingly he forced 
an iron crow, of about one inch and a half in 
diameter, three feet down ; and upon taking 
it out, was agreeably surprised to lined a great 
quantity of water burst forth, and run down 
the trench. This led him to think of apply- 
ing an auger, an instrument fitter for the pur- 
pose of boring, which upon trial he found 
equalled his expectations; and by continu- 
ing the same plan with the auger he at last 
drained all the wet parts of his farm, which 
were numerous, and had proved destructive 
to his sheep, by inducing the rot. When a 
morass is to be drained, his first object is to 
ascertain the direction in which the trench is 
to be dug. The principal of his rules for 
this, as laid before the Board of Agriculture, 
are these: 1. To obtain as much knowledge 
as possible respecting the strata in the neigh- 
bourhood. 2. To direct the trench so as to 
hit the bottom of the bed, which occasions 
the mischief, and the particular spot where 
the main-spring lies. 3. If there are various 
beds through which the water issues, to pre- 
fer the stone one for draining the whole; and 
to make the trench from six to eight yards 
from the tail of the bed, where the rock 
ends, because in limestone and other rocks, 
the tail, as it is technically termed, is harder 
than any other part of the rock ; but a few 
yards above it, it is softer, and the water is 
more accessible. The tail of tiiese beds may 
often be found jutting out in a point. 4. 'Io 
direct the trench in a line with the bottom of 
the hill ; as it makes the best separation be- 
tween the upland and meadow inclosures, 
where the spring can be best intercepted. 
The trench, however, must be carried in or 
near the. line of the spring; for if it diverges 
to any distance, all chance of reaching the 
spring by tapping is over, and the labour of 
digging it probably lost. 5. To make a new 
trench rather than to tap the spring in any 
old brook or run of water. 6. and lastly. 
Having iixed on the line of direction, 
and marked out the trench, to begin at the 
bottom or lowest level, carrying the trench 
gradually up. The fall of the w ater need not 
be above a few inches in one hundred yards. 
With respect to the main drain or trench, 
if it can be made a fence, Mr. Elkington pre- 
fers leaving it open ; if not, he advises it to 
> be covered. He then makes it either of 
brick or flat stones, and adds, that a trench 
made of a particular kind of bricks,- invented 
by him, will last for 50 or 100 years. 
DRAMA, a poem containing some certain 
action, and representing a true picture of hu- 
man life, for the delight and improvement of 
mankind. 
The principal species of the drama are two, 
comedy and tragedy. Some others there are 
of less note, as pastoral, satire, tragi-comedy, 
opera, tkc. See Poetry. 
DRANK, among farmers, a term used to 
denote w ild oats, which never foil to infest 
worn-out lands ; so that when plowed lands 
run to these weeds and thistles, the farmer 
knows it is high time to fallow them, or else 
to sow' them with hay-seed, and make pasture 
of them. Some indeed destroy the drank, 
by sowing the lands with beans, and letting 
loose sheep upon them when young. This 
must be done in dry weather, and the sheep 
will eat up the drank and other weeds, 
without touching the beans. 
DRAPERY, in sculpture and painting, 
signifies the representation of the clothing of 
human figures, and also hangings, tapestry, 
curtains, and most other things that are not 
figures or landscapes. See Drawing, 
and Painting. 
DRASTIC, in physic, an epithet bestow- 
ed on such medicines as are of present effi- 
cacy, potent in their operation, and is com- 
monly applied to cathartics. 
