DRAINAGE OF SOILS 
331 
the water coming from the drains may run away freely, otherwise it 
will remain stagnant in them to the great injury of the land. To 
obviate this, it is advisable that a person should be appointed on every 
estate, under tbe superintendence of the factor or land-steward, to go 
through every field that has been drained, at least once a-year, to ex¬ 
amine the mouths and outlets of all the drains, and make any neces¬ 
sary repairs as he proceeds. Such an arrangement, I am convinced, 
would be very beneficial, and is highly necessary, as I have often 
found drains completely stopped in a year or two after they were 
made, and the land beginning to be wet again from this cause alone. 
Managers of landed property ought to be very particular in this de¬ 
partment of rural economy ; indeed a clause ought to be inserted 
in every lease, binding both proprietor and tenant to keep the 
mouths and outlets of drains in proper order at their mutual ex¬ 
pense. 
Rumbling Drains. —These, are well adapted for removing water 
from alternate beds of clay and sand ridges, and also water confined 
in porous soils with an impervious bottom, as well as for receiving 
surface water from clayey soils. Their depth, in the two former cases 
is generally about four feet, and in the latter from two to three feet, 
and twelve inches wide at the bottom; they are filled with stones, 
broken to the size of coarse road metal, to within ten or twelve inches 
of the surface of the ground, and, in clayey soils, the remaining space 
with porous earth. Wood is sometimes used in drains of this des¬ 
cription instead of stones ; but, as it is liable to decay soon, and the 
drains will consequently be destroyed, it cannot be recommended 
when stones, gravel, smithy danders, or even course sand can be pro¬ 
cured. Indeed, whenever my opinion has been asked with regard to 
making drains with wood, my uniform answer has been against such 
a practice, having had experience of so many instances in which wood 
had been employed, although stones might have been procured in the 
same field, of the land having to be drained again within a few years; 
and, consequently, I could not consider myself acting candidly to¬ 
wards my employers in advising it. An instance of this occured at 
Wallliouse, Linlithgowshire, a few years ago, in which I was called 
on to make a plan to drain the ground immediately around the man¬ 
sion-house, and having examined it, I have found that the whole had 
been drained some vears before, and the drains filled with thorns and 
other brushwood, which had decayed, and the clay having fallen in, 
springs were formed in many places in the lines of 'all the drains. 
What surprised me was to find them laid off in such a manner that 
there was no occasion to allow any of the old lines; and having in- 
