385 
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IRRIGATION. 
Here, but is already become the richeft land in the parilh, 
and has produced at one crop eighteen loads of hay, and 
each load more than twenty-five hundred weight.” 
In further confirmation of what our author aflerts, he 
quotes, from the Annals of Agriculture, the following 
words of Mr. Wimpey : “As to the forts of water, little 
is to be found, I believe, which does not encourage and 
promote vegetation, even the moll fimple, elementary, and 
uncompounded, fluid ; heat and moilfure, as well as air, 
are the /me qua non of vegetation as well as animal life. 
Different plants require different proportions of each to 
live and flourifli; but fome of each is abfolutely neceflary 
to all. However, experience as well as reafon univerfally 
dhows, that the more turbid, feculent, and replete with pu- 
trefeent matter, the water is, the more rich and fertilizing 
it proves. Hally and impetuous rains, of continuance fuf- 
ficient to produce a flood, not only difiolve the falts, but 
wafh the manure in fubftance off .the circumjacent land 
into the rapid current. Such turbid water is both meat 
and drink to the land; and, by the un&uous fediment 
and mud it depofits, the foil is amazingly improved and 
enriched. The virtue of water from a fipring, if at all fu- 
perior to pure elementary water, is derived from the feve- 
ral ftrata or beds of earth it paries through, that, accord¬ 
ing to the nature of fuch ftrata, it may be friendly or 
otherwife to vegetation. If it paries through chalk, marl, 
foflil fhells, or any thing of a calcareous nature, it would 
in mod foils promote the growth of plants ; but if through 
metallic ores, or earth impregnated with the vitriolic acid, 
it would render the land unfertile, if not wholly barren. 
In general, the water that has run far is fuperior to that 
which immediately flows from the fpring, and more efpe- 
cially that which is feculent and muddy, confiding chiefly 
of putrid animal fubltances wafhed down the ftream." 
Mr. Wright, having difculfed the fubjeft of the quality 
of the water, proceeds to give dire&ions for watering- 
through the different months of the year: “In December 
and January, the chief care confifts in keeping the land 
fheltered by the water from the feverity of frofty nights. 
It is neceflary, however, through the whole winter, every 
ten days or fortnight to give the land air, by taking the 
water off entirely, otherwife it would rot and deftroy the 
roots of the grafs. It is neceflary, likewife, that a proper 
perfon Ihould go over every meadow' at leaft twice every 
week, to fee that the water is equally diftributed, and to 
remove all obftruttions arifing from the continual in¬ 
flux of weeds, leaves, flicks, and the like. In February, 
a great deal depends upon care and caution. If you now 
fuffer the water to remain on the meadow for many days 
without intermiflion, a white feum is raifed, very deftruc- 
tive to the grafs; and if you take off the water, and ex- 
pofe the land to a fevere frofty night, without its being 
previoufly dried for a whole day, the greateft part of the 
tender grafs will be cut off. The only ways to avoid both 
thefe injuries are, either to take the water off by day to 
prevent the feum, and to turn it over again at night to 
guard againft the froft ; or, if this praftice be too trou- 
blefome, both may be prevented by taking the water en¬ 
tirely off for a few days and nights, provided the fidt day 
of taking off be a dry one ; for if the grafs experience one 
fine drying day, the froft at night can do little or no in¬ 
jury. The feum is generated chiefly by the warmth of 
the fun, when the water is thin and ufed too plentifully. 
Towards the middle of this month we vary our practice 
in watering, by ufing only about half the quantity of wa¬ 
ter which is made ufe of earlier in the winter, all that is 
now required being to keep the ground in a warm moift 
ftate, and to force vegetation. 
“ At the beginning of March, the crop of grafs in the 
meadows is generally fufficient to afford an abundant paf- 
turage for all kinds of flock, and the water is taken off 
for near a week, that the land may become dry and firm 
before the heavy cattle are turned in. It is proper, the 
firft week of eating off the fpring-feed, if the feafon be 
cold, to give the cattle a little hay each night. 
Vot.. XI. No. 7 «Si. 
“ It is a cuftom with fome farmers in Hamplhire, to eat 
off the fpring-grafs of their meadows with ewes and lambs, 
in the fame manner that we do a field of turnips, by in- 
clofing a certain portion each day with hurdle's or flakes, 
and giving them hay at the fame time. This is certainly 
inaking the mod of the grafs, and an excellent method 
to fine and fweeten the future herbage. In this month 
and April, you may eat the grafs as Ihort and clofe as you 
pleafe, but never later; for, if you trefpafs only one week 
on the month of May, the hay-crop will be very much 
impaired, the grafs will become foft and woolly, and have 
more the appearance and quality of an after-math than a 
crop. At the beginning of May, or when the fpring- 
feeding is finilhed, the water is again ufed for a few days 
by way of wetting. 
“It is rather remarkable, that watering in autumn, 
winter, or fpring, will not produce that kind of herbage 
which is the caule of the rot in flieep; but has been known 
to remove the caufe from meadows which before had that 
baneful effeft. If, however, you ufe the water only a 
few days in any of the fummer months, all the lands thus 
watered will be rendered unfafe for the pafturage of Iheep. 
Of this I was lately convinced from an experiment made 
by a friend. At the beginning of July, when the hay 
was carried off, and the water rendered extremely muddy 
and abundant by feveral days rain, he thought proper to 
throw it over his meadows for ten days, in which time a 
large collection of extremely-rich manure was made upon 
the land. In about a month the meadow was covered 
with uncommon luxuriancy and blacknefs of herbage. 
Into this grafs were turned eight found ewes and two 
lambs. In fix weeks time the lambs were killed, and dif- 
covered Itrong fyrnptoms of rottennefs; and in about a 
month afterwards one of the ewes was killed, and, though 
it proved very fat, the liver was putrid and replete with 
the infeCt called the fluke or weevil; the other ewes were 
fold to a butcher, and all proved unfound. This experi¬ 
ment, however, convinces me, by the very extraordinary 
improvement made thereby in the meadow, that muddy 
water in the fummer is much more enriching than it is in 
autumn or winter; and ought, therefore, to be ufed for a 
week at leaft every wet fummer, notwithftanding its in¬ 
conveniences to flieep, the moft profitable fpecies of flock.’* 
Boggy lands require more and longer-continued water¬ 
ing than fuch as are fandy or gravelly ; and, the larger 
the body of water that can be brought upon them, the 
better. The weight and ftrength of the water will greatly 
aflift in comprefling the foil, and deftroying the roots of 
the weeds that grow upon it; nor can the water be kept 
too long upon it, particularly in the winter feafon; and, 
the cloler it is fed, the better. 
To improve ftrong clay foils, we muft endeavo'ur to the 
utmoft to procure the greateft poflible defeent from the 
trench to the trench-drain ; which is beft done by making 
the trench-drains as deep as poflible, and applying the 
materials drawn out of them to raife the trenches. Then, 
with a ftrong body of water, taking the advantage Of the 
autumnal floods, and keeping the water fome time upon 
them at that feafon, and as often as convenient during 
the winter, the greateft improvement ofi this fort of foils 
may be made. Warm fand or gravelly foils are the moft 
profitable under the watering fyltem, provided the water 
can be brought over them at plealure. In foils of this 
kind, the water muft not be kept long at a time, but often 
Ihifted, thoroughly drained, and the land frequently re- 
frelhed with it; under which circumftances the profit is 
immenfe. A fpring-feeding, a crop of hay, and two af¬ 
ter-maths, may be obtained in a-year; and this, probably, 
where in a dry fummer fcarce grafs enough could be found 
to keep a flieep alive. If the ftream be large, almoft any 
quantity of land may be watered from it; and, though the 
expence of a ware over it is great, it will foon be repaid 
by the additional crop. 
The following method of improving a water-meadow 
that was fpringy, has been tried by Mr. Bofwell with fuc- 
5 F cels. 
