168 
THE CULTIVATOR. 
DRAINING CLAY SOILS INJURED BY SUBTERRANEOUS WATER. 
Although the wetness of this kind of land originates in many instances 
from the same cause as bogs, and the same principles are necessary for 
their drainage, yet there are other considerations required in order to ef¬ 
fect a complete and cheap drainage of them. 
In bogs, the water either breaks out in the high ground, or rises in the 
moss in the form of welleyes, which is easily discovered; but before a 
drainage can be effected in clayey soils, it must be looked for in the bow¬ 
els of the earth. To ascertain, therefore, the exact depth where the wa¬ 
ter lies, and the quality and inclination of the strata, pits or bore-holes 
must be made; and if the water is found in all them to be nearly of the 
same level, it is a sure sign that it comes from the same source, but if the 
level of the water varies in the different pits and bore-holes, it evidently 
proceeds from different strata. 
When the wetness originates from the first of these causes, two drains 
carried across a field, the one near the upper side, and the other half way 
down, will, in most cases, dry it, if the extent is not more than fifteen or 
twenty acres; but if the drains do not reach the water, bore-holes will 
require to be made in their bottom. When, however, the stratum which 
contains the water is composed of fine sand, or any other substance which 
does not allow it to pass through freely, more drains will be required, and 
also a greater number of bore-holes in their bottom. If the porous stra¬ 
tum does not lie far below the bottom of the drain, and the clay is soft, it 
is advisable to sink small pits instead of bore-holes, and fill them with 
small stones, before the conduit is laid; but if the clay is of considerable 
thickness and very hard, bore-holes may with safety be resorted to, as no 
apprehension need be entertained of their being filled up, for such is often 
the force of the spring, that it will throw up whatever earth or sludge 
may accidentally get into them, and they can only be injured by the sud¬ 
den admission of surface or flood water. When water shows itself in the 
furrows, and, at the same time, is standing in the small holes on the top 
of the ridges, it is a sure symptom of its coming from a considerable depth; 
and in this case, the drain, where the land has the least declivity, should 
be carried along the upper side of the wetness, following all its windings, 
and cut to such a depth as will intercept the water from the land below; 
but if the land is fiat, it must be taken through the middle, or where the 
springs appear to be strongest, and made four, six or even eight feet deep, 
according to the situation of the water and other circumstances, such as 
the level or direction in which the water has to be carried; and if the 
above depth does not reach the porous bed, the augur must be used_ 
When the water shows itself prominent in several places in the same field, 
and proceeds from different sources, a drain, with bore-holes if necessary 
must be carried through; or, if the ground slopes near the upper side of 
such parts, the depth of it must be entirely regulated by the circumstances 
of the case. 
In all cases of draining, it is expedient to have as few outlets as possible, 
and, consequently, it is of great importance, in laying out drains, this 
should be particularly attended to; more especially where the water is 
scarce, it is of great advantage that it should be directed to the most 
convenient place, which will answer both for an outlet and a watering 
pond. 
It frequently happens that springs (or spouts, as they are commonly 
called,) rise in the middle of afield at such a distance from any open ditch 
where the water may be discharged, that a covered drain brought from 
the nearest outlet, would have to pass so far through dry ground as to ren¬ 
der the expense greater than the injury done by it; this may be remedied 
in some cases, by boring or sinking pits through the impervious bed of 
clay that lies immediately below, into the porous stratum, or by cutting a 
drain from the spout into a porous bank or shattry rock, through which the 
water will subside. But when the stratum, which the water is let down 
to, tails out any where below or farther down in the declivity, the water 
will again break out, and cause a similar spout or wet place in the field; 
this, however, will seldom take place, and may be easily remedied by 
means of another short drain. Before, however, any drainage is com¬ 
menced on this principle, it is necessary to discover, in the first place, 
whether the porous strata immediately under the clay is dry and will ab¬ 
sorb the water, or whether, being already full of water, it may, instead of 
receiving more, throw up a greater quantity to the surface, and thus in¬ 
crease the evil. The substrata may sometimes contain water, although, 
owing to the thickness of the clay, it makes no appearance on the surface, 
but which, being connected with some higher water, will flow up when a 
passage is given to it by the auger, and having no outlet through the cir¬ 
cumjacent bank, it will render the land much more wet than before. 
I could produce many instances of land being drained in this country 
agreeable to the above principles, but I consider this would be superflu¬ 
ous in this place, as the reader will find, in the account of the draining of 
Runnaby meadow, the principles so ably explained, and in such a practical 
manner as to give the mo3t clear and satisfactory explanation of the cause 
of wetness in land, and the best method of removing it. Indeed, the 
success of this drainage, in a practical view of the subject, cannot be 
surpassed by any other that I could select from the many hundred cases 
of the same kind with which I have been engaged in this country. 
drainage of soils composed of alternate beds of clay 
AND SAND RIDGES. 
Soils composed of an intermixed variety, and when clay predominates, 
are attended with much greater difficulty in draining than those in which 
both the surface and internal strata are more regularly disposed. In such 
soils, where every reservoir of water is unconnected with one another, 
being separated by means of clay beds or dykes, the partial collections of 
water which they contain are so much augmented in rainy seasons, as 
to be filled to the level of the surface of the surrounding clay, which it 
overflows, and renders it so wet and sour, that all kinds of crops are stint¬ 
ed in their growth. 
As these sand ridges have no communication with each other, a sepa¬ 
rate drain is required from each, in order to reduce the water in them— 
The outlet drain A, must be made from the lowest part of the field to the 
sand ridge situated at the highest and most distant part, and to be carried 
in such a direction as to touch, if possible, some of the intermediate sand 
ridges, (as shown in plan 5,) whereby a considerable extent of drain will 
Fig. 45.—Plan 5. 
be saved. From the outlet drain A, branches must be carried to each of 
the sand ridges B, which, when made sufficiently deep, will draw the wa¬ 
ter from them, and prevent it wetting the adjacent surface. Although 
the water oozes out all the way round the sand ridges, a sufficiently deep 
drain on the lower side will, in many cases, extract the water from both 
sides; but when the ridges are of considerable extent, and the sand of a 
very fine quality, so as not to allow the water to pass through it freely, the 
drain must be continued all the way round, as is shown at C. 
In many cases, the whole of the wetness proceeds from the water in 
the upper sand ridge passing over the intermediate spaces of clay, and 
through the different ridges below. When this happens, the drainage of 
the whole field may be accomplished with much less difficulty than in the 
former instance. After the outlet drain A, has been made, the upper 
drain D, must be cut, which will intercept the water, and may, by this 
means, render the lower drains, C, E, F, G, II, unnecessary. It is evi¬ 
dent from this, that the water breaking out ol the sand ridge in the high¬ 
est part of a field, may be the sole cause of injury to a considerable ex¬ 
tent below; it is, therefore, expedient, in draining land of this description, 
that the water in the upper side of the field should be first cut off, and its 
effect ascertained before any more drains are made in the lower part. 
There are other soils of a similar nature, the drainage of which is ea¬ 
sier accomplished, on account of their alternate beds of clay and fine 
sand lying much more regular. Under the alternate beds of clay and fine 
sand, which are often almost parallel to one another, is generally found an 
impervious body of clay, which keeps the veins of sand full of water, 
moistening the adjacent clay and running over it. As the main body of 
clay is seldom more than four or five feet below the surface, a drain must 
be cut to that depth through the middle of the field, if it has a descent 
from both sides; and if the ground declines all to one side, two drains 
will be required, the one near the upper side, to cut off the water coming 
from the ground above, and the other near the lower extremity or lowest 
part, where the water in the different beds of sand will easily discharge 
itself. This, no doubt, will answer the purpose effectually—as the drains 
