Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 1.djvu/360

Rh 834 AGRICULTURE [DKAINING a proper depth. In such cases it is frequently practicable to obtain the needed outlet by carrying a main drain through below the water-course, by using at that point a few yards of cast-iron pipe, and carefully filling up the trench with clay puddle, so that there maybe no leakage from the water-course into the drain. While this is being done the water must either be turned off or carried over the tern porary gap in a wooden trough. The cost of draining is so much influenced by the ever- varying price of labour and materials, and by the still more varying character of the land to be operated upon, that it is impossible to give an estimate of the cost that will admit of general application. The following tabular data, taken chiefly from Mr Bailey Denton s valuable treatise, are pre sented to aid those who wish to form such an estimate : TABLE I. Shorving the number of rods of drain per acre at given distances apart, and the number of pipes of given lengths required per acre. Intervals between Rods per 12-inch 13-inch 14-inch 15-inch the drains acre. pipes. pipes. pipes. pipes. in feet. 18 146 24 2234 2074 1936 21 125f 2074 1915 1778 1659 24 110 1815 1676 1555 1452 27 97 1613 1489 1383 1290 30 88 1452 1340 1244 1161 TABLE II. Showing the cost of draining per acre at different intervals between the drains. 18 feet apart. 21 feet apart. 24 feet apart. 27 feet apart. 30 feet apart. Labour, cutting and filling in at 6s. per rod s. d. 3 13 4 259 064 12 2 050 020 016 s. d. 3 210 119 2 055 010 6 050 020 016 s. d. 215 1 14 3 049 092 050 020 016 S. d. 2 811 110 6 043 082 050 020 016 S. d. 240 1 7 5 039 074 050 020 016 Material, pipes for minor drains, 18s. per 1000 Haulage, two miles, and de livery in fields at 2s. 6d. per 1000 ., Pipe-laying and finishing, Id. per rod Superintendence, foreman. . Extra for mains Iron-outlet pipes, and ma sonry, and extra labour... Total 7 6 1 1 2 10 665 019 7 5 11 8 17 1 504 15 3 411 13 8 Add for collars, if used 8 8 11 760 689 5 15 7 548 Various attempts have from time to time been made to lower the cost of draining land by the direct application of animal or steam power to the work of excavation. The Steam Draining Plough. A Engine. a Large drum. a 1 Small drum. B B&amp;gt; Snatch blocks C Anchor / Large rope S Pulley attached toplough. P Draining-plough. G Small rope. H Anchor and sheave for small rope. most successful of these attempts is the steam-draining apparatus invented by Mr John Fowler of Bristol, usually called Foioler s draining plough. A six-horse portable steam-engine is anchored in one corner of the field to be drained. It gives motion to two drums, to each of which a rope 500 yards long is attached, the one uncoiling as the other is wound up. These ropes pass round blocks which are anchored at each end of the intended line of drain, and are attached one to the front and the other to the hinder end of the draining apparatus. This consists of a framework, in which is fixed, at any required depth not exceeding 3 feet, a strong coulter terminating in a short horizontal bar of cylindrical iron, with a piece of rope attached to it, on which a convenient number of drain pipes are strung. This frame being pulled along by the engine, the coulter is forced through the soil at a regulated depth, and deposits its string of pipes with unerring accuracy, thus forming, as it proceeds, a perfect drain. The supply of pipes is kept up by means of holes previously dug in the line of the drain, at distances corresponding to the length of the rope on which they are strung. This machine was subjected to a very thorough trial at the meeting of the Royal Agricultural Society of England at Lincoln in 1854, on which occasion a silver medal and very high commendation were awarded to it. In March 1855 it was publicly stated that five of these im plements are now at work in different parts of England, and that already 10,000 acres of land have been drained by means of them. At the Lincoln trial it was satisfactorily proved that this implement could work at a depth of 3i feet. As it moved along, the soil on each side, to the width of 2 or 3 feet, seemed to be loosened. It is therefore probable that this implement, or at least one propelled on the same principle, may yet be used a-s a subsoil disin tegrator. A great stimulus has recently been given to the improve- Drainage ment of land by the passing of a series of Acts of Parlia- Acts. inent, Avhich have removed certain obstacles that effectually hindered the investment of capital in works of drainage and kindred ameliorations. By the first of these Acts, passed in 1846, a sum of 4,000,000 of the public money was authorised to be advanced to landowners to be expended in draining their lands. The Enclosure Commissioners were charged with the allocation of this money and the superintendence of its outlay. The most important pro visions of this Act are that it enables the possessors of entailed estates (equally with others) to share in the benefits of this fund ; that it provides, on terms very favourable to the borrower, for the repayment of the money so advanced by twenty-two annual instalments ; that before sanctioning the expenditure of these funds on drainage works, the com missioners must have a report from a qualified inspector, to the effect that they are likely to prove remunerative ; and, finally, that the works must be performed according to specifications prepared by the inspector, and approved by the commissioners, who have seldom allowed of a less depth of drain than 3| feet. By the end of the year 1854 the whole of this money was allocated, and more than half of it actually expended. Scottish landowners were so prompt to discern, and so eager to avail themselves of this public fund, that more than half of it fell to their share. The great success of this measure, and the rapid absorption of the fund provided by it, soon led to further legislative Acts, by which private capital has been rendered available for the improvement of land, by draining and otherwise, on conditions similar to those just enumerated. These Acts are 1st, The Private Moneys Drainage Act (12 and 13 Viet, c. 100), limited to draining. 2cZ, The West of England, or South-West Land Draining Company s Act (11 and 12 Viet., c. 142), for the purpose of draining, irrigation and warping, embanking, reclaiming and enclosing, and road-making.