has "patronized" into notice some caprice of an
aspiring engineer, and straight-way the kingdom is convulsed with
contests to set up or cast down these idols. By careful observation, it
is said, we may find "sermons in stones, and good in everything;" and,
standing aloof from all exciting controversies, we may often profit, not
only by the science and wisdom of our brethren, but also by their errors
and excesses. If, by the help of the successes and failures of our
English neighbors, we shall succeed in attaining to their present
standard of perfection in agriculture, we shall certainly make great
advances upon our present position.

As the distances of drains apart, depend manifestly on many
circumstances, which may widely vary in the diversity of soil, climate,
and cost of labor and materials to be found in the United States, it
will be convenient to arrange our remarks on the subject under
appropriate heads.

DISTANCES DEPEND UPON THE NATURE OF THE SOIL.

Water runs readily through sand or gravel. In such soils it easily seeks
and finds its level. If it be drawn out at one point, it tends towards
that point from all directions. In a free, open sand, you may draw out
all the water at one opening, almost as readily as from an open pond.

Yet, even such sands may require draining. A body of sandy soil
frequently lies not only upon clay, but in a basin; so that, if the sand
were removed, a pond would remain. In such a case, a few deep
drains, rightly placed, might be sufficient. This, however, is a case
not often met with, though open, sandy soil upon clay is a common
formation.

Then there is the other extreme of compact clay, through which water
seems scarcely to percolate at all. Yet it has water in it, that may
probably soak out by the same process by which it soaked in. Very few
soils, of even such as are called clay, are impervious to water,
especially in the condition in which they are found in nature. To render
them impervious, it is necessary to wet and stir them up, or, as it is
termed, _puddle_ them. Any soil, so far as it has been weathered--that
is, exposed to air, water and frost--is permeable to water to a greater
or less degree; so that we may feel confident that the upper stratum of
any soil, not constantly under water, will readily allow the water to
pass through.

And in considering the "Drainage of Stiff Clays," we shall see that the
most obstinate clays are usually so affected by the operati