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Of the Bogs, and Loughs of Ireland by Mr. William King, Fellow of the Dublin Society, as Itwas Presented to That SocietyAuthor(s): William KingSource: Philosophical Transactions (1683-1775), Vol. 15 (1685), pp. 948-960Published by: The Royal SocietyStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/102137 .
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Xthe Bogs) and Loughs of Ireland by AMr. Williatn King) Fellow of zhe Dublin Societyas it: was pre fiented to that Society.
l 5 Z B- liere in an IJland almoR-ilsfi¢mous for BoZw, an 5/ V yet, ldonorremember, that any one+as at-
telupted much corlcerniIlg thgm; I beleive it may be of uSe to confider tl;ieir Origi nei their conveniencys, and iNCOllVtNiCSCyS; and how they may be remedyed, or n;ade nfefull.
I;Ihall give yoa my thou$htsa and obiersrations on each oftheIe; tho I ana Satisfydy thNat what I Ihall be able to fay, will be very littlej in refped;t of what would be re q.uired, on fuch an xmportant Iub}ed, and lo rery ne ceflsaryl to the improvement >ofthe Kingdom Asto the Orzgixceof Bogs, it is to be obEerved, thattherearefew places, xn our northern world, bllt halre been famous jor Bo,gs, as well as this; every barbarous ill inhabited copn- tRy 11;13 t11t; I telto tl1t toca algAtria, or palgdet, to be the very {ame we call Bogs: the ancient Sa#, (;ermans, anct Britsa retiring, when beaten, to thepaludew, isvthe- rery fame that we hate experiellced;in the Iri,/b, and one ffiall firld Jthofe places i-altaly, thatwere barbarous, fuch ns Lzguia, were infeRed with them; and therefore I*be {ieve tlle true callfe of them is want of i-ndllfiry; at leaPc xtldtlRry £nay remove, much more prevznt themw There 3remany Bogw of late kandingin Ireland; when dsdo7Zv1 andrlirone-came to tae relief oft;ngrale, they wafted the Cotlatry, eEpeciallyas theycame thro Aonnaaght, which bythe means ofthe Earl of ClanricbardX was generally oyall; and tllere is a great tradt:of ground now aBog, that was then plowed land; and there remains tllC manz fion 11ouSe of my Lord-----irl the midPc of it:now if want of induAry has in our remembtancc made one Bog; rao wono
der
L 948 ]
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[949] derlif a CountryZ fious for lazi£leX3as AretNd asaOnd With them.To Rzew youahow want of illdukry cauSes 3ogs5
-y(3u muk remembel4, t]\ t lreiaBd al)oullds witll [prin=,s C
thtat there Mprings are gerlerally dry, or near drya in the Summer titne and the wrs, and weeds grow thick about theniplaces sllere they burit allt-*< In the winter they fwellX and t11n and fo£teny arid lootell all -tlle CECartll about -them, now that fwerd or fWurf of the Larth, that cone :{iIts oftZtne roots o-f 3grafs, being litted up and luade fus<y by the water ia the wintera (as I have at the head of Iame Springs {een- it-lof;t u-p a ior or two,) is dried ln -the lbrt}g and dotll not falI together, but svither in a tuft, and -newgrafs-fprirxgsthrou;llit; vllicll, tlle ttext wxrlter i-5
again lift up, atld fo the fprin$ is more and more 0Opta
the fcurf grows tllicker and thicker tlll at firPtst nake tl1at w-hich we call a qgating Bog- attd asK rt grows higherX atld dryer,-andth@graSs roots and other vegetables be come more putrid t-ogether with the mud and {lime c)f -the water itacqlliraa blacknefi, and grows into tllat
which we call- a tarfBog I beliesre Wllen tiLe regeta-bles
ror the faline pa-rticles are 8;enerally waSledL away with t-he water, aXsbeing a-pyt to be diluted iS it e bUt the oyly or {ulphurea1 are thoSe that chiey rem$isa, and fwim orlthe water, and this is that w}wich gtves turt its in-
flan-mab-lsty.To m^ake this apeara tis to be obServed tllat in Irels¢d our higheit mountai$ls are covered vlth - Bogwa aswellas the plains; becaute our nlountaills abound more with fprings then could be imagirwed : I remember one high meFuntaia, in the north of Ireland, lz-as + Loag/ias o11 rhe fs-de of itatar thetop; acxw IlO idyliving oa 43wo mountains; &nd no care betug taken to clear the fprrrp, the whole mountair a-re overru-n witll Bsgw? as X hve defcrlbed.
z) It is to be oSferxred) that Irezanddotll abound i moffie more then, I believe, -aay Klllgdom; in fo nzacll ihat it z very troublefom, -beirlg apt to fpil frait treesX
S ^ -arxct
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[iso] -and qllickfers; I do not temember? tllat they, who have written of Gardenia,>,, or Orchards, mention i£)
vhic;h I am fule tlley vrouldJhad they bin as mucla trollbl- ed with it, a5 we are-s noW this moSs- is of divers-kiuds, -and vlla£ wllich grows in Bogs is retllarkable, your light -pungy-t jrf is nothiLlg but a cougeries of tlle thredsof this tuofs as l havW frequently obServed, before it be fuf- ficielltlv-rotterl, (aud tllen tlle tarf looks white and is light,) t lzave feen it irl ftlch quantitys and {o tough that the turffpades, cc)ul& not cwt t : in ttle rtll of freland, tlley, by way of iogue c-all as old rvives -tom, and curfx: laer that bll<yed i-r, ̂ vllerl it hinders them in cutting the turE, it is not mucll 1lnlike fla-x: the turf holes in time grow llp with it again, and all the little gutters in Bogw are -ge- nerally filled with ir; and truly I chw-fly inlpute Ehe red; or turfBog,--tc3 it- alldfrom it even the hardened turf when-broken, wis ftringy ;- tllos there pla-inly appcar ill it parts of other veDetabies : -it is obServable that both veo getablesK -nd Animals lwave--very different forrn-s,-when they a\re kept under and when out oftlze water ; & I am almoR ffrom fome obServations,) tempted to believe that the Seed of this }Sog^nsofwX when it falls on dry and oarchedground begers the Heath: however themoSs is ib fuzzy-and quick growing a vegetables that it mightily :kops the Iprings) atld coneributes to thic:ken the fcurf e- fpecially in rek Bogw,w}ucre orlLJW; I rememb-er tQ have ob- lerved st.
- 3S, It is to be obSersred, that t1ze bOttOlR of B0gs is gene- rally a ltind of white clay, or rather larldy marIe; a lit- tle water makes it exceedirlg foft; arld wherl it is dry it isalldtlPr; andtllis corltributesmuch tothe twellingof the Bogs ; for the roots of the graSs -do not hick faS in it X
but a little wet loofens them and the watcr eal:1l ! gets ia between the falrface of the earth and the-m, and lifts >up the fiurEace, as a dropfy doth the skin.
4, 'Tis to be obterved, that Bogs a-re generalLy higher then
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[-9.SI g
then the land about themaand hirheit in the lulddle: the chieffprings that callfe them beillg cominoniy about the middle,;fron whencethey dilato themfelves by degreesas onc wollld blow a bladder; but not always equally, beP cauSe.they Io-metimes mect witla greater obPracles on one fide, then on-the other: whoever llas feen Bogs, canlot doubt ofth-Ss; and befides lf- you cut a deep trench throw a Bog; youwillEnd the origlnalifprieag, & vaPc quarstitys of wat¢r will rn away, and the Bog Iubfide; the Bog at Gwafle Drbcs (as I was irlformed,) fubElded 3o foot; I could harddy believe that; but found by compllrationv that itcould not be much lefs then half of it I believe, thefe, axld-othxr orbEervations that might be nzade being laid togetherZit ish-ardly tobe doubted,but thatihave gisr- erl the £rvae origine of3-o,gw:thofe hils,that have 1lo fi?rings, hase- them notjt.hofe that have fprings,and want culture, coEI*antly hav¢- then: where ever they are, £here are great ffrrings: tbe turf ge-rally diScosrers a lregetable {ubltance: it is light 3 and impervious to the water; the ground Iluder it is very pe-rvious: axld all theSe are plain.ly accountable from the cauSes I haare given.
I muBc collfeis there are qxakingBaos, caufedother- wife; when a RreaFm, or Epring runs thro a Bat; if the paffiage be nOlt teaded,it fills with weeds in Summer, trees faill a croEs it, and dawitup ; .the n, in winter, the watcr Sagnattes firther & farther every year, till the whole flat be c(3vered ; then there grows up a courfe lind of grafs
p¢¢.uJliar to theSe Bagw; this graSs grows in tuft$, and thxir i roots - confqlidate together, and yearly grovF hlghr, in fo muchs that I have.Seen of them to the hig}st of a wan; -the .grgafs xots ine wtater X and fals oa the tufit$, and the feedwith it, whighfpringsup nextyear,
and fo- Rill makes an addition; fome times the tops Qf h-gs and grafs are interZwove4 oa tto furface of the wao ter, and this becomes by degree$ Scksr,; till it ly like a
er oa tbz W&t¢r i tien rl;>sF Kakg toQt in it 7 a-nd by a T plesif
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[ 9f;-] tSesta of the roots it becomes very 0rong) fo as to bear a man ; I tzave gone on Bogs thatwwould tife before alld be- 11indX anel fitlk where I Prood to a colzfiderable deptll; elldele was clear xon.terj as fOme of us experienced by fal- ling ill Witll olle leg 1lp ro tlle Iniddle, alld ehar by break- ing vlle furface-of tlle-earth where we ftood: eYen thefe ill tillle wtll grcxw red Bogs; but may eaf1ly be turne-d in- to meadosv,as I llave Scen feverall times, meerly by cIear- ing a tretlch to let t-llc varev -rtln awayw
T11e inCoilveniences of thefe Bsgj are very great; a confiderable part ofthe Killgdom beiIlg rendered uIelefs by tllem; tiley keep People at a diflcance from one anoX tller, alld collfequently hinder them in tlseir affairs, and weaken them; for ir is certain, that lffuppofe a xooo ule1l lisre on 4 contiguous acres-, they can both bet- teraSllE, anddefelld'oneallother, then-iftlleylivedon 4 not contigllolls: and therefore ig were good for IrelanJ; tile Bogw were f,Isk in the- Sea, Io their good land- were all contiguous; but it is furcher oSferrrable llere, that ge- nemlly the landX which gi-ould be our medows, and fineil; eveneR plaiss, are conrered- with B-ogs; this I obferved thro all Ao-ffXatlgh; bur moreeEpeclallyin LonX,ford[& likewite in AMeJX geath and i-n theNorth of Irelozrad. TheSe Pogs are a gre-at llindrance i-n paE1ng from place to place; ill as much as that you are forc t ro go far ab{>ut- to avoid th-em,and on this accztlnz the roads are rery crooked in freland ;or forc t (b-y vaflc cillarges to the collatry,3through Bo,;s; by tllefe means they are torlg, and hard to find.
TheBo,gs are a great-cieP:rud;tion; to Cattle, the cheif commodity of Irelarad; i n the fFri-tg tme when tlv Ca*t tle are weak and .hu:ngry>lle- edges ot tlae flofgs h-Ave c-om- monly grkfs; Ana the Catttle vensurEngS in to get- fit, fxll illtc) pits or flouges;8c u-re -eitlier d-rowad,c>t(it they are found,) Spoiltill thepullingout; elienumber o-ftz-tel loR this way is luctediiblae;
4, They are a {helSr-and re-fugee>TorR) a.ad thieses, who-can hardly liVe withewt them The
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[ 9s3 ] , The f2nel iand;vapours that are from Bo,w are
accounted v-ery unwholfomesatid the fogs ellat rife fror them are conlmorlly plltrid, and itinki ng for thv X ain, that fills on themZ will not fink -into tllem; tllere l @ing
hardly any {ubRance of its foftllets,more impotletrable by water7then turf,nd theretore rain-water Rarlds on tlletn, and in their pits; it corrupts there, alld is exlaled al I Izy the Sun, rery little of it rllat;ing away, wllich lnuR of eceAityaffCA theair. 6,Theycorrllptourwater. bothas to i-tscolour, and
tafl;for the colour of the:water that ftands in tlle pits, or lys o1l the furfac;e of the Bog, is tindured by the leddifh black colour of the turf; and when a Jhourer comes, tllat makes thefe pits overflow, the water tllat r uns over tillC-
tures all it meets , arsd gives both its colour and flcink, to a great maPy of our rivers; as, I obServed thro a11 the -Northsof Ireland.
The Natives heretoforetad neverthelefs fome advan- tage by the - woods, and Bogs ; by therrl they were pre- ferved from the corlqutItof the- wIzA i and I 13elievye it is a little remembrance of tlliS, make) theln Rill build nearBogs: itwasall adxrantage then to thenl to llave theircountryunpaSa ble, alld tlle fewer itrangers came near them, theylivedthe cafyer; for tlleyhad no innss every houSe wllerc you came,was your irsn g alld you {aid no more.but put pffyour broges&fate down by the fires8s fince the natllral IriJb hate -to mend lligll ways, and will frequently lhut them up, and challge -them, ̂ (being un- willillgtrangers {hoilld come and burthea vthem; Tho tlley are very inconvenic-nt to us, yet they are of Iome ufc; for mG>ft of Ireland liave their firing from from tllem; Tllrfisaccountedatolerable fweetfireoanXd wellaving very impolitickly dekroyed ollr woced, and not as yet follud kone coal,Iave in few places, we could hardly livc without lome Bogs : I llave leell turf charc'dX
1 2 lt
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[9jf43 it fervoto wvork iron, a¢nd as I have bin informed, will ferve to make it in-a bloomery or ir*work: turf charc ed Is reckon the tweetePt and wiholfomell fire, that can be; fitter firo-r a Chamber, and sonfunli-ve Peoplet then eiz ther wood, Soze-coa:l or char-toal.
Ikrlow not if it will be worrh lse obtersrsag, that a %rf:Bog pre-terares things frangely, a Corps Kwfll Iy -tl£e ln one, tor learerall years; I have {een: a piece of leather pretty freSl dug out of a Iarf-Bog,-that had never in the mem-ory of -nsan been - dug betore; Butter has bin foutad, rllat had lain abolre so years, nd ho' not fit to be eaten, yetServedwell enough togrease-wool:Trees arefound iol:2nd, and -intire-in them, and tho-fe Birch, ar Ald:r that are very fubjed;t tO ror. The Trees are -fuppoted by the igS noralat vulga r to haare lsen *ere elrer Snce -he F-iood, but the truth 1S, they bell on tlle; jurEacenc)fthe lEart-h-and the Bog, as t fheved ill the beginning of this diScollrs, hvel lillgbydegrees, at-laIt coveredthem; and beingofan asly veg-erable fubP£aIlce, it, Iqe ab-alfana, EmreIerves them; the TEeeS burn ver-y -1t aiuxl*@re-fior--tc)rchd sn the a-ight: I 1lare feen th-em utd-vL-gh$rtl ca-rchmg of Salmons: I ha-ve--feen af the Ts hfali -funilnx it Bo<(, and not qui-te covered.
Iam in t he lal place to {hew you:how -tlatSe in-anvee iencsrs may be remedied, and our Bogs xPiade aSe-fitlll; 'Tis ce-rtain-the-thing s pothible; it h jstiu dcone i-n 9g lvzz2,EZ*sncsJarld Germany; an-d if we ljad the X-se xnduiv tIy sve<ma-y promife our Selves the f:>e 1utee4b. I koow men eczmmony difltinguinl itWeefi Bogs tha$1iaYeXicX
fali-to-cRarryR away the water from them, and tllofe that h-ax7e >- a<ad dererm-i-- rhe lia-R draelxab4e7 b¢lt 1ot Q tirk # .but I fne }?rofeh I Eleverrwl3S nZeil ofRe 3Jg wsthdut a fiaLI fuiie-rt -to im- it, vf3r de> 1 bekleare there is -aily. But rlac great-+and weit-h-ty obJect jon awg-ai3-Sk them as the cnarge; a-nd it tsS corn-nonly thourhr, tht it wlllcak mudu In-ore tileo wow-lld 8atcshaSe- an eyga t£dpt &
* ggod
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C9-ff3 gd graxTndsan acre of good land sa moE pars of Ireland is about 4sperannulTl7 and the purcha re t4> or Isj years;& therefore three pollad will purchaSe an acteof -good land; and it is very doubtfull with molt,whetherthat fum will reduce a Bog: this-reafonillg paSes current, and- is the great obPracle and inlpedime-nt cxf this work; buttifthefe things following were done anct confidereds I verily beliexre it would be- remoxted.
x, An ad: of Parliamerlt fhould be made, {uch as was for tlle bllilding (3f London; th-at who did not in luch a time3
makeXiome progrefs in drasning tlleir Bog;s, Should part with them to others tlzat wotlld>&allow a paffiage to them thro theirlatlds: ratherellen CSesattemeIl wot1ld let oj tl;iers--come into their bti-unds, they rould purchaSe their Bogs at doubre the rate, as they doe patches of land with in rllem
2dly Tis tobe collfidered- tllat f ualuing BogsX tho' land bc never So cheap; never tail to be worth the draining; one trench drains m-arly acres; at d whea dry, it ls gent raliy nzedowj or tlle beIt graziIng g;ound.
3£lly Every redBo; has abaxlt it a deep marhSr noughy grollrude whiWh tlley call the boands of the Bogws and whlch never fails tO be wortlil the d-ratining-: ot:ze deep t2*ench round the Bog, doth it, bat th-is Cattle are kept out ot the Bog, alld al the bounds of the Bog-turned -into med-ow as I llave frequetltly tten.
Athl-y As tc) redBegs,I rem:enlber one of 60 aCres, wh--ich aGentlcmall drainesd; the land at)(zu- 1t sras 4S) gd per actest was aot worth antr t;blng,but ratller per-rlictous -tc) his Cat-rle; he reduced st to good grazillg Q,rourld w(3rth 3s kKB vacre) t;or ztl X which is leS ehen 3 yearspur_ chate.
sthly .Gent-letnen cought to confider, that wla^t they lay outthiswayZ gLoetlallydegrees, andthcy are not fenXi-
ble of it ; it goeth a tnong the Te'la ntS? alld enables them
tv pay; their rent tllr betrer ̂ tis a ;work e3f charity, a X id T 3 ixe-ploys
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t9a6} iillploys h-ands-, - and condllces to both tlle ornament & generall protSt of the Kingdom; and therefore they ougllt to diEpenfe with it, tho- Iomewhat dear.
6thly That even red lSogs might be made fit for gra- zi-ng, at a Inuch cheaper rate,then thcy have bin hither- to, iftllefe rllles were obierved: I a deeptrench muR be made roll£ld the Bog, as before; this reduces all the boun-ds of the Bogwgoes a great way to dry the Bog it feli; alld hinders at leaR its growing -: it ferves likewife as a common fin-k>- into which all your drains vent thenfelves-.
7thly in elle Bog, obEerve which way the lirtle jilfiughs rlln; be fure to ClJt tlleir drains a crors them; orle drain- fo cut doth nlore, then 3 or 4 long ways; as I faw by Ex periellCe
3dly the firPa elrains on the Bog,ought not to be above z -or 3 foot deep (3r wide; deep trellslles ougllt by llo means tobe attempted at ISrit; for the Bog is fo rOft) tllat they will not flcand, but fill up again; neitller can aily body flcand- well in them to Ctlt tllem deep :- but when the fur- face of the Bog is cut in little trenches fuppoSe at 2 o, OS 4o perzh, dikance, it is hardly credible hoW rnllch il: will be dryed : I remenlber fxlcll a little trench, drawn thro a Bog, vllat was rery wet, dryed it, fo that Cattle collld gra-fe on it all SuPmmer; and the Bag filbf1ded, foran hundred yards, on cach Elde, fovifibly, tllat one would have believed it a naturall valley
4thly a year or z after the little trenches are made, & the Bog a little dry; tlley are (at leaPc every other trench as one fees occafion is) to be made flX foot deep and 1X wide) if the foftnefs of the Bog will pertnit; if not, then fix foot wide and 4 deep is enough; arld this will certainly make the Bog ufefull for graElng : in a year or z after,you may attelapt to cut oue or two of the trenches tQ the bottoln ofthe Bog; for till that be done, I do not reckQu the Bog fecllred.
sthly A Gentlemau ought to oblige all his Tellants to cut
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[9S7] cvlt the turf in his tretiches, and likewite CUlt his own fos for this is juk fo much gain, and prevents that pirting o-f Bogw,that renders them deformed & perniciolls to Cattle.
6tllly Where a Bo,g is pittedX he is to cut a paflage frot one pitto the llext for tlle water, and fomakeacom- sntlaication to the common drain, and it his pits-be ollce dryed there will grow- grars or heath at the bottom, fit for grafing; alld they will be Ikelter forCattlein fforms.
7thly When Ilis Bog is dryed, it ts th-ereby made bet- ter turi : atld thell -lle is to fet out a part of itfor tllatuSe, and to oblige them to crut it clear away; and the Bog bse- ing removed, tlle bottom will make good meddow: as I halre feen in tlle County of LonXferd.
8thly if he would iluproxte his Bog any furtherthen grafing; he mllk do it eitherby cuttillg off tKlle ftlrface of the Beg a-lld- burrling it, or elSe by brint,ing Earth a-rld layingonit-: Sanding orrather itldeed Gravelling is a great improvement in tltis country; the and fo Ina- nuredowillbring-corn I20r IA years, and wowld bring graSs, - if People did notl Plout it fo long, as to contume ail the fubPrance of it, alld deItr-oy the roots of the graEs, which are not to be re-covered^4in many years, and then they fay gravellsag is bad forgraSs; butehe contrary is apparent, eL-pecially in Bogs.- I have obEerlred- by the way i1de where thote ways pafs thro Bogs, if a little Ea-rth hath fallen on thet Bog, as fome times there dotho il1 a little of that -which they bring- to mend- the high way, ithas turtled the Bag into a - green lody with a lrery fine fcuh graSsonit * andtdoubt-not buttlz-e-:famecharges, that S:atlds or Grarrels laxlds would reduce a ciryed Sog; evetl-to be ar!abls; but thisrequir-es time- asnd experience, which I doubt nor btlt will find out luany compendious aud caty-ulethods of performing theSe things, more then we .can. tllirlk of a
Twere--naturall to;add fonze thing cs31lcerning Laughs, anct
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C9S8] aud tgrloXh: tlle llaturall improvenlent of Loggh> or lakess-is lEr to drain thett:l as low as we can; and then turn the reEdue ofthe water into fi{h-ponds,by plaIltng afew Trees about thenzs and ordering them thus they may be made both ufefull, a-nd ornamentfall
As to thofe places we callBrloughwsfgaMiSerreni laat; or lndSlakew; they atlfser t3mi name rery welL, beitlg lakes one part ofthe yearof corlEldrabledepth; and very fmootll fields tExe reR txf wmNr memory :dos not fait me, I jo&or Brorpn defcribes exadtly tlle tike in Hgngary, czr elEt irl the way -between henna & Fevnice * thXe- are in thefeX holes out of whxch the -water rifeth in wirlterX arsd goeth away towards Summet tnany llundred acres being drowned by them; and thofe the mok pleafant, and prczS fitable land in the coustry : the foil is commouly a marl, whicls,byits{tiSnefs, hinders thewater from turningit into a Bog; atld immedsatly when tlle water is golle, it hardens, fO that you ride thro' an even graIsy field; thefe, if tlley could be drained would be fit for any uSe; would make meddow, or bear any grain, but efpecially rape, which is- very profitablew They are chiefly in connaught; a-nd their cauSe is obvious enough, it is a Sony helly Countrey ; the hils have cavitys in rhetn, - throllgh which the water paXes: it is common to have a risulet lEak on one ftde of a hill, alld rife a mile, or half a mile} from the pta£e: the brooks are generally dry in Summer; thewa- terthatfh-ould beintheln, fiaking between th.e-Rocks, and running under ground; in rO much as that irl fome places wire they are- overflowed in winter, they are forced in Summer to Iend theirCattle many miles for .wa- ter. There is one place io-a a hill near liam between two ofthefe %z4rloaghw, where there is a hole the Iuperkitious People call the Divels MilZ; and m-ake fables concerning it: if you kand by this place, yoBa will hear a great noife, like that of a water under a bridge: arhere there is a flood in winter? o! o£ the Vrlebs QVflOWS} a-nd vents it
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E9r9] Elfillto tlie llote,f ian the noiSe dotll, illwalI likelyhood, proceed-flhrom a fubterr:neousArea-m; which in Sulumer has room enoAu-gli to-vent all its watersbut in winter, when rains fall, the paSages ;between the lA.ocks cannot vent the water, iand theretore it regurgitates; and covers the- t5.
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Let uG X be a plain parallell to the horizo-a; let SSS be a hill > B XB a fiar; CCC anotller hill ; cD f D And- tizer flat; and EE E anotller llill : let L I M be a fub -terralleous rivulee Jtha-t runs under the furiace of the fiarth; at M- lertllerele asnavro.wXpaflUagea which ais only vent fiuch a quantity of water ; tlle llead of tlle river above L is [alppofe higller then the ilat B NB or DND;tlle cllrrent SuppOfe is fwolIl with rain, and brings nzore wa- ter to iVI, then caU pafs: it is plain tlle rck muQc fill the paSage L 1 and at lat bllrPr out at NlV,the lzoles fu?pold in tlae flats, and cover tlle flats; alld by this lueans tlle wlz-ole Country in the wirster feems full of Lakes; atld a gain in Summer,when the pafliage Afis big enougll for tlle water ofthe rivulet, tIle water {ubfides and falls thm tlae lloles lVlVinto the fubrerraneall paages alld in a little tinze leaves the flats dry till the 1lex;t year.
Thefe 7jurloag/*s are hard to drain; often elley are en- circled witll hils, and then wtis not to be expesE;ted : oftel- tlley have a vent by which they felld out a confiderable flcream; and tllen it is only makingtllat paLEageas low, as the lzottom of the flaNt, and thac will prevent the over
V .flowillK
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L gGo3 fcuvong b it Cometimes happcus tllat the flars a-re as Icow as tlze 1leigllEzouring rivulets, & ill probalzlli:ty are hlled; alld ti-Ris itisnot only neceIEary to luakc the EuaS.gt ft'C)In tl1t' flilt to t31e rivulet:> hut llkewi{e to ti1lk the ri- tECt which is sterar trs)S-lLzttnf()toe ; (otnliol\157 tllt patrs gt to be cut Is Recky o }^avillg 1levcr {een any of thcm CUt
:L c. 1 allly Iav t11tl5 SntAlL;
I, 13efore they heeDin, a furveSror ougllt to take the 1cs7e
f3t t1nC gat Wll;ll t11c I)lace illto Sllicll t-Jle velat-*is tobe ;na-le, and if tlle place be lzwer tJle w ent is poBible^> ^
27 -A goodFcorllputatitlt) ot1ght to-beSdeZut-httl! vellt wisl coR? l-aow l-luch land it will drain ? vllat tllx
la nd is wortllter acre as it ls? and wllat it will yield wlleA draxido and lr tlat 11c wA11 fee) wlaetllcsr it be wortll th¢ WililO tO atten:lpt itX
,)a9 T4}t ileses{A7D$(zxz>httobeopened, anddiggetl,anevt fetucezl about) tElat grsltS9 alld otller tlirt, }nazx llot ger Xto tllclll C fnz by this tnearls tlle water will ill its or cl i llarf7 covlrfeX ger ice zer away > aIsti la0!y tlley are to he catell crt! bare t(rwartls the cncl of Sulllmer, that as lit;fSle grafs as is poflible may be fpoilt by the waterO
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