Agricultural and Pastoral.

Hawke's Bay Times, Volume XIII, Issue 583, 4 June 1868, Page 3

Agricultural and Pastoral.

D 11 A I N A G E. ) Voiiununicatcd.J Recent events have set people thinking on the subject of drainage or some other means to prevent the recurrence of calamities by floods. I give you my thoughts on the subject with great dif- - lideuce, for I know they are very imperfect, and capable of great improvement. I believe it is useless to attempt to prevent great floods coming over the Meanoe Flat. It could ouly he done by raising the banks or cutting a no*v channel for the water of the river. Now if one side of the river is hanked up it would of course inundate the other doubly ; and, if both sides are hanked up high enough to keep floods like the last one in the river channel, I fear it would cost more than the property to be protected is able to pay. The soil, too, is very sandy, and heavy earthworks on the bank would probably be carried away by the current. Then, again, the bed of the river is composed of shifting beds of shingle; enormous quantities brought down by the last, lb od nearly fill the river bed opposite Mr Alley's property. Now, if we raise the banks, and they stand a Hood, is it not probable the shingle bed would rise too. and the banks require a continual heavy outlay to keep them above the water high enough to prevent overflow. The cutting of a channel large enough to take the surplus of the river would, I fear, be too expensive ; and, if it was done, possibly the river would not stop in. The sands would cause the banks to give way and fall in. It would soon be winding and spoil all the property it passed through. Hut we c nild prevent Hoods from spoiling our agricultural lands, gardens, homesteads, &C., in a more certain and economical way. The Hat is drained by several creeks which have high banks, the land falling away into hollows bet ween those. My scheme is, to remove all obstruction from these low phers, and make water-ways of them, through which the surplus water can pass to the sea without doing damage. I will endeavor to explain what I mean by referring to the Hat on Mr Alley’s and Mr Tiffen’s properties. Suppose a breadth of twenty or thirty chains wide was cleared and levelled right through the lowest land to the Bay, and a ditch taken out ot the middle, and banks built on either side six feet high with the earth. These banks could be sown with ihw pmlt:;isis or planted with willows. As the waterway approached the river it could widen to catch any overflow on the whole block. A small flood would fill the ditch only, and I thiuk a great none would he kept within bounds. The land of the waterway will still be ! fit for pasture, and could be divided into paddocks by sunken fences or hurdles, wood or iron, which could be removed when there was a heavy rainfall, The road could have two pairs of close-fitting wooden doors which might he always open, except when a flood was expected:, and then they could be in charge of a gatekeeper. I think if the whole flat had three or more water-ways similar to the one I have endeavored to describe, the ilaud between them would be fit for

agricultural and garden operations. A heavy flood would of course raise the creeks and backwaters, but their overflow would be very slight and tempo rary. The formation of laud in the Bay would he greatly accelerated., for, the obstructions being removed, the water rushing through the water-ways would only leave enough to renew the pasture. I feel confident that if all the mud and sand left on the Flat by that Hood were collected and put into the Bay it would make forty acres of good dry land. | The fact that a low bank pimpedwith willows is aide to siand a gieul strain is is seen on the Greenmea Uws estate. The wires of the fence became choked with rubbish, and thus unde a! wall across the stream of the iiood. throwing a great body of water to the j cross road ; and I contend that it 11;ei willows ran north and south instead of east and west neither Mr TilL-aV homestead or my own would have had much water on it. Some people may! visit Greenmendows and form an oping ion that willows on a hank will not 1 stair! a il mid because a great many are thrown down ; hut I think th ne trees which yielded to the Hood will he found to have been either recently slanted, or planted alongside a deep ditch where the current could undermine them. I. 11. Button.