Wright, Rev. T[homas] AND George Boswell
An Account of the Advantages and the Method of Watering Meadows by Art as Practised in the County of Gloucester BOUND WITH A Treatise on the Watering of Meadows: Wherein Are Shewn Some of the Many Advantages Arising from that Mode of Practice, Particularl
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Seller ID: 772 Two books bound as one: (1) Cirencester: S. Rudder, 1789. First edition (vii, 14). Tall 8vo in three-quarter calf over marbled boards, gilt decoration to spine, titles. Clean and tight. 'Watering' is a species of controlled flooding whereby water diverted from its natural course along a series of channels onto hay and pasture land, usually in early Spring, and then directed back to the water course from whence it came. This short treatise accounts for the benefits of watering (irrigating) meadows, together with a discussion of the general method, and furnishes a calendar of events so the work is performed at the right time of year. Wright claims great efficacy for this form of irrigation-- early pasturage and greater yields of hay crops especially. AND (2)London: J. Debrett, 1790. Second edition (xii, 122) including 5 folding plates illustrating equipment and plans to direct and control diverted water onto variously configured fields and pasturages. George Boswell, a landowner and farmer of Piddletown, Dorset, sets out details of a method for reclaiming 'the very great quantities of unimproved, boggy, rushy, wet land that lie almost every where near the banks of rivers and lesser streams, that seem to have baffled the skill of the possessors.' Boswell describes each part of the job, presented as six plans in five copperplate fold-outs for directing water on and off various sites by such means as wares (weirs), head mains, tail and catch drains. Boswell's expert advice has an orderliness, precision, and evident respect for details characteristic of later, more obvious technical works on agricultural methods, and clearly his intention is to introduce a scientific solution to the problem of poorly drained lands which are 'a reproach to the age, a disgrace to the country, and a nuisance to the occupiers.' Contrast this approach to the circumspect, rather vague approach characteristic of Wright's short treatise (some of the details of which Boswell takes pains to correct). Both Wright's little treatise and Boswell's more considered work are hard to find. Here, the two bound together, exemplars of the amateur and the expert, are scarcer still. A few spots on the prelims, slight off-setting of the plates, rubbed edges. An exceptionally clean, bright copy. Price: $850.00    
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