ABSTRACT
Agricultural drainage as a practice to improve the prevailing natural drainage conditions of the land is now about two centuries old. Although even some ancient farmers were probably already aware of the benefits of improved drainage and some early applications are on record, they were few in number and often more motivated by strategic than by agricultural considerations. The agricultural use of drainage remained very limited until the second half of the 18th century when as part of the birth of modern agriculture, improved drainage started to attract wider interest and application.
