only one shilling and sixpence per acre, has, since that operation, been let at fifty shillings. The luxuriance of the crops thus produced is, indeed, so great, that beans have been known to yield 90 bushels, and potatoes from 360 to 580 bushels per acre; of clover, after Lent corn, three tons per acre have been also grown from the first cutting, besides a second crop and abundant aftermath; and although these are, certainly, beyond the average, yet the common crops are unusually large. The land, however, should not be sown with wheat until it has been somewhat exhausted by the growth of potatoes, flax, or rape-seed, and laid down with clover. It will afterwards require dung; but the greatest care is necessary to be observed in its cleansing, for the warp is of itself extremely productive of rank weeds. The expense of this mode of improvement it is not easy to calculate, for it depends upon a variety of circumstances, which vary with the situation of the land. Arthur Young estimates the cost of a sluice five feet in height and seven in width, adequate to the warpage of fifty acres, at a moderate distance from the river, at from 400l. to 500l.*: but the greater the quantity to be warped, the less will be the proportionate expense. We are told, indeed, of a farm in Yorkshire, of 212 acres, which was purchased at 117. per acre, and after being warped at the charge of 121. more, was afterwards considered worth 70l. per acre. But there are, no doubt, many small muddy streams, in which the current is not so impetuous as to require very strong banking, or expensive masonry in the formation of the sluices, which might be greatly improved in value at far more moderate cost. There must, however, in all cases, be a considerable delay in the return of capital; for warping can only be carried on, with any degree of advantage, during the summer months: and from the time when the works are commenced, until that when the soil is sufficiently raised and dried to support a crop, hardly less than four years can be allowed to elapse. CHAPTER XXX. BOGS. It is not our intention to enter upon a discussion of the means of draining the great bogs of Ireland, for that can never, as we conceive, be accomplished, except by rendering it a national concern † ; but on many estates, *Farmer's Calendar, p. 394. A large sum of money was many years ago granted by Government to ascertain the capability and expense of draining the bogs of Ireland, and experienced men were appointed as Commissioners for this undertaking: from the report of one of these, (Mr. Nimmo, a very intelligent engineer,) the following extract is taken : "Drainage, one would have imagined, in such a country as Ireland, with so moist a climate, so many extensive morasses, lakes, and watery flats, should have attracted the earliest attention, and be now well understood. From various circumstances, however, arising either from her political troubles, or the late period at which her people began to study the means of agricultural improvement; we search her history in vain for any attempt to recover these wastes, or even to free the fertile bottoms along her rivers from periodical inundation. "The radical cause of this apparent neglect is the want of co-operation, rather than of capital; for, in a country abounding in hands, all that is wanted is, to set them to both in that country and in Scotland, there are large patches of bog, which, although they supply turf, as fuel, to the neighbourhood, and in some situations, where firing is scarce, and only a limited extent of bog fit for the purpose would doubtless occasion much distress among the poor were they deprived of this resource, yet might, in most cases, be much more beneficially cultivated. The deficiency of capital and skill among the greater proportion of Irish farmers, prevent, indeed, any efforts of the kind on their part; but these are objections which cannot be said to exist amongst the large landholders; and there can be no doubt that the value of their property might be very materially increased, were more attention paid to the draining those swamps, besides improving the dreary appearance of the country, by which it is now very much disfigured. Some spirited attempts have, it is true, been made on this subject, and they have, in most instances, been attended with success. Where they have failed, it has been occasioned by insufficient means of drainage, as well as the too free use of work. The numerous and idle poor already exist, and are supported: no additional expense can therefore fall on the community by employing them in useful works, over what is at present required to keep them in unproductive and often mischievous idleness. "We have many industrious aud improving land-owners and lessees, who are disposed to contribute their proportion towards draining the morasses, or clearing the courses of rivers and streams which disfigure their own and their neighbours' lands; but from the inability, indolence, or obstinacy of some of their neighbours or tenants, the variety and intricacy of tenures under which their lands are held, the consequent difficulty of ascer taining the relative benefits and levying the just proportion of contribution, these improvements are altogether prevented; or, if attempted in favourable cases, are confined to the lands of an individual, whence they are usually rendered unnecessarily expensive to the undertaker, and but partially successful. "The remedy for this is, obviously, some legislative enactment which would empower properly qualified and disinterested persons to ascertain the extent of injury and the probable benefit to each individual concerned; to lay down and carry into effect all such measures of improvement as appeared to be for the general benefit; and to defray the expense of an assessment or tax proportionate to each person's interest in the benefit received. "But in drainage we have not advanced to the state in which England was two or three centuries ago. Commissions of sewers are very ancient, though first regulated in the reign of Henry VIII. by a general law, which is still acted on. In the reign of James I. the great fens of the east of England were surveyed in the same manner as the bogs of Ireland have been; and doubts having been urged how far the powers of a Commission of Sewers could be extended to the construction of new works, or to the levying of assessments for general purposes in any other way than according to individual benefit, the drainage of these fens was proposed to be undertaken as a national work, under the iminediate authority of government, and engineers were brought for that purpose from the Low Countries. The troubles of that and the succeeding reign prevented the execution of this idea; but in the course of that century, and after various interruptions, this great measure was effected by means of private companies incorporated under particular acts of parlia ment. "In carrying into effect the drainage of any district in Ireland, there might appear to be an invincible obstacle to raising the necessary funds, at once, from the lands to be drained, on account of the variety of tenures and number of derivative interests which intervene between the proprietor in fee and the occupier of the soil; but on this head we may observe, that the commissioners for granting loans to public works from the consolidated fund are empowered to advance money towards the expense of any drainage, at the rate of 5 to 6 per cent. per annum; and, since this interest or assessment will only constitute an annual tax, no person will be called upon to pay but in proportion to the period of occupation; and the landlord, when the lands revert to him, may, if he please, discharge the principal sum. "A very considerable portion of the sum allowed by parliament still remains in the hands of the Commissioners aforesaid; how long it may continue unappropriated, or if ever it will be increased, is difficult to say; but, at all events, the present seems a favourable period for an application to this fund, in the same way, and on similar terms, to that already adopted for the Eaubank cut, near Lynn, in England, one of the great works intended for the more complete drainage of the Bedford Level." corn crops after the land has been brought under cultivation; and the most profitable mode has been found to bring them into meadow, for the soil is generally too tender for the constant operation of the plough. Most of the great fens in England have now, indeed, been brought into. such a dry state by drainage, as to produce abundant crops of the finest wheat; but the soil which they contain is generally of a much richer quality, being composed of a greater quantity of decomposed matter, and also less fibrous and spongy, than that which is to be found in the bogs of Ireland. It is indeed said, that the peat soil in Ireland, which is estimated at 2,800,000 acres, consists, in great part, of red bog, which, although less valuable than that which is black, is capable of being converted into the general purposes of agriculture. This, however, is carrying the speculation rather too far; for, although much of the red bog, when well reclaimed, makes good meadow, yet it generally requires many years of good management before it can be depended on to yield fair crops of wheat or barley. It is of various depth and quality; but if selected with prudence and discernment, and judiciously cultivated, it will generally pay well under rape, oats, potatoes, or turnips, preparatory to its being laid down. with grasses there consequently cannot be a sound objection to bringing the chief portion of it into a state of culture. There are, besides, many thousand acres of waste land, or what in Ireland is called mountain; but which may be more justly denominated marsh, which might be effectually reclaimed by the simple operation of draining, yet are allowed to remain in their present unprofitable state to both tenant and landlord*. Numberless essays have been written on the reclamation of these bogs, and the subject has lately attracted public attention; but most of these treatises represent it in far too favourable a light; for, although some of the recorded experiments show that land which was previously worthless has been thus brought into such a state of improvement as to produce a rent of 40s., and even 31. per acre, yet these are isolated instances, which ought not to be assumed as grounds of general average. We therefore pass them over, and shall confine our observations to a very unassuming volume lately published by an Irish gentleman, who places the matter in a more dispassionate, and, we think, a more rational point of view, than his fellow writers t. Some, even of the Commissioners who have reported to the House of Commons upon the subject, have calculated the value of reclaimed bog, without distinction, so high as thirty-five, and others, more reasonably, at twenty shillings per acre,-yet this person is of opinion, "notwithstanding the high and much more able authority of those gentlemen on the subject, that even the latter rent of twenty shillings is much too high an average rent for such lands." A great portion of them would, he has no doubt, remunerate; but a return adequate to the outlay would be more than doubtful, on a still greater portion. He estimates the average value of those wild bogs, when fully reclaimed, as not exceeding ten to fifteen shillings per acre; or three such acres as not being worth more than one of a sound dry soil. It must also be recollected, that, in four cases out of five, the interior of the bog will cost double the sum per acre to reclaim that the verge will; as it is not only further from the clay, lime, or gravel which may be required in its improvement, and the road softer, but the centre generally consists of *See Burroughs on Practical Husbandry, Essay iv. n. p. 40 and 56. + See Observations on the Rural Affairs of Ireland; and a Practical Treatise on Bogs and Wastes, &c., by Joseph Lambert, Esq., pp. 162 to 198. -probably Spanish word "monter"" peat, which is more fibrous than that which is at the outskirts, and is, consequently, not only of inferior quality, but more difficult to be brought into cultivation. On small or moderate sized bogs, consisting of from 50 to 150 acres, he therefore suggests the following mode of improving and reclaiming those verges :— A river, lake, or stream is generally found to run either through or by the side of a bog, or to have some immediate communication with it, and this should be made the main-drain, taking care to ascertain that it affords a free and uninterrupted passage for the water. The bed should also be cleaned and deepened, if the stream runs sluggishly; and its course should be straightened, if it is subject to become choked. If there is no stream, a deep artificial main-drain must then be cut, with a sufficient outlet in the lowest part of the adjoining ground; and, communicating with that, a smaller drain must be cut round the interior of the bog, between its worst parts and those reclaimable verges, so as to catch all the water from the overhanging centre; thus following its direction in a somewhat circular form, and discharging itself at both ends into the main-drain or stream, in the manner designed in the annexed sketch. Small drain round the Verges. Bog Stream- or, Main-drain, Another drain of a similar shape as the last, though not near so deep or wide, may also be cut between the dry ground and the verge of the bog; but this must be determined by the state and firmness of the land, as bog may be drained too much. Besides completely separating the more valuable verge from the central part of the bog, this drain will also render essential service by allowing the latter to consolidate, and with the addition of some smaller drains, to become, in time, fit for further encroachments. Considerable judgment is, indeed, requisite in constructing drains of a depth suited to the nature of the bog; for their object should be, to carry off the water from the surface only, but not to deprive the entire body of the soil of its moisture. Spongy and deep mosses, in particular, would be materially injured by being made too dry under the surface; as were there too great a depth of dry fibrous substance to receive the rain, it would be too quickly absorbed, and, together with the effect of the summer heats, they would be entirely deprived of humidity, and rendered unproductive *. When these verges have been thus thoroughly drained, two methods may be pursued in their further improvement: one, by leaving the surface unbroken, and spreading limestone-gravel upon it; the other, by tillage and cultivation. The first is the least expensive, and, when the surface is smooth, and the waste inclined to grass, will also be found, in most cases, to afford the surest return for the outlay; for, if this gravel, which is * Burroughs on Converting Waste Land to Profit, p. 37. found in most parts of Ireland, be of a good loamy quality, and spread liberally on the surface, the skin, remaining unbroken, will prevent it from sinking in too much, and it will produce natural white clover in abundance. Marl of a rich kind will also have much the same effect; but lime will be found nearly ineffectual on deep boggy land, unless heavy substances are first laid upon its surface*. A good pasture will be thus obtained, and moss lands are more valuable for grazing than for the purposes of tillage. When the surface is much broken, or overrun with rushes, fern, heath, or noxious plants of any kind, it will, however, be necessary to adopt the plan of tillage, for the purpose of levelling the land and destroying the roots. The usual mode is, by burning a certain proportion of the surface, both in order to destroy the superabundant vegetable matter which it contains, and to supply manure for the intended crops, three of which, at least, it will be necessary to take before the land is laid down with grass-seeds. It has, indeed, been recommended by some writers, to burn twice, for two successive crops, as the only effectual method of bringing such land into a mellow state; but it is a practice the adoption of which we by no means advise †. The first crop is usually rape; but it is commonly very ill-managed, the land seldom receiving more than one indifferent ploughing after the ashes have been spread, and not being even harrowed preparatory to the seed being sown, so as to blend the soil and manure together, and to leave an even surface for the deposit of the seeds. It has, however, been plausibly said in defence of this practice, that the rape plants resist the injuries they might receive from the frost better when the land is left in a rough state; and that the soil falling, during the winter, from the high parts of the surface into the furrows in which the plants grow, they are thus strengthened and protected during their growth. The common rotation is often two successive crops of rape, or alternate crops of rape and potatoes, with oats, followed by seeds, the grass of which is mown the first year, and should be only fed with sheep or light stock during the following season or two, to prevent its being poached. A thin coat of gravel, road-scrapings, or clay, should then be laid on to give firmness to the soil, for corn will not be productive on bog without some such manure, and, particularly in wet seasons, will not fill the grain. Neither will such land return dry or good potatoes, either for eating or for the fattening of cattle, unless its staple be rendered dense by this assistance; and if a good sward can be created, it will generally be found the most prudent plan to continue it in pasture, with a future improvement by lime. On such wet soils there can be little doubt that fiorin might be advantageously cultivated: it would also be a great additional improvement to plant a belt of Scotch firs around the inside of the circular drain, so as to form a shelter against the chilling winds, which, on bleak moor and bog lands, are a great check to vegetation. This tree is peculiarly adapted to peat soils; and although its timber is not valuable, nor does it arrive to any great size, yet, if a few spruce-firs be added on the sheltered side, with a thick hedge of broom or gorse, to close the screen at the bottom, the plantation would, in a few years, become a very desirable protection against the inclemency of winter §. It is evident that bogs sometimes originate from water breaking out of the adjacent heights along their upper side; at other times, from springs Burroughs on Converting Waste Land to Profit, p. 39. See Chapter XVI. on Paring and Burning, and n. p. 435. See the Essays on Planting, by the late Mr. George Sinclair, in the Farmer's series of the Library of Useful Knowledge, Nos. 19, 20, 22, and 23. |