rising promiscuously over the whole surface; and not unfrequently, from both these causes conjoined. The pressure of the water in the high ground thus forces that with which it is connected under the bog, through the more porous parts to the surface,-forming quagmires, which are dangerous to be walked upon, and which are easily distinguished by the verdure of the surrounding grass. Much ground still lies waste from such causes, though not containing peat; and in draining such land, it has been remarked by Mr. Stephens, (whose work we have already quoted,) as follows:

That "when the water breaks out on the upper side of the moss, a drain must be carried along the line of the wetness, sufficiently deep to intercept it, with outlets to the cross-drains, which must be cut to such a depth as to suit the level of the outlet. If the extent of the land to be drained be considerable, it will be advisable to divide the whole by open drains into fields, according to the position of the ground. The drains should be made from five to six feet deep, and where this depth does not reach the bottom of the moss, or to the stratum containing the water, bore-holes, or wells must be made in their bottom, through which the confined water will rise by its own pressure to the bottom of the drain, so that it will be reduced to the same level. The bore-holes are made with an auger about five inches in diameter; but when the moss or peaty earth is so soft that they will not keep open, wells filled up to the bottom of the drain with small stones must be made. These operations will not only prevent the springs from the adjacent high grounds overflowing the moss, and remove the subterraneous water, but will also, in most cases, completely free it from surfacewater proceeding from rain or snow: when, however, any of the latter remains, it must be remedied by wedge or shoulder-drains, which, if properly executed, will last from twenty to thirty years." For a further elucidation of which principles, he refers to descriptions and plans selected from many other similar operations in Sweden, which we do not consider ourselves authorised to copy.

With regard to reclaiming wild moss-lands, or the central parts of bogs, without discrimination, Mr. Lambert does not feel so sanguine as some of the Commissioners who have reported to the House of Commons; but as some proprietors may be desirous of making the attempt, they probably cannot pursue a better plan than that adopted some years ago for the improvement of Chat-moss in Lancashire, consisting of some thousands of acres, which was quite as deep, wet, and fibrous, as most of the bogs in Ireland, and comes up to the idea of what is there termed "red-bog," the turf cut on it for fuel being yellow, light, tough, and spongy; yet, potatoes followed by wheat have been grown upon it of very excellent quality. It should, however, be observed that it was manured with a peculiar species of stiff marl, as well as with the street-sweepings of Manchester; and it, not improbably, was more to that species of dressing, than to any other kind of improvement except that of good drainage, that the perfection of these crops is to be attributed. Trees of various kinds-larch, beech, spruce, Scotch fir, and poplars,-particularly the two latter,-thrive upon it; and that portion which has been laid down to grass makes very tolerable pasture.

The mode of drainage was very simple. The moss was divided into compartments, right and left, on either side along a straight road leading to its centre, each division being 100 yards long by 50 wide, and, therefore, containing about an acre. These divisions were surrounded by an open drain three feet nine inches deep, three feet wide at the top, and

* See page 310.

twenty inches at bottom. The cross-drains were covered, and cut across to the open surrounding ones at every six yards distance, being only twelve or fourteen inches wide at the top, and continuing nearly the same breadth for about two feet two inches to where the shoulders are left on each side; the cut to the bottom being eight inches wide and sixteen inches deep. They were formed on the same principle as the catch-drains described in fig. 1, page 452, viz., with a shoulder to support the reversed surface turf over a wedge-shaped opening in the bottom; but when moss-land is drained for the purpose of arable cultivation, the catch or hollow drains are made much deeper. In moss-draining, no straw, or brushwood, is used in the drains; the tough surface-spit of the moss being at once a durable wedge to keep the sides apart, as well as a cover.

The drains were cut in the usual manner; but only about one foot in depth at a time, being left to dry and become hard at the sides, without which precaution they would fall in, and the cutting was afterwards conti nued at intervals until the whole was completed. The bog was, indeed, so soft that the men were obliged to have small boards, every way larger than the foot, fastened on their feet with straps, to prevent their sinking. The estimated expense was only 31s. 6d. per acre. The surface of the bog was then pared in thick sods, but not in every instance burned, being in some cases left to decompose, and afterwards used as manure; and in consequence of these operations, the moss has sunk considerably, and acquired a great degree of solidity*.

It may, however, be observed, that notwithstanding the success of this improved cut of Chat-moss, it was not effected without a great outlay of capital, and that it is in the immediate vicinity of a great manufacturing district, with the convenience of markets, canals, and railroads, which Ireland does not possess. Speculators should, therefore, weigh these circumstances maturely before they commence any similar scheme of improvement. We would, indeed, hint to them the propriety of attending to the calculations of Tristram Shandy's father regarding the cultivation of the ox-moor with his aunt Dinah's legacy, instead of applying it to the purpose of sending his eldest son Bobby on his travels f. But should it be determined upon, they should then understand

Holt's Survey of Lancashire, pp. 96 and 99.

"Whenever my father took pen and ink in hand, and set about calculating the simple expense of paring and burning, and fencing in the ox-moor, &c. &c., with the certain profit it would bring him in return, the latter turned out so prodigicusly, in his way of working the account, that you would have sworn the ox-moor would have carried

That bogs which produce the best turf for fuel are generally the easiest to reclaim, and make the best land when drained.

That the work should be commenced early in the summer, and continued during the fine weather, or at least, until harvest calls for other occupation; for during the winter it will be useless.

That the soil should be thoroughly drained from all superfluous moisture before any attempt be made to crop it.

That the common manure of the farm should never be encroached upon for such a purpose. Unless, therefore, lime, chalk, gravel, or marl, can be conveniently obtained in the immediate neighbourhood, it would be better to leave such ground in its natural state; and lastly,

That whatever attempt is intended to be made, should be done effectually, or not at all.

CHAPTER XXXI.

ON GRASS-LANDS-PASTURE-MEADOW.

Ir is a received opinion among many farmers of great experience, that land may be left too long in pasture; and if it becomes mossy, hide-bound, and overrun with weeds, perhaps there is no better method of improvement than that of paring and burning, and then laying it down again to grass; for, unless the soil be good, it will not, under present circumstances, pay the expenses of cultivation. But old meadows, which already bear a sward of succulent herbage, are too valuable to be broken up with advantage, and they whom the high prices of corn during the late war have tempted to adopt that course, are now severe sufferers. All kinds of stiff clay which have been many years in meadow or pasture, and have become well covered with good sorts of grass are of that description, and, if converted to temporary tillage, cannot, by any system of management, be again brought, within any reasonable period, to bear so good a turf as before they were ploughed *. Efforts, it is true, are making in most parts of the kingdom to lay down much of the land; but, if again restored to meadow, a long series of years must elapse ere it will attain that rich bottom which adapts it for profitable grazing. There is an old saying, that "he who has once got a turf is an idiot if he breaks it up." Experience proves the truth of this; for land of that description fattens beasts quicker, and yields richer milk than that which has been newly laid down; and accordingly, meadow is always more sought after, and the rent is higher, than that of arable. There are indeed innumerable instances in the south of England of old grass lands, separated only by a ditch †, where these fields are worth from 10s. to 20s. per acre more all before it for it was plain he should reap an hundred lasts of rape, at twenty pounds a last, the very first year, besides an excellent crop of wheat the year following: and the year after that, to speak within bounds, an hundred,-but in all likelihood, an hundred and fifty, if not two hundred quarters of peas and beans, besides potatoes without end." *Boys on the Means of converting Grass Land to Tillage.-Comm. to the Board of Agric., vol. iii. p. 248.

Mr. Boys mentions, in the Essay already alluded to, his having two fields of eight acres each, on a stiff clay, contiguous to each other, on a dead level, the soil in every respect the same; one piece supposed not to have been ploughed for centuries, the other laid down about thirty years before his writing; and although both were stocked and managed in precisely the same manner, yet the old grass was worth more than double the

other.

than those which have been lately in tillage; although the latter have been laid down on well managed summer-fallows, with the best kinds of grass seed *.

The contrary doctrine is, however, held by almost all the supporters of the improved Scotch system of agriculture, who generally maintain, that the alternate husbandry should be invariably applied to the conversion of grass into arable land; in proof of which they certainly adduce strong instances of the superior weight and apparent luxuriance of recently sown grasses over those which have been many years in the ground; but this may, not improbably, be owing to the deficiency of chalk, which is known. to exist in the soil of Scotland, and which perhaps renders it less fit for the support of the natural grasses than other countries which are differently situated. No part of Europe, for instance, produces natural grass of a finer quality than Ireland, and much of it has been immemorially in pasture; but the surface soil lies, almost throughout the island, upon a limestone bottom. It may indeed, be true, that, upon any soil, old grass-land, which has been gradually enriched by the dung of animals pastured upon it, and by the decomposition of a portion of its herbage, will, when broken up, produce more profitable crops than if left in its natural state; but they cannot be continued without the aid of abundant manure, and the cost of their production is in some cases greater than their value; while natural grass always yields a return of some sort to reimburse the farmer without the risk of tillage. It is, however, in many instances greatly abused: the dung made by cattle fed upon the hay being generally applied to arable land, and the pasture hard-stocked throughout the winter; but, as has been justly remarked in one of the Yorkshire reports-" Were the manure of the farm honestly carried to the meadow-ground, that ground the farmer could never wish to see ploughed t." It is indeed evident, that the production of corn exhausts in a few years those principles of fertility which the land in a state of grass had been for a long series of years acquiring; for the matrix of good turf is formed of vegetable mould, which can only be produced by time, and there is a rich luxuriance in the verdure of a fertile pasture which is only imparted by age. "To restore those principles when land so exhausted is again to be laid down to grass, or to prevent its exhaustion during the time it is in a state of tillage, is the great secret of agriculture; for if once known and reduced to a system, the price of the different productions of the soil would soon find a general level." Experience shows, that this

In some of the Lincolnshire marshes, an acre of their measure-which is however in some places five roods, and in others not more than three-will summer-feed a bullock, together with from two to five large sheep, and two sheep throughout the winter. Thirteen acres have been known to feed 14 bullocks, and to carry 35 sheep the year through; and 21 acres have, during a series of years, kept 19 heavy oxen and 100 sheep, from Lady-day to Michaelmas, besides wintering 50 sheep. The average of the whole is 1 acre per bullock, and 33 sheep per acre throughout the summer, with 2 sheep in the winter; and the produce thus raised by grazing exceeds that of arable land.-Lincoln. Rep., pp. 218, 219. Mr. Billingsley calculates that, in Somersetshire, a grazier occupying 200 acres of land, (not marsh,) may fatten yearly 110 head of oxen, with 270 sheep, besides feeding 12 colts.-Somersetsh. Rep., p. 239. Five cwt. of cheese have also been made from cows fed upon one acre of pasture.-Comm. to the Board of Agric., vol. ii. p. 320. See also the Report of a Gloucestershire Vale farm in No. IV. of the Farmer's Series in the Library of Useful Knowledge.

Such instances are certainly above the average; but there are many extensive tracts of natural meadow and pasture, both in this country, and more especially in Ireland, which pay better in grass than they would do if put under the plough.

+ Survey of the North Riding, note, p. 169.

Comm. to the Board of Agric., vol. iii. p. 80.

secret has not yet been discovered by the writers in question: to convert grass land to tillage, and that with profit to the occupier, requires no particular rules; but to restore the land again to grass, unimpaired, is a difficulty not easily surmounted. The argument may in fact be summed up under this general rule,--that all land should be kept in that state in which it will yield the greatest permanent rent to its owner.

Grass-land is distinguished under the separate denominations of pasture and meadow: the first being generally ground of a poorer nature and more hilly situation than that used as meadow, though much of it, of the richest quality, is appropriated to grazing; but the latter is the only kind which is reserved for hay, and most frequently consists either of low land of a cold, strong, wet nature, the tillage of which would be difficult; or that situated in the immediate neighbourhood of large towns, in which hay is in constant demand; or, bounded by streams, which admit of its being improved by irrigation. It should, however, be of such a nature that the grass will spontaneously thrive; and this can only be attained-when artificially laid down by cultivation-through close attention to the quality of the soil, and the kind of grasses with which it is to be sown.

PASTURE.

The excellence of pastures depends greatly both upon their position, and upon the different species of animals for whose support they are intended. Thus uplands, which are elevated, open, and dry, are the best adapted for the feeding of sheep; while heavy stock is fed with more advantage upon ground which is lower in point of situation, as well as better inclosed. The soil of uplands-particularly if it be of a chalky nature-bears a sweet, though a short bite of grass, which is so favourable to the pasturage of the smaller breeds of sheep, that although it will support but a scanty stock, it yet produces the finest species of mutton. The cultivation of weak soils is also chiefly to be depended upon by the aid of the fold; and, in that point of view, these pastures are doubly valuable. In some of our southern counties, indeed, manure cannot be otherwise raised in sufficient abundance for the purposes of tillage, and, without its assistance, the plough would be nearly useless. It is, therefore, much to be regretted, that considerable tracts of those downs, as they are there called, have been broken up; for neither skill nor expense in cultivation can, within any moderate period of time, replace the natural herbage which they contained: and as they cannot now be kept with profit under the plough, they have become nearly worthless to their present proprietors.

Pasture of this kind also secures sheep from the rot, and in a great degree preserves them from the attack of flies, from which they often suffer severely in small inclosures. Ground where water sometimes stagnates, is always dangerous to sheep; and land which has been flooded, is unsafe until it has become perfectly dry, though there is not much danger when the water trickles over it continually. Thus in the highlands of Scotland, and in some of the mountainous parts of the north of England, Wales, and Ireland, there are vast ranges of hills, which, even during the driest seasons, are constantly moist; yet they do not appear to affect the sheep with the rot*; but the water is in continual motion and never stagnates. In these alpine tracts the pasturage consists of a great variety of plants, singularly adapted to the maintenance of the flocks in every month throughout the year, but varying in quality according to the soil on which they grow; and *This remark will also apply to the forest of Dartmoor, in Devonshire, which contains upwards of 50,000 acres.―Devonsh. Rep. p. 341.