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TJic Country Gentleman s Magasinc 



good opportunities of knowing : — " Drainage 

 and removing of the stones were therefore simul- 

 taneous operations, then followed ploughing and 

 trenching ; these completed, from 8 to lo tons 

 of lime were applied per acre, and several har- 

 rowings and a ploughing in autumn completed 

 the preparatory operations necessary to put the 

 land in proper condition to be seeded with oats 

 the following spring. The fields were thus re- 

 claimed, one after another, till all the farm, 

 which contained upwards of 600 acres, was cul- 

 tivated, with the exception of an upland in- 

 closure. During Mr Hogg's occupancy of 

 the farm, he put upon it 5000 tons of 

 lime, and 50,000 roods of drains. The drains 

 were cut 3 feet deep, and filled with 16 

 inches deep of broken stones, which were 

 closely packed at the top. The cutting of the 

 drains was at the expense of the proprietor, fill- 

 ing and covering in by the tenant. From the 

 abundance of organic matter in the soil— the 

 remains of rank though worthless herbage— the 

 action of lime and drainage produced extraordi- 

 nary results. The crops of turnips, oats, and 

 barley, as well as grasses, which the farm pro- 

 duced for the first two rotations, have never, so 

 far as bulk is concerned, been surpassed in the 

 county of Roxburgh. On the neighbouring farm 

 of Colmslie — famous in antient times as the 

 dairy of the monks of Melrose— similar improve- 

 ments have been, and are being carried out. 

 Here, too, the presence of innumerable large 

 stones renders the conversion of the land from 

 a state of nature a \-ery expensive and laborious 



undertaking, and can only be accomplished by 

 the union of such industry, perseverance, and 

 energy as the present tenant of the farm has 

 brought to bear on it. Happily this toil and 

 industry are being rewai'ded in the abundant 

 crops which the newly-reclaimed land is yield- 

 ing. The difference between reclaimed and 

 unreclaimed land was never more conspicuous 

 than on this farm during the present season 

 (1862). On one side of a lately built stone-dyke 

 was a large lot of sheep depasturing on luxuriant 

 white, red, and Alsike clovers, redolent with 

 fragrance from their fully-expanded blossoms : 

 on the other side sterile heaths and worthless 

 sprett prevailed." The farm of Colmslie-hill, in 

 the same way, has been transformed into an 

 arable farm of more than 400 acres ; and Lang- 

 shaw, higher up the hills, has more recently 

 undergone similar changes. On these four 

 farms about 2000 acres of land have been re- 

 claimed within little more than thirty years. 

 First class half-Leicester sheep have now suc- 

 ceeded the poor and thin Cheviots ; there are 

 28 pair of horses where formerly there were only 

 8, and the fruits are apparent in the bulky barn- 

 yards, steam-thrashing machines, comfortable 

 steadings, and increase of an industrious popu- 

 lation. Over into the vale of the Leader, and 

 all up Gala Water, even to its source, these 

 changes have spread during the course of a 

 generation ; and though some farms may be high 

 and exposed to storms, even the climate will be 

 improved under the influence of drainage and 

 cultivation. 



