370 Cultivation of Moorland. 



capitals can be laid out with a prospect of reasonable return ; 

 and that the consideration of these two distinct interests is regu- 

 lated by mutual confidence and good will. In no instance should 

 a new fence be erected until the land is required for cultivation, 

 as it would be absurd to enclose rough lands (or a whole farm) 

 before thcj are actually wanted for improvement. The cost of 

 fencing is a high charge upon " open lands ;" but with an increas- 

 ing population, and consequent increased consumption of food, 

 we have a good guarantee before us that our increased produce 

 will find a ready and remunerating market ; so that the invest- 

 ment to be made by the landlord, coupled with that of the tenant, 

 may fairly be classed amongst the safe calculations of the day, and 

 a proper return of interest for his outlay may be expected. In 

 saying this I must, however, add, that the outlay should be judi- 

 ciously adapted to local circumstances, and that too much should 

 not be expected at first, as the value of the " fee simple " of the 

 estate will be steadily increasing (as shown by the scale of rents), 

 if the tenant is well and efliciently encouraged, and may ultimately 

 warrant even a more extended outlay in permanent improvements 

 for the further development and beauty of an estate. There is 

 no safer investment than well-directed capital in permanent 

 improvements ; and far better would it be to improve a property 

 already in hand than to extend the acreage by purchase of addi- 

 tional lands. 



Cultivation. — The first operation in the cultivation of an un- 

 improved hill-farm is that of draining. Draining is a subject 

 on which so much has been spoken and written, that it might 

 have been lightly touched upon here were it not for the peculiar 

 circumstances which on moorlands serve to modify general 

 principles. 



Drainage has now fairly become a science, and nearly every 

 farmer is so far advanced in this science, blended with " practice 

 at his finger-ends," that he becomes his own '' director of a com- 

 pany of drainers." 



So far as I have yet seen and practised the art of draining in 

 a hilly country, my choice would most certainl}- fall upon native 

 talent — men who have grown up with the systems proved by 

 continued practice to be best adapted to their particular stratum, 

 rock, or district. 



The drainage of any lands naturally depends upon a proper 

 knowledge of the position, depth, and direction of the strata to 

 be dealt with, as well as of their relative porosity or power of 

 transmitting water, or impeding its passage. 



The angle at which tlie surface of moderately-sloping hills 

 inclines to the globe's surface is a matter to be attended to ; but 

 with reference to the moorlands on the western portion ol the 



