S50 



ANNUAL REGISTER. 



cause the tenants arc more like- 

 ly to uiidcrstanil the nature and 

 theniotle, as well as the e.xpence ot" 

 embanking, than thoir landlords; 

 and all that the; landlord has to do, 

 when such a thing is taken in hand 

 hy his tenant, is to see that it is 

 done substantially. Under these 

 circumstances Mr. J. K. undertook 

 the matter in question ; and he has 

 completed it in avcrj superior man- 

 iicr. 



His next object then was to dis- 

 cover and pursue some plan by 

 which botli himself and the couimu- 

 nity miglit be most benefited by this 

 ncwenclosed land. Itliad been found 

 by others, in similar cases, that to 

 break up and convert such land into 

 tillage too soon, would not answer; 

 tor the quantity of s.ilts with which 

 it is impregnated is so very great, 

 that, when exposed to the sun, 

 &c. they completely chrystalize the 

 soil ; and although the green corn, 

 during tlie winter and spring months, 

 may have a luxuriant and hcaltliy 

 appearance when sown thereon, yet, 

 as Soon as the earth begins to get 

 dry, it is scorched and burnt up, so 

 that scarcely any of it arrives at 

 perfe(5tion. The plan therefore to 

 which Mr. J. K. resorted, was that 

 of stocking it hard with sheep, and 

 small Welch or Scotch cattle, which 

 will eat a sort of weed provincially 

 termed Iambus (otigtie (somewhat re- 

 sembling the SiCect gale in appear- 

 ance, but not in smell), and which 

 sheep in [)articu!ar a'e fond of. By 

 feeding it closely with slieep (and of 

 these the Welch, Norfolk, or South 

 down sorts are to be preferred), the 

 land becomes every year mure solid, 

 the briny particles subside, and a 

 sort of very fine small grass natu- 

 rally begins to grow within the 

 conrsa of eight or ten years after it 

 2 



has Tjeen embanked; and, in less 

 than fifteen years, it may be con- 

 verted into tillage, and will produce 

 Monderful crops, sometimes of mus- 

 tard-seed, &c. But as these perni- 

 cious crops are wliat no tenant 

 ought to be sulfered to grow, so will 

 it be the utmost wish of the present 

 tenant to avoid growing them ; for 

 they usually so taint the soil, that 

 they can neycr afterwards be eradi- 

 cated or destroyed. The best way 

 is to pursue the grazing system above 

 alluded to, for at leat the first four- 

 teen years; and then, having previ- 

 ously laid out and divided the land 

 into separate enclosures, it may ba 

 converted into tillage for corn, and 

 that to advantage. An excellent 

 mode of managing such land, if it 

 is meant to be tilled, is to lay about 

 eiglit waggon-loads of chalk upon 

 every acre, when it has been em- 

 banked about fifteen years, and not 

 to plough it till five or six years af- 

 terMarus. It will then grow any 

 sort of grain, and especially oats, 

 beans, and wheat, in great ahnn- 

 dancc, aiid of the most excellent qua- 

 lities. Such is the process of ma- 

 nagement which the present tenant 

 means to pursue; and there is 

 scarcely a doubt but it will answer 

 his wannest expectations, should his 

 noble landlord allow him sufficient 

 encouragement to pursue it. 



1 beg leave to make another re- 

 mark before I conclude this essay; 

 and it is this. If a quantity of the 

 seeds of the couch-grass be sown, 

 or. v,hat is still preferable, if th« 

 roots of that grass be planted upon 

 the bank or mud wall when it is 

 first formed, that, with, the treading 

 of the sheep, &c. will tend much t» 

 strcngtlien its texture, and to pre- 

 serve it from being injured by the 

 tide. 



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