Book III. IMPROVING MARSHES. 679 



The moss being thus brought to a tolerable dry and level surface, I then plough it in a 

 regular furrow six inches deep, and as soon as possible after it is thus turned up, I set 

 upon it tlie necessary quantity of marl, not less than two hundred cubic yards to the 

 acre. As the marl begins to crumble and fall with the sun or frost, it is spread over 

 the land with considerable exactness, after which I put in a crop as early as possible, 

 sometimes by the plough, and at others with the horse-scuffle or scarifier, according to the 

 nature of the crop, adding, for the first crop, a quantity of manure, which I bring down 

 the navigable river Irwell, to the borders of the moss, setting on about twenty tons to the 

 acre. Moss land thus treated, may not only be advantageously cropped the first year 

 with green crops, as potatoes, turnips, &c, but with any kind of grain ; and as wheat has, 

 of late, paid better to the farmer than any other, I have hitherto chiefly relied upon it, as 

 my first crop, for reimbursing the expense." 



4194. The expense of the several ploughings, with the burning, sowing, and harrow- 

 ing, and of the marl and manure, but exclusive of the seed, and also of the previous 

 drainage and general charges, amounts to 18^. 55. per acre ; and in 1812, on one piece 

 of land thus improved, Roscoe had twenty bushels of wheat, then worth a guinea per 

 bushel, and on another piece eighteen bushels ; but these were the best crops upon the 

 moss " Both lime and marl are generally to bie found within a reasonable distance ; 

 and the preference given to either of them will much depend upon the facility of 

 obtaining it. The quantity of lime necessary for the purpose, is so small in propor- 

 tion to that of marl, that, where the distance is great, and the carriage high, it is more 

 advisable to make use of it ; but where marl is upon the spot, or can be obtained in 

 sufficient quantity at a reasonable expense, it appears to be preferable." Roscoe is 

 thoroughly convinced, after a great many diflPerent trials, that all temporizing expedi- 

 ents are fallacious; and "that the best method of improving moss land is by the 

 application of a calcareous substance, in sufficient quantity to convert the moss into a soil, 

 and by the occasional use of animal or other extraneous manures, such as the course of 

 cultivation, and the nature of the crops, may be found to require." 



4195. Roscoe^ s contrivance for conveying on the marl, seems peculiar. It would not 

 be practicable, he observes, to effect the marling at so cheap a rate, (10/. per acre,) were 

 it not for the assistance of an iron road or railway, laid upon boards or sleepers, and 

 moveable at pleasure. Along this road the marl is conveyed in waggons with small iron 

 wheels, each drawn by one man. These waggons, by taking out a pin, turn their lading^ 

 out on either side; they carry about 15 cwt. each, being as much as could heretofore 

 be conveyed over the moss by a cart with a driver and two horses. 



4196. An anomalous mode of treating peat bogs was invented and practised by the 

 late Lord Kaimes, which may be applicable in a few cases. This singular mode can be 

 adopted only where there is a command of water, and where the subjacent clay is of a. 

 most fertile quality, or consists of alluvial soil. A stream of water is brought into the 

 moss, into which the spongy upper stratum is first thrown, and afterwards the heavier moss,, 

 in small quantities at a time ; the whole is then conveyed by the stream into the neighboring 

 river, and thence to the sea. The moss thus got rid of, in the instance of Blair Drum- 

 mond, in Perthshire, was, on an average, about seven feet deep. Much ingenuity was 

 displayed in constructing the machinery, to supply water for removing the moss, previous 

 to the improvement of the rich soil below. It required both the genius and the perseverance 

 of Lord Kaimes, to complete this scheme ; but by this singular mode of improvement, 

 about 1000 English acres have been already cleared, a population of above 900 inhabi- 

 tants furnished with the means of subsistence, and an extensive district, where only 

 snipes and moor-fowl were formerly maintained, is now converted, as if by magic, into a 

 rich and fertile carse, or tract of alluvial soil. {Code.) In The General Report of Scot- 

 land, Appendix, vol. ii. p. 38, will be found a detailed account of this improvement. 



Sect. VI. Of Marshes and their Improvement. 



4197. A tract of land on the borders of the sea or a large river, is called a marsh : it 

 differs from the fen, bog, and morass, in consisting of a firmer and better soil, and in 

 being occasionally fiooded. Marshes are generally divided into fresh water marshes and 

 salt water marshes ; the latter sometimes called saltings or ings : fresh water marshes 

 differ from meadows, in being generally soaked with water from the subsoils or springs. 



4198. Fresh water marshes are often found interspersed with arable land, where springs 

 rise, and redundant water has not been carried ofl"; and may be improved by a course of 

 ditching, draining, and ploughing. Where large inland marshes are almost constantly 

 covered with water, or the soil is extremely wet, they may be drained, as large districts. in 

 the fens of Lincolnshire have been, and made highly valuable. Tlie object, in that case, 

 is, by embankments, draining, and other means of improvement, to convert these marshes 

 into pasture or meadow, or even arable lands ; and where such improvements cannot be 

 accomplished, the most useful woody aquatics, as willows, osiers, &c. may be grown with 

 advantage. 



X X 4 



