464 



FARMERS' REGISTER. 



[No. 8 



til they have called to their aid some well-paced 

 chemist, with the iiecesi?ary apparatus, and made 

 a complete analysis of the moss, to see if it is fit 

 for fuel, manure, or a cultivated soil; and to say 

 whether, Irom its nature and qualities, it must be 

 manure(l vviih lime, dunir, or what else. And as 

 all these diversilies of moss, according to their 

 arrangements, may frequently be found, not only 

 in the same nelil, but generally within a few yards 

 of each other — as, that of a dark and light color 

 ■ — a dense or fibrous texture — this or that admix- 

 ture or diversity of chemical qualities may be 

 found above, below, and near to each other, in 

 the same stratum; the whole moss would lall to 

 be dug up, and a new analysis made, wherever the 

 color, solidity, &c. were found to vary, before the 

 humble cultivator could with safety proceed to la- 

 bor or crop any part of it. When it is considered, 

 however, that none, even of these learned doctors 

 themselves, have yet been able to make a proper 

 analysis of any moss; that such operations are te- 

 dious, laborious, and very expensive; and that, in 

 the still imperfect state of science, the results can- 

 not always be depended upon; these distinctions, 

 which, in so far as regards the cultivation of moss 

 seem to be fanciful, unnecessary and unintelligible, 

 instead of promoting, cannot fail greatly to retard, 

 the improvement of that species of soil — intimi- 

 date and bewilder the cultivator — and deter him 

 from so much as attempting to reclaim any part of 

 these unsightly wastes. Like the road which 

 some have pointed out to heaven, these learned 

 gentleman mark off so many turnings and wind- 

 ings, stiles and traps, the least deviation from any 

 one of which will be forever fatal, that the far- 

 mer, when he has read their learned theories, 

 will abandon moss culture as a foolish and dan- 

 gerous project. 



An ingenious, intelligent, and highly respectable 

 author (Dr. Rennie), has in p. 617 of his Essays 

 on Moss, objected to the arrangement made in my 

 publications, and which is the same as herestated, 

 as deficient and indefinite; and after reducinii; the 

 plants I had mentioned to the form of a table, 

 he adds, "according to this table, hill moss con- 

 tains all the plants which grow on the other two 

 kinds, except three. The first four plants are 

 common to the first and third species; the next 

 eight are common to the first and second. To 

 suppose, therefore, that thissraaZZ difference should 

 constitute a ground of arrangement, either intelli- 

 gible to the natural historian,^ or useful to the cul- 

 tivator, appears doubtful. 



But if the doctor had duly attended to what I 

 stated on that subject, he would have found, that, 

 though I gave a list of the plants which each of 

 these sorts of moss produces, I did not classify 

 moss according to the vegetables which grow on 

 the surface. I say, in page llfh of the pamph- 

 Jet he quotes, "the only rational and useful classi- 

 fication of moss-earth, seems to be that which 

 arises from the aspect it presents to the cultivator." 

 The diversity of the plants that grow on hill-bent, 

 or flow-moss, are not so great, as Dr. Rennie 

 seems to have expected. Heather, the most 

 bulky of all the moss plants, is found on hill and 

 flow moss, but scarcely ever met with on bent- 

 moss. The yellow fogs (hypna) abound on all 

 sorts of moss, and every other soil; the goldilock 

 grows on all kinds of moss, and upon every kind 

 of moorish land in all parts of Scotland — on the | 



dry sands at the sea-side, the tops of stone-dikeS; 

 and the wettest sianks in flow-moss. In dry pla- 

 ces, however, it is but short and dwarfish; in mosa 

 gutters, it grows long and luxuriant. The sphag- 

 num palusire, bryum hypnoides, and cotton-heads, 

 never grow but on very damp places, either on flow- 

 njnsses, or where that species of moss is begin- 

 nuiiT to be formed. 



JJut whatever similarity there be in the plants 

 that grow on their surface, the general aspect of 

 these three species ofmoss are so very d iff ierent from 

 each other, that no man who can point out one 

 species of soil from another, could have the least 

 difficulty in distiniruishinti thtm. A piece of hard 

 dry, heathy ground, on the skirts of a hill, having 

 a firm open bottom, with heath and stunted dwarf- 

 ish herbage, and only a few inches of black earthy 

 mould, has no resemblance to solid firm moss, 

 two or three fi^et in depth, forming the best tijel, 

 and covered with coarse green lierbage, eaten by 

 all sorts of cattle; and still less resemblance to a 

 deep soft flow-moss, which does not support the 

 foot of a man, scarcely of a dog — on which no 

 green herbage appears, and which is intersected 

 with deep hairs. Tliere is no other species of 

 moss that bears the least resemblance to any of 

 them : and though they are found lying in alter- 

 nate patches, and like the other productions of 

 nature, do not change abruptly, but gradually, 

 and almost imperceptibly; yet they arc all so 

 different in their general appearance, that when 

 they are only named, every laborer will point 

 them out. it is not necessary to bring men conver- 

 sant in science, with re-agents, or chemical appa- 

 ratus, to point out the distinctions; for they are 

 so obvious, that he who runs may read. 



I am not, however, to be understood as despis- 

 ing science. On the contrary, I have taken every 

 opportunity in my power, to show the intimate 

 connexion that subsists between chemistiy, natu- 

 ral history, and agriculture; and to express my 

 wishes, that something of the rudimental parts 

 of these sciences were taught in all our churches 

 and parochial schools. 1 have lamented, that the 

 qualities of moss-earth have not been beiter as- 

 certained, by men of science. The researches of 

 Lord Meadowbank; who is an adept in science 

 and in agriculture, has led to the most useful re- 

 sults, in converting moss into manure; and I trust 

 still greater discoveries will be made. But I ex- 

 pect no good from a divided and subdivided clas- 

 sification, and greatly extended nomenclature of 

 moss. This can only serve to perplex the cultiva- 

 tor — deter him from proceeding to reclaim his 

 mosses, and mar the usefulness ol' publications 

 that otherwise might do much good. 



IL On the qualities of moss. 



It would certainly be desirable to scientific men, 

 and might lead to some usellil results in agricul- 

 ture, if a more complete knowledge were atiained 

 of the qualities of moss. The natural historian 

 would no doubt be profited by further knowledge 

 of the essential qualities of substances, of which 

 the plants, which form moss-earth, are composed; 

 how these are collected, and united into plants by 

 vegetable organization; what are the chemical prin- 

 ciples to be found in these plants, either when in 

 the vigor of their growth, or when partial or more 

 complete putrefaction has taken place. Such in- 

 formation, would no doubt lead to useful results in 



