474 



FARMERS' REGISTER, 



[No. 8 



reum of Linna?us, or dicranum purpureum of Dr. ' 

 Smith; a plant of no manner ol' use, and which is 

 only found orowintr on the turf riJjiCes of houses 

 or slone-dykes, parapets of bridges, the rubbish of 

 old buildin<>;s, or other places so destitute of mois- 

 ture, that they cannot be made to yield any valu- 

 able herbage. 



Cropping. 



The crops raised on cultivated moss are, grain, 

 roots, and grasses; all of the very best quality. 



Of grain raised on moss. 



Wheat has wrown most luxuriantly, and of the 

 best quality, on Trafford moss, near Manchester, 

 improved by William Roscne, esq. of Liverpool, 

 and others; at Castle-head, in Lancashire, iiTi- 

 proved by John Wilkinson, esq.; at Gartsheugh, 

 near Glasgow, improved by James Hill, esq.; and 

 on many other mosses, of great depth, and of the 

 worst quality. 



Oats, vvliich seem to be the crop best adapted to 

 that species of soil, have been raised on many 

 mosses, in various parts of Scotland and England. 

 Ten bolls per acre have been considered as no 

 more than a medium crop, on the moss of Strath- 

 aven. Seventeen bolls of corn, which yielded 

 more than twenty bolls of meal, was, in 1803, 

 reaped li-om two fields of Paisley moss, improved 

 by Andrew Moody, esq. In 1808, that gentle- 

 man, from two acres, two rood.s, and twenty-seven 

 falls of deep moss, which had received no manure 

 during the three preceding years, obtained thirty 

 bolls of oats, which brought seventeen pecks ol 

 meal each boll; and the (odder sold at 13/. 10s. 

 M. Bell, who improved part of that moss, sold a 

 field of oats, crop 1806, at 1.5L per acre; and from 

 one acre and two roods of said field, twenty-six 

 bolls of good oats were reaped. I have never 

 seen belter crops of oats grow from any species of 

 soil, than upon some fields of very deep moss, 

 near Rednock House, in 1809. and on the farm of 

 Rushaw, on the estate of Grougar, Ayrshire, as 

 well as on Strathaven moss, and many others. 



Oats, and indeed every other crop, put upon a 

 moss soil, ought to be sown and hurrovved in as 

 early in the season as possible, before the ground 

 gets too dry. As drought will make greater pro- 

 press on a cultivated moss soil, in one day, than it 

 will do on some other land in a week, it is best 

 to put in the seeds in moss, when between wet 

 and dry, so as it may be sown and harrowed 

 beti)re other lands are ready to receive the seed. 

 Harrows, made to be drawn by luen, are requisite 

 in mosses for a few years after being broken up. 

 Horses would mire, at first; and even when moss 

 has become more solid, their feet make holes, 

 which are afterwards filled with water, to the injury 

 of the crop. After the moss has been formed into 

 a soil, thfe seed may be covered with a liarrow of 

 brushwood, drawn by men. 



Early oats ought to be sown on moss; not be- 

 cause the crop on that soil is late of growth, but be 

 cause the oats that are late run tuo nmcfi into 

 straw, and lodge, if the season is wet. 



In all cases, the roller ought to fc)!lovv the har- 

 row ; to smooth the ground; cover the seed; 

 pqueeze up moisture to the surface ; consolidate 

 the soil ; and prevent drought from so readily pe- 



netrating : and the oftener the roller is drawn 

 over the moss, from the time the crop is sown, 

 and before the growth is too far advanced for that 

 operation, the better crop may be expected. Rye- 

 grass and clover on moss, ought to be frequently 

 rolled in autumn and spring, to prevent the plants 

 being thrown out of the ground. A roller for 

 moss ought to be made of wood, three or four feet 

 diameter, light, and mounted to be drawn by men. 

 The moss is too soft to liear a heavy roller; and 

 the ground, by sinking under it, and rising before 

 and behind, would rend, break the fibres and roots 

 of the crop, and make openings to let in drought. 



Barley and bear grow well on moss. I found, 

 in 1805, an excellent crop of bear, growing on 

 moss, near the Ord of Caithness, improved by 

 the right honorable Sir John Sinclair. 



liyc has proved a valuable crop on many differ- 

 ent mosses. At Scalesby Castle, in Cumberland, 

 it yields sixty times the seed sown. 



Peas have turned out an excellent crop on moss; 

 on the estate of Garnkirk, improved by John 

 Mackenzie, esq. ; on Strathaven moss, and else- 

 where. 



Beans, as good as ever grew on any soil, were 

 shown me, that had grown on part of Trafford 

 moss, where they form a common crop. The 

 long tape-roots of the bean, sinking into the soil, 

 secures them against drought; fiy which oats and 

 other repent or fibrous rooted plants, are oflen 

 injured. 



Potatoes were raised on the mosses and bogs 

 in Ireland, about the beginning, and in Galloway 

 about the middle of last century. They grew 

 as well upon cultivated moss, as on any other 

 soil. Mr. Moody, after delving part of Paisley 

 moss, planted potatoes lor the first crop, and reap- 

 ed, from 17?^ acres, part of which, was occupied 

 by roads and ditclies, 774 bolls of good potatoes, 

 which he sold for 481/. 6s. Sd. From one part 

 of the field, he took up at the rate of ten pecks 

 per fall. Mr. Bell had more than sixty bolls, per 

 acre, on part of the same moss. 



Turnips, no way inferior to the best that ever 

 grew from any soil, have often been raised, on 

 the deepest mosses in Scotland and England. I 

 found them excellent on the mosses in Caithness, 

 cultivated by the Right Honorable Sir John Sin- 

 clair. Captain Dunlop, factor to Lord Montgo- 

 mery, took up, in 1803, from a part of Shoalton 

 moss, near Irvineat the rale of 4620 stones weight, 

 [ler acre, of Swedish turnip. The common field 

 turnips were still more bulky on that moss, and 

 equal to the best in the county of Ayr. 



Carrots grow better on cultivated moss, than 

 on any other soil. I saw part of a crop, raised on 

 a flow moss, of great depth, at Castle-head, near 

 Lancashire, which could have been sold at 70/. 

 per acre. They yielded 19 lib. per square yard. 

 Some of them were three feet long, and eleven 

 inches round at the neck. 



Parsnips are said to be well suited to moss soil; 

 hut I never saw the trial made. Greens, cab- 

 bages, and cavliflowers, liave been found to grow 

 well on Paisly moss. I saw coleseed, growing 

 luxuriantly, on the Right Honorable Sir John 

 Sinclair's moss in Caithness, in 1&05; and seve- 

 ral large stacks of the former crop remained on 

 the field. 



The grasses, suited to a soil of cultivated moss, 

 are, hose-grass (holcus lanatus'); a grass so well 



