76 POSSIBLE DEVELOPMENTS 



few pence per acre for rough grazing, that is in part 

 strong alluvial soil, in part peaty and elsewhere sandy, a 

 large proportion being subject to flooding at high spring 

 tides. The work required is embankment, drainage, 

 possibly a pumping station, and special manuring on 

 the peaty and sandy portions of the area ; but the cost 

 would be small in proportion to the ultimate value of 

 the land to be gained for cultivation. 



(3) Heath. In England there exist comparatively 

 large expanses of uncultivated sandy heath, now 

 covered with a valueless vegetation of heather or 

 bracken and worthless grass. Such is the " brek " land 

 of Norfolk and Suffolk, other heaths further south in 

 Suffolk, land upon the Bag^hot Sand formation and 

 Lower Greensand in Surrey, Sussex and Hampshire, 

 the Dorset heaths, etc. The reclamation of this type 

 of land has been reduced to a system in Germany. After 

 drainage where necessary, the clearing of shrubs and 

 bushes and levelling of any mounds or banks, the surface 

 is pared and allowed to rot for a winter, or if a meadow 

 is to be formed, a tilth is obtained by continued cultiva- 

 tion with implements of the disc type. At the same time 

 about 2 tons per acre of chalk or its equivalent, 8 cwt. 

 per acre of kainit, and 5 cwt. of basic slag, are worked in 

 as the fundamental preliminary dressing, these quanti- 

 ties being increased if a meadow is in preparation. For 

 a meadow a special mixture of grass and clover seeds 

 are sown directly on to the shallow-worked surface with 

 surprisingly good results. For the arable land the best 

 preparation is to grow a crop of lupins the first year and 

 turn that in, thus increasing the stock both of nitrogen 

 and humus, and binding and adding to the water-holding 

 capacity of the soil. Afterwards the land will grow all 



