Book III. IMPROVING MARSHES. 



7-17 



4549. An extensive tract of moss in Ihe canty of Lancaster strfcta, and other plants, whose matted roots are almost im- 



has teen recently improved by the celebrated Roscoe of Liver- perishable. The moss being thus brought to a toleral.lv dr. 



pool, in a very spirited and skilful manner. Ohatmoss in that and level surface, I then plough it in a regular furrow sii 



county is well known ; its length is about six miles, its greatest inches deep- and as soon as possible after it is thus turned u , I 



breadth about three miles, and its depth may I* estimated set upon it the necessary quantity of marl, not less than two 



rrom ten to upwards of thirty feet. It is entirely composed of hundred cubic vards to the acre. As the marl begins to crum 



tne substance well known by the name of peat, being an aggre- ble and fall with the sun or frost, it is spread over ihe land 



pte of vegetable matter, disorganised and inert, but preserved with considerable exactness, after which I put in a crop as 



by certain causes from putrefaction. On the surface it is light early as possible, sometimes by the plough, and at others wih 



and fibrous, but becomes more dense below. On cutting to a the horse-scuffle or scarifier, according to the nature of the 



considerable depth, it is found to be black, compact, and crop, adding, for the first crop, a quantity of manure, which I 



heavy, and in many respects resembling coal. There is not bringdown the navigable river Irwell, to the borders of the 



throughout the whole moss the least intermixture of sand, moss, setting on about twentv tons to the acre. Moss land thus 



gravel, or other material, the entire substance being a pure treated mav not only be advantageouslv cropped the first tieur 



vegetable. About 1796 or 1797, Roscoe began to improve with green crops, as potatoes, turnips, &c. but with'anv kbd 



rrafford moss, a tract of three hundred icres, lying two miles of grain ; and as wheat has, of late, paid better to the farmer 



east of Chatmoss; and his operations on it seem to have been than any other, I have hitherto chiefly relied upon it, as my 



so successful as to encourage him to proceed with Chatmoss. first crop, for reimbursing the expense." 



In the improvement of the latter, he found it unnecessary to 455!2. The expense of the several ploughings, with the bum- 

 incur so heavy an expense for drainage as he had done in the ing, sowing, and harrowing, and of the marl and manure, but 

 former. From observing that where the moss had been dug exclusive of the seed, and also of the previous drainage and 

 for peat, the water had drawn towards it from a distance of general charges, amounts to IS/. 5». per acre ; and in lJSl'^, on 

 fifty to a hundred yards, he conceived that if each drain had to one piece of land thus improved, Roscoe had twenty bushels of 

 draw the water only twenty-five yards, they would, within a wheat, then worth a guinea per bushel, and on another piece 

 reasonable time, undoubtedly answer the purpose. The whole eighteen bushels ; but these were the best crops upon the moss, 

 of the moss was therefore laid out on the following plan : — " Both lime and marl are generally to be found wlthm a n a- 



4550. A main road, Roscoe states, " was first carried near'y sonable distance ; and the preference given to either of them 

 from east to west, through the whole extent of my portion o'f will much depend upon the facilitv of obtaining it. The 

 the moss. This road is about three miles long and thirty -six quantity of lime necessary for the purpose is so small, in pro- 

 feet wide; it is bounded on each side by a main drain, seven portion to that of marl, that, where the distance is great, and 

 feet wide and six feet deep, from which the water is conveyed, the carriage high, it is more advisable to make use of it ; but 

 by a considerable fall, to the river. From these two main where marl is upon the spot, or can be obtained in sufficient 

 drains, oth-r drains diverge, at fifty yards' distance from each quantity at a reasonable expense, it appears to be preferable." 

 other, and extend from each side of the road to the utmost Roscoe is thoroughly convinced, after a great many different 

 hmits of the moss. Thus, each field contains liftv yards in trials, that all temporizing expedients arefallacious; and " that 

 front to the road, and is of an indefinite length, according as the the best method of improving moss land is by the application </ 

 boundary of the moss varies. These field-drains are four feet a calcareous substance, in sufficient quantity to convert the moss 

 wide at the top, one foot at the bottom, and four feet and a half into a soil, and by the occasional use of animal or other extranetms 

 deep. They are kept carefully open, and, as far as my exi>ei-i- manures, sucii as the course of cultivation, and the nature of 

 ence hitherto goes, I believe they will sufficiently drain the the cro|>s, may be f.»und to require. 



moss, without having recourse to underdraining, which I have 4553. Roscve's contrivance for conveying on the marl seems 



never mad* 1 use of at Chatmoss, except in a very few instances, peculiar. It would not be practicable, he observes, to effect 



when, froii, the lowness of the surface, the water could not the marling at so cheap a rate, (10/. per acre,) were it not fur 



readily be gotten off without open channels, which might ob- the assistance of an iron road or railwav, laid upon boards or 



struct the plough." _ sleepers, and moveable at pleasure. Along Ibis road the marl 



4551. The cultivation of the moss then proceeds in the following is conveyed in waggons with small iron wheels, each drawn by 

 manner: — *' After setting fire to the heath and herbage on one man. These waggons, by taking out a pin, turn their 

 the moss, and burning it down as far as practicable, I plough a lading out on either side ; they carry about 15 cv.t. each, being 

 thin sod or furrow, with a very sharp horse-plough, which I as much as could heretofore be conveyed over the moss by a 

 bum in small heaps and dissipate: considering if of little use cart with a driver and two horses. 



but to destroy the tough sods of the Eriophorum, A'ardus 



4554. An anomalous mode of treating peat bogs was invented and practised by the late Lord Kaimes, 

 which may be applicable in a tew cases. This singular mode can be adopted only where there is a com. 

 mand 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 after, 

 wards the heavier moss, in small quantities at a time ; the whole is then conveyed by the stream into the 

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

 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, previously 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 inhabitants furnished with the means of subsistence, and an extensive district, where only snipes 

 and moorfowl 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/and, Appendix, vol. ii. p. 38., and at p. 3£6 

 of this work, will be found a detailed account of this improvement. 



4555. Moss has been converted into manure by fermentation with stable dung, and with this article 

 joined with whale oil. In the Highland Soc. Trans., vol vii., an account is given p. 147.) of several ex- 

 periments of this kind by W. Bell, Esq. : — A layer of moss a foot thick was formed after the material was 

 tolerably dry, in the month of June ; above thisa layer of stable dung was placed, at least twice the thick- 

 ness of that of moss ; next followed another layer of moss thicker than the first ; on this last layer a ton 

 of coarse whale oil was poured, and the whole was completely covered up with moss. In ten days the 

 whole mass came freely into heat ; in about eight weeks it was turned, and continued to ferment freely ; 

 in a few weeks afterwards the whole mass resembled black garden mould. Out of twenty-five cubic 

 yards of stable dung, and one ton of oil, two hundred and sixty cubic yards of compost were pro- 

 duced. 



4556. Peat may be charred and rendered fit to be used like charcoal in cookery and other domestic pur. 

 poses, in the same way as wood or coal is charred, and in much less time. For ordinary purposes, it is 

 charred by some families on the kitchen fire, thus : — Take a dozen or fifteen peats, and put them upon the 

 top of the kitchen fire, upon edge : they will soon draw up the coal fire, and become red in a short time : 

 after being turned about once or twice, and done with smoking, they are charred, and may be removed to 

 the stoves: if more char is wanted, put on another supply of peat, as before mentioned. By following 

 this plan, you keep up the kitchen fire, and have at the sanie time, with very little trouble, a supply of the 

 best charred peat, perfectly free of smoke; and the vapour is by no means so noxious as charcoal made 

 from wood. Peats charred in this way maybe used in a chafer, in any room, or even in a nursery, with, 

 out any danger arising from the vapour, it would also be found very fit for the warming of beds; and 

 much better than live coals, w hich are in general used full of sulphur, and smell all over the house. 

 [Farm. Mag. vol. xvii.) 



Sect. VI. Marshes and their Improvement. 



4557. A tract of land on the borders of the sea or of a lar±e 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 flooded. Marches 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 sub- 

 soils or springs. 



4558. Fresh-water mai-shes are often found interspersed with arable land, where springs 

 rise, and redundant water has not been carried off; and may be improved by a course ot 

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



