THE FARMERS' REGISTER. 



229' 



RESTKAINING SAND-DRIFT. 



From llio Edinhiirgli Quarterly Journal of Agriculture. 



The most striking improvements have been 

 effectPtl in reclaiming sand-tirif'ted lands upon Lord 

 Palmerslon's estate on the west coast of Ireland, 

 between the towns of Ballyshannon and Sligo. 

 This is an object of much general interest ; and 

 has been ell'ected by a very simple process, intro- 

 duced by Mr. John Lynch, his lordship's resident 

 factor at Clid'ony. The tract of sand-hills upon 

 this estate extends to many hundred acres. After 

 unsuccessful attempts, it occurred to Mr. Lynch to 

 conduct the process of planting bent in this way. 

 He took up portions of bent, jlrundo arenaria, 

 jrom tiic numerous tufts or patches of it with 

 which these waste lands were interspersed, and 

 carellilly thinned out the plants into bunches of 

 one and a half pound each, preserving the roots 

 as carefully as possible. These bunches were 

 put in Hat or Ian shaped in holes in the sand made 

 of a rectangular form, and beaten down with the 

 foot so firmly as a little hoy co'ild not remove 

 them with one hand. These rectangular holes 

 are found to be much better than round ones, 

 inasmuch as, when the bent is inserted in thick 

 round bunches, they are apt to rot in the holes, 

 and the lanshape is more favorable for the bent 

 throwing out its fibres among the sand. The 

 plants are placed first on the side of the sandy 

 ffround next to the point from which the wind 

 blows most prevalently, to arrest its drifting power 

 over the rest of the ground. It may be that the 

 drift may cover over the plants to the depth of 

 two feet or more, in which case they will still- 

 penetrate through the sand ; but it would be ad- 

 visable to plant anew on the drifted surlace until 

 a fixed surlace be established. The plants are 

 put in at 2^ or 3 feet asunder. When Mr. Lynch 

 undertook the planting, part of the ground had 

 been previously planted in rows of 15 feet asunder 

 and 4 leet apart in the line, which were found to 

 be too wide either way ; and had to be beat up 

 with new plants, which created as much trouble 

 as the planting of the whole ground anew. 



In this way about 600 acres Irish, about 860 

 imperial, have been reclaimed, which now only 

 require a little attention in replanting, in such 

 places as have missed or which begin to blow. 

 When the transplanted bent begins to stool or 

 spread, it effectually checks the sand-drift, and the 

 natural grasses came up in great profiision, such 

 as white clover, bird's-foot, trefoil, &c. So wel! 

 has this simple plan succeeded, that upon a tract 

 of the land in the neighborhood of Mulloughraore 

 which in 1829 would not have supported a goat, 

 now grazes 112 cattle and 200 sheep. Before 

 these operations were commenced, the land had 

 begun to drift across the mail-coach road, and 

 had nearly destroyed four of the town-lands in 

 the estate, which by these means have been 

 saved. 



Mr. Lynch, in giving some directions for the 

 use of an estate subject to sand-drift in Prussia, 

 observes that bent seeds ripen about the latter 

 end of July ; that the bent should not be taken 

 up till the latter end of September, and after that 

 any time till the beginning of April ; that it grows 

 best when planted between the months of No- 

 vember and March inclusive. He remarks that 

 the process of raising bent from the seed is 



tedious, as the plants will not be in a slate for . 

 transplanting for three or (bur years. If the seeds 

 are to be sown, it should be done in clay <rround, 

 mixed with sand from the sand-hills, and used in 

 a greater proportion than the clay or nursery 

 earth. He further states, that from one cut of 

 bent he has obtained 49 bunches, with which he 

 has planted a perch of land, and he allows about 

 8 tons in this way to the acre, — Irish acre we 

 presume. 



The bent should not be planted at first in the 

 driest or blowing places, but in the more moist or 

 firm spots. After a (ew years it will spread so 

 much that, with the saving and sowing of the 

 seeds, a stock will be afforded for extending the 

 planting every year. This method has been fol- 

 lowed lor some time on Lord Palnierston's estate, 

 at the rate of 200 acres per annum. 



If the bent were to be sent over seas lor trans- 

 planting, it is directed to be packed in moss or 

 grass, or, if in great quantity, it may be laid in 

 the ship's hold with wheat or barley straw be- 

 tween every two or three courses of the bent, and 

 in this way it would retain its vegetative powers 

 for (bur or five weeks, or longer, in proportion to 

 the care taken in packing it. 



It is well known to what extent the land has 

 been wasted by sand-drift in the confines of the 

 Bay of Biscay, particularly on either side of the 

 embouchure of the Garronne. This, like a pes- 

 tilence, swallowed thousands of square miles of 

 the coast lands of France, insomuch that in the 

 beginning of the last century it arrested the at- 

 tention of government, and was ultimately stayed 

 by one of its most eminent engineers, who, with 

 the aid of troops of men, succeeded in planting 

 a great belt of a particular kind of fir, Pinus. 

 maritima major, vvhich has ever since checked the 

 progress of the sand-drifr, while it has clothed 

 the sandy desert with wood highly useful for many 

 purposes. 



Lord Palmerston, impressed with the impor- 

 tance of this subject, has imported a considerable 

 quantity of the cones of the Pinus maritima 

 major Irom Bordeaux, vvhich are now preparing 

 in the nursery. Samples of the cones from 

 France have also been presented to the Highland 

 and Agricultural Society of Scotland. Even 

 though this pine from the south of Europe may 

 not fully answer expectations in our northern cli- 

 mate, it is confidently hoped that, by the patriotic 

 exertions and example of Lord Palmerston, the 

 extensive sand-drifts which are every where to be 

 met with may be exchanged for grass lands or 

 thriving wood of some sort. 



The marran or sea-mat-weed, (^jfrundo are- 

 naria L. Jimmophila arundinacea of Host,) em- 

 ployed by Mr. Lynch, is the most frequent plant 

 found in the sandy shores of England, Scotland, 

 and Holland, and it is the best binder of sand- 

 drift. The Elymus arenarius is perhaps the next 

 best. The Carex arenarius the third best; and 

 then the Triticumjunceum, Festuca rubra, Ga- 

 lium verum, and Trifolium repens. 



DECOMPOSITION OF BONES. 



From the New England Farmer. 



3Ir. Putnam — Sir — On reading in your Farm- 

 er, of 17th February last, a Mr. Jones's very va- 



