1836.] 



FARMERS' REGISTER. 



629 



hnd in Scotland, is generally termed peat earth, 

 but which differs considerably (i-om the peat mops. 

 It is niiich less spongy, and much more mixed with 

 the other common soils, and fewer ol" the mosses 

 grow on this soil, than on the peat mosses. Ferns 

 grow abundantly: the most common are the pnly- 

 podium vulgare, pteiis aqiiilina, or braUe, scolopen- 

 drum officinarum, &c. Heaths in this soil grow 

 luxuriantly, principally the erica vulgaris, herbacea, 

 dinnofsa, with many sub-varietii;s. Some of the 

 iMyrtle family are also plentiful, such as the vacci- 

 num myrtllluii, or black berry, vaccinum viiis idaa, 

 or crovvberry, &c. the grasses on this soil are also 

 ol'a coarse qualityj but afford tolerably good sheep 

 I)asture. This soil in some situations is compara- 

 tively easily imi)roved, by paring, burning, and the 

 use of lime, &e. and which speedily makes the soil 

 undergo an entire change. 



From what I know of the different peat soils in 

 Scotland, and ii'om a careful examination of this 

 specimen li-om the Dismal Swamp, I believe my- 

 self warranted in saying, that it is what m that 

 country, is termed peat soil, earth, or moss. I have 

 never before seen any such soil in this country. 



A. KICOL. 



From the (British) Quarterly Journal of Agriculture. 

 0:S MOSS IMPKOVEJIENTS. 



By 3Ir. Jl. Blackadder, Land-vahialor and Sur- 

 veyor, yillan Park, Stirliitg. 



Much has been written upon Moss as an agri- 

 cultural soil, and many will be ready to conclude 

 that nothing liirther can be brought forward worthy 

 of attention. Men of the first-rate talents and of 

 extensive acquirements have studied its chemical 

 qualities, and with every opportunity for observa- 

 tion and investigation, have, without prejudice, re- 

 corded fiicts. "Agriculturists of enterprise and 

 skill have made experiments with a view to re- 

 claiming or improving mosses; yet, after all, on 

 no subject are opinions more at variance. Theory 

 is opposed to theory, facts opposed to facts, and ex- 

 periments present the most opposite results. It is 

 natural to ask, how is this ? I am disposed to re- 

 ply, that the true and only cause is, that little or 

 no attention has been paid to the different kinds of 

 moss; and this seems evident from the circum- 

 stance that none of the writers on the cultivation 

 of moss give a full description of the nature and 

 quality of the moss treated of, as if all mosses 

 were the same ; than which there cannot be a more 

 fatal mistake, owing to which much money has 

 most unprofftably been expended, and on account 

 of these manifold fitllures, many have been deter- 

 red from attempting moss improvements, where 

 the result would have been highly advantageous. 

 This is a consequence not less to be deplored when 

 we considrr what a vast extent of the surface of 

 the three kingdoms is under moss, and that its 

 baneful effects are severely felt on the adjacent 

 crops, from the cold and humid atmo3|)here which 

 its presence engenders ; for who does not know 

 that in very fiiw seasons will even oats or potatoes 

 come to maturity in the vicinity of moss ; and that, 

 in our best seasons, they are inferior, owing to the 

 early frosts rendered more intense by copious eva- 

 poration. 



It is therefore proposed to state some things es- 



VoL. lV-67 



senrial to be kept in view before entering upon 

 moss improvement, viz. The subsoil — the order of 

 the sui)er-position — the comparative thickness of 

 the subordinate moss strata, and their diversified 

 composition — the slate in point of humidity and 

 capacities for drainage — proportion of commixed 

 earthy matters — superficial alluvial depositations — 

 substances acting as decomposing applications — 

 the nature and uses of the adjacent rocks and their 

 earth}' covers — and the prospects of improvement. 



Sn'bsnils of Moss. — These formed the common 

 surface soil prior to the growth of the moss, and 

 are as diversiffed as can be supposed. W they are 

 deep and rich, and the superincumbent moss of a 

 moderate depth, the most lucrative course, where 

 other circumstances concur, is to float off" the moss 

 entirely, and cultivate the subsoil, as has been 

 done to the extent of some thousand of acres in 

 the Vale of Forth, in Scotland ; but if it cannot be 

 floated off, and is only one or two feet in depth, a 

 similar permanent improvement may be effected 

 by ploughing and burning, until the subsoil is 

 reached. Again, if the moss is shallow, and the 

 subsoil sand, or such like inferior soil, the best im- 

 provement is a top-dressing of one or more inches, 

 to be obtained by casting out the subsoil fiom pa- 

 rallel ditches, and, however poor the quality, it 

 will decompose the moss, and produce a good pas- 

 ture. But another reason for cxamininn; the sub- 

 soil is, that the richer it is, other things being 

 equal, the richer the nature of the plants which it 

 oriixinally produced, and also that of the subsequent 

 peat earth. Nor should it be forgotten, that not 

 unfrequently the subsoil of rnoss is a valuable shell 

 marl. 



Coniposilion of Moss P roper. -^'Evcvy one at all 

 conversant wi»h moss, knovrs the worthlessncss of 

 "flow moss'" (the produce of Sphagnum, Hypnum, 

 &c.) either as a soil or ("or fuel, and it is indeed the 

 most indecomposibic of plants of so soft a texture ; 

 unhappily it is of all oihers tlie most prevalent in 

 the less elevated mossy grounds. !!", therefore, it 

 fisrms the surface cover, any prospect of a high 

 degree of fertility must necessarily be distant; but 

 if it be covered by a stratum of decayed heath, 

 bent, cotton grass, &c. the quality of the moss soil 

 is much better. Other mosses are chiefl}- composed 

 of reeds (arunio.) horse tail (equisetum,) trefoil 

 (menyanlhes trifbliata,) sedge (iris,) rushes (jun- 

 cus,) &c. such more readily decompose, and form 

 a much richer soil than either of the former. 

 Nothing so well determines the quality of moss as 

 the plants which it spontaneously produces; for 

 the moss soil and its products are nearly of the 

 same substance, and the crop of" the preceding 

 years is the soil in which the next crop vegetates. 

 Aixain, the moss plants now vegetating, indicate 

 the decree of'moisture; for so soon as a perma- 

 nent saturation is effijcted, the sphagnum, &e. is 

 produced to the almost total exclusion of the other 

 plants ; but on the water being drawn off its dies, 

 and is succeeded by heath and sundry coarse aqua- 

 tic grasses; or, if rendered sutTiciently dry, bent 

 grass prevails. If decomposiiion is by any means 

 effected, then rushes, and also the finer pasture- 

 grasses, supplant the latter. While mos^ plants 

 continue still to grow, it is evident that the depth 

 of moss must be still on the increase, and tliis by 

 reason of the antiseptic qualities of its products; 

 but where by any means pasture-grasses, or even 

 rushes, abound, it is manilesl that the proper mass 



