68 THE GREAT WAR 



PEAT LAND AND HEATH LAND 



In his presidential address to the Agricultural 

 Section of the British Association, Mr. A. D. 

 Hall, F.R.s., 1 advocated the reclamation of the 

 peaty and sandy areas of waste land in England. 

 That land of these kinds could be cultivated 

 with success was proved, he said, by the fact 

 that everywhere prosperous farms may be seen 

 bordering the wastes, possessing soils that are 

 essentially identical with those of the wastes. 2 



enquiries in all localities, entitled their findings and recom- 

 mendations to the highest consideration. For detailed 

 particulars of the evidence taken by the Commission and 

 for the conclusions they arrived at, see "Colonization of 

 Rural Britain," Chapter XVII. 



1 Mr. Hall succeeded Sir John B. Lawes at Rotham- 

 sted, and is acknowledged to be one of the greatest authori- 

 ties on agricultural subjects. 



2 This view is confirmed by the operations in connection 

 with the Convict Prison on Dartmoor, where 875 acres of 

 waste have been taken from the moor and, by convict 

 labour, have been turned into fertile land. The writer has 

 visited the prison on several occasions and has seen the 

 profitable character of the farming carried on. The sales 

 of sheep, cattle, pigs, horses and ponies and wool realized 

 above 1500 in one year. This is exclusive of milk, of 

 which more than 41,000 gallons were produced in a single 

 year. 



