318 MAY. 



14th, The application of this system to moun- 

 tainous moors, is one of the most profitable specu- 

 lations which agriculture has to offer, and yet there 

 are none so much neglected. 



From viewing them I have been greatly surprized 

 at this, because there are scarcely any that do not 

 contain such spontaneous proofs of the advantage, 

 as might have been sufficient for a hint to the stu- 

 pidest clown. The firm spots by the sides of the 

 torrents, from flooding, acquire a beautiful ver- 

 dure, that proves a perfect contrast to the dreari- 

 ness of the waste around ; and where there are 

 little rills on the mountain sides, not considerable 

 enough to cut a regular bed for their waters, but 

 which spread, they are attended so universally with 

 a verdure, from the grasses getting the better of the 

 heath, owing simply to the water, as shews the ad- 

 vantage in the clearest manner. I am confident 

 that, with a little attention, out of 20 or 30,000 

 acres on a range of mountains I have viewed in Ire- 

 land, water might be thrown over three parts in 

 four. The declivities through which the streams 

 run are considerable, and extensive tracts of land 

 slope off on either side, so that by obstructing 

 those streams, by piling torrent stones across them 

 at various heights, and drawing small channels in 

 the mountain sides, just above such obstructions, 

 to receive the water, this most advantageous work, 

 might be done at small expence, and a single ex- 

 periment of it would presently shew the prodigious 

 advantage of the practice. 



In 



