Cultivating and Improving Wastes. 155 



dead wood and leaves rotting, time out of mind upon it, is 

 much better than the mould below. It soon gets into good 

 pasture as grass land without sowing any seed ( 14 ). But by 

 far the most eligible mode of converting woodland into ara- 

 ble, is merely to cut down the trees, and to leave the land 

 in a state of grass, until the roots have decayed, cutting down 

 with the scythe, from time to time, any young shoots that 

 may arise. The roots, in this way, instead of being a cause 

 of anxiety and expense, as they generally are, become a 

 source of improvement ; and a grassy surface is prepared 

 for the operation of sod-burning ( l5 ). Wherever it is prac- 

 ticable, the land should be well limed, which will greatly in- 

 crease its value ( I<J ). 



*In Scotland, natural woods and plantations have been suc- 

 cessfully grubbed up. In the Lower Torwood in Stirling- 

 shire, many acres of natural coppice were cleared, at an ex- 

 pense of from L.I 5 to L.20 per acre ; and the land is now 

 become as valuable as any in the neighbourhood ( l7 ). On 

 the banks of the Clyde and the Avon, coppices have been 

 cut down ; and after being drained, cultivated and manured, 

 the land has been converted into productive orchards. 



In Perthshire also, several thousand acres of plantations 

 have been rooted out, the soil subjected to the plough, con- 

 verted into good arable land, and profitably employed in 

 tillage ( I8 ). 



2. Shrubs. Land covered with furze, broom, and other 

 shrubs, is, generally speaking, well adapted for cultivation. 

 Furze, or whins, (ulex europ&us}) will thrive in a dense clay 

 soil ; and where they are found in a thriving state, every 

 species of grain, of roots and grasses, may be cultivated with 

 advantage. The broom, on the other hand, prefers a dry, 

 gravelly, or sandy soil, such as is adapted for the production 

 of turnips. A large proportion of the arable land, in the 

 richest districts of England and Scotland, was originally 

 covered by these two plants; and vast tracts still remain in 

 that state, which might be profitably brought under cultiva- 

 tion. For that purpose, the shrubs ought to be cut down, 

 the ground trenched, or the plants rooted out by a strong 

 plough, drawn by four or six horses, and the roots and 

 shrubs, (if not wanted for other purposes), burnt in heaps, 

 and the ashes spread equally over the surface ( 19 ). In many 

 places, shrubs and brushwood may be sold for more than the 

 expense of rooting them out. When coal is not abundant, 

 ;iml limestone, or chalk can be had, the furze should be em- 

 ployed in burning the lime that is used in carrying on the 



