156 Cultivating and Improving Waste*. 



improvement ( 20 ). It requires constant attention, however, 

 to prevent such plants from again getting possession of the 

 ground, when it is restored to pasture. This can best be 

 effected, by ploughing up the land occasionally, taking a few 

 crops of potatoes, turnips or tares in rows, and restoring it 

 to be pastured by sheep. In moist weather also, the tender 

 shoot of every shrub, as it arises, should be pulled up and 

 destroyed ( ai ). 



3. Fern or Brakes (**}. This is a very troublesome weed 

 to extirpate, as, in many soils, it sends down its roots into 

 the under stratum, beyond the reach of the deepest plough- 

 ing ; but it is a sign of the goodness of any soil, where it 

 grows to a large size. June or July are the best seasons 

 for destroying it, when the plants are full of sap, and when 

 they ought to be frequently cut. They are not, however, 

 easily subdued, as they often appear after a rotation of seven 

 years, including a fallow, and sometimes require another ro- 

 tation, and repeated cutting, before their final disappear- 

 ance can be effected (* 3 ). Lime, in its caustic state, is pe- 

 culiarly hostile to fern ; at the same time, it can hardly be 

 completely eradicated, but by frequent cultivation, and by 

 green crops assisted by the hoe ( Z4 ) 



4. Heath. This hardy plant, when young, is palatable 

 and nutritious to sheep ; and under its protection, coarse 

 grasses are often produced. When in flower, it may be cut, 

 and converted into an inferior species of winter provision for 

 stock. ,But where it can be obtained, it is desirable to have 

 grass in its stead. For that purpose, the land may be 

 flooded, where that process is practicable, or the heath burnt 

 in March or April, and kept free from stock for eighteen 

 months, in consequence of which, many new grasses will 

 spring up, from the destruction of the heath, and the en- 

 riching quality of the ashes. The improvement is very 

 great; more especially if the land be drained, and lime or 

 compost be applied ( a5 ). But if the land be too soon pas- 

 tured, the grasses, being weak and tender, the sheep or 

 cattle will pull them up with their roots, and the pasture is 

 materially injured (* 6 ). Where it is proposed to cultivate 

 the land for arable crops, the lime applied, should be in a 

 finely powdered state, highly caustic, and as equally spread 

 as possible (* 7 ). 



5. Coarse Herbage. It is often necessary to burn coarse 

 herbage, before the surface can be pared and burnt. Some 

 have recommended, making a compost of the pared surface, 

 with lime, or building folds, (earthen walls of the sods), 



