6 Sir John Sinclair's Account of Moss Improvements 



drills. Fourth and jijth years. Tlien a fouiili ploughing for another crop of oats. 

 When the oats are cut, spread a light compost over the stubble, and after a slight 

 ploughing, sow winter rye, which always produces a good crop,) and in April, 

 when the frosts arc over, sow grass seeds on the winter rye, and roll them in. The 

 land is thus brought into grass, in perfect good order, and may be pastured with 

 much advantage for five or six years, when the grass may be renewed, without 

 ploughing up the land again, by which the drains might be disturbed. 



The advantage of this succession is, that you are pretty certain of four or five 

 good crops, (two of oats, one of winter rye, and one or two of turnips,) which will 

 pay a considerable share of the expense of the improvement. 



Besides these crops, barley has been tried, and answers well ; and the potatoes 

 raised on mossy land, are of a quality peculiarly excellent.* Coleseed would cer- 

 tainly produce good crops. 



Expense of the above Process. — No particular estimate has hitherto been made 

 of the expense. The covering, at the rate of a looo cart loads per Lancashire acre, 

 may be calculated at £^. i ^s. or 2d. per cart. The expense of draining, making 

 roads, &c. must depend upon various circumstances. 



Kind of Oat. — The best kind of oat, for the first crop, is the Scotch dun, or 

 the Nanny pye oat. Afterwards a heavier sort may be tried. 



Grass Seeds. — Red clover does not answer, and the land, when laid down to 

 grass, produces white clover of itself. The following has been found the best pro- 

 portion of grass-seeds, lolb. of trefoil, lolb. rib-grass, and 6 bushels of hay-seeds.' 



How to renew the Grass. — In the course of five or six years, the grass is very 

 apt to get foggy. It may be renewed by the following process. Spread, at the rate 

 of 40 Lancashire, or 1 20 Winchester bushels of hot lime, per Lancashire acre, and 

 as hot as possible, in the month of July. Immediately after liming, run it over with 

 a short sharp-toothed harrow. The hot lime and the sun will destroy the fog. and 

 new and finer grass will spring up. 



// bat Manures. — Neither lime nor dung had any material effect upon the moss, 

 till it was reduced to soil. The stagnate water in moss, called in Lancashire aidle 

 water, is highly pernicious, and is injurious to animals that drink any water with 



• It has been remarked at Castlehcad, that potatoes arc very ajit to become curled, either if 

 they are taken up too early, before they reach maturity, or if they have not been properly kept, 

 and if the shoots come out, which weakens the plant. 



