at Langwell, in the County of Caifbiess, North Britain. g 



districts of the eastern coasts of F.nglaiiH, namely, Ca nhridgeshire, Lincolnshire, and 

 Huntingdonshire. The experiments w :re not at first succfssrul. They were tried 

 on mossy lands on tlie siiies of hills ; whereas the Eni^lish fpns were flat, had been 

 covered for a^es with water, and are only preserved fro"^ nr.indaiiori by art. After 

 bringing, therefore, a number of Dlou};hmen from Enghind, and the various instru- 

 ments of husbandry used in the fens, I found very little pi\jspcct of success. Deter- 

 mined, however, to persevere, I thought it advisable to try the same plan next year, 

 but on a smaller scale. 



I began the year 1803, therefore, with only three Englishmen. A considerable 

 tract of ground was prepared by them, according to the fen system, and laid down 

 with rape, with grain, grass-seeds, and other crops ; but the prospect, even the 

 second year, was not much better than the first. The corn was stunted in its 

 growth, and unproductive ; the rape thin, and the grass unpromising. I dismissed, 

 therefore, two of the Englishmen, and reduced the establishment to one, who was 

 to receive the occasional assistance of the neighbouring cottagers. 



The third year, however, has removed all doubts of ultimate success in this im- 

 portant undertaking. Several acres were laid down in spring, with bear, oats, grass- 

 seeds, and rape, all of which have answered ; in particular, the bear and grass. The 

 rape sown in autumn 1803, though rather thin, yet stood the winter frosts, was 

 harvested in August last, and produces seed equal to any imported from England. 

 It is pleasant to observe such crops on the summit of a hill, at least three hundred 

 feet above the level of the sea. 



The cause of this success it is next proper to explain : 



Dr. James Anderson, in a work intitled,"y4 Practical Treatise on Peat Mossy" 

 printed in 8vo. anno 1799, is the first author, with whose writings I am acquainted, 

 who made the distinction between quick and dead moss. Whilst it is quick cvr 

 growing, it cannot afford food for other vegetables, being a vegetable, or a combi- 

 nation of vegetables itself. It is necessary, therefore, to convert it into dead moss, 

 before it can be productive. 



The fen plough, for paring the surface merely, is the best instrument ever in- . 

 vented for that purpose, but it is nut calculated for raising the quick moss, under 

 the surface, and converting it into soil. Mr. Anderson, who rents a considerable 

 farm called Ausdale, in this neighbourhood, was the first who observed this defect, 

 and who recommended it to William Carter, the remaining Englishman, to plough 



VOL. v. C 



