74 BOGS. 



that that neceflary work is done at a very moderate coft. 

 But in fpungy ones it muft be lepeated annually, according 

 to the fubftance of the bog, and no other work attended to 

 but finking the drains lower and lower, by no means till 

 you come to the bottom, (the necefllty of which is a vulgar 

 error) but till the fpaces between them will bear an ox in 

 boots. Then the furface fhould be levelled and burnt, and I 

 would advife nothing to be done for a year or two but rollers as 

 heavy as might be, kept repeatedly going over it, in order to 

 prefs and confolidare the furface. Before any thing elie was 

 attempted I would fee the effect of this ; probably the draining 

 and rolling would bring up a frefli furface of vegetables not 

 leen before, in that cafe I iTiould have very few doubts of fi- 

 niihing the work with the feeding, treading, and fold of rtieep 

 which would encourage the white clover and grafles to vege- 

 tate ftrongly ; fortunately for any operation with fiieep they 

 can be kept fafely, as they never rot in a drained bog. A ve- 

 ry ingenious friend of mine thinks the whole might be done 

 with fheep with little or no draining, but from viewing the 

 bogs I am clear that is impoflible. During the time of rolling 

 and fheep feeding, the drains I would have kept clean and 

 open, the labour of which would regularly be Jefs and lefs. 

 When the furface was fo hard as to bear cars, marie, clay, 

 gravel, or earth, might be carried on according to diftance, 

 which with the Iheep feeding xvould convert it into good mea- 

 dow. But as carting in a large improvement would probably 

 be too expenfive ; I ihould think it worth while to fry the ex- 

 periment whether it would not be practicable to fink a ihaft 

 through the bog into the gravel or earth beneath it, boarding 

 or walling, and plaftering with terrafs or cement, in order to 

 be able to draw up the under ftratum, as all the cba!k in Hert- 

 iordmire is railed, that is, wound up in buckets ; chalk is fo 

 raifed and wheeled on to the land for the price of eight-pence 

 the load of twenty buihels, and is found a cheap improvement 

 at that price, yet the chalk drawers, as they call themfelves, 

 earn two fliillings and two and fixpence each day. Whatever 

 he means ufed, certain it is that no meadows are equal to 

 thofe gained by improving a bog ; they are of a value which 

 fcarcely any other land's rite to : in Ireland I fliould fuppofe it 

 would not fall ihort of forty findings ar r.r?, and rile in inany 

 cafes to three pounds. 



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