SANDY HEATH 145 



manuring on the peaty and sandy portions of the 

 area, but the cost would be small in proportion to the 

 ultimate value of the land to be gained for cultivation. 

 (3) Heath. — ^In England there exist comparatively 

 large expanses of uncultivated sandy heath, now 

 covered with a valueless vegetation of heather or 

 bracken and worthless grass. Such is the " brek " 

 land of Norfolk and Suffolk, other heaths farther south 

 in Suffolk, land upon the Bagshot Sand formation and 

 Lower Greensand in Surrey, Sussex, and Hampshire, 

 the Dorset heaths, etc. The reclamation of this type 

 of land has been reduced to a system in Germany ; 

 after drainage where necessary, the clearing of shrubs 

 and bushes and levelling of any mounds or banks, 

 the surface is pared and allowed to rot for a winter, 

 or if a meadow is to be formed, a tilth is obtained by 

 continued cultivation with implements of the disk 

 ype. At the same time about 2 tons per acre of 

 chalk or its equivalent, 8 cwt. per acre of kainit, and 

 5 of basic slag are worked in as the fundamental pre- 

 liminary dressing, these quantities being increased if 

 a meadow is in preparation. For a meadow a special 

 mixture of grass and clover seeds are sown directly 

 on to the shallow worked surface with surprisingly 

 good results. For the arable land the best prepara- 

 tion is to grow a crop of lupins the first year and turn 

 that in, thus increasing the stock both of nitrogen and 

 humus and binding and adding to the water-holding 

 capacity of the soil. Afterwards the land will grow 

 all the cereals, especially rye and oats ; potatoes, 

 carrots and peas give good crops, and lucerne also 

 answers well on such land. Liberal manuring with 



