THE IMPROVEMENT OF OUR WASTE LANDS. 231 



delay as possible. Every proprietor of waste lands of this description has 

 it in his power to raise the annual value of such lands considerably, by 

 simply rearing plantations on them, so as to produce shelter, and thereby 

 improve the climate. This should be done in all respects in the same 

 way as has been already described in referring to the improvements by 

 plantations of the portions which can be made arable on the lands lying 

 at a lower elevation than these, with this difference, however, that as 

 the situations are understood to be, generally speaking, much higher 

 lying than those of the parts which can be made available for arable, the 

 plantations should be made, for the most part, in much larger masses. 



It is indeed remarkable that this improved condition of our hill- 

 pasture-lands has not long ere now been more extensively adopted than 

 it is, seeing it is certain to be a highly remunerative undertaking both 

 for the present and the future. As hinted in a former chapter, the rents 

 of these, as well as for all others of our waste lands, must continue to 

 rise ; and it is clear, therefore, that the proprietors of such who possess 

 the most foresight, and who will improve them the earliest, will reap the 

 greatest benefit from the outlay. Were all the hill-lands dealt with, as 

 far as possible, by planting and draining in the way described, they 

 would not only be of greater value to the proprietors, but they would 

 also add to the benefit of the public at large. 



Besides the increased value of the arable and pasture lands caused by 

 the plantations, the timber grown in the plantations themselves would 

 more than pay for the expense in forming them ; but I need not dwell 

 on this subject here, as it will be considered more fully in a subsequent 

 chapter. 



SECTION 3. The Reclamation of Waste Lands by Trenching. 



On many estates in the north of Scotland, and over a great portion of 

 our waste lands, there are tracts which consist of very good soil, but 

 have a large amount of stones upon them. To get such parts thoroughly 

 brought into cultivation it is absolutely necessary to have them dug up 

 and trenched by manual labour. The land should be trenched in the 

 way already described in a former chapter, and need not be repeated 

 here. The stones will be found very useful in building walls as fences, 

 and the smaller ones can be put into the drains and used in the con- 

 struction of roads. In trenching very stony ground the foot-pick will 

 be found a very useful implement for the purpose, fig. 87 ; and what 

 cannot be got out by the footpick must be blasted with powder. The 

 stones should be thrown on the surface of the trenched ground, and 

 afterwards removed to form the drains, fences, and roads. It is always 



