1108 



The Improvement of Peaty Soils. 



[Mar., 



Thirty years ago there was still a certain amount of arable 

 cultivation, but it has now declined and the land remains in 

 poor grass, largely Yorkshire fog, which becomes badly infested 

 with rushes. It affords a certain amount of grazing for bullocks 

 and pit ponies. 



The land could probably be converted into arable, but twa 

 steps would seem to be involved in its reclamation: — 



(1) Improved arrangements for drawing off the water, the 

 level of which in the soil is now somewhat too high owing 

 to the shrinkage of the peat. 



(2) More body seems to be needed in the soil, especially * 

 in the " wood " peat. 



The soil is underlain by clay, and the most hopeful method 

 of improvement for the arable land would appear to be the 

 claying process carried out successfully on the " clay " fen 

 in the Isle of Ely. This involves the digging of trenches down 

 to the clay which can then be thrown out ; but the peat is light 

 and not deep. On the road across the " Carr," which is 

 bordered by a deep drain, and therefore presumably received 

 some of the clay thrown out daring the excavation, there is 

 a considerable development of clover and a vastly better 

 herbage than is afforded by the mass of Holcus and rushes in 

 the main part of the " Carr." 



(3) Lime and fertilisers would certainly be needed. 

 The programme probably looks more formidable than it 



really is, and the position of the land promises a return. 



It is possible of course that the area could be warped, as 

 is done on the other side of the river in the Hatfield Chace and 

 Thorne Moor district, and this would be a final and satisfactory 

 solution. This, however, is an engineering problem which the 

 writer is not competent to discuss. 



As an alternative, the land could be used for permanent 

 grass, liberally treated with phosphate, mown occasionally to 

 keep down rushes, and periodically reseeded when Holcus has 

 become too prominent. Probably the best system would be 

 a combination of the two; using long leys with intervening, 

 arable periods. 



High-lying Peats. — These present the most difficult case of 

 all because the high rainfall intensifies their naturally wet 

 character, and the coldness makes agriculture very difficult. 



Many attempts have been made to reclaim the high lying 

 peats, but few have met with success. Mr. Pell, in the Journal 

 of the Eoyal iVgricultural Society for 1887, records a case where 



