191 1.] Moor Cultivation in Germany. 



999 



questions of handling, marketing, the supply of labour, and 

 the restrictions imposed by the Fishery Laws, and various 

 recommendations are made with a view to the encouragement 

 of the industry through the medium of the Department of 

 Agriculture. 



The Board have received from Sir William Ward, H.M. 

 Consul-General at Hamburg, a memorandum prepared by 

 Mr. Vice-Consul Oliver on 44 Moor 



Moor Cultivation Cultivation in Germany." 



in Germany.* As the extent of uncultivated moor- 



land in Prussia still amounts to nearly 

 two and a half million acres, moor cultivation is considered 

 to be a branch of agriculture which calls for careful study 

 and attention. The circumstances under which moors have 

 been formed are very various, and consequently there is 

 great difference in the soil to be dealt with, both as regards 

 its quality and its constitution. The nature and quality of 

 the moor soil depend upon the precise character of the plant 

 life which contributed to the formation of the moor, and the 

 plants again depend upon the soil and upon the condition of 

 the water which furnishes them with nourishment. It may, 

 therefore, be said that the quality of the moor depends upon 

 the character of the soil and of the water acting on the 

 vegetation. It is to be observed that these moors have been 

 formed from the accumulated remains of dead plants by 

 reason of their decay under the action of water and the 

 partial or total exclusion of air. Where the vegetation is 

 poorly nourished and there is a large quantity of water, 

 moors are formed for the most part by peat moss, heather, 

 and reed grasses. On the other hand, on a soil which is 

 rich in plant food, the plants which contribute to the forma- 

 tion of moors are rushes, reeds, and a number of sour grasses. 

 The principal kinds of moors are formed either from moss 

 growths or from grasses. As the former are formed above 

 the ordinary water-level, they are called upland moors 



See also Leaflet, No. 203, " Utilisation of Peat Lands" ; Journal, June, 1907, 

 p. 146, and June, 1910, p. 205. 



