Sutherland Reclamation. 
441 
these roots would be dry enough to burn on the surface ; un- 
fortunately the season was unusually wet, the roots became dry 
enough to be afterwards troublesome, but not dry enough to 
burn. To test whether any good could be done by sowing the 
land as it lay, a small plot was fenced in and sown with eight 
different applications of seeds and manures. As none of them 
produced a decent crop, it will be unnecessary to enter into 
details. On inspecting the different plots in September 1878, 
the nearest approach to a crop was found on a plot manured 
with lime and sown with a mixture of rape and grass-seeds. 
An attempt was made to plough a part of the " disced " land by 
oxen, but the loose stuff hung on the plough, and the oxen were 
not strong enough to do the work satisfactorily. Besides eight 
horses, four working oxen have been kept at Lubvrec, namely, 
a pair of Swiss beasts that have proved excellent workers, and 
one pair of cross-bred cattle. In 1878 the land was ploughed up 
by a pair of 12-horse engines and a Sutherland plough. The 
work was much impeded by the plough becoming frequently 
choked up with the loose surface stuff that had been worked up by 
the " discers." This prevented the engines from getting through 
more than 12 acres a-week. They would have made much 
better progress if the plough had been set to work upon the 
land before the " discer " had touched it. About 100 acres of 
the land thus ploughed was " disced " again from May to July 
1879, limed with 18 bolls per acre, harrowed by steam, and 
sown with rape and grass-seeds rolled in ; viz. rape, 4 lbs. ; 
English rye-grass, 22 lbs ; Italian rye-grass, 9 lbs. ; clovers and 
rib-grass, 15 lbs. per acre. The land has been surface-drained, 
but the young seeds looked rusty in August and much needing 
sunshine. At present this experiment does not compare favour- 
ably with the more thorough work elsewhere. It is inevitable that 
those who make experiments, and are the pioneers of agri- 
cultural progress, should in such ways as this often pay dearly 
for the valuable experience which they gain. 
Summary. — In the reclamation of these four farms the chief 
mistake has been that sufficient supervision was not provided. 
Mr. Baxter, the resident engineer, had not a sufficient staff of 
assistants to superintend efficiently all the details of the various 
operations that were being simultaneously carried on over a wide 
area. In spite of the best endeavours of those who were with 
him, the workmen were often left to carry out the details on 
their own responsibility. This might not have mattered so much 
with well-trained workmen, but, with the class of labourers who 
first sought employment, it was fatal. Lime was spread very 
unevenly, and drains were very badly laid. This has been 
clearly seen when lifting drains that had ceased to run ; a rock 
