Reclamation of Bog and Moorland in Galway. 215 
Fig. 2. — View of JRandalVs Pulverising Harrow. 
out by women in baskets upon their backs : where the ground 
was somewhat firmer, it was done by an ox drawing a small 
sledge. In either case it was a tedious process, as the sledge 
only contained 3 or 4 bushels of lime, and yet was drawn with 
"difficulty over the rougher places and through the occasional 
patches of soft bog. Within the last few months 400 yards of 
Decauville's Portable Tramway has been purchased, and has 
proved so convenient for spreading lime and manures on the 
bog, that Mr. MacAlister anticipates that it will reduce the cost 
•of reclamation 21. per acre. After the liming, as much as pos- 
sible of the land is put into root-crops, with farmyard-manure 
for potatoes and turnips ; and these have usually been followed 
by oats laid down with clover and grass-seed. In some in- 
stances grass-seeds have been sown at once without any inter- 
■vening crop ; but there is great difficulty in obtaining a tilth 
fine enough for grass-seeds, and the best results have hitherto 
been obtained by taking a root-crop first, 
I will now return to the cultivation that has been carried 
on at Mweelin. A second piece of deep peat, 11 acres in area, 
was drained and brought into cultivation 8 years ago, at a total 
cost of 113Z. As this plot is immediately in front of the castle, 
-on the opposite side of the lake, it was desirable to get a good 
sward of grass as quickly as possible. The drains were put in, 
30 feet apart, no turf was removed, 150 bushels of lime per 
statute acre were applied, and a half-dressing of farmyard- 
manure. The land was trenched and planted with potatoes and 
