On Reclaiming Heath Land. 
89 
the value to be attached to peats. It requires no remarks, on the 
other hand, to point out the method of cutting and getting peats, 
or disposing of them to the best advantage ; as this must depend 
upon their quality, and the demand for them in the neighbour- 
hood. I woxild, however, warn those who possess this kind of 
land against the too frequent practice of reducing the bog earth 
too low, and of leaving little for after cultivation, save a bare and 
unproductive substratum of poor clay, inducing the growth of 
toad-pipes and coltsfoot. The quantity left will always diminish 
after drainage, to a considerable extent, from the decay of veget- 
able matter of which it is composed ; as well as from the shrink- 
ing of its fimgous bulk, by the withdrawal of the water and subse- 
quent condensation. 
Some bog land, however, may be reclaimed by thorough drain- 
age, which will render it sufficiently firm to bear the weight of 
horses and carts, without having recourse to more than the ordi- 
nary method of paring and burning. Where we find a surface 
layer of " white moss," or, as others term it, " grey moss," it is 
indispensable to have it removed, before the land will become 
fertile. 
Well condensed black earth, blended with, and partly associated 
with loam, may be greatly improved by a dressing of quick lime 
on the surface, without paring, burning, or otherwise breaking the 
top sward, which will often destroy the heath most effectually, and 
raise up a luxuriant green herbage in its place ; thereby ren- 
dering the use of the plough and paring spade quite unnecessary, 
where permanent pasturage is the object desired; as is frequently 
the case in high situations, unadapted for the growth of grain or 
general husbandry. 
Having thus far extended my observations to that description 
and qualify of heath land, which, under our present scope of agri- 
cultural knowledge, may reasonably be deemed capable of ameli- 
oration to that extent which would justify us in reclaiming it, I 
shall briefly notice our scowling cliffs and lofty mountains. These 
embrace a large * portion of our unreclaimed heaths ; and, 
although we occasionally see improvements carried far up the 
slopes of mountain sides, yet, in this respect, there is still a wide 
field for extending our operations in very many localities, where 
improvements might be pushed with safety and profit far beyond 
their present sphere. Were these carried out to their fullest ex- 
lent, we should still have many thousands of acres of cloud-capped 
hills, that set at defiance the art and energies of the British farmer. 
Even the sturdy yeoman of the north, whose daring spirit and 
brawny arm have shorn Nature of many of her savage features, is 
compelled to acknowledge her sovereign rule, and to allow her to 
* Nearly one-half. 
