94 
On Reclaiming Heath Land. 
high climate, resting on the greywacke formation. I have seen 
much vahiable produce lost from the omission of lime in the 
primary act of reclaiming heath land, one instance of which I give 
as an example: — A farmer well known to nie, who had a large 
plot of unreclaimed heath land, and who had only three years of 
his lease unexpired, having received notice to quit at the end of 
his term, thought he would break up this piece by paring and 
burning. Liming, however, he thought must be dispensed with, 
as he calculated that in two crops he could not possibly get repaid 
for such an outlay. It so happened that in this large 'plot there 
were a few patches of impoverished land, from which nearly the 
whole of the vegetable turf had been cut and carried away by a 
former tenant. These parts were considered so much reduced 
that it woidd be impossible to raise a crop upon them without a 
small quantity of lime, in addition to the sprinkling of ashes, 
w^hich was therefore applied as an act of necessity. The conse- 
quence was, that these very inferior patches produced double the 
quantity of grain and straw to any other portion of the field when 
in crop ; and in after years the herbage was much more luxuriant 
and of finer texture. I am satisfied that, if in this case 150 or 
200 bushels of lime per acre had been applied, the cost of which 
includinof cartaije would not have exceeded so many sfroats, an 
adequate return at least would have been the result in the first crop. 
The importance of thorough draining, which is too little under- 
stood, and much less practised in many districts where great faci- 
lities are offered, is a subject I cannot pass over ini noticed. 
Thousands and tens of thousands of acres in this country are 
scarcely producing one half of what they are capable of doing, 
owing to such neglect; and, in many cases, are to be found in a 
worse plight than when in an unreclaimed state. I cannot con- 
sider such lands reclaimed, although they have been made sub- 
servient to the plough, when this most important requisite has been 
omitted. I would, therefore, humbly but earnestly impress upon 
all the absolute necessity of thorough draining, as a primary and 
most important act in the reclaiming of heath land; for, without 
its pcrfurmancc where required, the act of reclaiming will be^ a 
farce; the land will slowly but surely retrograde to its former 
state, or sonielhing worse (unless repeatedly and heavily manured, 
which will disappear almost as fast as applied), and all our 
boasted improvements will be visions of a brief and transitory 
nature. 
Before I close this subject of inquiry in reference to the act of - 
reclaiming, there is one description of heath land hitherto unno- 
ticed which 1 ought not to pass over without a few remarks. I . 
allude to broken and craggy ground, which in many parts of 
Westmoreland and Cumberland is of considerable extent. To 
