428 
Cullivation of Waste Lands. 
his own hands built for himself a hovel of a house, all of stones^ 
which he found lying around. He then set about ridding the 
ground, which he did effectually, using no other instruments than 
his spade and mattock. As soon as possible he laid it down in 
grass, which maintained for him two milking cows, with a stirk, 
summer and winter. On this the Avorthy man lived in simple 
independence till he died some five or six years ago at the age 
of eighty. The 5f acres were then put up for sale by auction, 
and the property realised 330/. to be divided amongst the old 
man's children, all of whom are prosperous and far above want. 
On land like that I am describing, when devoted to arable 
cultivation, and under a judicious rotation of cropping, I have 
found it extremely advantageous (after the corn is cut) to depasture 
" the seeds " in the autumn. Heath land seems to be peculiarly 
adapted for the growth of the artificial grasses, and if the ground 
has been properly laid down, " the seeds " show wonderful 
vitality after the field has been cleared of the corn. In the 
autumn of 1865, I turned 20 yearly calves and "twinters" — 
as two-year-old animals are locally termed — into a 6-acre 
field newly laid down with grass seeds. The field main- 
tained the calves in a grov/ing condition from October 31st to 
November 21st, exactly three weeks. This result is not incon- 
siderable in a field where nothing but heath once grew, and at 
an elevation of more than 800 feet above the sea level. But the 
greatest benefit is derived from treading the seeds by the calves 
and twinters, inasmuch as by this means the ground becomes 
consolidated, and the seeds fastened as it were in the light 
ground so as to be enabled to stand the ensuing winter, however 
inclement. By this treatment the crop of clover in the following 
season is not diminished, but, according to my experience, fre- 
quently very much increased. Hence I have found a double 
profit in treading the seeds by young stock. 
Before concluding I would just observe that the storm of wind 
that occurred on the first day of the present month, February 
1868, afforded a complete demonstration of the utility of having 
belts of planting on high ground. At Eccles, 3 or 4 miles, 
north of Manchester, the pressure of the wind was 31 lbs. on the 
square foot, whilst on high ground 24 miles distant, at Bidston 
Hill Observatory, it was 70 lbs. Thus the force of the wind 
on high ground is more than two-fold greater than it is on low 
ground. Hence may be inferred the great importance of planta- 
tions when the breaking up of mountain lands is attempted. 
It has been shown, I think, with sufficient distinctness that the 
subduing of the barren wastes, and reducing them to fertility, is 
a speculation that will pay, even when the climate is adverse, 
