182  On  Dry  Warping  at  Hatfield  Chase. 
newly  warped  land,  and  it  has  been  found  that  the  grass  is  green 
in  the  driest  seasons,  and  possesses  peculiar  milking  and  feeding 
qualities.  Thus  it  is  attested  that  100  acres  of  it  fattened,  be- 
tween Blythe  fair  (16th  of  May)  and  the  25th  of  August,  95  beasts 
on  an  average,  600  sheep,  and  250  lambs ; after  that,  to  the  5th  of 
September,  400  old  sheep  ; and  the  pasture  was  left  very  good. 
It  is  not  necessary  to  give  more  in  detail  the  process  for  convey- 
ing the  soil  or  warp  from  the  pit  to  the  moor.  The  operation  is 
in  itself  of  the  simplest  description.  The  scale  on  which  it  is  to 
be  carried  out  alone  will  render  some  skill  and  engineering  know- 
ledge necessary,  to  be  varied  in  every  locality ; and  unless  where 
a locomotive  is  thought  desirable,  it  is  essentially  a “ farmer’s 
job.”  Neither  must  we  consider  it  as  necessarily  to  be  confined  to 
the  peat  moor,  or  to  a tidal  deposit.  Wherever  any  substitute  for 
this  latter  can  be  found  in  quantity,  and  in  the  vicinity  of  barren 
or  valueless  land,  the  system  may  be  pursued  to  national  and  in- 
dividual benefit.  In  the  neighbourhood  of  the  Trent  and  Hum- 
ber there  are  thousands  of  acres  now  of  little  account ; and  not 
far  off,  beds  of  tidal  alluvium,  as  little  considered  by,  or  perhaps 
known  to,  the  farmers  about,  as  that  at  Hatfield  before  Mr.  Gossip 
developed  it.  A tract  of  about  4000  acres,  called  Thorne  Waste, 
a few  miles  off,  is  about  to  be  “dry-warped”  upon  Mr.  Gossip’s 
plans,  but  the  warp  is  not  on  the  spot,  and  will  be  brought  by  the 
Axholme  Railway  a considerable  distance.  Still  it  has  been  con- 
sidered by  the  farmers  there  sufficiently  desirable  to  justify  an 
Act  of  Parliament  (11  & 12  Viet.  c.  150)  for  empowering  them 
to  enclose,  drain,  and  warp  it,  even  at  an  expense  of  35/.  per  acre. 
There  is  little  question  that,  as  the  system  becomes  extended 
and  developed,  the  cost  of  dry-warping  will  be  reduced.  Mr. 
Gossip’s  costs  15/.  per  acre  near  the  pit;  but  the  average  of  the 
moor  will  be  18/.,  including  plant,  on  account  of  the  extended 
carriage,  &c.  Tenants  have  been  always  readily  found  to  pay 
2/.  per  acre  for  the  newly  warped  land,  and  an  offer,  with  security, 
is  now  under  consideration  for  21.  per  acre  for  the  whole  moor, 
on  a ten  years’  lease. 
The  peat  retains  its  moisture  in  dry  seasons,  even  when  deeply 
drained,  but  it  is  expected  that  great  advantages  will  be  derived 
from  subirrigation.  The  warp-pit,  which  will  extend  over  nearly 
50  acres,  forms  a reservoir  from  which  the  deep  and  divisional 
drains  may  be  filled  at  pleasure.  The  subject  of  subirrigation  is 
of  an  importance  great  in  itself,  and  increasing  with  the  increase 
of  deep  draining,  but  it  is  only  incidental  to  the  object  of  this 
communication. 
Mr.  Gossip  proposes  to  lay  the  whole  moor  down  in  grass,  and 
divide  it  by  quick-fences  into  100-acre  fields.  It  is  found  that 
quickset  thrives  most  luxuriantly  on  the  warped  land,  and  thus  a 
