r 126 ] 
Moffat to Carlifle, when I faw it, but it is now 
flowed over the road, and reached the Elk. This 
river, which was one of the cleared: in the world, is 
now rendered black as ink, by the mixture of the 
mofs, and no falmon has fince entered into it. A 
farmer alfo told me, that, upon removing the mofs, to 
get at a well which it had covered, they found all the 
earth-worms lying dead upon the furface of the 
ground. The land, that is covered, was all inclofed 
with hedges, bore excellent crops of wheat and 
turnips, and rented from between 1 1 and 14 Shillings, 
befides the taxes and tithes, which amounted to 
4 flail lings per acre. 
I endeavoured to guefs at the depth of the mofs 
upon the plain, by a large thorn, which ftands in 
the middle of it, and which is buried to above the 
divifion of the branches. The farmers told me, 
that it flood upon a riling, more than 6 feet above 
the general level of the plain ; and that it was up- 
wards of 9 feet high, of clear Item. By this ac- 
count, great part of the plain muft be covered 
1 5 feet deep with the mofs : and near the farm 
called Gap, there were fome conliderable hollows, 
where they think the mofs, at prefent, lies full 
30 feet deep. The tallefl hedges on the land are 
all covered over the top. The houfes are not fo 
much buried, becaufe they flood moftly on the 
higher parts of the fields ; and, towards the extre- 
mities of the mofs, I obferved it, in many places, 
not above 3 or 4 feet deep, owing likewife to the 
rifing of the ground. 
The gut at A, through which the whole of the 
mofs flowed that covered the plain, is only about 
5 ° 
