f
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stance and rounded in form. A gravelly soil, into whiclilimestone, or stone-marl, or schistus, enter liberally in com-position, is, on the contrary, a rich and valuable soil * ; and itimproves by culture and exposure. Even barren, hungrygravel, becomes fit for culture, when there is access to clay,in order to improve its texture; or to water, in order to en-rich it by irrigation and sediment.
It is agreed on by most authors, and it is the opinion ofthe generality of farmers, that peat-moss is formed by the ac-cumulation and natural decay of coarse vegetables, which havebeen in some measure decomposed, without being completelyreduced.
It is equally well understood, that peat moss is barren as asoil; but that, by the putrefactive fermentation, it is changedinto peat earth, which is comparatively fertile.
Still, after this important alteration, peat earth is defectivein point of solidity. In heavy and long continued rains, it istoo soft, and wet; and in severe drought, it suffers even more,from the opposite extreme, being too light and dry.
To convert peat moss into really good soil, two changes ap-pear necessary; the one to reduce the tough moss into earth;and the other, to give that earth a proper degree of density.
The means by which these objects can be accomplished, willbe explained in a subsequent part of this Report J.
* Gravel is perhaps more frequently than sand, found on the shore, with *mixture of calcareous substances, and is then very fertile.
f Some object to the idea of considering peat as a distinct soil; but the au-thority of tire intelligent Dr Walker, Professor of Natural History in tiie Uni-versity of Edinburgh , (Transactions of the Highland Society, vol. ii, p. 57), is rc-garding this point, important Peat is certainly a substance which, when drain-ed, manured and cultivated, will produce useftd plants, ami may therefore b eproperly called a soil.
| See Chap. XI. on the Improvement of Waste Lands.