IS
Section VI. Season fittest for the purpose of flooding, and rulesto be observed ;
- VII. Of warping waste lands, and the seasons and si-
tuations in which this may be done ;
-VIII. Cautions and directions to be observed in flooding'
waste lands.
Section L
Evidences of the Salutary Effects nf Flooding Waste Lands.
It is only necessary to name these; for they are so palpable,that every attentive observer must have noticed them In everymoor and moss in Britain , they may be observed.
First, Wherever a spring bursts out in any barren waste, it ei-ther forms a quagmire, or gently overflows a part of the surface.In either case, the surface thus overflown may be distinguishedat a distance by the deep verdure of its herbage.
Secondly, Wherever a rivulet occasionally overflows the sur-face of any moor or moss, the coarse and useless plants disap-pear, and soft meadow grasses, or sweet herbage, occupy theirplace. Dr Smith of Campbelton mentions a case of this kind,which is of very common occurrence. “ In travelling over theface of a black mountain, about SO years ago, my attention wasarrested by a green strip which runs across the heath for the spaceof half a mile. The striking contrast between it and the rest ofthe ground, induced me to go to the spot, and examine into thecause of this difference. I found that it had been the lead ortrack by which water had been once conducted to a corn-millWhen it had been cut, or how long it had been empty, I knownot; but the very bottom was covered with soil and grass. Theeffect of the watering continued still; and for a considerablespace below the lead, or drain, where the water had overflowed,-the"*qjface was thus ameliorated.’’
Thirdly, The same effect of flooding may be seen on a moreextruded scale along the banks of large rivers, especially in lovv-lyirig plains occasionally overflowed though the whole surfaceconsists of moss, yet over all the extent of soil which is thus oc-casionally covered with water, a rich crop of meadow grass maybe seen. " The subsoil of such land is still moss ; but the surface,by the overflowings of such rivers, is converted into meadowland.
Fourthly, Not only have most of the meadows been thus re-claimed ; but it appears more than probable, that all the allu-vial lands along the banks of rivers, have been formed by simi-lar means.
That these lands were, at one period, barren mosses, appears’from the following facts :—that the subsoil still consists of this?substance—that small patches of moss, like little islets, may still-