m
_and if the waste water were afterwards used in the manner
now mentioned to flood this meadow—when thus formed, it wouldbecome more fertile, and produce a richer crop of hay, than anypart of the subsoil, which is now laid bare and cultivated.
The laborious, and active race of cottagers already settled onthe spot, would be the fittest instruments to employ for executingthis plan. It would, besides, furnish them with sufficient em-ployment at those seasons, when their other operations are at astand. To the benevolent proprietor, this consideration will beof the greatest importance; the quantity of hay raised on the sur-face of the moss, would furnish winter fodder for the cattle of thecottagers, and by this means abundance of manure for the richsoil they have already reclaimed and laid open.
These hints are freely thrown out, not from want of respect tothe memory of Lord Kaimes, or the present proprietor, but fromthe purest and most disinterested motives, a sincere desire to pro-mote fhe interest of the proprietor, and the comfort of his nu-merous cottagers on that settlement.
Section III.
Of the manner in which Water operates in reclaiming Waste Lands.
As there can be no doubt that much waste land has been re-claimed by flooding, it would be very satisfactory if we could as-certain the manner in which it operates. The following hints arethrown out with this view: they merit the consideration of thepublic, merely because they may all be brought to the test of ex-periment. These experiments, too, are so simple, and attended■with so little expense, that every farmer has it in his power tomake them.
First, If a quantity of moss be dug up and spread out overany field, and frequently watered, it becomes fertile and produc-tive, and may even be used as a manure, though in its originalstate it was sterile and unfit for any of these purposes. This ren-ders it more than probable, that the juices which are the cause ofsterility in that substance, are soluble in water when it is newlydug, and that by this means they are washed away.
If so, may not a current of water, carried over the surface ofnewly dug moss, operate in a similar way ? And is it not morethan probable, that this is one way by which water operates isreclaiming waste lands ? Stagnant water must have a similareffect. The soluble ingredients of such a soil must thereby bedissolved; and when this stagnant water is allowed to mn off■freely, these ingredients must be carried along with it. *
Secondly, When moss lies on a pervious subsoil, such as sand
* See Dr Rennie’s Eighth Essay, already published.