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It is well known, that a stagnant pool of water, in a warmclimate, or during the heat of summer, speedily becomes putrid;whereas in winter,: or a cold climate, this is not the case. Thefens of Georgia, Demerara, and the north of Africa , and southof Italy , on this account, are all pestilential. An artificial lake,formed over the surface of waste land in the heat of summer,must undergo a similar change sooner or later, as the tempera-ture of the climate is high. In all climates, therefore, this changemust be sooner accomplished in summer than in winter.-
The rapidity of this change, however, may be promoted byartificial means. If, in place of pure spring water, we use thatof a common fewer, impregnated with alkaline and animal fubftan-ces, and falts in folution, it mull become putrid in a (horter period.On this account, it i$ more favourable for the purpofe of floodingWafte lands. To ufe the- language of Mr Wimpey, “ fpring watermay quench a man’s third, as well as porter or Itrong ale; the lat-ter, however, is more nouriftiing. The fame is the cafe with waterhfed in flooding wafte land. Pure fpring water may prevent the foilfrom being parched with drought. Foul water does the fame. Butit does more ; it furnifhes meat as well as drink to the foil. ”
On all thefe accounts, fummer is more fuited for the purpofe offlooding waste land than winter. Twenty-four hours in the formerfeafon, will operate as powerfully as the fame number of days in thelatter. Wherever that operation is conducted, efpecially where pu-trid water is ufed, the coarfe and ufelefs herbage disappears, and arapid growth of fucculent graffes rifes in its place. This is the cafeeven on fterile moffes. Hence, on the band's of thofe pools whereSax is watered, in moffes, chickweed and other plants that de-light in a rich and putrid foil may be feen, though, over all the ad-jacent fields, nothing but heath, and coarfe and ufelefs herbage ap-pear. Thefe banks, too, are not only converted into a fertile foil&y this means, but they may be ufed as a manure for other land.
Section VII.
Of Warping Mosses and Waste Lands .
, This is only an appropriate name for a particular species offlooding. As it has been seldom or never attempted in Scotland ,it may be proper to point out the manner in which it is done—the season most suitable for this purpose—the advantages thathave attended the practice—and the precise situations where itmay be attempted.
First, The manner of warping land has been described by se-veral economical writers. The ingenious Mr Brown of Markle,who has seen it practised to a great extent in Yorkshire , describesit in his second volume on Rural Affairs, in the following manner :“ We now come to another branch of irrigation, provineiallytailed warping, which is one of the greatest improvements that