SECTION XI.

NOTE I. Page 307.

It is clear, and has been proved by repeated experience, that Trenching or Double-digging will double the value of most land, provided that the new surface turned up be properly treated. The poorer and thinner the land, the more striking will be the result of any trial, that may be made of it. In illustration of this, the reader is referred to Note IV. at page 415, anteh., where some curious experiments are recorded.

NOTE II. Page 311.

Were I called upon to name the person, to whom the Farmer, in most districts of Scotland, and in many of England, is under the greatest obligations, I should certainly name the late Lord Meadowbank. The Arboriculturist, in both countries, must also rank him among his best benefactors. In ancient times, such a person might very possibly have been deified; at all events, a Statue would have been erected to the memory of the man, who instructed his countrymen in the art of at once doubling and tripling the whole mass of their manure, by a very simple and certain process. In modern days, likewise, we erect statues, but it is not for achievements of this useful species.

It is now more than twenty years, since Lord Meadowbank communicated his discovery to the public, in a small pamphlet, entitled, "Directions for Preparing Manure from Peat;" but I do not know, whether much improvement has since been made, in the art of fermenting that substance. The general complaint is, that it is nearly incapable of being decomposed, by the small

quantity of animal manure, which Lord Meadowbank prescribes, that is, a third or fourth part; and, indeed, that it cannot be decomposed at all, or reduced to the state of a fine dark-coloured mould, in which neither peat nor dung is discernible.

Having paid as much attention, as most persons, to this process, for several years back, for both arboricultural and agricultural purposes, I am satisfied, that the want of success, so generally experienced, is owing to two causes chiefly; First, the too moist condition of the Peat, when it is made up; and Secondly, the exhausted state of the Dung, employed in the fermentation; both of which prevent the antiseptic quality of the moss from being counteracted, and the peat from being rendered soluble.

As to the first point, the moist state of the Peat, it seems clear, as Lord Meadowbank has observed, that, although no active fermentation can take place without moisture, yet moisture may superabound; and therefore, it is necessary to wheel out the peat, some weeks beforehand, in order that the superfluity may be expelled, by exposure to the atmosphere. In this state, however, I have seldom found, that I could, by means of time, and even by thrice fermenting the mass, effectually decompose the peat, and thereby reduce it to a friable mould. In order to remedy this, I have successfully practised the following method of procuring peat-moss; which, as it has succeeded with myself, I shall shortly communicate, in the hope that it may prove of the same use to others.

Whoever has the command of this valuable substance, must be aware, that, when dug out for fuel, it is done in sections or banks, from four to six feet deep; where, after throwing back the upper strata, on the Spread-field (as it is called), the peat is set out to dry. These masses of the superincumbent strata, after some years' work, naturally extend, and soon cover the field to a considerable depth. They accumulate here and there in irregular mounds; and, being exposed to the elements, and particularly to frost, they gradually advance in decomposition, and assume the appearance of a fine dark-coloured mould, sometimes of a foot and eighteen inches deep. In this desirable state it is to be driven away, and thrown up in heaps, for the purpose

of fermentation; a process, which it is thus prepared to undergo at once, and with the one half of the difficulty, that attends the pure peat, as prescribed by Lord Meadowbank.

Besides this improvement, a great saving is made in Dung and Labour; the one-half of the dung only being required to excite fermentation, and less than the one-half of the labour, to turn the heaps. If the fuel be cut down to the clay, in a regular manner, as should always be done; or if the spread-field, in summer, can be turned up with the plough, a considerable improvement may be made, in procuring a greater mass of materials, and also in exposing a larger surface to the action of the atmosphere, and preparing it for future use. With such materials, I have found, that fermented Moss-compost may not only. be prepared more perfectly, than by the former method, but at nearly one half the expense..

In respect to the Second point, the exhausted state of the Dung, before being applied. There is nothing more common, than to take dung for this sort of compost, from the great mass, accumulated for months in the farm-yard, and never stirred, excepting for the spring or fallow crops. But, for this purpose, dung, supposing it to be the joint produce of Horses and Cattle equally, should be regularly carried out, and applied to the compost-heaps, once a fortnight or three weeks, at the least. Thus, it will be applied, before much disposition to fermentation come on; after which, it is plain, that all animal manure becomes nearly effete, and loses the greater part of its value. In order that the fresh manure may be applied with the greatest effect, sufficient bodies or heaps of Peat-moss must always be in readiness; and, should it happen to be late in the season, that is, after the month of October, it will be necessary to cover them, as soon as mixed up, with straw, rushes, shows, or such other substance, as will prevent the escape of the heat. Were a farmer, or a planter, who has the command of peat-moss, at a reasonable distance, diligently to proceed in this manner, it is no exaggeration to say, that he would annually double, or more probably triple, the amount of his disposable manure.

The preparing of Moss-Compost with Lime, in a proper manner, so as really to decompose the peat, and preserve the

qualities of the lime, is a process, which is not generally understood. The common way is, to mix, in nearly equal portions, lime newly calcined (Scot. Lime-shells), and Peat-moss; by which means heat, in far too great a proportion, being disengaged, and the lime suddenly slacked by the moisture of the moss, the heat becomes so violent, as to reduce the peat to charcoal; to dissipate, in a gaseous state, all its component parts, excepting only the ashes, part of the carbonaceous matter, and the fixed air absorbed by the lime. Thus, the lime is rendered nearly effete and powerless, and brought back to the state of mere chalk; instead of forming such a combination with the peat, and the gas generated in the process, as, on being applied to the soil, should promote the growth of plants.

Owing to the hasty manner, in which almost the whole of the present Treatise has been drawn up (each Section having been printed off, as soon as it was composed), several omissions, as already mentioned, have been made, and for which an apology has been made to the reader. Among these omissions, few are more important to the planter, than some directions for preparing Lime-Compost. They should have had a place in Section VI., and I shall endeavour here to supply the deficiency.

The ingenious Lord Dundonald, who, from his residence, at one time, in the higher districts of Lanarkshire, was better acquainted with Peat-moss, than any other of our chemists, that have written on husbandry, has treated this subject with great attention, in his useful work on the Connexion between Chemistry and Agriculture. I shall therefore give his directions, which are both judicious and scientific, in his own words. Lime-Compost, he observes, is prepared, " by mixing newly made, and completely slacked lime, with about five or six times its weight of peat, which should be moderately humid, and not in too dry a state. In this case, the heat generated will be moderate, and never sufficient to convert the peat into carbonaceous matter, or to throw off, in a state of fixable air, the acids therein contained. The gases, thus generated, will be inflammable and phlogisticated air, forming volatile alkali, which will combine, as it is formed, with the oxygenated part of the peat, that remains unacted on by the lime, applied for this especial purpose, in a small proportion. By this mode of conducting the

process, a soluble saline matter will be procured, consisting of phosphat and oxalat of ammoniac, whose beneficial effects on vegetation are already well known to the agriculturist."-Pp. 109, 110.

It appears, from what has been said above, that an ignorance of the true nature of these ingredients, has probably disappointed the Farmer, not less than the Planter, in the application of this excellent compound; which I can particularly recommend, either for a top-dressing for grass grounds, or a valuable compost for the roots of Trees. The proportion of the lime to the peat-moss, here given, should be carefully observed: And it would be a great improvement, in order to ensure its full effect, were the preparation to be made under cover, in a shed or outhouse dedicated to the purpose; because a superabundance of rain, or too great an exposure to air, will prevent a due action of the lime upon the peat. As is truly remarked by the ingenious nobleman above referred to, the success of most operations, but more especially those of a chemical nature, greatly depends on a sedulous observance of circumstances seemingly trivial: and it is by the neglect of these, that the most important objects dependent on them are generally defeated.

I believe, there are many gentlemen good Planters, but ardent Agriculturists, who, in perusing this Essay, and perceiving what science might accomplish, towards the improvement of their parks, by means of the Transplanting Machine, might yet be deterred from a due Preparation of the Soil, by the seeming quantity of Manure that is prescribed for it. But here is a noble, and valuable compound, adapted to all soils and climates, and which may be applied at a very small expense, without encroaching on the stercoraceous collections of their farm-yards. There are comparatively few situations in this kingdom, in which Peat-moss of tolerable quality is unattainable on account of distance; and it is fortunate that it is so; because we know no

"In two-thirds of all the land in Scotland (says an intelligent writer) Moss, sufficient for making Compost, may be found within a mile. Unless it be in some parts of the Counties of Edinburgh and Haddington, there is scarce one farm in Scotland, south of the Forth, but can have moss within five miles; and not one farm in a thousand, but may find it within three miles."-Aiton's Treatise on Moss-Earth, p. 174.