The culture of moss lands has proceeded but slowly in Lancashire during the last twenty-six years. Adjoining the portion cultivated by the late venerated Mr. Roscoe, as described in our Encyc. of Agr., 2d edit. p. 747., an extensive tract has lately been undertaken by Mr. Reid, whose success has been most complete. Mr. Reid proceeds on the principle, that manure, water, and any description of earthy matter, not deleterious to vegetables, will produce a crop of herbaceous plants. He has accordingly drained, levelled, and cut into small pieces, about 200 acres of the mossy surface; coated it with marly clay, at the rate of 150 cubic yards or tons per acre; and given it, what would be called by farmers, a good coating of putrescent manure. After this treatment in 1829, he planted, in the beginning of 1830, potatoes, which paid 25l. per acre, or more than all the expenses incurred. After the potatoes he has an excellent crop of wheat, now on the ground, and estimated at from three to four quarters per acre. On a piece of 50 acres, so treated in 1830, wheat was sown as a first crop, and now appears as if it would produce at least five quarters per acre. Clover and Stickney's rye-grass succeed admirably. It is but doing justice to Mr. Reid, to state that he has conducted all his operations at once in the most scientific and the most economical manner; if encouraged to proceed, he will soon cover the whole moss with verdure, which alone will be an inestimable advantage to the public; but we shall never consider Chat Moss, or any similar collection of peat, permanently and securely subjected to man, till it is so drained by deep cuts in judicious situations, and by time, that the 20 or 30 ft. of spongy moss, on the surface of which Mr. Reid now operates, shall be consolidated to 2 or 3 ft. Our reason is, that the earthy matter applied, being of a different specific gravity from the moss, will gradually sink down into it, till it reaches the bottom. We know that lime on the surface of grass lands on sandy soil will sink into the soil, and after a few years, say seven or ten, be found in a regular stratum, a few inches below the surface. It will continue to sink till it meets with earthy matter of its own specific gravity. Mr. Reid has promised us an accurate account of his operations, which we shall give in a future Number, with the details of our tour; in the mean time it may be useful to observe that he proceeds on the general principles laid down by Steele, in his Essay on Peat Moss, which excellent work may be considered as Mr. Reid's text-book. We could have wished to see the mosses in the north of Lancashire, between Lancaster and Ulverston, and the Solway Moss and others between Longtown and Dumfries, covered with verdure; but we were informed that the two large proprietors to whom Solway Moss belongs, not living in the country, take very little interest in it or the surrounding lands, farther than receiving such rents as they may get. In this case, as in many others, agricultural and general improvement will remain at a stand, till some circumstance shall compel the division and sale of estates now much too large. One of the greatest stimuli that could be given to agricultural and general improvement would be the removal of the law of entail, and the imposition of such a tax on landed and funded property, for the purpose of gradually paying off the national debt, as would compel non-residents, and those who had their estates deeply mortgaged, to bring a portion of them to market. We find this opinion very generally expressed by the middle and poorer classes throughout the country, and more especially in the large towns. The result would be of the greatest service both to commercial and serving gardeners, because the consequent building and planting of farm-houses and villas would occasion a great demand for nursery articles, now a drug in most nurseries, and supply places for many indigent gardeners.
