MOOR, in country affairs, denotes an unlimited tract of land, usually over-run with heath.
Moor-Cock, or Gor-Cock. See TERRAO.
Moor Land, or moory soil, in agriculture, is a black, light, and soft earth, very loose, and without any admixture of stones; and with very little clay or sand.
The uppermost stratum of the fen-lands is usually of this earth, and it commonly constitutes a moderately thick or deep bed. Intermixed with water it cannot easily be worked up into a paste; and when with labour worked up into somewhat of a firm mass, its surface appears spongy and porous; and as soon as dry, it easily moulders away to powder.
It is usually soft to the touch, unless it be worked very closely between the fingers; then it shows a mixture of a small quantity of sand, both to the touch and to the eye. It seems indeed to consist almost entirely of pure vegetable matter; and this lying in such plenty on the surface of the fen-lands is the cause of their being so very fertile.
The great disadvantage of the places which have this soil, is their being liable to be glutted with wet; and to remedy the inconveniences arising from thence, the farmers who rent these lands have a custom of burning the soil at proper seasons. It burns very freely and easily, the surface readily catching flame; and a substance somewhat bituminous, usually contained among the soil, helps the burning.