MOSS OF KINCARDINE

MOSS OF KINCARDINE. A remarkable tract of ground in the shire of Perth in Scotland, which deserves particular notice, not merely as a topographical curiosity, or as a subject of natural history; but for the information, equally uncommon and important, which it affords, respecting agricultural improvement, and the promotion of industry and population.

The moss of Kincardine is situated in the parish of the same name, comprehended between the rivers Forth and Teith, and in that district of Perthshire called Monteith. The moss begins about a mile above the confluence of these rivers; from thence it extends in length about four miles, and from one to two in breadth; and before the commencement of the operations (an account of which is to be given), comprehended near 2000 Scotch acres, of which about 1500 belong to the estate of Blair Drummond, the property of Lord Kames by his marriage with Mrs Drummond of Blair Drummond.

As mosses are extremely various in their nature; before entering upon the improvements made in Kincardine moss, it will be proper to give a short description of that moss, and of the subjacent soil which is the object of those improvements.

The moss lies upon a field of clay, which is a continuation of those rich, extensive flats in the neighbourhood.

borough of Falkirk and Stirling, distinguished by the name of carse. This clay, which is one uniform homogeneous mass sinking to a great depth, is found near the surface, consists of different colours, and is disposed in layers. The uppermost is grey; the next is reddish; and the lowest, which is the most fertile, is blue. Through the whole mass not a pebble is to be found. The only extraneous bodies it contains are sea-shells, which occur in all the varieties peculiar to the eastern coast of Scotland. They are disposed sometimes in beds, sometimes scattered irregularly at different depths. By attending to these circumstances, it cannot be doubted that the sea has been the means of the whole accumulation, and that it was carried on in a gradual manner by the ordinary ebb and flow of the tide. Upon any other supposition, why should there not have been a congeries of all the different materials that compose the surface of the surrounding heights? But to whatever cause the origin of this accumulation may be ascribed, certain it is that no soil whatever is more favourable to vegetation, or carries more abundant crops of every kind.

The surface of the clay, which, upon the retreat of the sea, had been left in an almost level plane, is every where thickly covered with trees, chiefly oak and birch, many of them of a great size. These trees seem to have been the first remarkable produce of the carse; and it is probable they were propagated by dissemination from the surrounding eminences. They are found lying in all directions beside their roots, which still continue firm in the ground in their natural position; and from impressions still visible, it is evident they have been cut with an axe or some similar instrument. For the cutting of wood, the two common purposes are, either to apply it to its proper use, or that the ground it occupies may be cultivated. In the present case, however, neither of these ends had been proposed, since the trees, by being left just as they were cut, were not only entirely lost, but the ground was rendered totally unfit for cultivation. Hence it is evident, that the downfall of this wood must be ascribed to some more extraordinary cause; and to none more probably than to that expedient, which, as we learn from Dion Cassius and other historians, the Romans put so extensively in practice to dislodge from their forests the ancient inhabitants of the British islands.

This hypothesis acquires no small degree of force from a circumstance that occurred in May 1768, when a large round vessel of thin brass and curious workmanship, 25 inches in diameter and 16 inches in height, was discovered upon the surface of the clay buried under the moss. This vessel, found upon the estate of John Ramsay, Esq. of Ochtertyre, was by that gentleman presented to the Antiquarian Society of Edinburgh; in whose museum it remains deposited for preservation. And in a list of the various donations presented to that society, published by them in 1782, it is there denominated a Roman camp-kettle.

Between the clay and the moss is found a stratum nine inches thick, partly dark brown and partly of a colour approaching to black. This is a vegetable mould, accumulated probably by the plants that covered the ground previous to the growth of the wood, and by leaves from the trees thereafter. The difference of colour must be owing to a difference in the vegetable

substances that compose it. The brown mould is highly fertile; the other, especially in a dry season, is very unproductive. The crop that had occupied this mould when the trees were felled is found still entire. It consists chiefly of heath; but several other smaller plants are also very distinguishable.

Immediately above this stratum lies the moss, to the height, upon an average, of seven feet. It is composed of different vegetables arranged in three distinct strata. Of these the first is three feet thick. It is black and heavy, and preferable to the others for the purpose of fuel. It consists of bent-grass (agrostis), which seems to have grown up luxuriantly among the trees after they were felled. The second stratum also is three feet thick. It is composed of various kinds of mosses, but principally of bog-moss (sphagnum). It is of a yellow or iron colour, and remarkably elastic. It is commonly called white-peat; and for fuel is considered as much inferior to that above mentioned. The third stratum is composed of heath and a little bent-grass, but chiefly of the deciduous parts of the former. It is about a foot thick, and black.

Three strata of different vegetables lying above each other, the limits of each distinctly marked, and each distinguished by a different colour, is certainly a curious natural phenomenon.

An inquiry will here occur, What has occasioned this succession in the vegetables of which the moss is composed?

Every vegetable has a particular soil, more or less moist, peculiarly adapted to its nature. Let a piece of ground be in a moist state, rushes will introduce themselves; drain the ground sufficiently, the rushes will disappear, and finer vegetables will succeed. It seems reasonable to account for the succession of the different plants that compose the moss on similar principles.

Let us imagine an extensive plain covered with trees lying in all directions, full of branches, and possibly loaded with leaves. This it is evident would produce a great stagnation of water, which, as the crops of bent-grass accumulated, would still increase: and the probability is, that at length it had so increased, as to be the cause why the bent-grass and other congenial plants of the first stratum ceased to grow. But it is evident that a plant was to be found that could live in such a situation. Accordingly we see that bog-moss had established itself; a plant that loves even to swim in water.

When the accumulations of bent-grass and the mosses had, in process of time, arisen to the height of six feet above the surrounding carse ground, the water that fell upon the surface had by that means an opportunity to discharge itself. It has accordingly formed many channels, which are often three feet deep; and the intermediate surface being wholly turned into little hillocks has become dry and firm. By this means it became unfit for mosses, and heath succeeded.

Such seems to have been the process in the formation of what is now called a moss.

By far the greatest part of the moss in question is, upon an average, full seven feet deep, and has in all probability lain undisturbed since its formation: this is called the High Moss. The remainder, called the Low Moss, lies to a considerable breadth around the extremities of the high; and is, upon an average, not above three feet in depth,

Moss. depth, to which it has been reduced by the digging of peats. These are formed of that stratum of the moss only that lies four feet below the surface and downwards; the rest is improper for the purpose, and is thrown aside.

Before the introduction of the plan which is now pursued, two methods chiefly were employed to gain land from the moss. 1st, The surrounding farmers marked off yearly a portion of the Low Moss next to their arable land, about 15 feet broad. This they removed with carts and spread upon their fields, some acres of which they for that end left unfown. Here it lay till May or June; when, being thoroughly dry, it was burnt to ashes to serve as a manure. By this means they added to their farms about half a rood of land yearly. But this plan proved unsuccessful; for by the repeated application of these ashes, the soil was rendered so loose that the crops generally failed. 2dly, Many farmers were wont to trench down the low moss, and to cover it furrow deep with clay taken out of the trench. This, though commendable as an attempt to improve, proved likewise an unavailing method; because in a dry season the superficial covering of clay retains so little moisture that the crop commonly fails.

It has been attempted to cover the moss with clay brought from the adjacent grounds. But what from the necessary impoverishment of the ground from which the clay was carried, and the softness of the moss, this was soon found to be impracticable.

Draining has also been proposed as another mode of improvement; and it must be acknowledged, that, by means of draining, many mosses have been converted both into arable and meadow grounds, which in the end became interesting improvements. But in a moss, such as that of Kincardine, this method would be ineffectual; as for several feet deep it is of such a nature, that upon being dry and divided into parts, it would blow with the wind like chaff; and when thrown aside in the operation of digging peats, it lies for years without producing a single vegetable, except only a few plants of forrel.

Hence it is evident, that all attempts to improve this moss must ever prove abortive; and that the object to be had in view is the acquisition of the valuable soil lying underneath; to which end nothing less is requisite than the total abolition of the moss.

By the methods above described from 100 to 200 acres of moss had been removed. When the present plan was introduced, there still remained covered with moss from 1300 to 1400 acres of coarse clay—a treasure for which it must be ever interesting to dig.

In the year 1766 Lord Kames entered into possession of the estate of Blair Drummond. Long before that period he was well acquainted with the moss, and often lamented that no attempt had ever been made to turn it to advantage. Many different plans were now proposed; at length it was resolved to attempt, by means of water as the most powerful agent, entirely to sweep off the whole body of moss.

That moss might be floated in water, was abundantly obvious; but to find water in sufficient quantity was difficult, the only stream at hand being employed to turn a corn-mill. Convinced of the superior consequence of dedicating this stream to the purpose of floating off the moss, Lord Kames having made an

agreement with the tenant who farmed the mill, and the tenants thirled consenting to pay the rent, he immediately threw down the mill, and applied the water to the above purpose.

In order to determine the best manner of conducting the operation, workmen were now employed for a considerable time upon the Low Moss both by the day and by the piece, to ascertain the expense for which a given quantity of moss could be removed. It was then agreed to operate at a certain rate per acre; and in this manner several acres were removed.

But this was to be a very expensive process. The ground gained might, indeed, be afterwards let to tenants; but every acre would require an expenditure from 12 l. to 15 l. before it could be ready for sowing; so that the acquisition of the whole, computing it at a medium to be 1350 acres, would sink a capital of nearly 20,000 l. Sterling.

One other method still remained; namely, to attempt letting portions of the moss, as it lay, for a term of years sufficient to indemnify tenants for the expenses incurred in removing it. For some time both these plans were adopted; but several reasons made the latter preferable. 1. The quantity of water to be had was small; and being also uncertain, it was very inconvenient for an undertaker; neither were there any houses near the spot, which occasioned a great loss of time in going and coming: but when a man should live upon the spot, then he could be ready to seize every opportunity. 2. The moss was an useless waste. To let it to tenants would increase the population of the estate, and afford to a number of industrious people the means of making to themselves a comfortable livelihood.

In the mean time it was determined, till as many tenants should be got as could occupy the whole water, to carry on the work by means of undertakers.

But before proceeding farther, it will be necessary to describe the manner of applying water to the purpose of floating the moss.

A stream of water sufficient to turn a common corn-mill will carry off as much moss as 20 men can throw into it, provided they be stationed at the distance of 100 yards from each other. The first step is to make in the clay, along-side of the moss, a drain to convey the water: and for this operation the coarse clay below the moss is peculiarly favourable, being perfectly free from stones and all other extraneous substances, and at the same time, when moist, slippery as soap; so that not only is it easily dug, but its lubricity greatly facilitates the progress of the water when loaded with moss. The dimensions proper for the drain are found to be two feet for the breadth and the same for the depth. If smaller, it could not conveniently receive the spadefuls of moss; if larger, the water would escape, leaving the moss behind. The drain has an inclination of one foot in 100 yards: the more regularly this inclination is observed throughout, the less will the moss be liable to obstructions in its progress with the water. The drain being formed, the operator marks off to a convenient extent along-side of it a section of moss 10 feet broad; the greatest distance from which he can heave his spadeful into the drain. This he repeatedly does till the entire mass be removed down to the clay. He then digs a new drain at the foot of the

the mofs-bank, turns the water into it, and proceeds as before, leaving the mofs to pursue its course into the river Forth, a receptacle equally convenient and capacious; upon the fortunate situation of which, happily forming for several miles the southern boundary of the estate, without the interposition of any neighbouring proprietor, depended the very existence of the whole operations.

When the mofs is entirely removed, the clay is found to be encumbered with the roots of different kinds of trees standing in it as they grew, often very large: their trunks also are frequently found lying beside them. All these the tenants remove often with great labour. In the course of their operations they purposely leave upon the clay a stratum of mofs six inches thick. This, in spring, when the season offers, they reduce to ashes, which in a great measure ensures the first crop. The ground thus cleared is turned over, where the dryness admits, with a plough, and, where too soft, with a spade. A month's exposure to the sun, wind, and frost, reduces the clay to a powder fitting it for the seed in March and April. A crop of oats is the first, which seldom fails of being plentiful, yielding from eight to ten bolls after one.

In the year 1767 an agreement was made with one tenant for a portion of the Low Mofs. This, as being the first step towards the intended plan, was then viewed as a considerable acquisition. The same terms agreed upon with this tenant have ever since been observed with all the rest. They are as follow:

The tenant holds eight acres of mofs by a tack of 38 years; he is allowed a proper quantity of timber, and two bolls of oatmeal to support him while employed in rearing a house; the first seven years he pays no rent; the eighth year he pays one merk Scots; the ninth year two merks; and so on with the addition of one merk yearly till the end of the first 19 years; during the last five years of which he also pays a hen yearly. Upon the commencement of the second 19 years, he begins to pay a yearly rent of 12s. for each acre of land cleared from mofs, and 2s. 6d. for each acre not cleared, also two hens yearly: A low rent indeed for so fine a soil; but no more than a proper reward for his laborious exertions in acquiring it.

In the year 1768 another tenant was settled. These two were tradesmen; to whom the preference was always given, as having this great advantage to recommend them, that even when deprived of water they need never want employment. The motives that induced these people to become settlers were, 1^st, The prospect of an independent establishment for a number of years. 2^dy, The mofs afforded them great abundance of excellent fuel; to which was added the comfortable consideration, that, while busied in providing that necessary article, they had the double advantage of promoting, at the same time, the principal object of their settlement.

Notwithstanding these inducements, still settlers offered slowly; to which two circumstances chiefly contributed: 1^st, The whole farmers surrounding the mofs threw every possible obstruction in their way. 2^dy, By people of all denominations the scheme was viewed as a chimerical project, and became a common topic of ridicule. The plan, however, supported itself; and in the year 1769 five more tenants agreed for eight

acres each; and thus 56 acres of Low Mofs were disposed of. From the progress made by the first settlers, and the addition of these, the obloquy of becoming a mofs-tenant gradually became less regarded; so that in the year 1772 two more were added; in 1773, three; and in 1774, one; in all 13: which disposed of 104 acres; all the Low Mofs to which water could then be conveyed. As water is the main spring of the operation, every tenant, beside the attention necessary to his share of the principal stream, collected water by every possible means, making ditches round his portion of the mofs, and a reservoir therein to retain it till wanted.

The tenants in the Low Mofs having now begun to raise good crops, in the year 1774 several persons offered to take possessions in the High Mofs, upon condition that access to it should be rendered practicable. The High Mofs wanted many advantages that the Low possessed. To the Low Mofs, lying contiguous to the surrounding arable lands, the access was tolerably good; but from the arable lands the High Mofs was separated by 300 or 400 yards of the Low, which, even to a man, affords but indifferent footing, and to horses is altogether impracticable. The Low Mofs is in general only three feet deep; the High Mofs is from six to twelve feet in depth.

It will appear at first sight, that without a road of communication the High Mofs must for ever have proved unconquerable. Without delay, therefore, a road was opened to the breadth of twelve feet, for several hundred yards in length, by floating off the mofs down to the clay.

This being effected, and at the same time an opening given to admit water, in the year 1775 twelve tenants agreed for eight acres of high mofs each. In consideration of the greater depth of this part of the mofs, it was agreed, that during the first 19 years they should pay no rent; but for the second 19 years the terms of agreement were the same as those made with the tenants in the Low Mofs. To the above mentioned tenants every degree of encouragement was given; as upon their success depended, in a great measure, the disposal of the great quantity of mofs still remaining. But their success, however problematical, was such, that next year,

In all, including those upon the Low Mofs, 42 tenants, occupying 336 acres.

Though for some time the disposal of the High Mofs went but slowly on, it was not for want of tenants; but the number of operators was already sufficient for the quantity of water; to have added more would evidently have been imprudent.

In the year 1783 Mr Drummond entered into possession of the estate of Blair-Drummond, and went fully into the plan adopted by his predecessor for subduing the mofs. At this time there still remained undisposed of about 1000 acres of High Mofs. As water was the great desideratum, it was determined,

that to obtain that necessary article neither pains nor expence should be wanting. Steps were accordingly taken to ascertain in what manner it might be procured to most advantage.

Meanwhile, to prepare for new tenants a second road parallel to the former, at the distance of half a mile, was immediately begun and cut, with what water could be got, down to the clay, 12 feet broad and 2670 yards long, quite across the mofs. This opening was previously necessary, that operators might get a drain formed in the clay to direct the water; and it was to remain as a road that was absolutely necessary, and which relieved settlers from an expence they were unable to support. These preparations, the progress of the former tenants, and the prospect of a farther supply of water, induced 10 more to take possessions in the year 1783; in the year 1784, 18 more took possessions; and in 1785 no fewer than 27;—in all, 55 tenants in three years, which disposed of 440 acres more of the High Mofs.

As the introduction of an additional stream to the mofs was to be a work both of nicety and expence, it was necessary to proceed with caution. For this reason several engineers were employed to make surveys and plans of the different modes by which it might be procured. In one point they all agreed, that the proper source for furnishing that supply was the river Teith; a large and copious stream that passes within a mile of the mofs: but various modes were proposed for effecting that purpose.

To carry a stream from the river by a cut or canal into the mofs was found to be impracticable; and Mr Whitworth (a) gave in a plan of a pumping machine, which he was of opinion would answer the purpose extremely well.

Soon after this Mr George Meikle of Alloa, a very skillful and ingenious millwright, gave in a model of a wheel for raising water entirely of a new construction, of his own and his father's invention jointly. This machine is so exceedingly simple, and acts in a manner so easy, natural, and uniform, that a common observer is apt to undervalue the invention: But persons skilled in mechanics view machinery with a very different eye; for to them simplicity is the first recommendation a machine can possess. Accordingly, upon seeing the model set to work, Mr Whitworth, with that candour and liberality of mind that generally accompany genius and knowledge, not only gave it the greatest praise, but declared that, for the purpose required, it was superior to the machine recommended by himself, and advised it to be adopted without hesitation.

The better to explain this machine, two sketches are annexed, to the first of which the following letters refer. The explanation of the second will be found upon the sketch.

Plate a. Sluice through which is admitted the water that moves the wheel.

b, b. Two sluices through which is admitted the water raised by the wheel.

VOL. XII. Part I.

c, c. A part of one of two wooden troughs and an aperture in the wall, through which the above water is conveyed into the buckets. [The other trough is hid by two stone walls that support the wheel.]

d, d, d. Buckets, of which 80 are arranged on each side of the arms of the wheel = 160.

e, e, e. A cistern, into which the water raised by the buckets is discharged.

f, f, f. Wooden barrel-pipes, through which the water descends from the cistern underground, to avoid the high road from Stirling and the private approach to the house.

Sketch second contains a plan of the cistern, and exhibits the manner in which the water is filled into the buckets.

The diameter of the wheel to the extremities of the float-boards is 28 feet; the length of the float-boards, 10 feet. The wheel makes nearly four revolutions per minute; in which time it discharges into the cistern 40 hogsheds of water. But this is not all the wheel is capable of performing; for by several accurate trials by Messrs Whitworth and Meikle, in the result of which, though made separately, they perfectly agreed, it was found that the wheel was able to lift no less than 60 hogsheds per minute; but that the diameter of the pipes through which the water descends from the cistern would not admit a greater quantity than what they already receive.

To a person at all conversant in hydraulics, the resemblance of this to the Persian wheel must be obvious; and indeed it is probable, that from the Persian wheel the first idea of this machine was derived. But admitting this, still the superiority of the present wheel is, in most respects, so conspicuous, as to entitle it to little less praise than the first invention. For, 1st, In the Persian wheel, the buckets being all moveable, must be constantly going out of order: In this wheel they are all immoveable, consequently never can be out of order. 2dly, Instead of lifting the water from the bottom of the fall as in the Persian wheel, this wheel lifts it from the top of the fall, being from four to five feet higher; by which means some additional power is gained. 3dly, By means of the three sluices (a, and b, b, fig. 1.) in whatever situation the river may be, the quantity of the water to be raised is so nicely adjusted to that of the moving power, as constantly to preserve the wheel in a steady and equable motion. In short, as a regulator is to a watch, so are these sluices to this wheel, whose movements would otherwise be so various, as sometimes to carry the water clear over the cistern, sometimes to drop it entirely behind, but seldom so as fully to discharge the whole contents of the buckets into the cistern.

It is however but candid to remark, that this machine labours under a small defect, which did not escape the observation of Mr Whitworth; namely, that by raising the water about 3½ feet higher than the cistern where it is ultimately delivered, a small degree of power is lost. To this indeed he proposed a remedy; but candidly confessed, that, as it would render the machine

somewhat more complex, and would also increase the friction, he thought it more advisable to keep it in its present state. At the same time he justly observed, that as the stream by which the wheel is moved is at all times copious and powerful, the small loss of power occasioned by the above circumstances was of little or no avail.

This stream is detached from the Teith at the place where that river approaches nearest to the mofs. The surface of the latter is about 15 feet higher than that of the former; the cistern is therefore placed 17 feet above the surface of the stream, so as to leave a declivity sufficient to deliver the water upon the surface of the mofs.

The pipes through which the water descends from the cistern are composed of wooden barrels hooped with iron 4 feet long and 18 inches in diameter within.

In these pipes, having been conveyed under ground for 354 yards from the cistern, the water at once emerges into an open aqueduct. This aqueduct, which was formed according to a plan by Mr Whitworth, is constructed wholly of earth or clay; and in order to keep the water on a level with the surface of the mofs, it is for nearly two-thirds of its course elevated from 8 to 10 feet above the level of the adjacent grounds; the base being 40 feet broad, the summit 18 feet, and the water-course 10 feet broad. It commences at the termination of the pipes; from whence extending above 1400 yards, it discharges the water into a canal formed for its reception on the surface of the mofs.

For raising the water to this height there were two reasons. 1^st, That not only where it was delivered on the mofs, but even after being conveyed to the most distant corners, it might still retain sufficient power to transport the mofs to the river Forth. 2^dy, That reservoirs of a sufficient height might be formed in the mofs to retain the water delivered during night.

In consequence of Mr Whitworth's advice, a contract was entered into with Mr Meikle in spring 1787; and by the end of October in that year, the wheel, pipes, and aqueduct, were all completely finished: and whilst, in so complex and extensive an undertaking, is by no means common, the different branches of the work were so completely executed, and so happily adjusted to each other, that upon trial the effect answered the most sanguine expectations. The total expence exceeded £. 1000 Sterling.

To induce the proprietor to embark in this undertaking, the mofs tenants had of their own accord previously come under a formal engagement to pay the interest of any sum that might be expended in procuring a supply of water. But he was determined they should not enjoy by halves the sweets of this long-wished-for acquisition. With a view, therefore, not only to reward their past industry, but to rouse them to future exertions, he at once set them free from their engagement; nor has any interest ever been demanded.

This new supply was a most acceptable boon to the mofs tenants.—In order to make an equitable distribution, the water raised through the day was allotted to one division of operators; that raised during the night to another. To retain the latter, a canal was formed, extending almost three miles through the centre of the mofs. From place to place along the sides

are inserted sluices to admit water to the reservoirs of the possessors; each sluice having an aperture proportioned to the number of operators to be supplied from the reservoir which it fills. For the water raised through the day no reservoirs are necessary; as it is immediately used by the division to which it is allotted.

This additional stream, though highly beneficial, yet is not more than sufficient to keep 40 men at constant work. But such a quantity as would give constant work is not necessary; the operators must be often employed in making and repairing their drains, grubbing up roots of trees, &c.; so that a quantity sufficient to give five or six hours work per day to the whole inhabitants is as much as would be wanted. But as the quantity procured was still insufficient for this purpose, a small stream that descended from the higher grounds was diverted from its course and brought into the mofs. From want of level this stream could not be delivered to the greatest advantage; namely, upon the surface of the mofs. Yet by making, at a considerable expence, a drain half a mile long, and a reservoir for the night-water, it was rendered of much importance. And during the whole winter months, as well as in summer, after every fall of rain, it keeps 15 persons fully employed.

In the year 1787 two more tenants agreed for eight acres each; in 1788, four; in 1789, eight; in 1790, four tenants, all agreed for the same number of acres.

The whole mofs was now disposed of, except that part called Flow-mofs, which comprehended about 400 acres. Here it is twice the usual breadth, so fluid that a pole may be thrust with one hand to the bottom; and the interior part, for near a mile broad, is three feet above the level of all the rest of the mofs. Hitherto the many and various difficulties that presented themselves had been overcome by perseverance and expence. But here the extraordinary elevation of the mofs, joined to its great fluidity, seemed to exclude all possibility of admitting a stream of water; and it was the general opinion that the mofs-operations had now arrived at their ne plus ultra, and that this mofs was doomed to remain a nuisance for ages to come.

But the proprietor had now advanced so far that he could not submit to retreat; and he considered himself as, in some measure, pledged to the country for the completion of this undertaking. To detail the various methods practised to introduce a stream of water into that mofs, would prove tedious. It is sufficient to say, that after a thousand unsuccessful efforts, attended with much trouble and considerable expence, the point at last was gained, and a stream of water was brought in, and carried fairly across the centre of the mofs.

The greatest obstacle was now indeed overcome; but still another remained of no small moment, namely, the discouragement given to settlers from the total impossibility of erecting habitations upon the surface of this mofs. To find a remedy for this evil was difficult. Happily a resource at last occurred. This was to bargain with a certain number of the old tenants whose habitations were nearest, to take leases of portions of the mofs. But as some additional aid was here necessary, it was agreed that £. 12 Sterling should be gradually advanced to each tenant till he should accomplish the clearing of an acre, for which he or his successor is bound to pay 12s. of yearly rent, equal

Mos. equal to five per cent. upon the sum advanced. When this point shall be gained, they are bound to dispose, as most agreeable to themselves, either of their old or of their new possession; for which, when once an acre is cleared, purchasers will not be wanting.

In consequence of the above arrangement, during the year 1791 no fewer than 35 of the old tenants agreed, upon the foresaid conditions, for eight acres each of the Flow-mos. Thus 1200 acres are now disposed of to 115 tenants. But when these 35 tenants shall each have cleared their acre, then, according to agreement, 35 additional tenants will speedily be acquired; and the mos will then contain in all 150 families.

To the leases already granted to the tenants in the High Mos, it is now determined to add a further period of 19 years (making in all 57 years), during which they are to pay one guinea per acre; a rent not greater than the land is worth even at present, but greatly below its probable value at that distant period. This, it is hoped, will prove to the tenants a sufficient incitement to continue their operations till their possessions are completely cleared from mos.

Having now gone through, in detail, the whole progress of the colony since its first settlement in the year 1767, it still remains to take a general view of the effects produced by that establishment.

For several years, at first, the water was used chiefly to carry off mos, in the forming of new roads, and preparing reservoirs; which considerably retarded the principal object of gaining land. Nevertheless there have been cleared full 300 acres of excellent land, producing wheat, barley, oats, and clover, yielding from six to twelve bolts after one.

From the nature of the undertaking, there is good reason to suppose that the operations will yearly advance with greater rapidity; especially as the greater number of the settlers have only of late begun to operate. Many, besides maintaining their families otherwise by occasional employments, have in the High Mos cleared in a year one rood of land; some have cleared two, some three roods, and in the Low Mos an acre.

It was a remark often made, even by persons of some observation, that by collecting together such a number of people, Kincardine would be over-stocked; and the consequence would be their becoming a burthen on the parish: for as the bulk of them were labourers not bred to any trade, and possessed of little stock, it was foreseen that, for some time, they could not afford to confine themselves solely to the mos, from which the return must be slow; but behaved, for immediate subsistence, to work for daily hire. Happily these predictions have proved entirely groundless; for such is the growing demand for hands in this country, that not only do the whole of these people find employment whenever they choose to look for it, but their wages have been yearly increasing from the time of their first establishment. In short, they have proved to the corner where they are set down a most useful nursery of labourers; and those very farmers who, at first, so strongly opposed their settlement, now fly to them as a sure resource for every purpose of agriculture. Still

they consider the mos-operations as their principal business; none pay them so well; and when they do leave it to earn a little money, they return with cheerfulness to their proper employment. Many of them already raise from 10 to 60 bolts of grain, and have no occasion to go off to other work; which will soon be the case with the whole. Their original stock, indeed, did not often exceed L.25, and some had not even L.10; but what was wanting in stock is compensated by industry.

Of the whole inhabitants full nine-tenths are Highlanders, from the neighbouring parishes of Cailander, Balquibidder, &c.; a sober, frugal, and industrious people, who, inured to hardships in their own country, are peculiarly qualified to encounter so arduous an undertaking. From this circumstance, too, arises a very happy consequence; that wearing a different garb and speaking a different language from the people amongst whom they are settled, they consider themselves in a manner as one family transported to a foreign land. And hence upon all occasions of difficulty, they fly with alacrity to each others relief. Neither ought it to be forgotten, that, from their first settlement to the present day, not a single instance has occurred amongst them of theft, bad neighbourhood, or of any other misdemeanour, that required the interposition of the civil magistrate. Nor, however poor in circumstances, has any one of them ever stooped to solicit assistance from the funds of the parish appropriated to that purpose.

Though few of the tenants entered with a large stock, one only has been obliged to leave the mos from incapacity to proceed. Many indeed have spent their small stocks, and even run a little in debt: but in this case they have been permitted to sell their tacks upon the following conditions: 1^st, That the purchaser shall be a good man; 2^d, That the seller shall take another possession. By this manœuvre a new inhabitant is gained; while the old one, relieved from debt, and aided by past experience, recommences his operations with double spirit upon a new possession. The monied man, again, has at once a house and a piece of ground; the want of which, chiefly, startled new beginners.

Some have even made a kind of trade of selling; inasmuch, that from the year 1774 to the present year 1792, no fewer than fifty sales have taken place, producing in all the sum of L.849 Sterling. This proved from time to time a most seasonable recruit to the colony, and gave new vigour and spirits to the whole.

The number of the settlers is productive of an excellent effect; that although some are generally absent, enough still remain to occupy the water constantly. In a favourable day there may be seen hundreds, men, women, and children, labouring with the utmost assiduity. The women declare they can make more by working at the mos than at their wheel; and such is the general attachment to that employment, that they have frequently been discovered working by moon-light.

Another happy consequence arising from their numbers is the great quantity of mos they consume for fuel. There are in all 115 families. Each family requires at an average 10 dargues (3) of peats yearly.

Each darg uncovers a space equal to 10 square yards of clay: so that by casting peats, the mofs tenants gain yearly about 6 roods of land.

The advantage, too, of providing their fuel with so little trouble, is very great. They require yearly 1150 dargs of peats; which, as each darg when dried and stacked is valued at five shillings, are worth 2871. 10s. Sterling; a sum which otherwise must have been expended on the prime cost and carriage of coals. Many of them cast peats for sale; and L. 100 worth are yearly disposed of in the town of Stirling, the village of Down, &c.

Though mofs-work be laborious, it is at the same time amusing. The operator moves the mofs five feet only at a medium; and the water, like carts in other cases, carrying it off as fast as it is thrown in, excites him to activity. Still he must submit to be wet from morning to night. But habit reconciles him to this inconvenience; while his house and arable land fill his eye and cheer his mind. Nor is it found that the health of the inhabitants is in the smallest degree injured either by the nature of the work or the vicinity of the mofs.

The quantity of mofs that one man can move in a day is surprising; when he meets with no interruption, seldom less than 48 cubic yards, each weighing 90 stones. The weight, then, of mofs moved per day is no less than 4320 stones. A cubic yard is moved into the water, and of course carried into the river Forth for one farthing. It follows, that the expence of moving 48 cubic yards is one shilling. But the same quantity moved to the same distance by carts would cost 24 shillings. Hence the advantage derived from the possibility of floating mofs in water, and the great importance of having water for that purpose.

The mofs, when contrasted with the rich lands surrounding, appeared, especially before the improvements, a very dreary spot; one wide unvaried wild, totally unproductive, unfit even to furnish sustenance to any animal, except here and there a few wretched straggling sheep. Besides, it entirely cut off all connection betwixt the farms on either side; amongst which no intercourse was practicable but by a circuit of several miles.

The scene is already greatly changed. The following are the numbers of the inhabitants now residing in the mofs; also of their cows and horses, and of the acres gained by them from the mofs, together with their produce.

The produce in bolts cannot be exactly ascertained: but, considering the goodness of the soil, may be fairly stated at 8 bolts per acre, inde 2400 bolts.

As oats are the staple commodity, the calculation shall be confined to that grain. According to the hars of Stirlingshire, crop 1790 (the last crop for which

they have been struck), carfe oats are valued at 14s. per boll. Inde 2400 bolts at 14s. is L. 1680.

A track of ground so considerable, formerly a nuisance to the country, thus converted into a fertile field, filled with inhabitants, comfortable and happy, cannot surely be surveyed with an eye of indifference by any person whose mind is at all susceptible of feeling or of public spirit.

An excellent gravelled road 20 feet wide and a mile and a half long, is now carried quite across the mofs. By this means, in the first place, a short and easy intercourse is established between two considerable parts of the estate, formerly as little connected as if separated by a lake or an arm of the sea. Secondly, the inhabitants of the Mofs, to whom, hitherto, all passage with carts or horses was impracticable for at least one half of the year, have now obtained the essential advantage of being able, with ease, to transport all their different commodities at every season of the year. This road was entirely formed by the hands of the mofs-tenants, and gravelled by their own carts and horses: a work which, it will not be doubted, they performed with much alacrity; when it is considered that, to the prospect of procuring a lasting and material benefit to themselves, there was joined the additional inducement of receiving an immediate supply of money, the whole being done at the proprietor's expence.

The possessions are laid off in the manner best fitted for the operations; and are divided by lines running in straight lines parallel to each other. Parallel to these again the drains are carried; and this straight direction greatly facilitates the progress of the water with its load of mofs. Upon the bank of mofs fronting the lanes, the operation of floating is begun; and twenty or thirty people are sometimes seen heaving mofs into the same drain. That the water may be the more conveniently applied, the lanes include between them the breadth of two possessions only. The new houses are erected upon each side of these lanes at the distance of 100 yards from each other.

Before the formation of lanes and roads, and while yet no ground was cleared, the first settlers were obliged to erect their houses upon the surface of the mofs. Its softness denied all access to stones; which, at any rate, are at such a distance as would render them too expensive. Settlers, therefore, were obliged to construct their houses of other materials. Upon the Low Mofs there is found for this purpose great plenty of sod or turf, which accordingly the tenants use for the walls of their houses. For the rudeness of the fabric nature in some measure compensates, by overpreaching the outside with a luxuriant coating of heath and other moorish plants, which has a very picturesque appearance.

But upon the High Mofs there is no sod to be found. There the tenant must go differently to work. Having chosen a proper situation for his house, he first digs four trenches down to the clay, so as to separate from the rest of the mofs a solid mass, containing an oblong, rectangular area, sufficiently large for his intended house. This being done, he then scoops out the middle of the mass, leaving on all sides the thickness of three feet for walls; over which he throws a

Moss. roof, such as that by which other cottages are commonly covered.

Upon the softest parts of the moss, even these walls cannot be obtained. In such places the houses are built with peat dug out of the moss, and closely compressed together while in a humid state (c). It is necessary even to lay upon the surface a platform of boards to prevent the walls from sinking; which they have frequently done when that precaution was neglected. After all, to stamp with the foot will shake the whole fabric as well as the moss for fifty yards around. This, at first, startled the people a good deal; but custom soon rendered it familiar.

The colonists have now made considerable advancement in rearing better habitations for their comfort and convenience. Their huts of turf are but temporary lodgings. As soon as they have cleared a little ground, they build houses of brick; when the proprietor a second time furnishes them with timber gratis. It has also been found necessary to relieve them entirely from the payment of the burdensome tax upon bricks; a tax which surely was never intended to fall on such poor industrious adventurers; and which, without this assistance, would have proved a most effectual bar to the employment of these materials.

There are now erected in the moss 69 brick-houses, substantially built with lime. The total expense amounted to 1033l. Sterling. And it is a very comfortable circumstance, that the money expended upon these houses is mostly kept in circulation among the inhabitants themselves: for as a number of them have learned not only to manufacture but also to build bricks, and as others who have horses and carts furnish the carriage of lime and coals, they thus interchange services with each other.

With a view to excite the exertion of the colonists, the following premiums have lately been offered: 1. To the person who shall in the space of one year remove the greatest quantity of moss down to the clay, a plough of the best construction. 2. To the person who shall remove the next greatest quantity, a pair of harrows of the best kind. 3. For the next greatest quantity, a spade of the best kind, and 10lb. of red clover-feed. But as these premiums, if contested for by the whole inhabitants, could reach but a very few of the number, they have therefore been divided into six districts according to their situation, and the above premiums have been offered to each district.

The establishment of this colony has no doubt been attended with a very considerable share of expense and difficulty; for the undertaking was altogether new, and there were many prejudices against it, which it was necessary to overcome. At the same time it was noble and interesting: it was to make a valuable addition to private property: it was to increase the population of the country, and to give bread to a number of people; many of whom having been turned out of their farms and cottages in the Highlands, might otherwise, by emigration, have been lost to their coun-

try; and that too at a time when, owing to the great enlargement of farms, depopulation prevails but too much even in the low countries. And it was to add to the arable lands of the kingdom, making many thousand bolls of grain to grow where none ever grew before.

These considerations have hitherto preponderated with the proprietors against the various obstacles that present themselves to the execution of so extensive an undertaking. Should their example tend in any degree to stimulate others, who both in Scotland and in England possess much ground equally useless to the country, to commence similar improvements, it would be a most grateful consideration superadded to the pleasure already arising from the progress of the infant colony.

Moss-Troopers, a rebellious sort of people in the north of England, that lived by robbery and rapine, not unlike the torics in Ireland, the buccaneers in Jamaica, or banditti of Italy. The counties of Northumberland and Cumberland were charged with an yearly sum, and a command of men, to be appointed by justices of the peace, to apprehend and suppress them.