Victorinus, who reigned in the third century; thefe coins were much injured by the corrofion of the marine acid, but feveral were ftill perfect enough to trace the outlines of the emperor.

"As foon as the evaporation affifted the confolidation of the furface, the air, within a mile of the marth, became fo ftrongly impregnated with a fulphureous fmell, as to render the place quite obnoxious to paffengers, till the ground was perfectly dry this might probably happen from the evaporation of the fluid parts, producing a decompofition in the mud, forming therein a hepar fulphuris; or hepatic air may be easily produced, by adding fea water to dung, or vegetable fubftances, from the vitriolic falts contained in the water, and which probably was the cafe in this foil. In the courfe of a few months the furface of the marth was depreffed from twelve to eighteen inches; fo that the bed of the river became higher than the furface of the land. "In making the drains, it was discovered, that the upper ftratum, of two feet and a half, confifted of a dark-coloured mud, formed from the fediment of stagnant water and a peaty fubftance, bound firmly together by an infinite number of the gofs and rufh roots; the fubftratum, an entire body of peat three feet and an half deep, of which twenty-one inches are of a very black colour, and the lowest part of a light brownish or deep yellow; under the peat lies a ftratum of fand about five feet deep, which carries evident marks of its being the bed of the fea, of a very ancient date, and which has been gradually excluded by means of the accumulation of muddy fediments, and the dropping of the leaves, &c. of a. quatic plants; and which together

form peat mofs. The horizontal pofition of the leaves and ftems, which are easily discovered in the peat, is a strong prefumption of thofe bodies having fallen down, and being buried by the conftant accumulation of mud, which with, the leaves are the component parts of peat, though by fome it has been faid to be a vegetable production, fui generis. The total exclufion of air is abfolutely neceffary before thefe bodies will affume the real appearance or properties of peat mofs; and it is probable, that the upper ftratum, which at this time partakes of very little of real peat, would at a future period, by the gradual addition of fimilar bodies and the exclufion of air, poffefs the fame qualities and properties as the under ftratum, and by this gradual accumulation totally exclude the fea. But the coins found in the marfh indicate that the production of peat mofs has been very flow in this particular spot.

"The ftratum of fand under the peat does not appear to be the original bed of the fea; for on ftreaming or fearching for tin, from fix to ten feet deeper, another ftratum was difcovered, confifting of round fmooth pebbles and gravelly fubftances containing tin; among which are bodies of trees, and a large number of hazel-nuts in the most perfect ftate, and which must have been collected in this place by means of fome extraordinary inundation, that fwept thofe beds away from the higher lands.

"In confequence of the difcovery of peat in this marth, a large quantity has been cut up, dried, and made ufe of as an article of fuel. for a variety of purposes, to which it is admirably adapted,, and fold at a much cheaper rate than coals, and boils water in much less

time; it is applied in public breweries, and for every culinary pur pofe as an article of fuel; it is made fe of to great advantage in grates, hearths, or ovens, and, when coaked, will ferve for the niceft operation in chemistry, and in that ftate is fufficiently trong to fmelt metals of the most difficult fufion: experiments are now making on it to calcine lime, which is intended as manure for this land. This peat produces a fmall quantity of red afhes, which, on lixiviation, are found to contain a large proportion of fea falt, which, for land not already impregnated with the marine acid, will prove a valuable ma

nure.

"After the drains were finished, all further operations on this land were difcontinued till the fpring of 1794, when the furface of a great many acres, confifting of light fedgy fubftances, was pared and burned during the fummer, and the athes fpread over the land; afterwards the plough was introduced, to destroy the amazing growth of the arundo phragmitis, which, from the infinite number of its ftrong fpreading roots, bound the furface 1o firmly together, as to require a numerous team of cattle to plough it a proper depth, and which, from their frequent treading over the fame ground, rendered the foft parts impaffable; but this difficulty was overcome by ploughing the first time without a mould board, fo that fewer oxen were able to perform the fame work. The foil, on being turned up, yielded a moft offenfive fmell, though not of the fulphur kind. The land was frequently ploughed and harrowed, even to fix or feven times, the inflammable fubftances fet on fire, and the afhes fpread on the furface. After all these operations,

which were alfo repeated in 1795, the ground became confiderably depreffed and fo confolidated as to admit of carts with narrow wheels, loaded with a ton of clay to pafs over it with great cafe. On the fides of the drains, large quantities of yellow fea falt may be collected, and which were produced by the evaporation of its fluid parts.

In the fpring of 1794, four acres of ofiers were planted, after the ground had been thrown up into ridges; but the large quantity of fea-falt deftroyed the whole, except a few which grew on the higher ground in great luxuriancy. The offers at first put forth fine fhoots; but as foon as their tender roots abforbed the faline particles in the foil, they died immediately. Potatoes were alfo planted in large quantities the fame feafon; but most of them, particularly in the low places, where they never vegetated, fhared the fame fate.

"On enquiry I find that thofe farmers who lay large quantities on their piles (heaps) of manure, experience the fame lofs on thefe spots for two or three years afterwards; and then the ground affumes the richeft ftate of vegetation. In the fpring of 1795, after the furface was covered with large quantities of clay, feveral acres were fown with oats, fome of which produced very good crops, particularly in thofe places where the marine acid was diminished. Turneps and potatoes alfo grew well.

"At prefent, the pon trivialis grows naturally in the greateft luxe uriancy on every part where the faline particles are not in too large a

quantity: the appearance of this grafs is a fure indication of the foil having parted with a large propor tion of the falt. Several forts of cultivated graffes have been tried in

Small

&c. on land where common wheels cannot be admitted.

"Every meadow in this improv.

"It is furprifing to fee the effects of frequent plonghing, &c. on this kind of foil, which, though at firft only a congeries of roots and light fubftances, has, in a year or two, by fuch practice, affumed an earthlike appearance; and, with the addition of clay, lime, fmall quantities of manure, particularly of animal oil, and frequent heavy rolling, is likely to become, from the moft ufelefs fpot, the most productive land for pafture, to which only it should be applied. In order to confolidate the foil more perfectly, fo that the earthy particles may embrace the roots of the graffes, and retain their proper moisture, on which the luxuriancy of fuch foils in a great meafure depends, the furface is to be frequently compreffed, by means of a rolling-cart, which may be burdened according to the state of the land, and is a most useful machine to carry mahure on low-lands during wet feafons.

"This machine confifts of three circular pieces of strong elm, two feet diameter, and each eighteen inches long, through which a strong iron axis is paffed, fo as to protrude a few inches on each end beyond the rollers; after all, allowing an inch between each piece, for the conveniency of turning round. On the projecting part of the axis, a fixed frame-work is placed to fupport the cart, which may be loaded to any degree, and employed fimply as a roller, or to carry manure,

eafe, by means of the river close to the embankment, and which will be employed for that purpofe, when pafture is introduced throughout the whole.

Marsh lands in general will admit of the greatest improvement, by the following mode of treatment: Firft-By a mechanical arrange

ment and change of its different parts, as by frequent ploughing, harrowing, and burning.

Secondly By the addition of
heavy fubftances, as marle,
clay, gravel, &c.
Thirdly-By fuch fubftances as
act chemically, and bring the
inert vegetable matter into ac-
tion, as lime, chalk, alkaline
falts, &c.
Fourthly-By manures, particu-
larly those which contain a
large quantity of animal oil or
mucilage, as putrid fish, fea-
wrack, ftable dung, &c.; for
marsh land in general feldom
contains any animal fubftance,
which, in great measure, is
the grand conftituent part of a
rich foil.
Fifthly-By compreffion, with
rolling-carts, cattle, &c.
Sixthly By watering.

The fandy and croft foils adjoining to the marsh have been cultivated, and produced this fummer very excellent crops of potatoes, turneps, barley, oats, buck-wheat, and tares."

"Thirty-fix acres, at 221. 6s. 24d. per acre, is 7951. 13s. 6d.—the amount of all the expences to make the marsh pafture land."

LETTERS

“BY

"My lords and gentlemen, Y your fecretary, Mr. More, I received your refolutions refpecting your purchafing from me the mode of my preparing the fample of opium which I took the liberty of fending to you for your particular infpection, and at the fame time to beg the favour of your having a fufficient trial of its properties, which I find you have been fo obliging as to have done; and likewife have granted to me the fifty guineas as a purchase of my method of preparing opium; for which you have my fincere thanks; and I am exceedingly pleafed to find, that it was thought worthy the notice of fo honourable and refpectable a fociety; and am fatisfied there can be no other mode of preparing or collecting the true and genuine opiuni, than what follows. "Nothing can be more fimple, or attended with lefs expence, than the making or extracting the pure and genuine opium from the large poppies, commonly called or known by the name of garden poppies; the feeds of which I would advife to be fown the latter end of February, and again about the fecond week in March, in beds three feet and an half wide, well prepared with good rotten dung, and often turned or ploughed, in order to mix it well and have it fine, either in finall drills, three in each bed, in the manner fallads are fown, and, when about two inches high, to thin them one foot apart; or otherwife, to fow them in beds in the broad-caft way, and thin them to the fame distance (if the weather hould prove wet at that time, thofe

that are taken up may be transplanted; but I do not fuppofe the tranfplanted ones will anfwer, having but one fpill-root, and will require frequent waterings): keep them free from weeds, they will grow well, and produce from four to ten heads, fhewing large and different-coloured flowers, which, when the leaves die away and drop off, the pods then being in a green state, is the proper time for extracting the opium, by making four or five fmall longitudinal incifions with a fharp-pointed knife, about one inch long, on one fide only of the head or pod, juft through the scarf-fkin, taking care not to cut to the feeds: immediately on the incifion being made, a milky fluid will iffue out, which is the opium, and, being of a glutinous nature or fubftance, will adhere to the bottom of the incifion; but fome are fo luxuriant, that it will drop from the pod on the leaves underneath. The next day, if the weather should be fine, and a good deal of funshine, the opium will be found a greyish fubftance, and fome almoft turning black: it is then to be fcraped off the pods, and, if any, from the leaves, with the edge of a knife, or an inftrument for that purpose, into pans or pots; and in a day or two it will be of a proper confiftence to make into a mass, and to be potted.

As foon as you have taken away all the opium from one fide of the pod, then make incifions on the oppofite fide, and proceed in the fame manner. The reafon of my not making the incifions all around at the first, is, that you can