tBd 



f Mi; fmpnAi Ai^mctjLftJni&f, iptpt. t, tm. 



started. From a reliable Loudon source we get the 

 followiog estimate of production for 1885. 



Pounds. 



I'^uitcd States 70,000 



Germany 70,000 



England 50,000 



France 40,000 



Italy 30,000 



India (febrifuge) 10,000 



Total 270,000 



These figures wore shown to some members of the 

 trade in this city and it is hardly necessary to state 

 that they were characterized a ridiculous. We were 

 volunteered another estimate as follows: — 



TTnited (States 

 <\'ermany 

 iilngland 

 France 

 Italy ... 

 India 



TOUNDS. 



100,000 

 120,000 

 27,000 

 30,000 

 35,000 

 10,000 



Total 322,000 



In August 1884, the Be porter published an interview 

 with a gentleman who placed the total production 

 of the world at 4,.')00,000 ounces, forty per cent, of 

 which was consumed by the United States. The 

 production of the latter at that time was estimated 

 at 1,000,000 ounces, or 500,000 ounces less than 

 before the removal of the duty. From those state- 

 ments some one may be enabled to strike a happy 

 medium and arrive at a closer osLimate of the world's 

 production. 



13. Answered in the preceding paragrai)h. 

 15. The duty on castor oil is 8U cents per gallon. 

 Ed.] 



PARING AND BURNING LAND. 



This method of clearing land is of very ancient 

 date, and is more generally resorted to by the agricul- 

 turist than the gardener, probably for this reason — 

 that in a well kept garden the soil is kept at such 

 a high state of eflBcieney by continuous manuring 

 end constant cleaning as rarely to require any such 

 radical treatment, for one of the principal advantages 

 •of paring and burning is, that in one operation it 

 not only cleans the land but also manures it. In the 

 formation of new gardens, however, and especially 

 where the ground is overrun with noxiou.s weeds and 

 the coarser kinds of grasses, such as Ooho (Imperata 

 cylindrica) and Mootho (Cyperus hexastachyus), this 

 is frequently not only the most etfectual but also 

 the cheapest and most expeditious means of clearing 

 the ground. 



In carrying out the system of paring and burning, 

 we must first consider what soils are suitable for 

 the work, and our experience teaches us that light, 

 sandy soils are not adapted for it, nor is it so much 

 required for cleaning this kind of land, because these 

 soils work freely, and therefore the grass and weeds 

 are easily separated from the earth, and besides soils 

 of this description rarely become so foul as those of 

 a more tenacious nature. It is also difllcult in prac- 

 tice to burn these soils, because when turves or 

 bunches of grass grown upon these soils are cast on 

 the fires they settle down so closely that the air is 

 impeded in its circulation through the heap, conse- 

 quently the fire burns slowly or goes out entirely. 

 The soils best adapted for paring and burning, in 

 order to obtain the full advantage of the process, 

 arc those of a strong calcareous nature, and most 

 other clays, the object being to obtain manure as 

 well as the destruction of weeds. "Wo obtain import- 

 ant results by the residue or ashes of the stronger 

 ooils of any description, and especially those yielding 

 a large amount of potash and carbonate of lime, each 

 in varying proportions according to the composition 

 of the soil before burning. In the process of burn- 

 ing, valuable ashes are obtained from the coarse grasses 

 and otlu'.r weeds the soil may contain. Thet.e weeds 

 /ind g?a»s yvheu left in undisturbed nossessiop of the 



soil, are the resort of various sorts of insects 

 inimical to almost every kiml of produce, and although 

 these insects may be greatly disturbed by the ordinary 

 process of culture, yet their entire destruction is only 

 obtained by the action of smoke and fire in the 

 case of paring and burning. The enemies to crops 

 are really so numerous that it would be simply im- 

 po.ssible to enumerate them all, but the chief of them 

 consist of wire-worms, grubs, slugs and snails ; all 

 these will be destroyed entirely by paring and burning 

 the land, especially if it is done by turfing and 

 burning with as little disturbance as possible to the 

 turves after being cut. We strongly advise the plan 

 of paring as compared with cultivating before burning 

 which is sometimes adopted, because the latter plan 

 during tillage would so disturb the insects in their 

 haunts and holes that many would escape and again 

 hide themselves in the loose earth before the clods 

 could be placed on the fires, but it is ortherwise 

 when the surface is cut over by paring say to a 

 depth of four to six inches, because in that case 

 they would be but little disturbed in their hiding 

 places before the turves where placed on the fires. 

 This is one of the strongest reasons why the old 

 style of paring and burning is still most advisable. 

 We must now refer to the record of experimental 

 investigations made on the subject by Dr. Voelcker, 

 one of our greatest authorities upon may points and 

 practices in agriculture and scientific farming. He 

 says: — "I am prepared to adduce reasons founded 

 upon analytical evidence and well-established agri- 

 cSitural experience, in support of my conviction, that 

 paring and burning on some kinds of soils is not 

 only a profitable operation, but that it is under 

 certain circumstances by far the most rational plan 

 of cultivation which can be adopted in our present 

 state of knowledge for raising ujion some kinds of 

 land the largest amount of produce with the least 

 expenditure of money. In connection with the pohcy 

 of paring and burning we must expect to meet 

 objections, and to encounter some opposition from 

 both practical men and theorists also, the former 

 through want of experience, and the latter through 

 mi.sapprehension of the teachings of science. Various 

 classes of objectors have arisen from time to time. 

 There have been three principal ones which we shall 

 refer to separately. The first objtctors condemn the 

 practice because they say it destroys the organic or 

 vegetable matters in the soil, and that it causes a 

 waste of a most important classes of fenilising 

 constituents. In reply we do not deny that vegetable 

 matters are soil constituents under all circumstances, 

 and prove more or less valuable as fertilisers ; in 

 fact well cultivated and productive soils invariably 

 contain much organic matter, which circumstance has 

 led many to suppose that the productiveness of the 

 soil depended upon their relative pioportions found 

 therein. Not many years past it was customary for 

 agricultural writers to estimate the relative state of 

 fertility of different soils by determining the amount 

 of huinus or decomposed vegetable matters in each. 

 This it must be understood is clearly contrary to 

 reason and well ascertained facts, for there are soils 

 which, like peaty lauds, contain a large percentage 

 of vegetable matter and yet are comparatively sterile. 

 On the other hand there a.re very many fertile clay 

 soils which contain hardly any humus and yet are 

 highly productive, and which for this reason may 

 with much advantage be subjected to the process of 

 burning. The last objection we have to notice is on 

 the ground of expense, and maintaining that it is 

 more profitable to lay out money in the purchase of 

 Guano, ^^iaperphosphates or other artificial manures 

 than to spend it in paring and burning. In reply we 

 may observe that the opinions of practical men on 

 this subject furnish most reliable evidence that paring 

 and burning, as practised by the best farmers in 

 England, proves, conclusively that it has been found 

 to be the most economical means of culture for 

 many descriptions of crops." 



We quote from Dr. Voelcker's essay on the subject, 

 who observes : that " Numerous personal enquiries 

 lead me to coufirm the opinion expressed by Mr, Cwird, 



