On Paring and Barning. 343 



periodicals. On the one hand we possess the testimony of 

 trustworthy and acknowledged g:ood fanners, who all speak very 

 favourably of this mode of raising produce ; on the other hand, 

 there are not wanting men of intelligence who advise airricul- 

 turists not to adopt paring and burning as a regular farm routine ; 

 and some men wlio go to the length of condemning this practice 

 unconditionally, as being wasteful and inconsistent with scientific 

 principles and good practice. We cannot feel surprised at such 

 great diversity of opinion if we bear in mind how difficult it is 

 with most men to discard preconceived theoretical views ; how 

 little, comparatively speaking, is known of the rationale of even 

 common farm practices ; how much more easy it is to give 

 vent to speculations than to establish a single fact ; and hov/ few 

 men are capable of explaining in intelligible language the more 

 direct cause or causes of their success, and of the failure experi- 

 enced by others. Again, it is an undeniable fact that fixed rules 

 cannot be laid down in agriculture, of which it can be reasonably 

 expected that they will lead invariably to the same results : for 

 it is self-evident that the very same operation which in one 

 locality perhaps has doubled the produce, may in another district 

 remain unattended with any benefit, or, under unfavourable cir- 

 cumstances, may even do harm instead of good. We must, 

 therefore, be prepared to meet with discussions on agricultural 

 matters, and to expect, it may be, plans, proved by long personal 

 experience, to be called in question, or even to be condemned or 

 ridiculed. 



In the absence of scientific principles — and agriculture will 

 always more partake of the cliaracters of a practice than of 

 those of science — agricultural discussions, carried on in a candid 

 and generous spirit, must be doing much good. They often 

 ventilate the question under discussion in all directions, and tend 

 by degrees to the establishment of principles useful to intelligent 

 men. Uniformity of opinion leads to stagnation, and this, in the 

 world of intellect, is as baneful as it is in tlie physical world, 

 whatever the relations may be in which stagnation may be 

 considered. Thus the discussions which ajjpear from time to 

 time in our agricultural periodicals on paring and burning are 

 not so unprofitable as they may perhaps seem at first sight. For 

 my own part, I feel indebted to them for several liints, which 

 have much assisted me in the examination of the question : " Is 

 paring and burning, as a regular farm practice, founded on 

 correct principles or not ? " 



The object of the following pages is to record some experi- 

 mental investigations made on this subject, and to adduce 

 reasons, founded upon analytical evidence and well-established 

 agricultural experience, in support of my conviction that paring 



2 A 2 



