350 On Paring and Burninr/. 



this matter. I may observe, however, tliat I have been at con- 

 siderable pains to ascertain tfie ojiinions of practical men on this 

 subject, and have received reliable evidence that paring and 

 burning, in the judgment of the best farmers on the Cotswold 

 hills, is the most economical means of raising on land of certain 

 descriptions a good crop of turnips ; and that it has been followed 

 for ages with the most successful results. Numerous personal 

 inquiries lead me to confirm the opinion expressed by Mr. Caird, 

 who says that the best farmers on the Wold burn tlie most. 



Mr. Caird rests his opinion on the testimony of several practical 

 men; amongst other things he mentions "a field which had been 

 broken up from its natural state exactly fifty years ago; it was 

 then pared and burned, and so started the first crop of turnips, 

 which supported the other crops of the course. 'I'he same 

 process had since been seven times repeated ; no manure of any 

 liind had ever been applied, except such as arose from the con- 

 sumption of its own produce on the ground, and the crops in 

 each succeeding rotation had shown no sign of decreasing. The 

 soil, which lies on the lower oolite formation, is very thin, but as 

 it is not more so than when first broken up, its depth inust have 

 been maintained by the ploughman, perhaps imperceptibly, 

 bringing up some fresh subsoil after eacli burning." 



It affords me peculiar pleasure to show the perfect agreement 

 of this practice with scientific principles ; and I hope likewise to 

 be able to show that the money laid out in paring and burning is 

 much more economically spent than b}' purchasing guano, super- 

 phosphate, or other manures for root-crops. 



On the Changes produced on Paring and Burning. 



In order to enable the reader fully to understand the advan- 

 tages resulting from paring and burning, it now devolves upon 

 me to explain briefly tlie changes which take place in the con- 

 stituents of the soil submitted to this operation. 



These changes are of a twofold character. 



The first relates to the action of fire on the organic matters, 

 the second to that of fire on the mineral substances of the soil. 

 Let us consider each separately. 



1. Action of Fire upon the Organic Matter of the Soil. 



All cultivated soils contain organic matter, some in smaller, 

 others in larger proportions, in the sliape of decaying or decayed 

 roots, leaves, &c. In badly drained and in naturally stiff soils 

 these organic remains rapidly increase from year to year, whilst 

 under ordinary cultivation such an accumulation of organic matter 

 does not take place on sandv, porous, and well-drained, light soils. 



