P60; 4 
to be burnbeaked; and it might perhaps be equally 
eafy to prove, that fuch land ought not to be bro- 
ken upatall. Thefe ideas, refpecting the nature of 
the foil of the Wiltfhire downs, have been digefted 
from a long acquaintance with, and obfervation of 
them ; and if they arerightly taken up, the follow- 
ing general rules may be deduced from them. 
No down land fhould be broken up, but /uch as 
will bear corn for a continuance, after the ftimulus ex- 
cited by the firft burnbeaking is fubfided. 
No down land will bear corn for a continuance, 
unlefs it be manured with fome permanent alterative 
manure, and there is no fuch manure to be had on 
Wiltfhire downs but chalk. 
The red land will in general bear chalking. The 
black land feldom or never will. 
The red land therefore, provided its texture be 
Jirong, cobefive, and four, and particularly if it be deep 
in its ftaple, and incumbered with {trong bufhes or 
furze, may in general be broken up; and provided 
fuch land is intended to be properly chalked after- 
wards, no great harm can be done by burnbeaking 
it previous to the firft crop, provided the furface 
be pared thin, and as little of the earth burnt as 
poflible. Perhaps it is not only the cheapeft, but 
the beft way of bringing it into tillage. 
The black land fhould by no means be broken. 
It is always too light, and generally too thin, for a 
ftate of tillage. Chalk has apparently no effe&t upon 
VOL. VII. M it, 
