(968 ANNUAL 
stances which have been all used as 
manures, upon the largest scale. 
Their effect depends on the defi- 
‘ciency of the soil, Clay is benefi- 
cial on sand, but sand not equally 
so on clay: what is called clay, is 
sometimes found on examination to 
be loam, and always improves a 
sandy soil. Sea-sand, from the 
quantity of shells it contains, par- 
takes of the nature of marle. 
BURNT CLAY, MARLE, and EARTH, 
are frequently applied as manure 
in every part of the United King. 
dom. Their nature and properties 
will vary with the proportion of 
calcareous earth. they contain, as 
that is converted by burning into 
lime. 
Pantne and purRNtING are mecha- 
nical operations; and though no- 
thing is. directly added to the soil 
by them, yet the elfects are fre- 
quently very beneficial. The nature 
of the ashes resulting from this ope- 
ration, must necessarily vary ac- 
cording to the nature of the earth 
burned ; but in all cases. the opera- 
tion reduces the roots of vegetables 
to coals and ashes. and this prepares 
a stimulant aud nutriment for 
plants, The eifect of heat in this 
operation is visible wherever burn. 
ing has been practised, by the spots 
where the firds were made assuming 
a deeper green than the rest of the 
field. The properties of the ashes 
may also vary with the soil, but 
they all operate as a very powerful 
manure: the practice of paring and 
burning has never been adopted 
without success. ‘The common 
practice of col/ecting the turf, is to 
pare on some soils from two inches 
thick to half an inch oa others ; but 
an inch may be considered the ave- 
rage depth; uad the chicf attention 
required in burning, is to guard 
REGISTER, 1806. 
A 
against too great a calcination. 
‘considerable variation of the state in 
which the ashes are applied exists; in 
common practice; some farmers 
spread and plough them in imme- 
diately ; others leave’ them for a 
considerable time in heaps exposed 
to the atmosphere. In the applica- 
tion they should be kept as near the 
surface as possible, and care should 
be taken not to bury them very 
deep in the furrow; and as- this 
work can only be done in dry wea- 
ther, the season is necessarily li- 
mited to the summer months. The 
quantity of this manure must depend 
on the depth of paring, and on moist 
soils it may beapplied with success : 
experiments have confirmed the be- 
neficial effects of paring and burning 
on clay, loam, sand, chalk, and 
peat. 
Yanrp and sTABLE puNG is the 
principal manure’ employed. by 
ninety-nine farmers out of a hun- 
dred; but whether it should be 
accumulated. in heaps till fermenta- 
tion and putrefaction have brought 
it to a certain state, in which it is 
most ready and proper for applying 
to the land, or whether it should be 
carried to the land before that fer. 
mentation and putrefaction take 
place, has excited much dissertation 
and inquiry. Thelate Mr: Ducket 
conceived, that the more dunghills 
were stirred, the more their virtue 
was lost. Mr. Patterson, of Wim- 
bledon, and Mr. Bocket, of Hert. 
fordshire, are of the same opinion. 
Mr. Johnson, of Kingsthorpe, near 
Northampton, has for many years 
been in the practice of Jaying long 
dung, merely wetted. by his cattle, 
on the Jand, and has found that the 
fresher it is used the better the ef- 
fect. Mr. Robinson, near Salise 
bury, has been confirmed in this 
practice 
