The Burn'' 103 



this object to have a small gang from the first 

 engaged in lopping, following a day or two after 

 the felling gang. 



About a month after the felling and lopping 

 operations have been completed, the clearing may 

 be set fire to. Should it be on the slope of a hill, 

 as is most frequently the case, the best plan is to 

 apply the torch at different spots about seventy or 

 eighty yards apart, in parallel lines across its face, 

 beginning near the top of the hill. If the ground 

 is level, fires may be applied at more frequent inter- 

 vals still, beginning near the centre. The burn 

 should not be commenced till between twelve or 

 one o'clock in the day, in order that the dews of 

 the previous night may have evaporated ; and fine 

 weather will of course be chosen as far as possible. 



Though a " good burn " is almost always eagerly 

 desired by the young planter, in order that the sub- 

 sequent operations may be rendered more easy, 

 there is little doubt that a fierce fire is more or less 

 prejudicial and injurious, calcining as it does the 

 organic constituents of the first inch or two of sur- 

 face soil. Were it possible to get rid of the mass 

 of timber and brushwood by some other means, 

 this would be most desirable and advantageous ; 

 but as this can hardly be done without greatly in- 

 creased labour and expense, the proposition will 

 seldom be entertained, more especially as neatness 



