12 EUROPEAN AGRICULTURE. 



paring and burning the surface, which is, I believe, pretty exten 

 sively done in some parts of England. In that case, I presume, 

 a great portion of the substance burned is vegetable matter, 

 which almost of itself furnishes the fuel for burning the soil. 

 I have ploughed up a fallow-field as deep as the plough would 

 go, perhaps a foot deep, of which three or four inches were 

 clayey soil, and the rest pure clay, and have then with coal- 

 slack burned the whole in small heaps, or in rows. This is the 

 third season since it was done ; but the two which have elapsed 

 have, from drought, been extremely unfavorable for the cultiva 

 tion of land out of which every particle of moisture had been 

 burned.&quot; 



&quot; I have also very imperfectly succeeded in having the burning 

 effected as I should have wished. The clay breaks up in large, 

 rough, solid lumps, and it is extremely difficult to subject the 

 whole to the action of fire, without having a large portion of it 

 reduced to brick, or brick-dust. Under the most favorable cir 

 cumstances this is difficult, and the difficulty is constantly in 

 creased by weather. A violent wind drives through the heaps, 

 rapidly consumes the fuel, bricking the clay in contact with it, 

 and leaving the rest untouched ; or a soaking rain, for a day or 

 two, interferes equally unfavorably. The object, I presume, 

 should be to get the fire to smoulder through the whole mass, 

 which no doubt would be more easily effected if it were some 

 what of a more loamy character, and had any tendency in itself 

 to carry on the action of the fire.&quot; 



&quot; In 1843, I. had a very full crop of barley from the first half 

 acre, which was burned and spread down early in the spring, 

 and received a good soak of rain. From the next portion I had 

 a very bad crop of potatoes, and from the rest of the field a poor 

 crop of turnips, which were sowed very late, and, from want of 

 moisture, did not come up till they should have been half grown. 

 They were a healthy crop, but very small. Last year I sowed 

 barley, which came up very partially, from want of moisture ; 

 and in June, I ploughed it up and soAved turnips, which in all 

 this part of the country (as well as in that field) were, last year, 

 (1841,) a complete failure. These two years of non-return from 

 the burned land indisposed me to try it for another without the 

 aid of manure. I dunged it, and have now on one half a good 

 growing crop of oats, and on the other a beautiful crop of wheat. 



