BURNING LAND. 13 



One land of the wheat was left without manure. It was worse 

 than the rest, but not bad. In the working of the land a vast im 

 provement has been effected by the burning. I sent specimens of 

 my uriburned and burned clay to be analyzed by Professor John 

 ston, in Edinburgh ; who wrote to me, after the analysis, that he 

 was quite unable to assign any chemical reason for the fertilizing 

 effects attributed to it. I told him that I had not any experience 

 myself of its fertilizing effects ; and I then sent him specimens 

 of clay, burned and unburned, from Newhall, a colliery distant 

 about seven miles from this place, where I have been shown 

 fields, which are said to have borne six and seven successive 

 luxuriant crops without a particle of manure, after being burned, 

 having previously been exceedingly unproductive. The clay is 

 in appearance very different from mine, and burns into a very 

 different substance, apparently not having any tendency to burn 

 into brick, but into black and red loam. I have not yet received 

 Professor Johnston s report upon them.&quot; 



&quot; In the last two years I have burned a great deal of clay, but 

 it has been under different circumstances, and with different 

 objects. In draining my land, nearly the whole material taken 

 out is pure clay, which I consider unfit to be put in again, in that 

 state, over the tiles. I therefore burn it, and then fill the drains 

 with burned clay, of which about one half then remains, which 

 I cast upon my plough-land to improve its texture, in which way 

 I find it very useful.&quot; 



Experience is always a valuable instructor, when that expe 

 rience is intelligent, and carefully detailed. The letter which I 

 have given is, on every account, entitled to respect. I shall pro 

 ceed to give some other details from another source, the Journals 

 of the Royal Agricultural Society.* 



Mr. Charles Randell, who speaks of having had much expe 

 rience in the improvement of cold and heavy soils, by the appli 

 cation of burned clay, has given the particulars of several experi 

 ments of this nature. 



The first was made with a field of eleven acres of the worst 

 description of clay on the side of a steep hill, &quot; inaccessible to 

 the dung cart, to which it had always been a stranger.&quot; It was 

 ploughed in the summer, and he, with the scuffle and drag, 



* Vol. v. part i. p. 113. 



VOL. II. 2 



