ON FALLOWING. 187 



I once saw a very large field, of a stiff foxy 

 clay, laid down to turnips ; one half had been 

 reduced by burning, and the other not : the 

 part that was burnt, was clothed with as fine a 

 crop of roots, as could be wished for ; whilst on 

 the other, the seed, although the same in both 

 cases, and sown at the same time, appeared to 

 have failed, there being only a few thin patches 

 of plants; and the cause was obvious. The 

 surface of the unburnt clay was closed, and ren- 

 dered impervious, immediately after sowing, by 

 rain ; but the calcination of the soil in the other, 

 kept it open, ' and made it accessible to the air, 

 which is positively necessary for the germination 

 of seeds. 



The reducing of clay by fire, may be con- 

 sidered as the best mode of rendering surface 

 draining unnecessary. 



Sir John Sinclair, after a very comprehensive 

 and minute detail of all the different modes and 

 effects of draining, very properly says in con- 

 clusion, " So sensible have landed proprietors 

 " become of the deep interests they have in ex- 

 " ecuting this most important species of improve- 

 ** ment, on a liberal and extended scale, that it 

 " is a practice with many, to have a general plan 

 ** for the drainage and regular division of the 

 '* different farms, when their estates are newly 



