1837] 



FARMERS' REGISTER 



139 



of roots, SO cart-loails ofclay were completely cal- 

 ciiiei] at an expense ol" 13s. for the fuel, or less 

 than 2d. per cart-load; and the whole cost, iuclud- 

 iiig labor, was only lOld. per cart-load. 



A more economical mode than the above has, 

 however, been discovered, in the kiln used by Dr. 

 Cartwright, and described as ibllows*: — 



A trench was made — having a sufficient fall for 

 taking olF the water — about twenty leet long by 

 three teet deep. Al the upper end, and resting 

 on its sides, a brick arch was turned, about nine 

 or ten leet long, having openings for letting the 

 fire through the clay, which were made by leaving 

 out half a brick at proper intervals. In the ti'ont of 

 the arch is a strong wall, two inches thick, which 

 hasitslbundationin the bottom of the trench, and is 

 two feet wider on each side than the arch, above 

 which it rises about a foot; a mouth being left 

 through it to the arch about two feet wide. The 

 whole erection does not require more than 500 or 

 600 bricks; no lime, except for the front wall, is 

 necessar_v, as the arch can be laid in loam or marl, 

 mixed up to the consistency of stiffpaste, and, ii'pro- 

 perly made, will last for many years. If, however, 

 the saving of this expense be an object, the arch 

 mav be made of sods or spits of clay; but perfect- 

 ly dry, or they will not support the weight. The j 

 centre may be formed by laying lour or five strong | 

 stakes across the trench, and upon these faggots, I 

 in a circular form, to build the arch upon; when I 

 the work is finished, set fire to the centre of the 

 faggots. 



In setting the kiln, care should be taken, espe- 

 cially at the commencement, to lay the sods hol- 

 Jow, that the fire may draw through them ft-eely. 

 When the pile is about two feet thick upon the 

 arch, the fire should be lighted, and a sod-wall 

 made round the kiln, which may extend about 

 two feet wider than the arch, and will be support- 

 ed in fi'ont by the brick wall, but must not be 

 more than three or four feet high. As the fire pro- 

 ceeds fresh clay must be added, — still letting it be 

 as hollow as conveniently may be, — and when the 

 heap is between four and five fiiet high, and burned 

 through, the fire may be suffered to die out. But, 

 if necessary, clay may be still added for a day 

 longer at least. 



Dr. Cartwright states that two men and a boy 

 burned thirty-five good cart-loads, of twenty bush- 

 els each, in two days and a half, and the fuel con- 

 sumed was 175 furze faggots, the expense of which 

 he estimates thus: — 



Labor - . . . 



Furze faggots - - - 

 A donkey and cart ftwo days) 



Total - 



£16 6 



This, which is equal to 9d. per cart-load, would 

 only amount to 15s. for a top-dressing of' twenty 

 cart-loads, and may not be far from the mark; for 

 although good faggots are seldom to be obtained 

 so cheap, and the hire of a donkey and carts is 

 somewhat too low, yet the men's wages are charg- 

 ed at 2s. 6d. a day each, which is higher than 

 now customary. 



*See the Repertory of Arts, Manufactures and 

 Agriculture, No. ccxii. p. 78. 



Kdns constructed of masonry, although the 

 most permanciii, have, however, been objected to; 

 both because of the outlay in tlieir erection, and 

 the inconvenience often experienced ui procuring 

 workmen to build them. There is also this fur- 

 ther disadvantage — that, although when once 

 built there is an end of the exfiense, and with pro- 

 per care they may be employed lor years, yet, if 

 |)laced at any considerable distance from the land 

 to be manured, the cost of carriage will probably 

 exceed thai of burning. They are, therefore, usu- 

 ally formed in the very field on which the clay is 

 to be laid, and out of which it is dug; in which 

 case they may be made entirely with sods, or mud 

 and straw, in the following manner : — 



On a headland, or waste piece of ground, off 

 which sods can be j)rocured with sward sufficiently 

 tough to build a wall, erect an oblong or a circular 

 enclosure, about eight or ten feet in diameter*, and 

 two feet thick, but not higher than three or four 

 feet. On a level with the surface of the ground, 

 cut flues, opening through the opposite sides of 

 the wall, so that they may all meet in the centre 

 of the kiln; make them also about five or six inches 

 deep, and ibur wide, and let them be covered with 

 sods on the lop, so as to keep them free of clay 

 and rubbish, and the mouths well open to the air. 

 Then, in the centre of" the kiln, place brushwood, 

 turf, or any combustible, with some blocks of 

 wood to strengthen the fire, and when all is well 

 kindled, throw on some culm — if you have any — 

 and then clay, and so on, adding clay to the heap 

 as the-fire may be found sufficiently strong to take 

 the dre^.-iiig-; always observing to keep the heat 

 of the kiln as even and as moderate as possible — 

 just of sufficient strength to expel the moisture 

 from the layers of clay as they are laid on. Much 

 care should also be taken not to cover the fire too 

 soon atier being lighted, as .that might extinguish 

 it totally, and therefore the clods first put on should 

 be of the largest description, that spaces may 

 thus be left lor the fi-ee admission of the heat. 

 The smoke must be prevented from escaping; but 

 the progress of the fire, as it ascends, may be as- 

 certained by occasionally thrusting a finger here 

 and there through the surface; to which, if it has 

 approached very near, more matter must be added. 

 The walls, when made of sods, should be beat 

 close with the spade, in order to prevent them 

 li-om drawing air, by which the burning of the 

 clay would be much retarded; the kiln may be 

 then imn)ediately lighted; but if made with mud 

 and straw, they should be permitted to dry before 

 the fire is kindled. They should not, at first, be 

 built higher than three to four fijet, nor the enclo- 

 sure be wider than ten, because the earth can then 

 be flung easily over every part; the fuel will also 

 be thus more easily placed, and the firing more 

 conveniently managed. As it is not necessary 

 that much neatness should be observed in the con- 

 struction, a kiln of this size may be erected, under 

 proper directions, by five or six men in the course 

 of a day. When the inside of the kiln however, 



* Mr. Burroughs recommends walls eight feet square 

 in the clear, and well joined at the angles by crossing 

 the sods; but the contents of the circular kiln will pro- 

 bably burn more equalfy, and in other respects there 

 is no material difference. See, also, Cobbett's Year's 

 Residence in the United States of America, part ii. 

 chap. iv. 



