I?37] 



FARMERS' REGISTER. 



197 



and adilpci tn the henp; anil, if those tunieil up hv 

 the process of horse-ri,>eiiifT were also raked nR", 

 instead ol" heiti>i: suH'ered to witlier on the land, or 

 to spriiiif lip ajiin wiih ilie next shower of rain, 

 it IS inconceivable what a lanre fiuainiiy ol" valua- 

 ble m mure mi'/ht tins be raised bv the occasion il 

 employment of children, and ol" laborers, w!io 

 ni ly otherwise be idlmir away iheirliine. It wonid 

 alsa contribiiie in a irreat deirree to that neatness 

 tvliich forms a di^Jtin'faislieil lealare in carelid cul- 

 tivation, and woald insure a habit of attention on 

 the part of servants, an! a consequent por'ion of 

 prosperity which can rarely be enjoyed by a slo- 

 venlv firmer. 



Were the practice of soiling more cenera'ly at- 

 tended to, it would also very m ueriallv aid the in- 

 crease of the danix-heap, vviihout which no [)rofi' 

 can he gained from arable land. But, a very small 

 portioi\ ol"the soil under the plough is, in this 

 country, cipable of bearinjj crops, unless it be re- 

 cruited by putrescent manure about once in liiur 

 years, or that it be either suti'ered to lie tiir a more 

 than usual lenirth of time under the cultivated 

 prasses and fed off wiih cattle, or supported by the 

 fold. To obtain the requisite quan*ity of farm- 

 yard manure has, however, baflleii the best exer- 

 tions of many iridusrrr)us liirmers, except in the ; 

 immediate vicinity of larire towns. There, in- I 

 deed, the object is often obtained throutrh the j 

 means of pun-.hised dunir, the expense of which ' 

 has been generally amply repiiid by the irrowlh of j 

 proportionably increased crops; but any one who 

 is dependent upon the produce of his own farm, 

 without the substance ol" extr uieous manure, ll)r 

 the support of the fiiriility of the soil, should en- 

 deavor to culiivate those crops which are best 

 calcuted to afford a largf return of fijod lor the 

 maintenance of cattle. When the land is ol' such 

 a nature as not to admit the growth of green cro[)s, 

 hay and oil-cake should be resorted to lor that 

 purpose. 



In other cases, lime, chalk, marl, and various 

 other mineral substances, have been resorted to as 

 auxiliaries; but, iheeli'ect of some of these tending 

 more to siimulate vegetation than to enrich the 

 wasted powers of the soil, it has frequently hap- 

 pened that ground which at one time had been 

 greatly benefited by their application, has after- 

 wards been injured when repeated under the er- 

 roneous notion that its powers might be restored 

 by the same operation. Land, thus forced, has in 

 many cases b?en so much impoverished as (o ren- 

 der it incapable of producing any thing but a poor 

 pasture, and to require a great length of time to 

 pass away before it can be restored to its original 

 condition. It should, indeed, be observed, that 

 the application of tbssif manures requires more 

 judgment and consideration than any other; tor 

 vegetable and animal manures contain the ferti- 

 Hzinij property within iheinselves. and, however 

 injudiciously applied, cannot fiul to impart ultimate 

 benefit to the land, if not the immediate crop ; l)ut 

 the power of fossils consi3t^3 in their action upon 

 the constitution ol"thesoii, and if"this be improper- 

 ly directed, the greatest mischief may ensue. 



None of these has, perhaps, pro luced more inju- 

 ry in some cases, or greater benefit in others, than 

 lim^ — of which very striking instances may be 

 found in those parts of the country where it is 

 either very abundant or scarce.- In the former, it 

 has been not uncomaionly laid upon the land with- 



out the aid of putrescent manure, until ihe soil has 

 become worthless; while in the latter, as its scar- 

 city renders it expensive, ii has only been mode- 

 rately useil by f irmers of jndirnient and cafiital, and 

 the ell'ects, after a number of years, are s'ill appa- 

 rent in the improvement of the s,)il. While wri- 

 ting this, we have nn ler oureye a firm of400 acres 

 of s'ronir clay, which has not been limed within 

 ihi- memory ol' man. The tenant, who is conscious 

 of the alvaniaixes which miLrhi be derived from 

 the use of lime — as demonsirated in the condition 

 of adjoiniuir land of the same quality — is yet pre- 

 vented by circumstances from its employtneni; and 

 thus, not only ;u-e his own profiis, but the value of 

 the soil to the landlord also, equally reduced. 



On the subject of" burnt clay, we have recently 

 had an opportunity of makinir some inquiries in 

 the neighborhood of" the late General Beatson'a 

 firm, in Sussex; and we have learned, that al- 

 thou<!;h several practical fariuers in that part of 

 the country adopted his plan, yet very few of them 

 have found it to answer their expectations. One 

 of them, who has followe I it extensively, confirms 

 us in the opinion whicJi we have already stated, 

 that much depends upon the mode in which the 

 operation of burninii is performed; for if the clay 

 tie calcined to the consistence of brick, it yields 

 notliiiitr in the shape of that soft ash which is pro- 

 per ftr manure; and, if not sufficiently burned, it 

 will return to its oriixinal condition. In the Ibriner 

 state It may. however, act in some degree as an 

 alterative of the soil; an 1, in the latter, it will at 

 least afi'ori some nutriment to the crop to which 

 it is actually applied. It, theref)re, does not ap- 

 pear, l"r im past experienc.e, that it can ever be 

 made to supersede the use of lime on land which 

 has not been lorm<'rly dressed with the latter; but, 

 in such cases, or in parts ol the country where 

 lime cannot be procured, if may yet be employed 

 to a certain extent with advantaire. 



As to paring and burning, there can be no 

 doubt that the eanh, if combined with fibrous 

 roots and other veijelable matter, will answer the 

 purpose of manure when burned: yet shallow 

 soils are thus frequently more injiu'ed by the ab- 

 straction of too large a portion of the siirlivce, than 

 improved by the temporaryaddition of the manure. 

 We have lately seen down-land, which was bro- 

 ken up during the war, and has been now during 

 several years returned to f)asture, yet still bears 

 nothing like the sward ofa fine sheep-walk on the 

 poorest chalks, and probably will require half a 

 century to brinij it back to its former co'^dition. 

 We, therefi)re, cannot butagain caution all farmers 

 and owners of land against bringing such soils 

 under the plonuh.* 



With regard to gypsum and salt we have nolh- 

 inij to add, except to repeat our recommendation 

 of experiments on their effects.! Though quite 



* A treatise has been just published by Professor 

 Ronnie, on paring? and burning, in which he attributes 

 whatever value il: may have to the etfects of the fire, 

 coiisidprinGj it 'in the li2;ht of an instantaneous fallow.* 

 Were this principle to be relied upon, it woiilil follow 

 that paring and burninj;; mis^ht, within a few years af- 

 ferwar.U. ba ailvantan;r'Oiisly rppeated; whereas, expe- 

 rience proves that, with whatever benefit the operation 

 may be attend-d with in the first instance, a repetition 

 of it is always found to impoverish the soil. — See Quar- 

 terly Journal of Aiiriculture. No. XXV. 



t See Chapters xiv and xviii. 



