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 



