t 104 ] 



stifle-bttrning should be resorted to, except in|new jungle land 

 where the loss of nitrogenous matter would not be so severe- 

 ly felt as^in ordinary agricultural land. Stifle-burning corrects 

 acidity of soils, and clears it of weeds, insects, fungi and 

 their seeds. If burning is done too freely not only is there 

 too much loss of organic matter and nitrates, but the physical 

 character of the soil becomes deteriorated, i.e. impervious 

 brick-like masses are formed on the surface. 



133. Warping. As it is not practicable to improve soil 

 by mixing with it soil of a different character carted from 

 another locality, the same result is sometimes achieved in 

 sandy, stony or peaty soils, favourably situated, by the opera- 

 tion known as warping. A bund 2 or 3ft. in height is put 

 up around the land to be improved, and the enclosed land 

 is sometimes further partitioned off by smaller bunds. Then 

 the muddy water of a stream, at the beginning of the rainy 

 season, is diverted into this area, where it flows from one 

 compartment to another, until the whole area is filled. A film 

 of silt is deposited and by repeating the operation several 

 inches of silt may be accumulated on the land in one season. 

 Where tides come in warping is very easy to regulate by 

 means of a sluice or flap-gate, as in the low lands to the south 

 of the College, where the object is not so much the fertilizing 

 of the land as the raising of its level. 



