132 A PRACTICAL TREATISE 



the plough, these last made ridges down the middle. By har- 

 rowing the land thus prepared afterwards with a coarse harrow 

 once over, the turf will he nearly all brought to the surface, 

 and, after a tew dry days, be in a good state for burning, at 

 which time every possible expedition should be used to get it 

 in heaps for firing. 



Whatever may be the implements chosen for performing 

 the operation of paring, it is rarely carried into effect to the 

 depth of more than from one to about two, or, at the most, 

 three mches. The judgment requisite in this stage of the 

 process consists chiefly in determining the proper thickness of 

 the sods. If they be pared too thick, they are difficult to 

 burn ; if too thin, the sward is not effectually destroyed, and 

 the produce of the ashes is too small. A rough spongy surface 

 ought to be pared thicker than one which is firm and bare of 

 grass; and a light, shallow soil should be pared thinner than 

 one which is deeper and more tenacious. Should the soil be 

 clay of any description, the paring should rarely exceed an 

 inch deep, but on peaty and sandy soils it may be carried 

 deeper, especially if the land be rooty and fibrous ; but if the 

 soil be shallow, it cannot be cut too thin. No specific direc- 

 tions can, however, be given regarding the thickness of the 

 sod, for it must be clear that, on the coarse ground to which 

 the process is best suited, the main object to be held in view 

 is to cut so deep as to reach the roots of the weeds ; though 

 some farmers carry it so far as to turn up a large portion of 

 the earth, which plan more properly belongs to that of burning 

 clay, which will be treated of in the following chapter. The 

 best time commences about the opening of spring, the sharp 

 winds of which season materially forward the process of dry- 

 ing; but the exact period must of course depend upon weather, 

 situation, and circumstances which suit the convenience of the 

 farmer, and it may be executed at any period of the year from 

 the course of February until the close of October. 



Operation of Burning. — The inocess of burning is a 

 critical operation; for if the heaps be made too large, or if 

 allowed to remain too long unspread, they get hold of the 

 land, and if not carefully watched and extinguished in time, 

 the fire takes such an effect upon the land that its force is apt 

 to char the ground upon which tliey are made, by which 

 means those spots are converted into brick, and thus great 

 trouble and expense are occasioned, for not only is the action 

 of the plough thereby impeded, but great unsightly holes are 



