Proceedings of the Farmer^ Club. 369 



of the season, by the end of August, or beginning of September, 

 the young grasses were so thick and luxuriant, that a large stock 

 of half-bred Leicester sheep, five to the acre, were placed upon it, 

 and were sustained thereon until finished for the butcher. This is 

 probably an exceptional case; the soil, although on the top of a 

 hill, or almost mountain, being deep and naturally fertile, requii'ing 

 only the outlay of a few pounds per acre in labor and lime to make 

 it productive; but, notwithstanding, much land that is still unre- 

 claimed, or only partially so, is capable of extraordinary improve- 

 ment by a judicious, yet moderate expenditure of capital in lime 

 and labor. It is evident that, without lime, much of the reclaimed 

 land on elevated situations must have still remained in a state of 

 nature, from the great difficulty of getting bulky materials placed 

 upon the land, not to take into consideration the inability of any 

 kind of organic manure to take the place of lime in quickly decom- 

 posing and rendering active the useless vegetable matters which 

 originally had possession of the surface. To be sure, in the absence 

 of lime, paring and burning is a very efiectual method of getting 

 rid of the roots of heath, rushes and other obstructions present on 

 land in a state of nature; and, when worked up, portable manures 

 can be very successfully used as fertilizers. By their use turnips 

 can be raised, if the situation admits of their cultivation, and, being 

 eaten off with sheep, the land is thus well prepared for the recep- 

 tion of the grass-seeds. Elevated land, however, is seldom pos- 

 sessed of such depth of soil as to be able to spare any of it for the 

 process of paring and burning, which is at best an exhaustive opera- 

 tion, and should never be attempted unless there is sufficient depth 

 of soil to warrant its being done without permanently, or at least 

 for many years, injuring the soil by destroying its resources. 



The caiTLage of lime by railway has of late years conferred a 

 great benefit on the enterprising agriculturist, as by this means 

 lime for manurial purposes has been carried into districts where 

 previously the expense of cai'riage amounted to actual prohibition. 

 By rail it can be conveyed away immediately on being drawn from 

 the kiln, and the land can thus have the application of quick lime. 

 When a farmer can only avail himself of water-carriage to bring 

 lime within easy calling distance of his farm, he must be content 

 with it in its slacked or mild state, which puts him to a double dis- 

 advantage, as the application is not so beneficial, and the carting 

 from the increased bulk is doubly laborious. The directors of 

 most railways very properly give every facility for the conveyance 

 [Inst.] 24 



