BUR 



Of tlie falubiily of this plant there is, the fi.ft of ihcfe 

 writers thinks, " noqucftion; and xvcn its medicinal virtues 

 are corfidtnlly fpok.cti of, particularly for fliccp fufpeded 

 of unfoundnefs. It is excellent winter-food for deer and 

 rabbits. Several reafons are to be afligncd for the ill fuccefs 

 which has attended various attempts to cultiviite this grafs, 

 as will appear in the following dircAior.s. It;; chief ufc is 

 as an early grafs, and wliilil young ; and it muft never be 

 given to cattle when old and llalky, nor kept to that (late 

 when intended for hay. In fad, bn net (hoiild always be 

 rcckoncdout of feafoii whenother grail'-bcan be had. It never 

 ought to be fed but from January to the end of April; and 

 upon lands proper for it, with judicious management, it 

 will afford pallure even in January. It receives Icfs injury 

 from froll than any other herbage, and will even grow in tlie 

 winter months, p-ovided tlic weather be not too fevere. It 

 Ihut up in April, it will mow at Midfummer; after which it 

 mull be referved for feed until January or p'ebruary, when, 

 if the weather be favourable, it may be cut and carried to 

 the Hock, as in fnmmtr, and afterwards fed, but not too 

 clofc, with (heep, until the time of rtiutting up again. It 

 will produce upwards of a ton of hay per acre, and may be 

 mowed again for feed ; but if driven fo hard, of courfe it will 

 not produce fo large a quantity of fpring-fecd as when 

 mowed but once. I'he value of the feed upon an acre will 

 be from live to ten pounds." But " granting the truth of 

 this account of burnet," continues the fame author, " it 

 would be altogether fuperfluous to enlarge upon its value to 

 a live-dock farmer ; but fuch advantages will ever be looked 

 for in vain upon acold barren clay, or without the feed'sbeing 

 frelb and good, or without culture and manure, even on a 

 proper foil. One of the firll objefls is, to be fure the feed 

 be good, which is feldom the cafe, burnet being a grafs 

 very little cultivated, and in which he has been more than once 

 foiled in his endeavours to raife a crop, from that circum- 

 ftance. It may be further advantageoufly cultivated in drills, 

 and treated precifcly like lucerne, a method which he has 

 lately adopted. It may be fown indifferently either in 

 fpring, fummer, or autumn. It frequently happens that the 

 crop is thin until the third year, but afterwards very luxuri- 

 ant, fully covering the foil. It is further obferved, that 

 burnet is a native of this country, growing fpontaneoufly in 

 many parts, particularly, as he has obferved, upon Salifbury 

 Plain, whence he is of opinion, an indication may be drawn 

 of its proper foil : like lucerne, it defits drought in fummer, 

 which makes it valuable in another point of view. The feed 

 has been warranted as good food for horfes as corn ; a con- 

 fideration for thofe who may have the convenience of bruif- 

 ing it." 



In the twentyfirft volume of the Annals of Agriculture 

 we have the following ftatement of the advantage derived 

 from five roods of wtt land, a ftrong tenacious loam, on a 

 dry and clay-mixt bottom, eaten off by ewes and lambs in 

 the beginning of April, befides the llraw, which was care- 

 fully laid up for winter provifion for fneep, in wet weather, 

 and the chaff for horfes with their corn, which are reckoned 

 together with a week's keep of fifty (heep, juft taken out, 

 M tantamount to the expence of mowing, dreffing, and 

 carting. 



£. s. d. 

 Keep of 30 couples for three weeks at 6d. per 



week - - - -250 



19 ditto, 10 days, at 4d. per week 096 



Value of feed, at los. per bulhel - -1300 



BUR 



Brought forward £-^l '4 ^ 

 Rent, at ijs. per acre - o iS 9 



Tythes and town charges - 076 



■ I <5 3 



The land on which burnrt is fown fliould always be made 

 perfeSly line before the feed is put in. 



The true management of this fort of crop, according to 

 Mr. Young, is not to cut it down much in the autumn or 

 winter feafons, as the great peculiarity of the plant is to 

 afford a full bite in Ma'ch ; and when you have it lix or 

 cisjlit inches high in Oclober, more food will be found at 

 that period, for it retains its leaves, as the winter frofts have 

 but iittle effcft upon it. " Some," fays he, " who have 

 found fault with it, and afferted that it is unprofitable, 

 have fed off the after-grafs bare in the autumn, and let their 

 r.H-ep and cattle get into it in winter. It is then no wonder 

 the burnet does not anfwerthe character given of it by others, 

 who have managed in a different manner." 



The crops of this fort which are defigned for feed, {lioiild 

 be cut about the beginning of July, when care (liould be 

 taken that it does not (hed. It is the bell pi-adlicc to threfh 

 it out in the field in the fame manner as many other forts of 

 fmall feeds, the draw being made into hay. The produce 

 in both feed and hay ia very confidenible. When intended for 

 hay, it fhould be cut rather early in order to prevent its be- 

 coming too coarfe. 



Befides the modes of application, for which it has been 

 already recommended, it is of vatl utility as an early fpring 

 feed for (heep. The. intelligent author of the Farmer's 

 Calendar has obferved that, " an acre of it, managed pro- 

 perly, will at this feafon yield much more food than an acre 

 of clover and rye-grafs." 



The importance of the feed and chaff of this plant, as pro- 

 vender for horfes, has been highly fpoken of by fome, but 

 its advantages in this way have not been yet afcertained by 

 any fatisfa^Sory fet of experiments. 



Burnet, in Botany. See Poterium and San.gui- 



SORBA. 



BuRNF.T Saxifrage. See PimpinellA. 



BuR.NET, Burneta, or Burnetus, in Middle Age Writer t^ 

 denotes brown cloth made of dyed wool. 



In which fenfe, the word ftands contradlftinguiflied from 

 brunus, which was applied to the wool undyed. 



BURNEY'.'i Island, in Geography, an ifland on the 

 north-eall coaft of Siberia, in the Frozen Sea ; about 3 

 leagues from the main. 



BURNHAM-Market, a town of Norfolk, in Eng- 

 land, has the latter part of its name to dillinguifh it from 

 other Burnhams in the fame county. It is fituated near the 

 coaft, on the northern extremity of Norfolk. Here was 

 formerly a fmall monaftery of White Friars, or Carmelite?, 

 of v.hich Robert Bale was prior. At Burnham-Deepdale 

 arc lome fait marlhes, which are found to be very conducive 

 to the fattening and prefervation of (heep. On the high 

 grounds along this coall are feveral tumidi, which fome of 

 our topographers attribute to the Saxons and Danes, who 

 were flain here during the piracies of the latter. Here is a 

 fmall weekly market on Mondays, and the paridi contains 

 i69houfcs, and 743 inhabitants. Burnham-market is iiS 

 miles N. E. of London. 



BURNING, the aftion of £re on fome pabulum, or 

 fuel, whereby the minute parts thereof are torn from each 

 other, and put into a violent motion ; and fome of them af- 

 fuming the nature of lire themfclves, fly off in orbem, while 



the 



