BE A THER-BUBN1NG. 301 



had before opposed burning and now had 

 not moral courage enough to own their con- 

 version. Of course much harm is done by in- 

 discriminate clearing of this kind. 



Ling ought to be burned in regular strips or 

 patches, and to do this the flames have to be 

 closely controlled. Seeing that advantage is 

 mutual, keepers and farmers ought to work ami- 

 cably together, so as to obtain the best results. 

 In Scotland, an unwritten rule holds that the 

 shooting tenant shall provide two assistants for 

 every one of the farmer; or that the former 

 shall pay the latter the expenses incurred in 

 like proportion ; and this plan is generally 

 found to work well. It may not be generally 

 known that it is illegal to burn heather after 

 the 26th of April, for reasons which at once 

 suggest themselves. Now this "close time" 

 sometimes seems to the sheep-farmer hard legis- 

 lation indeed. In winter and early spring the 

 mist-caps stick closely to the hill-tops and the 

 ground remains saturated. Particularly is this 

 so where wet " floes " abound ; it is almost 

 impossible to burn the heather on these patches. 

 The present restrictions are probably wise ; but 

 at the same time it is well known that ground 



