i 9 ii.] 



Heather Burning. 



573 



tise it, irrigation with spring water has been adopted for 

 clearing land of bracken with complete success, though in 

 some cases the plan has proved useless. 



Insects Attacking Bracken. — A number of insects have 

 been recorded as attacking bracken, among them being : — 

 (i) Hepialus velleda, a swift moth, the caterpillars of which 

 tunnel in the underground stems or rhizomes towards the end 

 of the year; (2) Euplexia lucipara and Hadena pisi, two 

 noctuid moths, the caterpillars of which feed on the foliage, 

 and allies of which bite the plants across; (3) Panagria 

 petraria, a geometrid moth, the caterpillars of which feed on 

 the plants. 



Bracken for Fodder. — It may be mentioned that young 

 bracken has been employed as a green fodder, and has even 

 been ensiled for stock-feeding, the process being to chaff it 

 and mix it in equal proportions with new straw chaff, salt it 

 evenly, and tread it into a properly constructed silo. It is 

 then covered with clay to induce heating and prevent firing, 

 the material becoming pleasant to the smell and relished by 

 stock. This question, however, requires further investiga- 

 tion. 



Bracken for Litter. — The use of bracken as a litter was dealt 

 with in the Journal for October, 1908, where it was shown 

 that its manurial value is about 50 per cent, higher than that 

 of straw, while it possesses greater power of absorbing 

 ammonia and urine than an equal weight of straw. "Dung 

 made from bracken may be expected to be somewhat richer 

 than dung made from straw. On the other hand, it takes 

 longer to decompose in the soil, the fibrous woody stems 

 being only very slowly attacked. It therefore opens up the 

 soil to a greater extent than straw-made dung would do, and 

 is for that reason likely to be more effective on a heavy clay 

 than on a light sandy soil." 



HEATHER BURNING. 



The question of the correct and most successful procedure 

 to be adopted in regard to heather-burning has in the past 

 given rise to much debate, and there has been considerable 

 divergence of opinion on the subject. What was good for the 

 farmer by extending the area of grazing for sheep might not 

 be favourable to the sportsman in encouraging an increase in 



