78 



Burning Land for Manure. 



of land in the spring of the year, or plough back a piece of wheat 

 stubble that has been ploughed once during the autumn, or the 

 first ploughing after tares, or a bean or pea" stubble ; but there is 

 seldom time in the autumn for this last. I mention ploughing 

 back a wheat stubble, for if previously ploughed and exposed to 

 the frosts of winter, it will become too pulverized for clod burn- 

 ing. Having ploughed it, you roll and harrow in dry weather 

 till the majority of clods are about the size of a large walnut ; no- 

 thing so good as the clod-crusher to forward this operation : when 

 perfectly dry, collect them into rows about six yards apart, with 

 iron-teethed rakes; take a quarter of a whin faggot, or less, 

 according to size, previously cut into lengths by a man with an 

 axe ; place these pieces about 4 yards apart in the rows, cover them 

 with clods, putting the finest mould upon the top of the heap to 

 prevent the fire too quickly escaping ; observe the wind, and leave 

 an opening accordingly ; having set fire to a long branch of whin, 

 run from opening to opening till two or three rows are lighted, 

 secure these, and then put fire to others : keeping a man or two 

 behind to attend to the fires and earthing up till the quantity de- 

 sired may be burned, which will generally take four or five hours, 

 say from 25 to 35 loads per acre of 30 bushels per load. 



This work is often put out to a gang of men at about \0s. per 

 acre for labour, and the whins cost 45. ^d. per acre, not including 

 the carting. 



When the heaps are cool, spread and plough in. The great 

 advantage of burning clods in these small heaps in preference to 

 a large one, is the saving of expense in collecting and spreading ; 

 there is much less red brick earth, and more black and charred ; 

 no horses or carts moving on the land whilst burning, and a large 

 field may be all burned in a day or two, therefore less liable to 

 be delayed by wet weather. In the heavy-land part of Suffolk 

 the farmers purchase whins from the light-land occupiers, and 

 often cart them a distance of fourteen or sixteen miles when there 

 is no work pressing on the farm. These are stacked up and se- 

 cured by thatching with straw, that they may be dry and fit for 

 use when required. Bean straw is the next best fuel to whins 

 or furze, and it is astonishing to see how small a quantity will 

 burn the clods^, if they are of the proper size and dry. Observe, 

 if the soil is at all inclined to sand, it will not burn so well. I 

 will here mention, that I often sift and store up a few loads of 

 the best blackened earth to drill with my turnips instead of buy- 

 ing artificial manure, and find it answers remarkably well, and 

 assists in maintaining the position that a heavy-land farm in 

 Suffolk can be farmed in the first-rate style without foreign in- 

 gredients. 



I know of only one objection raised that requires my notice; 



