542 
Burning of Clay Land. 
beans, must be producing food for sheep. It is in facilitating 
the increased growth of , this, food for sheep that the burning of 
clay-soil adds so materially to the land's capability of producing 
wool and mutton, and consequently wheat, 
I am strongly tempted by the result of six years' experience of 
the value of steam-cultivation in working out the system of crop- 
ping clay-land, which is intended to be most productive of these 
rent-paying commodities, to say a few words upon the subject ; 
but as it has only facilitated, not changed, the system, and as 
those who are employing steam in the cultivation of the soil are 
not the men whose attention need be called to the advantages of 
growing green crops, I will withstand the temptation, and rather 
liope that my suggestions may receive consideration from those 
who occupy farms not of sufficient extent to justify the heavy out- 
lay at present involved in the adoption of steam-cultivation. 
The question of details as to the mode of carrying out this 
system of cropping when the land has been burned must still 
depend in some degree upon the nature of the farm. Few 
clay-land farms are, and none should be, without some por- 
tion'of grass-land, on which to winter the breeding ewes, summer 
some beasts, and provide hay to assist in making the straw into 
manure ; if they have the additional advantage of including 
some light land, no difficulty will exist in making the clay-land 
share equally with this light land the production of food for sheep, 
and the conversion by them of the larger portion of the straw into 
manure. 
Assuming, then, that a farm consists of 20 acres pasture, 40 
acres light or medium land, and 160 clay-land, and that 100 
breeding ewes are kept, and their produce reared and fattened, 
there will then be annually — 
Acres. 
Wheat 100 
Clover — mown 20 
Mixed seeds — grazed 20 
Beans 10 
Fallow crops 50 
viz., 10 acres upon light land, of which 5 acres are to be Italian 
ryegrass, succeeded by swedes ; 5 acres vetches, followed by tur- 
nips, both having l)een manured after harvest, not only to force 
early and abundant crops of food for the ewes and lambs, but 
also to save time, by having the land ready manured for swedes 
and turnips. The Italian rye-grass upon this light land, forced 
on by the manure applied after harvest, will be fed off by the middle 
of May. llic roots should tlien be worked to the surface by 
Coleman's cultivator, by harrowing, rolling, and again harrow- 
