1882.] 
Vegetable Soil. 
383 
which your workmen soon learn to recognise and keep to, 
and are rather disgusted when you make them hole it in 
places, to see that they are not leaving anything of interest 
behind them. 
Lime or ashes, originally laid on the surface of the ground, 
as mentioned by Darwin, are found buried in layers. This 
subject I treated on in my former writings, and pointed out 
that if worms covered them by mould brought up from under 
them, the layers must have become distorted and uneven 
Now I would mention a somewhat allied case that lately 
came under my observation. 
As I have pointed out in my little book on the “ Reclama- 
tion of Waste Lands in Ireland,” “ beatin ” — that is, burnt 
sods or vegetable mould — was formerly extensively used by 
the poorer farmers in Ireland until stopped by Adis of Par- 
liament passed in the reigns of George II. and George III. 
Whilst traversing the hilly country westward of Shillalagh, 
Co. Wicklow, I came on about a quarter of an acre of land 
with rows of heaps on it, which, on picking into, I found to 
be heaps of beatin covered with a coat of from 3 to 4 inches 
in depth of vegetable mould. It was evident that many 
years ago the patch was “ scrawed,” and the scraws or sods, 
after they were dried, had been collected in rows of heaps 
and burned into beatin ; but for some reason the reclamation 
was then stopped, and the heaps of beatin left unspread. 
The heaps are still intadt, except that coats of mould have 
grown over them, and this could not have been brought up 
by worms from underneath. There were no traces of worm- 
work in the land about them, which was mossy and heathery; 
neither could I see any on them ; but it was rather late for 
worm-work (the end of April), and possibly it would be seen 
if they were visited in the winter. 
Curvature of Floors and Surfaces over Old Buildings. 
In the spaces between the walls of any building, without 
worm-work, the ground away from the walls must shrink 
more than that in contadt with them. Passages in houses 
are usually paved, or tiled, or flagged. If paved, the centre 
nearly invariably is much higher than the side, while if it is 
tiled they are laid even ; in either case you put under the 
stones or the tiles materials that worms cannot .burrow in, 
yet, although the foundation has been made as compadt as 
possible, after a time the centre of the passage will sink : if 
you flag the passage, and all your flags do not extend the 
full way across, after a time the short flags will sag downwards 
