196 PARING AND BURNING. 
has been a good deal practiced in the improvement of 
the waste lands of Bromsgrove Lickey, and in that 
neighbourhood. Part of the drained bog mentioned in 
the last article, was, he says, pared and burnt, and 
planted with potatoes; the ashes being spread regularly 
on the surface, the land was ploughed in about twelve 
furrow ridges ; for, he says, “ it would not do to plant 
in the way I prefer, owing to its being so very tough 
from rushes, and other hard roots : after ploughing, the 
furrows were hacked and levelled with heavy hoes, 
then planted across the ridges in rows, and owing to 
the large quantity of ashes, produced an abundant 
crop.” 
The ploughing of bog land with potatoes, after 
draining, and paring and burning, is, I believe, the 
best rule that can be adopted ; the ashes upon the 
fresh soil are peculiarly adapted to forcing a full crop 
of potatoes, and the crop being properly hoed and 
cleaned, will leave the land in a good state of ameliora¬ 
tion ; the next year after the potatoes, this land pro¬ 
duced a very strong crop of oats ; the succeeding year as 
good oats as the first; it has been since laid down udth 
seeds after a clean fallow, which succeeded well: land 
of this sort, consisting of a deep peat, may be pared 
and burned at any time, and will produce good crops, 
without any other manure but the ashes produced from 
its surface ; and that without danger of being ex¬ 
hausted ; and, like watered meadows, will produce 
manure for other parts of the farm, without injury to 
itself. 
The waste lands in this neighbourhood, Mr. Carpenter 
says, were best reclaimed thus: 1. pare and burn for oats, 
potatoes, or rye; 2. lime, four to six tons per acre, for 
turnips; 
