for the operation. A good deal depends on the crops that are to be sown after paring and burning. When rape or turnips are to be cultivated, the end of May, or the beginning of June, will be the most proper time: but if barley or oats are to be sown, the paring and burning must be completed as early in spring as the nature of the season will admit; and when lands are pared and burned as a preparation for a crop of wheat. July, or even the beginning of August, may, in favorable seasons, answer; but it is better to have the ground ready sooner if possible.

2977. In respect to the depth to which lands of different qualities may be pared with the most advantage, it is obvious that, as it can hardly be proper to pare light, thin, stapled soils, to the same depths as those of the more deep and heavy kinds, it should, in some degree, be regulated by their particular nature, and their differences in respect to depth and heaviness. Boys, who is in the habit of breaking up thin chalky soils, and such as have been in tillage, in this way, observes, that in Kent, where the method of paring most in use is with down-shares or breast-ploughs, they take off turfs as thick as the nature of the soil will admit, from half an inch to two inches; the thicker the better, provided there be a sufficient portion of vegetable matter contained within them to make them burn well. The most usual depths of paring are, from about one to three inches. 2978. In regard to burning, when the season is not very wet, the turfs will commonly be sufficiently dried in about a fortnight or three weeks, even without being turned; but in rainy weather they require a longer time, and must be turned more than once to prevent their striking out roots and shoots, which might hinder them from burning.

The

2979. Spreading the ashes. As soon as the turfs have fully undergone the process of burning, and are reduced to the state of ashes and a powdery earthy matter, the whole should, as soon as possible, be spread out over the land in as regular and equal a manner as the nature of the work will admit of; for without great attention in this respect, great inequality in the crops may take place; besides the soil will be made lighter in some places than in others, which may be disadvantageous in the same way. spreading, where it can by any means be accomplished, should always be performed before any rain falls; as where this point is not attended to, a great loss may be sustained by the saline matters being carried down in a state of solution, and their beneficial effects in a great measure lost before the crops are in a condition to receive them. In order to secure the full influence of the ashes, the land is frequently slightly ploughed over immediately after the ashes are spread out. And it is stated by Donaldson, that those who are more than ordinarily attentive in this respect, only rib or slob furrow the field, so that the ashes after burning may be covered up with the greater expedition and dispatch. By this mode they cannot probably, however, be so equally mixed with the soil as by that of ploughing the whole field with a very slight furrow, so as just to cover them.

2980. The expense of the operation of paring and burning will vary according to the nature and situation of the land, the method in which it is performed, and the customs of the district in regard to the price of labor. On the thin sort of chalky soils it is stated by Boys, that the expense for paring at a moderate thickness, where the land is not very flinty, is about equal to four or five ploughings.

2981. The operation of drying and burning clay for manure is in several respects similar to that of paring and burning the verdant surface. The practice of burning clay has at various times been pursued with energy and success, and at other times has fallen into neglect. The oldest book in which it is mentioned is probably The Country Gentleman's Companion, by Stephen Switzer, Gardener, London, 1732. In that work it is stated, that the Earl of Halifax was the inventor of this useful improvement; and that it was much practised in Sussex. There are engravings of two kilns for burning clay, one adopted in England, and the other in Scotland; where it is said to have been ascertained, that lands reduced by tillage to poverty, would produce an excellent crop of turnips, if the ground were ploughed two or three times, and clay ashes spread over it. In the same work, there are several letters, written in the years 1730 and 1731, stating, that the plan of burning clay had answered in several parts of England; and accounts were received from Scotland, that upon experiment it had answered better than either lime or dung, but was found too expensive. The practice is described at length in Ellis's Practical Farmer, or Hertfordshire Husbandman, 1732. In 1786, James Arbuthnot, of Peterhead, tried several successful experiments with burning clay, and various others have since been made in different parts of the empire. In 1814, the practice was revived and written on by Craig, of Cally, near Dumfries, and soon after by General Beatson, near Tunbridge; by Curwen, Burrows, and several correspondents of agricultural journals. In Ireland, it would appear, the practice prevails in several places, and Craig says, he adopted it from seeing its effects there. The result of the whole is, that the benefits of this mode of manuring have been greatly exaggerated; though they certainly appear to be considerable on clayey soils. Aiton (Farmer's Mag. vol. xxii. p. 423.) compares this rage for burning clay, which existed in 1815, to the fiorin mania of a few years prior date. In 1822, he found few of the advocates for these Hh

improvements disposed to say much on the subject, and saw very few clay kilns smoking. "To give my ultimatum upon this subject," he says, "I regret that the discoverers of fiorin grass, and of the effects of burnt clay, have so far overrated their value. Both are useful and proper to be attended to; the grass to be raised on patches of marshy ground, and used as green food to cattle in winter; and the burnt earth as a corrector of the mechanical arrangement of a stubborn clay soil; and I have no doubt, but if they had been only recommended for those valuable purposes, they would have been brought into more general use than they yet are, or will be, till the prejudice against them, arising from the disappointment of expectations, raised high by too flattering descriptions, are removed."

"It

2982. The action of burnt clay on the soil, is thus described by the same author. must be obvious to every person that has paid attention to the subject, that when clay, or other earth, is burnt into ashes like brick-dust, it will not (unless acids are applied to it) return again to its former state of clay, but will remain in the granulated state of ashes or friable mould, to which it was reduced by the operation of burning. An admixture of that kind, with a strong adhesive clay, must evidently operate as a powerful manure, by changing the mechanical arrangement of the latter, and rendering it more friable; giving greater facility to the protection of redundant moisture, and to the spreading of the roots of vegetables in quest of food. The application of as much water, sand, or any similar substance, would have exactly the same effect in opening, and keeping open, the pores of an adhesive clay soil, and converting it into the quality of loam. Besides this, which would be a permanent improvement upon the staple or texture of every clay soil, burnt clay or torrefied earth may sometimes acquire, in that operation, a small quantity of soot or carbonic matter, that may, in favorable circumstances, operate for one season as a manure, or as a stimulus to a small extent, to the growth of vegetables. This at least may be the case, if the clay or earth burnt shall abound with vegetable matter, and if the burning is conducted in such a smothered way, as to prevent the smoke or vegetable matter from escaping. But as it is the subsoil that is recommended, and seems to be generally used for burning, it is impossible any considerable quantity of vegetable matter can be found in it.

2983. The calcareous matter in the soil, it is said, will be calcined and formed into lime by the operation of burning. But, I am disposed to consider this argument as far more plausible than solid. Calcareous matter is no doubt found, on chemical analysis, to a certain extent in some soils; perhaps some perceptible portion of it may be found in every soil. But it is seldom or never found in any soil, to such an extent as to be of much use as a manure to other land. Even where the soil is impregnated with a large portion of calcareous matter, if it is not in the form of limestone, but minutely mixed with it, the burning cannot either increase or much alter the lime. If it is in the form of stones, however small, or in what is called limestone gravel, there is little chance of its being calcined in the operation of burning the clay; it would go through that ordeal unaltered. Any change, therefore, that can be made upon the small portion of calcareous matter in the soil by burning in the manner directed, can scarcely have any perceptible effect, when that matter is applied as manure to other soils. And though it is possible that some qualities in particular soils, unfavorable to vegetation, may be corrected by burning, and that in some other instances the fire may render the clay more nutritive to plants (though I have not been able to trace this, or even to conjecture how it can happen), yet I am much disposed to believe, that its effect as a mechanical mixture in opening the pores of the soil, is the chief improvement that can be derived from the application of burnt clay as a manure. If it has any other effect, it must be from the soot or carbonic matter collected during the operation of burning; or perhaps it may acquire by the torrefaction something of a stimulating quality, that may for a short time promote the growth of particular plants, But these qualities can only be to a small extent, and continue to act for a very limited period. (Far. Mag. xxii. 422.)

2984. The action of burnt clay, according to a writer in The Farmer's Journal, is at least three-fold, and may be manifold. It opens the texture of stubborn clays, gives a drain to the water, spiracles to the air, and affords to the roots facility of penetrating. Clay ashes burned from turves, containing an admixture of vegetable matter, consist, in some small proportion, of vegetable alkali, or potass, a salt which is known to be a good manure. It also, in most cases, happens, that a stiff cold clay is impregnated with pyrites, a compound of sulphuric acid and iron. Although the chemical attraction between these two bodies is so strong, that it is one of the most difficult operations in the arts totally to free iron from sulphur, yet a very moderate heat sublimes a large portion of the sulphur. The iron is then left at liberty to re-absorb a portion of the redundant sulphuric acid, which too generally is found in these soils, and thereby sweetens the land; and it is probable, that the bright red, or crimson calx of iron, which gives coloring to the ashes when over burnt, is beneficial to vegetation in the present case, insomuch as it is, of itself, one of the happiest aids to fertility, as is exemplified in the red marl strata, and red sand strata throughout the kingdom. The evolution and recombination of different gases, no doubt, materially affect the question; but it is reserved for accurate chemical observers to give us an account of the processes which take place in this respect. Curwen notices, that clay ashes do no benefit as a top-dressing on grass, which is in part to be explained by reason that the ashes, when spread on the surface of the grass, cannot exert the mechanical action on the soil in the ways enumerated. Neither can the calx of iron come so immediately in contact with the particles of the soil, for the producing of any chemical effect, as it would do if the ashes were ploughed

in. In short, like many other manures which are laid on the surface, unless it contains something soluble which may be washed into the ground by rains, it does very little good; and the feeble proportion of vegetable alkali is probably the only soluble matter the ashes contain. However sanguine may be the admirers of burnt clay, all experience confirms, that the most beneficial clay-ashes are those which are burnt from the greatest proportion of rich old turf, ancient banks, roots of bushes, and other vegetable matters; and I conceive the value of mere powdered pottery (for such it is) may easily be overrated. (F. Journ. 1819.)

2985. The common method of burning clay is to make an oblong enclosure, of the dimensions of a small house (say 15 feet by 10) of green turf sods, raised to the height of 3 or 4 feet. In the inside of this enclosure, air-pipes are drawn diagonally, which communicate with holes left at each corner of the exterior wall. These pipes are formed of sods put on edge, and the space between these so wide only as another sod can easily cover. In each of the four spaces left between the air-pipes and the outer wall, a fire is kindled with wood and dry turf, and then the whole of the inside of the enclosure or kiln filled with dry turf, which is very soon on fire; and on the top of that, when well kindled, is thrown the clay, in small quantities at a time, and repeated as often as necessary, which must be regulated by the intensity of the burning. The air-pipes are of use only at first, because if the fire burns with tolerable keenness, the sods forming the pipes will soon be reduced to ashes. The pipe on the weather side of the kiln only is left open, the mouths of the other three being stopped up, and not opened, except the wind should veer about. As the inside of the enclosure, or kiln, begins to be filled up with clay, the outer wall must be raised in height, always taking care to have it at least 15 inches higher than the top of the clay, for the purpose of keeping the wind from acting on the fire. When the fire burns through the outer wall, which it often does, and particularly when the top is overloaded with clay, the breach must be stopped up immediately, which can only be effectually done by building another sod wall from the foundation, opposite to it, and the sods that formed that part of the first wall are soon reduced to ashes. can be raised as high as may be convenient to throw on the clay, and the kiln may be increased to any size, by forming a new wall when the previous one is burnt through.

The wall

2986. The principal art in burning consists in having the outer wall made quite close and impervious to the external air, and taking care to have the top always lightly, but completely covered with clay; because if the external air should come in contact with the fire, either on the top of the kiln, or by means of its bursting through the sides, the fire will be very soon extinguished. In short, the kilns require to be attended nearly as closely as charcoal pits. Clay is much easier burnt than either moss or loam; - it does not undergo any alteration in its shape, and on that account allows the fire and smoke to get up easily between the lumps; whereas moss and loam, by crumbling down, are very No rule can be laid down for reguapt to smother the fire, unless carefully attended to. lating the size of the lumps of clay thrown on the kiln, as that must depend on the state of the fire; but I have found every lump completely burnt on opening the kiln; and some of them were thrown on larger than my head. Clay, no doubt, burns more readily if it be dug up and dried for a day or two before it be thrown on the kiln; but this After a kiln is operation is not necessary, as it will burn though thrown on quite wet. fairly set a going, no coal or wood, or any sort of combustible is necessary, the wet clay burning of itself, and it can only be extinguished by intention, or the carelessness of the operator, the vicissitudes of the weather having hardly any effect on the fire, if properly attended to. It may, perhaps, be necessary to mention, that when the kiln is burning with great keenness, a stranger to the operation may be apt to think that the fire is ex.. tinguished. If, therefore, any person, either through impatience, or too great curiosity, should insist on looking into the interior of the kiln, he will certainly retard, and may possibly extinguish the fire; for, as before mentioned, the chief art consists in keeping Where there is abundance of clay, and no great out the external air from the fire. quantity of green turf, it would perhaps be best to burn the clay in draw-kilns the same as lime.

2987. An improved method of burning clay has been adopted by Colonel Dickson, at Hexham, and other gentlemen, in Northumberland. Instead of building a kiln, gratings or arches of cast iron are used to form a vaultor funnel for the fuel, and over this funnel the clay is built. The grated arches are made about two feet and a half long, two feet diameter, and about fourteen inches high. One grating is to be filled with brushwood, stubble, or any other cheap fuel, and the clay as it is dug, built upon it to a convenient height, leaving small vacancies, or boring holes, to allow the heat to penetrate to the middle and outer parts of the clay. When a sufficient quantity is built upon the first grating, another is added at either or both ends, filled with similar fuel, and the clay built upon them as before. This process is continued until 10, 12, or a greater number, of the gratings have been used, when one end is built up or covered with clay, and at the other, under the last grating, a fire is made of coals or faggot wood. The end at which the

fire is made should face the wind if possible, and if the process has been properly conducted the clay will be effectually burnt. By commencing with a centre grating in the form of a cross (fig. 416.), the workman may build from four ends in the place of two; this contrivance will afford a facility in the work, and have a draft of wind at two

entrances.

2988. The advantage of this mode of burning clay is the saving of cartage, as the clay may be always burned where it is dug.

2989. Burning clay and surface soil by lime without fuel, has been practised by Curwen, (Farm. Mag. vol. xvi. p. 11, 12.) in the following manner. Mounds of seven yards in length, three and a half in breadth, are kindled with seventy-two Winchester bushels of lime.

416

First, a layer of dry sods or parings, on which a quantity of lime is spread, mixing sods with it, then a covering of eight inches of sods, on which the other half of the lime is spread, and covered a foot thick; the height of the mound being about a yard. In twenty-four hours it will take fire. The lime should be immediately from the kiln. It is better to suffer it to ignite itself, than to effect it by the operation of water. When the fire is fairly kindled, fresh sods must be applied. Mr. Curwen recommends obtaining a sufficient body of ashes before any clay was put on the mounds. The fire naturally rises to the top. It takes less time, and does more work to draw down the ashes from the top, and not to suffer it to rise above six feet. The former practice of burning in kilns was more expensive; did much less work; and, in many instances, calcined the ashes, and rendered them of no value.

2990. Use of pyrites in burning clay. A writer in The Farmer's Journal (Dec. 1821`, asserts that "the greater part of many beds of cold clay contain in them a substance, or ingredient, which is in itself, to a great degree, combustible, as is known to every brick-burner. This probably is, in most cases, the sulphur of the pyrites contained in the clay; but be it what it may, it prevails to such a degree, that a very small quantity of fuel is usually sufficient to burn a very large body of clay. It is only requisite to have sufficient fuel to set fire to the heap at first, so as to raise a body of heat; and, for the rest, the clay will nearly burn of itself, being judiciously arranged round and upon the burning centre. The ashes are in the best state when they have been exposed only to a moderate heat; namely, to a heat not only far below what will produce vitrification, but even so low as not to produce a permanent red color: the black ashes, or dirty red, and brownish red, being made superior in value to bright red ashes, that is, to well burnt bricks. The heat is moderated chiefly by the judicious application of the crumbs and mouldering fragments of clay or soil, so as to prevent the draft of the air through the apertures between the large clods or tufts from being too free. A very small admixture of vegetable fuel suffices to keep up the fire.

2991. The application of burnt clay as a manure is the same as that of lime: it is spread over fallows or lands in preparation for turnips, at the rate of from thirty to fifty loads or upwards per acre.

CHAP. II.

Agricultural Operations requiring the Aid of Laboring Cattle.

2992. Operations requiring the aid of laboring cattle, are in a peculiar manner entitled to the appellation of agricultural. Almost all the operations described in the former Chapter, may be performed by common country laborers; but those we are now to enter on, are exclusively performed by farm servants. They may be classed as operations for the use and management of live stock, labors on the soil, and compound operation.

SECT. I. Operations for the Care of Live Stock.

2993. Herding or tending of cattle is the simplest operation with domestic animals. It consists in conducting them to a certain pasturage; keeping them within the prescribed limits; preventing them from injuring one another; observing if any are diseased, and the like. It is commonly performed with the aid of the dog, and by boys or girls for a small herd or flock, and aged or elderly men for larger herds. In modern umes, the place of the cow and cattle herd is generally supplied by fences; but where large Blocks of sheep are kept, it is still necessary to have a shepherd; not, in many cases, so much to keep the flock together and in its proper place, as to watch the progress of their

growth, the approaches of disease, parturition, &c. In almost all cases, mild and gentle treatment ought to be made the sine qua non of the herdman's conduct.

2994. Cleaning cattle is the operation of rubbing, brushing, combing, and washing their bodies and picking their feet. The legs of cattle, when soiled by labor, are com. monly washed by walking them two or three times through a pond, formed on purpose, in or near to farmeries. As soon as they are put in the stable and unharnessed, the legs, and such parts as are wetted, should be powerfully rubbed with dry straw, so as to dry the hair, and the same process should be applied to the rest of the body if they have been in a state of copious perspiration. At the same time their feet should be picked, and their hoofs freed from any earth or small stones which may have lodged under the shoe, or in the case of laboring oxen between the hoofs. Combing and brushing can only be performed when the hair and skin are perfectly dry, and in farmeries is generally done in the morning when they are first fed, and in the evening when last fed. In general, it may be considered as experimentally decided, that cleaning cattle of every description, cows and oxen, as well as horses, contributes much to their health as well as to their beauty. If swine were cleaned as regularly as horses, there can be no doubt they would be equally benefited by it. Some amateurs have their feeding swine regularly cleaned; but the greater part of professional agriculturists content themselves with fixing one or more rubbing posts in each stye, with frequent renewing of the litter.

2995. Feeding or supplying food to cattle, is an operation which, like every other, however simple or humble, requires attention and a principle of action. Food ought to be given at stated times, in such quantities as to satisfy but not glut' the animals, and varied in quality so as to keep alive appetite. Water ought to be regularly supplied according to the kind of food, the state of the animal, and the season of the year. Cattle, who are fed in part on green food or roots, will require less water than those fed on dry hay, straw, or corn; and cattle that have been at work and perspiring, will require more water than such as have been idle or at pasture. In summer, cattle fed on dry food obviously require more water than in winter, owing to the increased perspiration. The case of sick animals must be regulated by the nature of their disease, or directed

by the veterinary surgeon, In treating of agricultural animals, (Part III.) we shall

give the diseases, and treatment of each.

2996. The harnessing of cattle requires attention, first, that the harness be in complete order; and secondly, that it fit the parts of the animal to which it is applied. Collars and saddles are the leading articles, and when they gall or in any way incommode the animal, they are ruinous to his comfort, and soon render him unfit for labor. Even when they fit properly, au improper mode of fixing the collar-blades (hames), and tying the girth of the saddle, may greatly annoy the animal, and render him restive during the whole period he is in yoke.

2997. The yoking of draught animals requires still more attention than harnessing them. To know when an animal is properly yoked, or placed in proper circumstances to perform the kind of labor assigned to him, it is necessary to have clear ideas as to the kind of power to be exerted by the animal, whether drawing, carrying, pushing, or two, or all of these. The horse and ox draw from their shoulders, carry from their back, and push with their breech. The point of resistance in all weights, or objects to be dragged or pushed along the ground's surface, lies below the centre of gravity; and in all cases of drawing, a line from this point of resistance to the collar of the animal, should form a right angle with the plane of the collar-bone. Hence the necessity of not suspending the plough chains from the back of the animal by means of the back band, as is sometimes done, but of allowing them to hang freely so as to form a straight line from the collar blades through the muzzle of the plough to the point of resistance. Hence also the advantage of yoking two horses in a cart by means of the endless rope or chain already described (2613.). In yoking animals where the labor is principally carrying a weight, as in carting, great care is requisite that the weight be not oppressive, and that the suspending chain move freely in the groove of the saddle so as to produce a perfect equipoise. Various opinions are entertained as to the weight which a horse can carry with or without drawing at the same time. According to the practice of experienced carters, if a one-horse cart is loaded with 20 cwt., 5 cwt., but not more, may be allowed to rest on the back of the horse by means of the traces, chain, and saddle. This is meant to apply where the roads are level; in going up or down hill to admit of the same proportion of weight, the traces, or shafts, or the bearing chain, must be lowered or raised according to circumstances. Yoking animals to push only, is a case that seldom or never occurs; but it will be useful to mention, that as the line of the breech of animals is nearly perpendicular to the horizon, so the principle being, that the line of exertion should be at right angles to the exerting surface; so the direction of pushing or backing, as it is commonly called, may be a horizontal line, or a line parallel to the surface on which the animal stands.