310 iTATElt MEADOWS. 



Improvement possible ; for no meadow can be said to be complete till 

 of boggy lands, that is accomplished, and a good eye may easily discover 

 the management of a meadow by the crop upon the ground, 

 whether it be in the spring, summer, or autumn : for, if 

 the grass appear patchy, or of different sorts and colours, 

 there can be no doubt but that the water has been partial- 

 ly applied. The different shades of the ground after close 

 feeding and mowing, will also show the parts which have 

 had the most water, and where it has been deficient. 



Workmen who have been accustomed to the mowing 

 Such crops, can also tell all those parts by the different 

 cut of the grass. Much of the perfection of a water- 

 meadow also depends upon the care and pride which the 

 drowner takes in doing his work well. It would there- 

 fore be very advisable not to change those men too often, 

 but to keep the water-meadow constantly under the care 

 of the same workman, so long as he manages it well ; and 

 no one should ever alter the water but him who has the 

 constant care of attending it. Water-meadows will ne- 

 ver be brought to perfection in aijty country, till the 

 proprietors and managers of them shall take a pride in 

 doing them well, and strive to rival each other in excel- 

 lence. Land-owners and agricultural societies should 

 therefore offer premiums for the greatest produce that 

 can be obtained from a given quantity of water-meadow, 

 and a smaller premium to the drowner or managing man. 

 This would excite emulation, and create a conversation 

 and rival spirit of industry, and attention to a pursuit 

 which many might not otherwise have thought about ; as 

 the crops of water-meadows are much more at the com- 

 mand of the farmer, and less subject to blight, drought, 

 or uncertainty of season, than any other crop which he 

 cultivates; this w^ould be a fair subject of competition in 

 the skill of the managers, and the premium should not be 

 determined by the produce of a single crop, but by the 

 aggregate produce of the whole year, taken in spring* 

 feed, hay, and autumn-feed. 



Account 



