ON ENGLISH WATEli MEADOWS. 97 



gutters may be made about four inches wide, and one to four 

 deep. These cross the line of fall, and prevent the water from 

 runnincf down the hollows to the bottom of the meadow. When 

 the carriage gutter aa is filled, the water is made to flow over 

 at all places equally, and the catch below again redistributes it 

 over irregularities. When there is much sediment lodging in the 

 highest portions of the meadow, the transverse gutters ec can be 

 utilised for conveying the water to any of the catches at pleasure 

 without touching the intermediate spaces. By means of these 

 arrangements the water can be turned off or on with ease and 

 despatch. The peculiar merit of the system is in these level 

 catches, and it is generally pronounced both efficient and econo- 

 mical. 



ON THE MANAGEMENT OF GRASS LANDS IN ENGLAND. 



By Gilbert Murray, Elvaston Estate Office, Derloy. 

 [Premium — Tc?i Sovereigns.] 



The high prices of every description of live stock, and the 

 growing expense and difficulty of obtaining a regular staff of 

 farm labourers, are inducing the English farmer to turn his atten- 

 tion to laying down more land to grass. Throughout the counties 

 of Northampton and Leicester there is a considerable extent of 

 red soils more or less of an open character, resting on the ferru- 

 ginous sands and sandstones of the lower oolite. The forma- 

 tion is for the most slightly undulating in character, the soil on 

 the upper parts is often shallow, and though well adapted to the 

 growth of roots and cereals, it makes inferior grass land. On 

 many farms there is a considerable area of bottom land adjoining 

 the brooks and valleys : here the soil is of a deep adhesive nature, 

 difficult to cultivate, and uncertain as to the quantity and equality 

 of the produce. In wet seasons the straw is rank and flagg}', 

 and the corn lean and of light weight per bushel. Nearly the 

 whole of this land is now being laid down to permanent pasture. 

 Owing to the insecurity of tenure and the want of a well-defined 

 tenant-right in many instances, where landlords were disinclined 

 to assist in the expenditure, sufficient attention has not been 

 given to the preparation of the land — the selection of seeds and 

 subsequent management. AVith the exception of the fen and 

 rich alluvial meadows abutting the rivers, nearly all the upland 

 permanent pastures of the Midland Counties of England have at 

 one time or other been under arable culture. We learn from old 

 documents and oral tradition that a large extent had been laid 

 down from eighty to a hundred years ago. A few weeks since 

 we were over a farm situated on the Keuper Marl at an elevation 

 of 265 feet, and we were informed by the tenant that about 50 



G 



