ON THE MANAGEMENT OF GKASS LANDS IN ENGLAND. 113 



The ranunculus (crowfoot), or rather the kind that is commonly 

 called the buttercup, has a bad name; but in some parts of the 

 country it is popular with the dairyman as a condiment, and as 

 imparting a fine colour to Ijutter. 



It is worthy of remark, that though catstail grass w^as intro- 

 duced into this country from America about a century ago, one, 

 if not two, strains of it are natives of Clova. In that celebrated 

 glen we have a proof of the value of a multitudinous variety of 

 herbs in pastures. No sheep-walk among the Grampian Hills 

 produces better fleecy flocks than are sold annually from these 

 pastures. Of all the grasses catstail is our favourite, not for its 

 bulk only, but also for ita nutritious quality as well as its early 

 growth. If cultivated on ground slightly moist, it yields a great 

 weight of hay, and we believe the most productive strains of 

 seed are grown in the West of Scotland, 



In laying down arable land to permanent pasture, we have 

 had a pretty successful example under our eye since 1873 on the 

 estate of Wes'toning, the property of the Eev. J. G. C. Campion. 

 It is a heavy soil with a clay sub-soil on the Oxford clay near 

 the Gault, at an altitude ranging from 350 to 400 feet above the 

 level of the sea, and is intersected by the main line of the Mid- 

 land Railway, 40 miles north of London. The field was drained 

 some ten years ago at a depth of 3 feet, and at 27 feet apart. In 

 the autumn of 1871 the land was steam-ploughed in preparation 

 for a root crop, and was subsequently ridged up, and manured 

 from the farm-yard at the rate of eighteen to twenty small cart- 

 loads to the acre. The ridges were split back, and in due course 

 mangolds and swedes were sown. They were in two drills 

 alternately, and turned out a fair average crop. The mangolds 

 were drawn oft' and stored in November, and the swedes were 

 left to be consumed on the ground by sheep, with which they 

 had also a fair allowance of cake. They were fed off in 

 December 1872, and the weather being favourable, the land was 

 ploughed at once with a furrow about 4 inches deejD. The re- 

 duction of this land to a fine tilth depends more on the action of 

 the atmosphere than any cultural process ; it was therefore 

 deemed a matter of prime importance to have it early ploughed. 

 Being dry enough to work without treading in the end of the 

 following INIarch, it was dragged with heavy harrows to pulverise 

 it in preparation for barley, which was sown at the rate of two 

 bushels an acre. The surface was then made very fine for the 

 seeds, which were immediately committed to the ground, and a 

 pair of light harrows, drawn by one horse, and rolling, completed 

 the work. Tlie following seeds were employed, being the 

 mixture sent out by Mr Perry, seedsman, Banbury : — 



H 



