ON THE MANACtEMENT OF GRASS LANDS IN ENGLAND. 101 



and quite incapable of finishing off heavy oxen. Our experience 

 of laying down new and improving old pastures on a scale of some 

 magnitude has been acquired principally in the ]\lidland and 

 Southern Counties of England, In converting tillage land into 

 grass, the first and most important point is the preparation of the 

 soil. On this, in great measure, depends the success or failure 

 of the undertaking. The land should be clean, finely commuted, 

 and rich in manurial condition. Some difference of opinion 

 exists amongst practical men as to whether the seeds should be 

 sown with or without a corn crop. This depends greatly on the 

 soil, elevation, and rainfall of the locality. On light soils situ- 

 ated in a dry climate, one bushel of oats or barley should be sown 

 broadcast with the grass seeds at spring ; oats are to be preferred, 

 they soon spring up, and afford a protecting shade to the young 

 and tender seeds. The crop is best mown before the oats become 

 fully ripe, and should be removed from the land as soon as prac- 

 ticable, as they are apt to destroy the seedling plants. The fol- 

 lowing detailed exposition of the system we have successfully 

 adopted for several years may be of interest to the reader. 



On light and medium soils, when the root crops can be eaten 

 on the land by sheep, without injury to the soil by treading, we 

 take a crop of white turnips, sown the end of June or beginning 

 of July, after the land has been thoroughly cleaned, applying a 

 dressing of 15 to 21 horse cart-loads of well-rotten farm-yard 

 manure, and 3 cwt. of specially prepared phosphatic manure per 

 acre. The whole of the root crop is consumed on the land by 

 sheep, which, in addition to the turnips, receive h lb. each per 

 day of linseed cake ; this leaves the land in good condition. 

 On the Bagshot Sand, in the county of Berks — a poor weak sand — 

 we took two root crops in succession, and consumed the entire 

 crops on the land by sheep before laying down to grass. The 

 seeds were sown without a crop, and the result proved most satis- 

 factory, considering the quality of the soil. On light soils the 

 land should receive a shallow ploughing as soon as the roots are 

 eaten off to prevent any loss from evaporation; the plough should 

 follow close up to the fold. On the strong adhesive soils of the 

 oolite and lias, or the London and Oxford clays, this system of 

 management is impracticable, as the roots cannot be consumed 

 on the land in ordinary seasons without injury to the soil. On 

 this description of land we dispense with the root crop, and 

 depend entirely on farm-yard and artificial manures to supply the 

 necessary manurial elements to the soil. Various opinions obtam 

 as to whether spring or summer is the best time for the sowing 

 of permanent grass seeds. Our experience in the Midland and 

 Southern Counties of England leads us to prefer sowing strong 

 land in the month of July, without a corn crop, and light lands 

 as early in the spring as the work can be satisfactorily accom- 



