62 REPORT OF THE AGRICULTURE OF AYRSHIRE. 



other advantage of any sort gained by the seeding, sd that the 

 total amount in favour of seed is £3, lis. 



On the debtor side there conies first, the extra amount of 

 working expenses. The " bunching" and " tying," " stooking," 

 " hand-hutting," thrashing and shaking, preparing the seed and 

 carting it to stores, will cost at the least 10s. per acre, and 

 against that we have to put only 2s. 6d., say 3s.. per acre, for 

 making the hay when green-cut ; the mowing, raking, carting 

 from the field, and stacking, being the same either way. Debit 

 seed therefore with 7s. 



The second item of loss is, the deficient weight per acre of 

 the thrashed ryegrass hay. An average crop realising 22 bushels 

 of seed will not weigh more than about 125 stones (24 lbs.), or 

 about 27 cwt. Most of the seed-raisers have a custom of sow- 

 ing an acre or so next the gate for early green-cutting to the 

 horses, and on this part they will sow at the rate of 6 to 8 lbs. 

 of clovers, whilst the rest of the field does not get more than 

 from 2 to 3 lbs. per acre, mostly white. In many cases, indeed, 

 the large breadth of the field is sown entirely ryegrass, not even 

 a smell of clover seeds. These clovery bits next the gate would 

 yield twice the weight of very superior hay if so made, com- 

 pared with the remainder of the field, but good clovery hay and 

 ryegrass-seed cannot be got together, and, so long as ryegrass- 

 seed is the chief end of the farmer, he must make up his mind 

 to have poor hay and very little of it, — handfuls of fusionless, 

 harsh, wiry stalks ! We debit seed, therefore, with 50 stones 

 deficiency of green-cut hay — that is, less than what might easily 

 be got were it not for the seed-saving, say 35s. In point of 

 fact the loss is much more, as the aftermath or second cut (evei> 

 were it taken, which it is not), is simply worth nothing, or next 

 to it ; but even allowing the aftermath to be grazed, about four 

 weeks good grazing is still lost from the " seed hutts" occupying 

 the field. A month's grazing on the rich aftergrass of a green- 

 cut properly-sown-down hay-field, aids the other pastures to 

 stand out, and keeps the cows well up in their milk. 



As can easily be inferred from the last paragraph, the 

 quality of the thrashed hay is very inferior. It usually rates in 

 the market from 15s. to 20s. less per 100 stones than good green- 

 cut mixed hay. Debit seed again, therefore, with 22s. per acre, 

 on account of the defective quality of that amount of hay got. 



The next item of loss is, the deterioration of the soil. It 

 must be borne in mind that nearly all the ryegrass-seed saved 

 in Ayrshire (about 3500 tons annually) is sold forth the county, 

 and none of it is again returned to the soil in the shape of 

 manure. The ryegrass roots left in the soil, also, are worth 

 little, or nothing as manure, and further, the manurial ingre- 

 dients of any value required from the soil to build up the straw, 



