72 REPORT OF THE AGRICULTURE OF AYRSHIRE. 



rock comes in some places within a few inches of the surface. 

 For 3 year's pasture on his high-lying sharp free soil — 1| to 2 

 hush, ryegrass, 6 lbs. white clover, 3 lbs. yellow, 2 lbs. red, per 

 Scots acre, 



Mr. K. M. Cuninghame, Shields, St. Quivox ; two years 

 under seeds, half of the first year hay and the other half grazed 

 — 1 bush, ryegrass, £ bush. Italian do., 3 lbs. white clover, 2 lbs. 

 red, 1 lb. alsyke, 1 lb. yellow, 1 lb. cowgrass — the hay portion of 

 the break getting 2 lbs. more red, and 1 lb. less white, clovers. 

 Soil, light land ; various ; see Section 2nd. 



The above are all bona fide mixtures as sown by the several 

 farmers, although the writer does not give them by any means 

 as in his opinion perfect specimens of seeding. The clovers 

 even on our coast farms are too short in quantity, and miserably 

 so farther inland. But probably it would not be of much 

 use to sow larger quantities of the clover-seeds so long 

 as the present thick-sowing of the cereals prevails. The 

 land in superior condition, and a less measure of cereal-seeds 

 per acre sown, a full plant of clovers and grasses might 

 then be depended on, — granting that a full quantity of seeds 

 were given. Crested dogstail is unquestionably the best 

 of the pasturage grasses for general soil-adaptability, specially 

 for sheep, and resisting drought also better than most of the 

 fibrous-rooted sorts. A proportion of its seeds — say 6 lbs. per 

 acre — included, and near to three times that weight of the rye- 

 grass deducted (1 lb. dogstail being equal at least to 3 lb. rye- 

 grass) in the 5-year rotations with 2 years grazing, as at Monk- 

 tonhill for instance, or in any other grazing mixtures, would be 

 a great improvement on the fattening quality of the pasture. A 

 lb. or two per acre of plain parsley also on these lightish lands 

 is most beneficial for the young sheep. It is not alone the value 

 of the parsley herbage as a condiment, but the thick, fleshy, 

 parsnip-like roots remain in the soil as good vegetable manure. 



Mr. J. Pettigrew Wilson, of Polquhairn, Ochiltree, has used 

 timothy-grass seed in large degree for the past ten years. He 

 began with 5 or 6 lbs. to the acre, but latterly has increased the 

 timothy to 10 or 12 lbs. per acre, lessening the ryegrass. In 

 1860 he sowed down a 16-acre field without a croj), using 20 lbs. 

 of timothy per acre, with a proportion of ryegrass, and white and 

 alsyke clovers ; and although from the wetness of season the 

 land was not got so fine as wished (being fallow), still the hay- 

 crop was good, and the pasture is now excellent. Many others, 

 farming clay lands, are now sowing a little timothy seed, but 

 they use it in far too small proportion. They might as well sow 

 none as 1 lb. per acre, for the effect of such a snuff is never semi 

 in the pasture. Timothy and crested dogstail are two of the 

 best pasture grasses for Ayrshire farmers generally, and the 



