14 Breaking up Pastures. 



course : — The ordinary horse-plough was followed by a " Land 

 Presser," which forced the grassy edge of the furrow-slice to the 

 bottom of the furrow, and at the same time made deep channels 

 and a firm bed for the seed-corn. This "presser" consists of 

 two heavy iron wheels, about one yard each in diameter, and a 

 light guide -wheel, all fixed into a frame connected with shafts. 

 One horse draws the presser after two plough-teams, and each 

 heavy wheel works between two furrow-slices ; the guide-wheel 

 runs on the unploughed ground about one yard from the furrow. 

 In the cases referred to, oats were sown for the first crop, and 

 they answered well. After the oats, it was invariably found that 

 the turf had decayed, and was reduced to vegetable mould, which 

 was easily pulverized by ordinary methods. These gravelly soils 

 on chalk appear to possess the property of causing vegetable 

 matter to decay in a short time, and, where such rapid decay 

 takes place, burning turf would be a wasteful process. 



Sandy Soils.- — Sandy soils never make rich pasture-land, but 

 poor pasture on a deep sandy soil frequently makes profitable 

 arable-land when broken up, and in bringing such into cultiva- 

 tion the plough and presser may sometimes be used with advan- 

 tage. But here, again, the paring and burning process is the 

 safer course to adopt. If the land has not been burnt, a deeper 

 furrovv must be given than when ashes are ploughed in, other- 

 wise there will not be sufficient soil to pulverize for the covering 

 of the seed-corn, if corn be the first crop. But here, again, I 

 would advise that a turnip-crop be first grown, and consumed on 

 the land with sheep, and then there will be almost a certainty of 

 a good corn-crop. The treading of the sheep, apart from their 

 manure, is generally thought to be very beneficial on fresh-broken 

 land ; the fibrous turf-roots are parted and torn to pieces by the 

 feet of the sheep, so that they decay more rapidly, and become 

 food for succeeding crops. 



Thin Stone-Brash. — On the poor pastures of a thin stone-brash 

 soil there is not sufficient mould to produce a thick turf; coarse 

 patches of the worthless carnation-grass are here frequently found, 

 the tough roots of which resist decay for a long period if ploughed 

 down ; therefore burning should be resorted to in breaking up 

 such land. When the paring and burning has been finished and 

 the ashes spread, a second breast-ploughing, to be followed by 

 harrowing to separate the tough fibres, will frequently be found 

 cheaper and better than horse-ploughing ; even if a third breast- 

 ploughing be given before the turnips are sown, the extra labour 

 and expense will be amply repaid by the abundance of the crop. 

 The barley which should follow this turnip-crop may either be 

 drilled after a shallow horse-ploughing, or it may be sown after 

 the sheep have been removed, and merely breast-ploughed in. 



