380 Improvement of Grass-land on the 



and productive than it would be if again appropriated to the 

 growth of wood, is extremely questionable ; indeed, we have 

 little hesitation in declaring our conviction that it is not, and 

 never will be, until the soil and under-strata shall suffer a more 

 material change than we have yet learned that culture is capable 

 of effecting." 



So much for the short-sightedness of human wisdom ! Mr. 

 John Britton would be surprised, could he pay Braydon a visit, 

 to find an oasis in the desert, with good roads, land thoroughly 

 drained, the pastures throwing up a carpet of luxuriant and 

 really useful grasses, stock in all directions, healthy, and full of 

 flesh, the evidences of intelligent management everywhere visible ; 

 and all this accomplished in three years, leaving, as far as can 

 be ascertained, in the improved value of the land, a handsome 

 profit to the enterprising proprietor. 



The present dimensions of Braydon are the same as when it 

 was disafforested in the days of Charles I., the boundaries are 

 recited in an order of the Court of Exchequer, in a suit between 

 the king and certain persons claiming right of common in the 

 forest. Mr. Richard Mullings, of Cirencester, has a copy of this 

 order, from which Mr. Ackerman gives full particulars. 



To return from this digression to the subject of our present 

 paper, Mr. Edmund Ruck bought the Manor Farm at Lady-day, 

 1862. The estate comprised about 300 acres, with considerable 

 manorial rights, and cost 4000/. — and this may be regarded as the 

 market value, as it was on offer for a considerable term before Mr. 

 Ruck commenced negotiations for the purchase. Shortly after he 

 obtained possession, we — being then resident at the Agricultural 

 College, near Cirencester — were invited to spend a day in 

 Braydon, Mr, Ruck being anxious to ascertain the condition of 

 the soil, and find out what manures were most likely to prove 

 advantageous. The day was extremely wet, and much rain had 

 recently fallen, so we had an excellent opportunity of seeing the 

 land under the old style of management. We entered the 

 property by a long road, which would be more properly de- 

 scribed as a cart-track across high ridges. The oscillation of the 

 vehicle as it rose out of and dropped into these irregularities 

 reminded us of a stormy day afloat ; through this we floundered, 

 going on from bad to worse, until at length coming to a stand- 

 still, we determined to try our luck, stepping ourselves on terra 

 firma, but^ we did not then fare much better. The slush and 

 water everywhere were beyond description. One of our first 

 episodes arose from our host slipping up at a gate and falling 

 flat on his back. However, we trudged on through it all, and 

 were rewarded by seeing more water on the land than we ever 

 remember to have witnessed. 



