252 Management of Grass Land. 



articles, such as milk and butter, which cannot be supplied in 

 perfection from distant countries, that it well deserves the con- 

 sideration of those leading farmers who have already brought 

 their arable farming up to so high a standard, whether they 

 could not profitably bestow more of their attention on the hither- 

 to neglected grass. The Royal Agricultural Society has already 

 given great force and concentration to the efforts made for the 

 last twenty years to improve the stock, the dairy, and the arable 

 farming of this country, and striking improvements have been 

 effected. Doubtless the g-reat blot which disfiijures British agri- 

 culture at the present day, viz. tlie neglected state of so large a 

 jiortion of the grass-land, might also be removed, much to the 

 benefit of all parties concerned, if the same energy and perse- 

 verance were brought to bear upon it. With this object in view, 

 a prize was offered last year for the best essay on the manage- 

 ment of grass land, and, as the competition has been brisk, two 

 samples are presented to the reader, viz. the Prize Essay, which 

 bears on its face abundant evidence of long experience and care- 

 ful observation ; and a cleverly-compiled report, by the Rev. Mr. 

 Bowditch, which was highly commended by the Judges, and which 

 brings together in one focus the opinions and ideas of many 

 different and differentlv situated observers. Both kinds of con- 

 tributions have a distinct value of their own, and the writer 

 proposes also to add the result of his own experience on this 

 question, that the improvement-of-grass question may from the 

 first be treated not as a subject for a single article, but as re- 

 Cjuiring and deserving the fullest collection possible of practical 

 ideas and trustworthy facts. 



To begin at the beginning : What is the best mode of laying 

 down land to grass? Having made numerous attempts to accom- 

 plish this difficult agricultural operation, and having met with 

 very various success, it will probably be more instructive to 

 describe in detail one or more of the cases than to commence by 

 laying down general rules. About twelve years ago I took in 

 hand 30 acres of land adjacent to the river Ouse, which I was 

 desirous of laying down to permanent grass. Fifty years before it 

 had formed part of my grandfather's home-farm, and had the 

 repute of being good feeding pasture. He was tempted to 

 plough it out by the excessively high price of corn, and the 

 first three crops he had upon it averaged 10 quarters of oats each 

 (worth 3/. per quarter), and realised more than the fee-simple of 

 the land. But when the war prices had passed away the land 

 still remained under the plough, and as it was loam of tolerably 

 good quality, and very favourably situated for pasture, I resolved 

 to try my hand at it, and to spare no reasonable expense in 

 bringing it quickly back to its original state of good feeding 



