256 Management of Grass Land. 



is as a manufactory of this substance that I have been inculcating' 

 the formation of compost heaps, containing all kinds of refuse 

 vegetable-matter, mixed with earth. One reason why so many 

 failures have occurred in laying down land to grass is, in my 

 opinion, because sufficient attention has not been given to the 

 state of the soil required for the growth of good grass. Wiiere 

 land is of a rich loamy character, there is no diflBcuity in getting 

 it to swarth over with grass of good quality. Little more is 

 required than to level it and leave it to itself, after brushing in 

 the se 'ds, merely pulling up the thistles and other coarse weeds 

 and rolling it the first spring when dry. With land of moderate 

 quality, however, the case is very different ; and, even where con- 

 siderable pains are taken in preparing the land and obtaining 

 good seed, the almost invariable result is, that the young layer is 

 very good the first year, pretty good the second, verTj indijf event 

 the third, and that it so remains for a succession of years, 

 varying in length according to the particular quality of the land 

 and the nature of the efforts that are made to give it a start, but 

 not unfrequently in strong clay extending to twelve or fifteen 

 years before it approaches in value to old grass land. 



What is the cause of this long and unprofitable interreg- 

 num? As a first step towards answering this question, I would 

 suggest to the inquirer to dig a sod a few inches in depth from 

 any kind of old grass land, and he will find that immediately 

 below the grass there is a certain amount of fine friable mould, 

 darker in colour than the natural soil. This fine mould I shall 

 refer to hereafter ; but confining myself for the present to the dif- 

 ference of colour, it will be observed that this darker tint gradually 

 wears out as you proceed downwards, until at a depth of a few 

 inches it finally shades away into the ordinary colour of the soil. 

 This difference of colour between the soil and subsoil is matter 

 of common remark in arable land, but it is still more marked in 

 old grass. In hoth, however, it is due to the same cause, viz., an 

 admixture of vegetable remains with the soil. Let us first take the 

 case of a light porous soil, which in its natural state is a loose, 

 blow-away sand. Here the soil and subsoil are, as nearly as pos- 

 sible, identical both in colour and composition until, by the cultiva- 

 tion of turnips, clovers, and a long course of sheep husbandry, some 

 amount of vegetable matter is accumulated in the soil, giving it 

 consistency and power of retaining moisture. I have a striking 

 example of the results of this process on a piece of land which 

 was, until 1854, part of my own farm. With the agricultural 

 history of this land for a long time past I am intimately acquainted. 

 A portion of it had, from its position, been long coveted as an 

 addition to my family estate, and was in consequence, in the year 

 1707, bought by my paternal ancestor much above its value, 



