THE MANAGEMENT OF OLD GRASS LAND 111 



who contemplate laying away arable land to grass. Unfortu- 

 nately, the grass lands of this country are now in very little 

 better condition than they were at the time Mr. Thompson 

 wrote. There is not the least exaggeration in saying that 

 thousands of low-lying meadows and upland pastures are not 

 yielding half the produce which could be obtained from the 

 land were it in better heart. These pastures grow inferior hay 

 and little of it, the production of milk is restricted, and the 

 capacity for fattening stock is diminished. The result is an 

 enormous national loss, and the truth must be told that this- 

 loss is almost entirely avoidable. The prime cause is negli- 

 gence, begotten of the mistaken notion that a pasture is 

 self-supporting. There is a very general assumption that the 

 owners and occupiers of grass lands are not only reheved from 

 the anxiety and expense of arable tillage, but that they are 

 under little or no obligation to make any return to the soil for 

 all that may be taken from it in the form of hay, milk, or 

 meat. I propose to specify some of the influences which have 

 reduced many English pastures to then- present unsatisfactory 

 state, and to suggest means of restoring them to fertility. 



One of the prmcipal causes is the practice of taking hay 

 crops for several successive years without giving any adequate 

 return in manure. The necessity for treating arable land 

 liberally is never disputed for a moment. Yet the arable land 

 has the advantage of being constantly broken up and enriched 

 by rain, air, and other of Nature's fertilising agencies ; while a 

 pasture is, by its fixed condition, debarred from the benefit of 

 all cultural operations, except the use of the harrow and roller. 

 If properly drained, grass land can generally be maintained in 

 the full tide of fertility by judicious manuring alone ; but this 

 is often negligently or \N'ilfully withheld. 



The prevalent idea that continuous haymaking is inimical 

 to the welfare of a meadow is entirely illusory, and probably 

 arises from the failure to give any return to the land for the 

 crops taken from it. Of course the hayrick can be made the 



