234 JIORTUS GUAMINKUS WOIJURN ILN SI S. 



be considered here, therefore, is how to overcome or destroy 

 it on soils where it has got possession. It delights in moist 

 clayey soils where the water stagnates ; but is found in 

 almost every kind of soil, from the dry sandy heath to the 

 bog. It forms dense tufts in pastures very disagreeable to 

 the sight, which are termed hassocks, bulls' faces, &.C., by 

 farmers. It is a most difficult plant to extirpate when in 

 considerable quantity. Some persons, to get rid of it, dig 

 up the tufts, and fill up the holes with lime compost: this, 

 no doubt, would answer the end, at least for a few years, 

 if all the roots were destroyed ; but this is never the case, — 

 a circle of roots is left which in one or tv/o seasons produce 

 larger hassocks than before ; and besides, when the hassocks 

 are numerous, the expense attending this process is consi- 

 derable. Others depend on occasional mowings to keep 

 the hassocks under; but this is productive of little good, 

 particularly if the mowing of the tufts be deferred till the 

 autumn, which, I believe, is the common practice. I have 

 found no treatment weaken or retard the growth of grass so 

 much as cutting it closely before and soon after the first 

 tender shoots appear in the spring. On the contrary, when 

 left uncut till the flowers are formed, or the seed becomes 

 ripe, mowing then encourages the growth of the plant, 

 and a great increase and activity of the roots ensue. In 

 this palliative remedy, therefore, the principal efforts should 

 be made to keep the plant close to the roots in the early 

 part of the spring, and till Midsummer. 



But the only effectual and most profitable mode of extir- 

 pating this grass is by first paring and burning the surface 

 of the land, and by making proper drains, to correct, as 

 much as possible, the tenacious nature of the soil : in this 

 case surface drains are as necessary as those termed hollow. 

 Sand should likewise be applied during the course of crops 

 taken previous to returning the land again to permanent 

 pasture, — if such should be desirable from its local situation ; 

 as that, for instance, of a park. 



Flowers about the third week of July, and the seed is ripe 

 towards the end of August. 



