IIOBTUS GRAMINEUS WOBURNENSIS. 285 



with the seeds of natural grasses and clovers. With the 

 grass-seeds was also sown buck-wheat, which proved a heavy 

 crop, and injured the seedling grasses, by enfeebling their 

 growth. The turf for transplanting being close at hand, 

 saved a great expense in carting, and the expense of the 

 transplanted portion of the field exceeded but little that which 

 was converted by sowing the seeds. 



In both cases the pasture proved good, and equal to the 

 best ancient pasture ; but Mr. Forrester observes, that from 

 the first year until now (five years from the time the pasture 

 was made), that portion of the field which had been laid 

 down with seeds has always produced more grass than the 

 transplanted portion. In two other instances, one of a field 

 of five acres, and another of two acres, treated in like man- 

 ner as the above by Mr. Forrester, he obtained similar 

 results. 



On a farm of the Marquis of Tavistock at Oakley, before 

 alluded to, I observed an improvement on the practice of 

 transplanting turf; particularly as regards the recovery of a 

 pasture partially deprived of its turf for the purposes of 

 transplanting. It has been recommended to take the turf 

 out in strips, or ribs, six inches wide, and to leave ribs of 

 grass uncut, of three inches in width, to continue the pas- 

 ture ; but here the turf was allowed to remain in ribs of 

 from ten to twelve inches wide, which, with the liberal use 

 of the grass-roller, had the effect of sooner covering the 

 vacant spaces with grass, or of promoting the union of the 

 edges of the stripes of turf, than when they were left of 

 narrower dimensions. A piece of land in Woburn Park was 

 planted with turf, but the expense of the process was here 

 greater than what is mentioned above in the statements of 

 expense. The turf was taken out in stripes six inches 

 broad, and ribs of grass left three inches wide, to continue 

 the pasture, precisely according to the directions above 

 given. The edges of the stripes of turf left standing to con- 

 tinue the pasture did not however approach or unite, so as 

 to furnish the naked spaces with plants, because there were 

 not any creeping-rooted grasses in the sward to throw out 

 lateral roots and plants ; and the naked stripes, or furrows. 



