310 Cultivation of Arabic Land. Laying down to Grafs What neceffary in. 



herbage,returns to the ftate of fward, almoft without trouble, feed, or expcnce; while 

 in others all the art of the mod careful agricultor is found infufficientfor accom- 

 plifhing rhepurpofe. It has been remarked that &quot;after twenty years fruitlefs ex 

 pectation and expence, the landholders have frequently been obliged to rcftore ,the 

 Jand again to a ftate of tillage.*&quot; 



But befides this difpofition in foils for taking on the growth and eftablilhment 

 ofgrafs crops, there are other circumftanccs to be confidered in reftoring them to 

 the ftate of fward after they have been under the plough ; fuch as thofe of their 

 poftefling either too much or too little moifture, and that of their having a fuffici- 

 ent ftaple or depth of mould for the full and fecure eftablilhment of the grafs plants. 

 As where the foils are too wet, or too retentive of moifture, they will fuftain much 

 injury if not be wholly dcftroyed during the winter feafon, when there is much rain 

 and froft, as well as be quickly fuperfeded by plants of thecoarfe aquatic kind, fuch 

 as therufh, &c. And where they are too dry, the grafTes will be liable to be de- 

 ftroyed by heat during the fummer months, by the little moifture which they con 

 tain being thus carried away, and of courfe leave their places to be fupplied by 

 other forts of coarfe plants, fuch as thofe of the mofs, fern, and heath kinds, accor 

 ding to the nature of the ground. A good depth of mould or foil is likewife re- 

 quilite, in order that the roots of the grafs plants may penetrate or run down to 

 fuch a depth below the furface, as to be in a great meafure out of danger from the 

 effects of heat and evaporation in the fummer feafon. On this as well as other 

 accounts it is therefore better that the lands intended for grafs, efpecially where 

 they are to be kept in a permanent ftate of fward, ihould incline in fome meafure to 

 a ftate of moifture, or be in fuch a degree retentive of it, as to preferve that ftate of 

 humidity which is neccftary for the healthy and vigorous growth of the plants,with- 

 out endangering the deft ruction of their roots by putrefaction, from its ftagnating in 

 too large a proportion about them. It is chiefly on this principle that the more 

 light, thin, dry defcriptions of foil are better fuited for the production of grain, 

 or the occafional practice of convertible hufbandry, than for that of permanent 

 grafs. 



There areftill other circumfrances connected with the nature of the foils, which 

 are neceflary to be particularly attended to in the laying of lands down to the ftate of 

 grafs, as thofe of properly adapting the grafs plants to their qualities, fome forts of 

 grafles being much more impatient of wet than others, confequently more proper 

 for the drier forts of land ; fome more capable of relifting the effects of heat and 

 drought, and of courfe morefuitable for the thinner and more porous kinds of foil ; 



* Davis in Communications to the Board of Agriculture, vol. III. 



