732 



FARMERS REGISTER. 



[No. 12 



land was not. more exhausted by the grasses 

 ripenino- their seeri, than it would have been by a 

 full wheat crop. It has been recommended to sow 

 grass without any grain crop along with it. In 

 this climate and soil, it is impossible to bring the 

 land into the requisite state of fihh and cleanness, 

 without a fallow in the middle of summer; and, 

 jiidging Irom the above experiment, it might not 

 be unadvisable to sow wheat to the extent of halt 

 the usual quantity along with the grasses. The 

 young grass plants would be materially protected 

 by the wheat during the winter, and the whole 

 might be either pastured in the ensuing spring, or 

 made into hay at a later period. 



If the pasture is to follow the oaf crop with 

 dimg, when the oats have been sown and the 

 land harrowed, the grass seeds are sown and the 

 field rolled. If the land be not fine enoush, it is 

 rolled and harrowed previously to sowing the grass 

 seeds, and then rolled again. The sowing down 

 is an important operation, for under good pasture 

 land improves much ; but if tlie pasture be poor, 

 it improves not at all. 



The only grass sown in this district is perennial 

 rye grass, the very worst for pasture, as cattle re- 

 ject its shot stalks, which impoverish the land by 

 ripening much seed. It would be a great im- 

 provement to sow along with it some of the 

 grasses natural to the soil. Many of those that 

 are the most abundant, produce a great deal of 

 seed, and every farmer might at little cost supply 

 himself with them from his farm. By this means 

 a better turf wouid be had from the commence- 

 ment, while, by the ordinary process, a considera- 

 ble time is lost, and the around in a great measure 

 occupied by more worthless plants, before theso 

 grasses make their appearance. Unless the land 

 be in good condition, and Ufiless there be shelter, 

 it is needless to sow th« more valuable species of 

 grasses. Those sown on this farm besides rye 

 grass, the clovers, and rib grass (plantago me- 

 dia,) are timothy, and cocksfoot, of which the 

 seeds are raised on the farm. The rough stalked 

 poa Cpoa trivialis) has also been sown, and in- 

 creased much the bulk of the cron of hay, but it 

 immediately becomes dwarfish. Besides requir- 

 ing shelter like the cocksfoot, it must have a deep 

 soil. It produces seed abundantly. The timothy 

 seems to be a very hardy plant, and very perma- 

 nent, and no grass produces more seed. It is a 

 great omission not to raise and sow the varieties 

 of the florin also, for though florin immediately 

 rises spontaneously, it is one of the best pasture 

 grasses that are here mdigenous. White clover 

 is luxuriant for two or three years, but after that 

 it, generally speaking, disappears. Sheep are 

 fond of rib grass, and it puts out its foliage very 

 early in spring, but cattle seem little disposed to 

 eat it, and as it is always shot be'^ore they can be 

 admitted to pasture, it is rather injurious where 

 they are the only stock. 



From the wetness of the climate and the large 

 proportion of clay in the soil, it is not in general 

 advisable to pasture grass land the first year: if 

 done, it must at least be with sheep alone. In a 

 dry season; there is no doubt that to stock early 

 with sheep is most conducive to the fertility of the 

 pasture, and the luture improvement of the land, 

 but, upon the whole, the safest plan for the first 

 year, is to use the scvthe. In such a season as 

 the present (summer 1830,) cattle do immense in- 



jury on pasture of even two or three j^ears stand- 

 ing; and care is taken not to admit them, if possi- 

 ble, to fields recently laid down, except in dry 

 weather. A considerable n\iniber of dairy cattle 

 are kept on this fiirm, but lor these and other rea- 

 sons, it is thought that sheep ought to be its pre- 

 vailing stock. From every consideration over-- 

 stocking is avoided. It is a most short-sighted 

 error too commonly fdlen into. If eaten bare on 

 such land as this in the early part of the season, 

 the pasture never again recov^ers. After the com- 

 mencement of autumn the grass grows very Ihtle, 

 and if there be not then a lull bite on the fields, 

 the cattle, especially milch cows, will go to the 

 fodder in bad condition; it will be impossible to 

 keep them in health through the winter, and 

 when again turned out to pasture, a great loss 

 will be sustained before they come into a produc- 

 dve state. Under heavy stocking too, the pasture 

 on land so ungenial never improves, and the soil 

 consequently receives no amelioration. 



Draining. 



As a means of improvement, draining is the 

 most important, the most permanent, and that 

 which ought to precede every other. The drain- 

 age hitherto accomplished here, has been chiefly 

 applied to carrying off water rising from the sub- 

 soil or springs. The most effectual amelioration, 

 however, which land such as this farm consists of) 

 can receive, is from what has been called furrow 

 or surface draining. The greatest defect of this 

 soil is occasioned by its shailowness, and the re- 

 tentive nature of the subsoil, in consequence of 

 which, the water falling on the land has not a 

 sufficiently rapid vent. These drains are cut into 

 ihe subsoil, so as to deliver the water as it ap- 

 proaches its surface. The distance at which they 

 are placed must depend on the soil's depth, and the 

 degree of facility with which water can pass 

 j through it, a drain doing more execution in a po- 

 rous and deep soil, than in the reverse. Here 

 i from twelve o eighteen feet seems a sufficient dis- 

 tance. Though it has not hitherto been possible 

 to accomplish much of this kind of draining, yet 

 as all the drains that have been made, have 

 been finished in such a way as to act also as sur- 

 face drains, there has been sufficient experience to 

 warrant submitting a description of them. 



If the soil be of eighteen inches depth, six inch- 

 es taken out of the impervious subsoil afibrds suffi- 

 cient security for a drain; but however shallow 

 may be the soil, the bottom of the drain should, 

 at the very least, be twenty inches below the sur- 

 face; for less will not adroit a sufficient depth of 

 stones to render the exit of the water forever 

 certain. The trenches are opened a foot wide at 

 the surface, and diminish in width towards the 

 bottom. If the clay forming the subsoil be solid, 

 the trench in it is thrown out with a wedge shaped 

 spade, whose point is three inches broad; and this 

 effects a saving of stones, but in other cases it is 

 safer to have the bottom seven or eight inches 

 wide. In opening the trench the soil is laid down 

 nearest to it, and The clay thrown furthest oflT, so 

 that no part of it may be returned. The next ope- 

 ration is the filling up of these trenches. The 

 rubbish of a freestone quarry within the farm is 

 the material used. When ihe bottom of the 

 trench is soft, it is flagged with thin stones, and if 



