37a OF PASTURE GROUND. Part IIL 



are fown -, to fettle the furface, and prevent its being blown away, 

 together with the feeds, as has frequently happened, by the high 

 winds in March. 



The beft feed for this purpofe, is the beft fort of upland hay-feed, 

 takea from the cleaneft paftures, where there are no weeds. Three, 

 or at moft four bufhels of this feed, well fifted and cleanfed, are 

 Sufficient to fow an acre of land. The next beft is, white clover- 

 feed, of which eight pounds are fufficient for an acre. The grafs- 

 feed {hould be fown firft, and the white, or, as it is commonly 

 called, Dutch clover-feed afterwards : but they fhould not be fown 

 inixed together, becaufe the clover-feeds, being heavieft, will fall 

 to the bottom, and the ground will confequently be unequally 

 fown. 



After the feeds are fown, the ground fliould be harrowed lightly 

 to bury them : but this fliould be done with a fliort tooth'd harrow j 

 for otherwife the feeds will be buried too deep. If the furface of 

 the ground is dry, it fhould be rolled, two or three days after fow- 

 ing, with -a barley roller, to break the clods, and fettle the ground; 

 which will prevent the feeds from being removed by the wind. 



When the feeds are come up, the ground fliould be weeded r 

 otherwife the weeds will increafe, fo as to keep down the grafs, and 

 ftarve it : and if they are fuffered to remain till they have fhed their 

 feeds, they will over-run the land, and entirely deftroy the grafs. 

 One of the principal parts of hulbandry, is never to lufFer weeds 

 to grow. 



If the ground is rolled two or three times, at proper intervalsj 

 after the grafs is up, it will make it form a thicker bottom : for as 

 the white clover puts out roots from every joint of the ftalks which 

 tire near the ground ; the roots v/ill mat fo clofely together, as to 

 cover the whole furface of the ground with a fward capable of re- 

 fifting any common drought. 



Where paftures are laid down to remain, the white clover is cer- 

 tainly the beft fort to fow, becaufe it is a lafting plant, and does 

 equally well on wet or dry land. The hay feeds, though taken from 

 the very beli paftures, will be cdmpofed of various' forts of grafs, 

 fome annual, and others biennial; fo that when they go off, many 

 large patches of ground will remain bare and naked, if there is not 

 a fufficient quantity of that clover, to cover the land. Every fum- 

 mer affords us proofs of this, in all our common paftures, in which 

 we frequently fee no other verdure left, but this clover, which 



grows 



