160 AN AMERICAN FARMER IN ENGLAND. 



perhaps half a bushel of the lighter seeds, is often sowed in the 

 United States. I should attribute the more general evenness and 

 closeness of the English meadows in a great degree to this, 

 though, doubtless, much is due to the moister climate. Land 

 intended for permanent pasture receives much more seed, and a 

 larger variety, than that which is intended to be mown only for a 

 few years, and then be brought to tillage again. Of the good 

 policy of the English practice for pastures (and the same applies 

 to lawns and public greens) I have no doubt. Among the great 

 variety of grasses in an English meadow, there will be one that 

 springs up and grows strongly, furnishing a wholesome and deli- 

 cious bite to the cattle, as early after the first warm breath of 

 spring as the ground will be dry enough to bear a hoof (and on 

 drained lands it is rarely not so). This will be succeeded by 

 others, and in May by others ; and in July, those natural to the 

 dryest and warmest soils will be in perfection ; and so through 

 the year there is a constantly renewing perfection. A ranker 

 sward, and one that would for a season support more cattle, I 

 think would be obtained from sowing a smaller quantity and less 

 variety of seed. 



I am not prepared to recommend the English practice for 

 mowing lands. To obtain the largest quantity of grass hay from 

 an acre, without regard to quality, plow deep, manure deep, and 

 sow one variety of seed in such quantity that when it comes up 

 it will speedily tiller, and occupy the whole ground, yet not stand 

 so closely as to greatly crowd and compress the stools, thereby 

 dwarfing the reeds from their natural size, and obstructing the 

 flow of sap in their vessels. Cut it when it has attained to its 

 greatest size, while it is yet entirely succulent, just at the time 

 that the blood of the plant begins to be drawn up into the forming 

 seed, and the bottom dries into such tough, close, ligneous fibre 

 that nourishment can no longer ascend from the root. The right 



