118 AGRICULTURE. 



cate these, and to substitute for them others of 

 greater product or better quality. It was probably 

 this process which first suggested the idea of arti- 

 ficial meadows, or those composed only of plants of 

 our own choosing, and alternating with grain or root 

 crops. And it cannot be doubted that, if the grasses 

 selected be good in themselves, adapted to the soil, 

 and carefully culivated, we thus arrive at the high- 

 est possible degree of perfection of which this 

 branch of the art is susceptible ; because, besides 

 having only wholesome and nutritive forage, we double 

 its quantity, and, at the same time, put the soil in a 

 state to give us a series of good subsequent crops. 



France claims the credit of having been the first 

 to discover the value, and to introduce the practice 

 of this new system ; and it may not be amiss to col- 

 lect some of the reports of her writers on the agri- 

 cultural changes wrought by it. " If," says Yvart, 

 " meadows be the nerve of good husbandry, it is, 

 above all, to artificial meadows we must apply this 

 great truth. The state of those cantons which have 

 adopted the new system is now as brilliant as it 

 was before wretched and miserable. Alsace has 

 put on a new face since the introduction of clover, 

 and wheat crops have been increased more than 

 one third. The village of Sebach, under the old 

 system, bought annually 180,000 pounds of forage, 

 and now sells 150,000. The canton of Virien, which 

 gave formerly only rye and buckwheat (and poor 

 crops of these), now gives abundant crops of fine 

 wheat. This is altogether owing to clover and gyp- 

 sum. The same remark applies to the department 

 of Doubs. In the department of the Seine and Ouse, 

 the four year rotation is adopted, of which clover 

 is the basis, and more than doubles the produce for 

 exportation. In Varenne, the soil of which is a 

 poor sand, the same effect is produced by sainfoin 

 instead of clover. In a canton of the department 

 of Loiret, M. Sageret has doubled his income by 



