MAY.] FIRST YEAR'S MANAGEMENT OP LAYS. 249 



of stock (we used to say) the land must be i 

 to it ; the more it keeps, the more it will keep ; 

 four this year, five the next : give it a little ma- 

 nure, more stock will follow, and so on till it has 

 attained its nc plus ultra, if that point be to be 

 attained. Land that has IU\MI used to the scythe 

 will not (c&teris paribii.tj keep so much stock and 

 so well as an old pasture, though it may have been 

 better manured ; neither will old pasture produce 

 so much hay as the other ; each will grow as it has 

 been accustomed to grow ; but the old pasture has 

 an inherent sweetness in it, as well as virtue, which 

 is hardly to be seen upon the ground, but is to be 

 felt upon the rumps and sides of the ox ; or to be 

 discerned in the number of sheep which it main- 

 tains.' 1 '' 



FIRST YEAR'S MANAGEMENT OF NEW LAYS. 



Ill this point there is a great difference of opi- 

 nion. Some have contended that the new lay 

 should be pastured by sheep ; others by cattle ; 

 others mown for hay ; others seeded. 



In the North Riding, the best farmers feed their 

 new lays with sheep the two first years. 



If ray-grass and white clover be meant to remain 

 some years, a gentleman in Strathern, of superior 

 knowledge, eats them the first year with sheep : by 

 this they are rendered thick, close, and durable. 



To let heavy cattle in the first year, does mis- 

 chief which demands years to recover. 



If mown for hay it should be cut early, for no- 

 thing 



