420 On Grass Land. 



be made to yield from thirty to forty tons of green crops, 

 by which the amount of food from the soil, would be aug- 

 mented above fourfold, not only in quantity, but in effect. 

 The manure also, that would produce such valuable crops 

 is ready on the spot, without the necessity of distant carting ; 

 whereas in other districts it must be often carried for a 

 number of miles, for that special purpose. 



But we are told, that it is necessary to raise a bulky cdm>- 

 modity like hay, as near the place of consumption as pos- 

 sible, on account of the expense of conveyance ; consequently 

 that the practice of employing land, in the immediate vi- 

 cinity of London, in raising hay, is not so injudicious as may 

 at first sight be imagined. The answer however, is ob- 

 vious. London is not only situated on a navigable river, 

 by means of which supplies of any bulky article may easily 

 be obtained from a considerable distance, but rail-roads are 

 now so astonishingly improved, that any objection on the 

 score of distance of carriage, can easily be obviated. 



Meadow land for cows, is generally mown two, or even 

 three times in a summer* The grass is rarely permitted to 

 stand till the seedling stems fully rise, the great object, in 

 this case, being, to procure hay of a soft grassy quality. It 

 is generally mown the first time each season, early in May, 

 from two to four weeks sooner than it would be advisable 

 to do, if the hay were intended for the support of horses ( 338 ). 

 In all other cases, good farmers never think of mowing their 

 meadow lands more than once a year, unless they havej or 

 can easily procure, dung sufficient to cover the ground, im- 

 mediately after the second mowing. In general, where hay 

 for horses is the object, it is thought most advisable tomoVir 

 but once, and to feed all the after-grass, with a view of in- 

 creasing the principal crop of the following ye&tf. 



The mode of making hay in Middlesex, being considered 

 the most systematic and perfect of any hitherto known, a 

 general account of it, drawn up by that distinguished agri- 

 culturist John Middleton Esq., shall be given in the Appen- 

 dix. 



Meadows in boggy or marshy Land. In many of the hilly 

 and pastoral districts of the kingdom, bog meadows are still 

 considered by the farmer, as an important acquisition. In 

 some cases, the grass is of so soft a quality, thai it is difficult 

 to convert it into hay. To prevent its being consolidated in 

 the cocks, it must be frequently op-ened up, and when the 

 weather permits, completely exposed to the sun and wind ; 



