92 now to grow good grasses. 



CHAPTER XIV. 

 ON the laying down oe permanent pasture. 



Ie we reflect upon the fact that much of the meadow 

 of Great Britain is ribbed by the ridge and furrow of 

 former arable culture, we shall conclude that the 

 laying down of land to permanent pasture is an 

 ancient no less than a modern process. 



Formerly new pastures were made by sowing the 

 collected seeds from a hayloft, but as in modern 

 farming no one in his senses would let his grass get 

 ripe enough for seed before cutting, present practice 

 necessitates the mixing of such seeds as may be con- 

 sidered best in suitable quantities for our purpose. 

 We shall have, then, in this place to consider : — 



1. The preparation of the land ; 



2. The kinds of seed best adapted for different 



places; and 



3. The after-treatment of the new meadow. 



1. The plan usually adopted in a preparation for 

 grass seeds is that of sowing our mixture with the 

 barley crop. Now this, in the case of a tenant who 

 is not sure of his tenure, would obviously recommend 

 itself; but to a proprietor wanting a quicker and 

 surer result it offers many objections. 



We, recommend, after turnips have been fed off 

 on the land, to make the ground as level as possible, 

 then harrow and roll smooth with an iron or wooden 

 roller. Upon this surface our mixture should be 



