GRASS LAND. 



dropped, kills the grass and introdu- 

 ces coarse and less palatable plants. 

 All that is required in rich pastures 

 in which cows and oxen are fed, and 

 which are properly stocked, is, to 

 prevent the increase of the coarser 

 and less nutritive plants. Weeding 

 is as important in grass as in arable 

 land ; and if it is neglected, the con- 

 sequence will soon be observed by 

 the inferior quality of the feed. The 

 urine of the cattle is the manure 

 which chiefly keeps up the fertility 

 of grass land ; and although in hot 

 and dr}' weather it frequently burns 

 up the grass where it falls, when it 

 is diluted by showers, the improved 

 appearance of the surface shows that 

 its effect has not been detrimental. 

 To enrich poor meadows there is no 

 manure so effective as diluted urine, 

 or the drainings of stables and dung- 

 hills. 



" When pastures are poor, and the 

 herbage is of a bad quality, the cause 

 is to be sought for in the soil. A 

 poor arid soil is not fitted for grass, 

 nor one which is too wet, from the 

 abundance of springs and the want 

 of outlet for the water. These de- 

 fects can only be remedied by expen- 

 sive improvements. A soil which is 

 too dry may be improved by cultiva- 

 tion and judicious manuring ; but for 

 this purpose it must be broken up 

 and treated for some time as arable 

 land ; and it may be a question wheth- 

 er or not the expense of improving 

 the soil will be repaid by the supe- 

 rior quality of the pasture when it is 

 again laid down to grass. In gen- 

 eral, the poor light soils, if they are 

 worth cultivation, answer better as 

 arable land, especially where the root 

 husbandry is understood. The low 

 wet clay soils may be converted into 

 good pastures by draining them well ; 

 and the improvement thus produced 

 is so great, that judicious draining in 

 such soils is the most profitable in- 

 vestment of capital. 



" When old meadows have been 

 neglected, or too often mown, with- 

 out being recruited by manure or ir- 

 rigation, they are often overrun with 

 moss or rushes, and produce aotlung 



bat a coarse grass. In that case, 

 besides draining it, if required, the 

 land must be broken up and undergo 

 a regular course of tillage, until the 

 whole of the old sward is destroyed 

 and a better collection of grasses 

 cover its surface. If this be done 

 judiciously, the pasture will not only 

 be greatly improved in the quality, 

 but also in the quantity of the grass. 

 There is a natural prejudice again.st 



'■ the breaking up old grass land ; this 

 has arisen from the improper manner 

 in which it is frequently effected. 

 The sward, when rotten, is a pow- 

 erlul manure, and produces great 

 crops of corn. These tempt the 

 farmer to repeat the sowing of corn 

 on newly broken up lands. The fer- 

 tility is reduced rapidly ; and when 



' grass seeds are sown after several 

 crops of corn, the soil has been de- 

 prived of a great portion of the hu- 

 mus and vegetable matter which is 

 essential to the growth of rich grass. 

 The proper method of treating grass 

 land, broken up to improve it, is to 

 take no more corn crops than will 

 pay the expense of breaking up, cart- 

 ing lime, or other substances upon 

 it to improve the soil, and to lay it 

 down to grass again as soon as the 

 old sward is fully destroyed. 



" If the soil be fit for roots, no bet- 

 ter crop can be sown to prepare for 

 the grass seeds, which should be 

 sown without a corn crop, except 

 where the sun is powerful, and the 

 seed is sown late in spring ; but 

 autumn is by far the best season for 

 sowing grass seeds for permanent 

 pasture. Turnips of an early kind 

 may be sown in .May, and fed off 

 with sheep in August or September; 

 and the ground being only very slight- 

 ly ploughed, or, rather, scarified and 

 harrowed fine, the seeds may be 

 sown and rolled in. The species of 

 grasses sown must depend on the 

 nature of the soil ; but it is impossi- 

 ble to be too choice in the selection. 

 That mixture of chaff and the half- 

 ripe seeds of weeds, commonly called 

 hay seeds, which is collected from 

 the stable lofts, should be carefully 

 rejected, and none but seeds ripened 



347 



