138 GRASSES. 



properly so called, which are cultivated in Great Bri- 

 tiiin. The number of grasses fit, or at least necessary, 

 ior the purposes of culture, novvever, is but small. 

 Some of these are best calculated for moist soils, some 

 for dry, some for pasture'', and some for mowing. By 

 the careful separation and sowing- of the seeds of these, 

 the husbandman would soon be enabled to accommo- 

 date the varieties of his soil, each with the grass best 

 adapted to it : the advantage of which would infinitely 

 exceed the trouble necessary for its accomplishment. 



Some of the most valuable kinds are here noted, to- 

 gether with their proper soils, &,c. 



Clover^ is universally known as being an excellent 

 grass ; while it produces the best hay for horses, it, at 

 the same time, enriches the ground. As it is tap-root- 

 ed, it draws a portion of its nourishment from a depth 

 below the surface, to which the roots of niost other 

 plants do not extend ; and after the sward is turned 

 ever by the plough, and the roots are dissolved, they 

 make a fine manure, and in a measure prepare the 

 ground for v/heat, or almost any other crop. But to il- 

 lustrate the many advantages of clover not only for soil- 

 ing, (or stall-feeding) pasture and hay, but for the im- 

 provement of the soil, and its efficacy in withstanding the 

 drought, would require a greater scope than our intend- 

 ed limits will permit. 



Clover will thrive luxuriantly in any tolerably fertile 

 soil, except a wet one. It prefers lignt sandy or loamy 

 soils, and will, wiT.h the assistance of piaster, thrive well 

 upon gravels. A light top dressing should be given 

 early in the spring. On tenacious soils, a small quantity 

 of lime, would be preferable, but on light land the ef- 

 fect of gypsum is astonishing. 



In respect of preparation, it is less nice than many 

 other herbaceous plants, yet the finer the state of ihe 

 mould the land has been brought into, the more certain- 

 ly and the better it succeds. 



It is now generally sown with barley, or other spring 

 grain of the culmiferous kind, and rarely by itself. (If 

 the land is poor, choose the crop that Vv'ill aiTord it the 

 43esl protection against the sun, as rye, &c. and if rich, 

 the crop which will smother it least in its infancy as 

 wheat, oats, kc.) The advantages proposed by this 



