118 A PRACTICAL TREATISE 



crop begins to appear, and the second as soon after it has been 

 mown as the new leaves spring up. If, however, the plants 

 of either clover, sainfoin, or lucerne, should stand very thick 

 upon the land, and if the soil be sufficiently fertile to push 

 those first crops vigorously forward, in that case the gypsum 

 would probably be productive of such an excess of vegetation, 

 as might occasion them to become so rank as to rot upon tlie 

 lower parts of the stem, and its application should be deferred 

 until after the second cutting. 



In order to spread it, with the intention of covering the 

 leaves, a calm day should be chosen; and it should be spread 

 by hand, or rather through a sieve, either early in a morning 

 in which the dew has fallen heavily, or late at night, or after 

 a gentle shower, that thus the moisture may occasion it to 

 stick to them. It should be avoided either on a w'indy day, or 

 when the weather threatens rain ; and the powder should be 

 ground fine. The usual quantity varies from four to six 

 bushels; if completely reduced, and of strong quality, per- 

 haps the former will, on good soils, bo found sufficient if laid 

 on at once ; or, if at two periods of the year, with a small 

 increase each time upon half that amount. If coarsely ground, 

 it will not be found effectual in lis application to the leaves ; 

 and if used either in drills, or as a common top-dressing, at 

 least the full quantity just mentioned must then be applied. 



As lucerne and sainfoin are the only artificial grasses gene- 

 rally cultivated, wiiich remain for a number of years upon 

 soils adapted to their growth, it has, however, been found, in 

 many instances, that by forcing a heavy crop in the first year, 

 by the use of six bushels per acre, and repeating that quantity 

 in the third or fourth, the plants have shortly afterwards be- 

 come so exhausted as to admit of no alternative but the plough. 

 It, therefore, merits consideration, how far the obtaining an 

 increase of those crops, by such means, within a short period, 

 is more advantageous, than by the application of only two or 

 three bushels per acre, and at\erwards repeating the same 

 quantity at a future stage, to leave them longer in the ground; 

 but it is a point which depends in a great measure upon the 

 local circumstances of the land, or the particular resources of 

 the farmer, and must be left entirely to his own judgment. 



With respect to the permanency of gypsum as a manure 

 for artificial grasses, it has been stated, in those cases in which 

 its beneficial effects have been proved, that sainfoin dressed 

 with it did not materially decline until the fourth crop, and 



