826 THE COMPLETE GRAZIER BOOK ix. 



whether this be so or not, in soil crowded with clover roots the young 

 grasses will have but scant opportunity of establishing themselves. 

 Still, however risky the practice of turning a ley into a per- 

 manent pasture must ever remain, necessity knows no law, and some- 

 times this unpromising experiment is crowned with success. Those 

 who leave much to chance will deserve and obtain a poor result ; but 

 the man who is persistent and determined to succeed will often secure 

 a fair return for his labour and expenditure. The chief inducement to 

 make the attempt is the probable saving of a considerable outlay in 

 breaking up the land and getting it ready to sow down again. 



" The first process in converting a clover ley should be a vigorous 

 harrowing in the autumn, and it must be no child's play. There need 

 not be the least occasion for alarm in the apparent wreck of the standing 

 plant. The more ruthlessly it is torn the better chance will there be 

 for the grass seeds, and the more satisfactory the ultimate pasture. 

 Follow up with a top dressing of cake-fed manure or compost early in 

 the winter, and the land will then be, although only in a limited and 

 imperfect manner, prepared to receive the grass seeds in the following 

 spring." The advantage of shelter provided by the old clover plants 

 will more than outweigh any possible harm which even crude manure 

 might inflict on the young grasses in the spring. " As to the choice of 

 seeds, it is mere waste to sow fine or weak-growing varieties on an old 

 clover ley. The adverse circumstances of the case will afford them 

 little chance of struggling into life, to say nothing of a profitable 

 existence. The sorts selected must be the stronger and more robust 

 of the perennial grasses, and the seed should be got in early, before the 

 clover has time to shoot vigorously in spring. Accomplish the task in 

 February if possible ; bush-harrow after sowing, and as a finish put 

 the roller over every part of the field." 



In other cases glebe or similar land may have been neglected for 

 so many years that it has become a perfect mat of couch or of black 

 bent. In despair of cleaning it at a reasonable cost, the occupier 

 decides to allow it to " go to grass," as hundreds of acres have 

 actually gone, particularly since 1879. " Wisely it is considered desir- 

 able to give Nature some assistance, but it is almost a misnomer 

 to dignify that assistance by the name of preparation. In this 

 instance also the routine previously advised is applicable. Rigorous 

 harrowing in autumn, a heavy top-dressing during winter, and the 

 sowing of suitable strong-growing seeds in early spring, are the means 

 by which the most profitable results can be ensured. This rough- 

 and-ready mode of treatment has often been followed by a fairlj' 

 paying plant. Especially may improving crops be anticipated when 

 the land is continuously manured, or where the cattle which feed 

 them off are liberally assisted with artificial food." 



Other instances of a similar character might be cited, but as they 

 only need some modification of the method already described, it may 

 be enough to say that tolerably successful pastures have been known 

 to be formed from an old sainfoin ley, a worn-out lucerne plant, a 

 three or four years' rye-grass ley, and even from clean barley and 



