108 THE PRACTICAL SIDE OF 



when it has produced abundant feed, one 

 object in each case being to ascertain whether 

 clover forms, as it should do, a large 

 portion of the herbage — at least 25 per cent. 

 — or whether it is practically absent and its 

 place more than occupied by weeds. It is 

 true that a pasture or meadow can be easily 

 improved, but the business of the small holder 

 is to make a living and not to spend his first 

 few years in improving land with the object 

 of ultimate success, unless the conditions of 

 his tenancy or of his purchase make it worth 

 his while. 



We have pointed out that thin land is use- 

 less; we may also remark that wet land is 

 equally bad. Although foul land is to be 

 avoided as a rule, there are instances where 

 good land produces weeds owing to the care- 

 lessness of the occupier. The best farm in 

 the country, given half a chance, would pro- 

 duce more weeds, and weeds with a stronger 

 vitality, than the poorest farm; and this fact 

 should be borne in mind, for the thistle, like 

 the dock, is no respecter of farms. Both 

 plants, like couch grass and charlock, are 

 versatile pests, and, as a matter of fact, they 

 will grow with greater luxuriance on good than 

 on poor land. 



