THE OX AND THE DAIRY. 1 67 



lower exit of the water, or a little above it. To form these beds 

 most expeditiously, if the ground is already in grass, the sod 

 may be pared off and relaid after the beds are formed, by 

 which means the grass will sooner be re-established; but 

 except in very heavy soils, where the grass is some time in 

 taking root, the easiest and cheapest way is to plough the 

 land two or three times towards the centre, and dig out the 

 drain with the spade : the earth out of the drains, and that 

 which is taken out of the upper trench or feeder, may be 

 spread over the bed to give it the proper slope. A roller 

 passed over the bed in the direction of its length will lay it 

 even, and the seeds of grasses being sown over it, the water 

 may be let on for a very short time to make them spring. As 

 soon as the grass is two or three inches above ground, a re- 

 gular flooding may be given, and in a very short time the 

 sward will be complete. Instead of sowing seeds, tufts of 

 grass cut from old sward may be spread over the newly-formed 

 beds, and they will soon cover the ground. The Italian rye- 

 grass, which has been introduced into this country from 

 Lombardy and Switzerland, grows so rapidly, that if it be 

 sown in February, or as soon as the snow and frost are gon-e, 

 it will afford a good crop to feed off in April, or to mow for 

 hay by the beginning of May ; and after that it may be cut 

 repeatedly during the summer. But where, the soil is good 

 and the water abundant, good natural grasses will spring 

 up without much sowing, and soon equal the old water- 

 meadows. 



It seems essential to the formation of a good water-meadow 

 that the bottom be porous, and free from stagnant water; 

 hence under- draining is often indispensable before a water- 

 meadow can be established ; and a peat-bog, if drained and 

 consolidated, may have water carried over its surface, and 

 produce very good herbage. If the soil is a very stiff clay, 

 draining is almost indispensable where a water-meadow is to 

 be made. The more porous the soil the less depth of water 

 is required, which is not obvious at first sight ; but the clay 

 lets the water run over the surface without soaking into the 

 roots, whereas the porous soil is soon soaked to a consider- 

 able depth. The water must therefore be longer on the clay 

 than on the sand or gravel, to produce the same effect. If the 

 water is properly applied, all kinds of soil may be converted 

 into fertile water-meadows. On very stiff clays a coat of sand 

 or gravel, where it can be easily put on, will greatly improve 



