126 



importance, or rather absolute necessity, of a combination of man^ different grasses " t i 



nf two or tbrf^e fliffi^vAT^t cr^-:*^.;^., *„ r ^ x . . 6 ' > instead 



pasture^ 



1 u ..r 1 1 ^1 /. '" - o,,uit space or time, ecnial 



tothebestformed by Nature, is required before sufficient encouragement can be ^iven to 

 those who collect their seeds, by an extensive and regular demand, to supply them at the lowe ^ 

 price*. 



By the ordinary practice of returning such soils to permanent pasture, disappoiutment is 

 sure to follow; and to attempt to form a valuable permanent sward on soils not adapted to the 

 growth of these grasses, were equally unwise; though if the subsoil be favourable, the Imd 

 may be so much improved, at a moderate expense, by the means recommended in 'the Intro- ' 

 auction (p. Ixiv-v), as to fit it for the growth of the best grasses. 



Mr. Greg, to whom the agricultural world is much indebted, and particularly for his new 

 and excellent system of managing heavy soils, observesf, that " the soil of a great proportion of 

 the old pastures of the united kingdom is favourable to the growth of grass; and mio-ht be 

 broken up and returned to its former state ; but there appears to be no advantao-e in so^doino- 

 as good grazing grounds are more productive than they could l^e under the best temporary 

 arable system. In regard to those pasture lands, the soil of which is not naturally cono-cnial to 

 grass, it has been found the height of imprudence to break them up ; for experience shews tint 

 all the art and industry of man, when unassisted by Nature, can do very little to return thim to 

 as good a quality of pasture as before they were broken up. Loams are the most cono-enial to 

 grass; and every description of tenacious soil is unsuitable to the growth of those grassl which 

 are best adapted to grazing grounds. The grass grounds about London, and in general tho^e 

 close to a farm-house in arable districts, are artificial; they are reversed from three to five inches 

 below the surface, but the subsoil is a tenacious clay. I am against general principles," conti- 

 nues Mr. Greg, " when exceptions can be pointed out, as in the present instance: with a spade 

 the quality of the subsoil may be ascertained, and the possibility of reconverting the land into 

 pasture may be determined. The only inducement to break up old pastures, even on a soil con- 

 genial to grass, would be to change the kind of grass. Nothing could prevail on me to do it on 

 a tenacious soil, unless I intended to keep the land arable." 



I have witnessed the results of several experiments on different grasses, on a large scale, 

 conducted by Mr. Wilson on the farms of His Grace the Duke of Bedford, at Woburn. In 

 one instance, a field containing 25 acres of old pasture land, where it was desirable to change 

 the quality of the grass, was converted into tillage for eight years; the crops of grain during 

 that time were most luxuriant; the following grass-seeds were then sown : meadow fox-tail, 

 r^lopecuruspratenm); rough-stalked meadow-grass, (Poa trivialis); meadow fescue, (Festuca 

 pmtemts); tall oat-like soft-grass, (Holcus avenaceus); cock's-foot, (DactijUs glomerata)- mea- 



ovf ca\.&-t^i\, (Phleum pratense); rye-grass, ( LoUum perenne) ; perennial red doyer, (Trifolimn 



medium); and white or Dutch elnvpr rT.,:f i- \ t • i i- . i , 



"^^^ C'ovei, { Injolium repens). It is now the third year, and the 



sward is much improved, and superior in the quantity of produce to that of the original pasture. 



of all ?' '."''''""'^"'''' """^ successful labours of Messrs. Gibbs, seedsmen to the Board of Agriculture, in collecting the seeds 

 «^ a the different grasses of the best quality, cannot be exceeded. At the same lime it is clear, that unless an extensive and 

 re^gular demand be had for these seeds, the same as for those of Rje-grass and Clover, the seeds of those grasses must be kept on 

 'a e rather as articles of curiosity, than of utility and absolute necessity, and consequently their price uncertain, 

 m one of the many valuable communications for which I am indebted to his kindness. 



Kk 



