62 Vanoun Methods of Tjai/ing Down 



to grass, and also those of other agriculturists whose 

 systems are recorded by him. My present system here, 

 after the trial of several different methods, is to lay 

 down in spring with a light seeding of barley or oats* — 

 a system which I have found to answer well, both as 

 regards grass and the requirements of the farm, and 

 which, I may observe, was condemned by Arthur 

 Young as being the worst ; while the late Mr. John 

 Wilson, Berwickshire, for years adopted a system, 

 to which I shall afterwards allude, which is very 

 different from any practised elsewhere, as far as I can 

 learn. After carefully weighing the merits of the 

 various systems, I have come to the conclusion that, 

 in consequence of the variety in both soil and climate, 

 and the varying circumstances and requirements of the 

 farmer, no general rule can be laid down as to which 

 is the best method, and that this should vary according 

 to the circumstances of each particular locality. And 

 here I am left to grope in the dark, for, from the non- 

 existence of the Government experimental farms which 

 ought to exist in each locality, there is really no means 

 of writing on the subject in a satisfactory manner ; in 

 other words, there is no means of proving what courses 

 are most suitable for the varying climates of these 

 islands. For instance, after studying the methods 

 recommended by Arthur Young, I am strongly inclined 

 to agree with him in thinking that to lay down with 



* With a seeding of slightly under a bushel of barley we have 

 obtained a heavy crop — or, at least, a very good one ; and that, too, 

 without injuring the grass, which would have suffered had the crop 

 been obtained with the aid of a full-seeding of barley. In the first 

 case a number of barley shoots are thrown out from each stem, and 

 this has the effect of letting more light into the ground, while, in 

 the event of the crop being laid, the shoots on the upper side of the 

 prostrate stem remain more or less erect, and certainly raised above 

 the ground, and thus do not lie on the grass. A heavy crop of barley 

 from a full seeding gives many stems, with few shoots to each, and 

 both stems and shoots are of a weak character from crowding ; 

 hence, if laid, the crop goes down like a thatch on the young grass, 

 and, in any case, the young grass plants are over shadowed, and thus 

 weakened in character. 



