JSxperiences up to the end of October, l904. 149 



more often suffer from want of moisture than from want of manure. 

 It is important always to use a rake to cover the seeds. I once 

 found that in the case of a tilly ridge there were a considerable 

 number of vacant spots, which I was at a loss to account for, till the 

 steward told me that he had not used a rake, but merely scattered 

 the seed on the ground, because in the case of other fields he had 

 found that the re-seeding had succeeded without any raking. In 

 certain soils it would, no doubt, but even then the use of the rake is 

 advisable, as the seeds can be covered with soil, when they would 

 be less visible to birds and mice. It is of the utmost importance 

 to fill the field with grass plants, because (1) more stock can 

 be kept, (2) weeds can be excluded more effectually, and (3) every 

 part of the soil will be at once permeated, and so kept open by 

 rootlets. Farmers have in some eases refused to credit the account 

 of the stock we have kept per acre ; but if they will fill up their land 

 with plants which produce abundantly, and are of rapidly-repro- 

 ductive, drought-resisting, and deeply-rooted character, they could 

 keep one-third more stock, and keep it in much better health and 

 condition, and be sure, too, of much better crops when the land was 

 again ploughed up. 



Letting up Fogged-up, or Mossed-up, Hill Pastures. — It has been 

 previously pointed out that letting up pastures destroys the moss, 

 and it would be important to experiment as to how far it would pay 

 to let up portions of hill pasture by keeping stoclc off till the autumn, 

 or by hurdling oflf a section of a pasture each year. 



Moss — Important Result in Outer Kaimrig. — This field was laid 

 down to grass in 1890, but with only a most trifling amount of 

 deep-rooters — 1 lb. of chicory, 3 lb. of burnet, and 1 lb. of kidney 

 vetch. Four years afterwards it showed so much moss that I ordered 

 it to be ploughed up. It was re-laid again in 1899 — in 1903 and this 

 year (when the field is being ploughed up) there is no moss. I 

 attribute this happy change partly to a large supply of deep-rooters 

 being used, and partly to the vegetable matter from the ploughed-up 

 turf. 



Grass hwculation, or Laying Down Land to Permanent Pasture by 

 Transplanted Turf. — I began to experiment as regards this many 

 years ago, but did not continue to do so, as I came to the conclusion 

 that all our old pastures were too full of weeds and inferior grasses to 

 justify inoculation from them. My late factor, Mr. Thomas Elliot 

 Boog, visited Kimbolton, the Duke of Manchester's seat, to look into 

 the system as practised there, and a letter from him on the subject 

 was published in the Kelso Mail of January 12, 1878. His conclusion 

 was that ' ' the process of inoculation of grass lands is to be com- 

 mended to any one wishing to lay out, say, a park round a mansion- 

 house, and it is a question which I leave to your readers whether it 

 might not be extended with advantage and profit to other and 



