74 Fine Pastures from the Largest Grasses. 



grasses, and reject the bad grasses and weeds. Then 

 the large grasses, being thinly distributed in the ground 

 (as they commonly are in most old pastures), would 

 assume a coarse and hassocky appearance, and the stems, 

 in consequence of the large grasses being thinly 

 distributed, being very strong, would not be closely 

 eaten by sheep. But when (as in the case of Mr. de 

 Laune's grass under consideration) the land is full of 

 large grasses they keep each other in subjection, or, in 

 other words, fine ; and as there are no weeds nor bad 

 or coarse grasses to be rejected by the stock, the whole 

 pasture, or what may be called the standing crop of hay, 

 is grazed evenly over during the course of autumn and 

 winter ; on the arrival of spring you have a clean field, 

 and up at once starts a fine and even pasture. The 

 Bank field experiment (vide Appendix III.) has shown 

 conclusively that as fine a pasture as could be desired 

 may be formed from the largest grasses. In 

 this case 14 lbs. cocksfoot, 7 lbs. each of tall fescue 

 and tall oatgrass were used, and only one small grass, 

 Poa trivialis. When such a combination is used you 

 have all the drought-resisting advantages of the large 

 grasses, with the increased vegetable matter from their 

 large roots when the pasture is ploughed up, and by 

 grazing the pasture late in the spring — say, up to the 

 15th May — ^you can produce as fine hay as could be 

 desired. 



Another great advantage from letting a pasture up 

 at intervals of several years is, as we have seen, that 

 not only is it re-seeded, but the moss is destroyed, 

 should there be any present. The latter is a point of 

 great importance, and one which I have closely studied, 

 and I am now satisfied that moss is usually caused by 

 the consolidation of the surface soil, which commonly 

 takes place where pastures are continuously and closely 

 grazed, and not merely, as is conam.only supposed, from 

 chemical poverty. I was particularly struck with this 

 in the case of a small enclosure I had made in a field 



