22 PEEMANENT AND TEMPOEAEY PASTUEES. 



The Selection of Grasses and 

 Clovers. 



All the operations which concern the making of a pasture are 

 important, but it is no exaggeration to say that a judicious com- 

 bination of tire various grasses and clovers which are to consti- 

 tute the crop may be justly regarded as vital to success. Failure 

 here means the waste of all other energies, for it is worse than use- 

 less to incur the labour and expense of establishing plants which 

 are not wanted. However good they may be elsewhere, they 

 will be no better than weeds if they fail to answer the required 

 purpose. The choice of suitable seeds has provoked greater 

 conflict of opinion, both among theorists and practical men, than 

 aught else, and in my opinion the main cause of the controversy 

 arises from the attempt to deduce large inferences from small ex- 

 perience. The laying down of land to grass is only an occasional 

 incident on most farms — perhaps it woidd be correct to say on 

 most estates — and in years not far removed it was less frequent 

 than at present. In fact, up to some fifteen years ago the 

 ploughing up of grass -land to grow corn was the order of the 

 day. Even now it is the exception to find persons who are able 

 to speak from experience gained from actual practice over more 

 than a very limited area. Yet the man Avho has dabbled a little 

 in laying down land will sometimes follow it up with a letter to a 

 daily or weekly ncAvspaper, or deh'ver a speech at a local farmers' 

 club, from which it might be inferred that the agriculturists of 

 the United Kingdom will find in a particular mixture of seeds 

 the preventive of all the ills that grass lands are heir to. Now 



