PREFACE. 
My father and grandfather having farmed no small acreage in 
the good old times, when wheat was eighty shillings a quarter, 
and the attention paid to our layers and pastures was not so great, 
nor the subject of such importance as it is to-day, I attempted 
to follow in their footsteps, taking my first farm in the year 1859. 
This farm was situated next to one occupied by Mr. W. 
Staines, who, it will be remembered, was among the first intro- 
ducers of indigenous clover. From the very commencement of my 
career I took a great. interest in the cultivation of grasses, and 
to this fact I probably owe my present position as one of the 
Jargest seed merchants in the Eastern Counties. Having thus 
had a considerable experience, practically and theoretically, I have 
ventured, at the request of many of my friends, to compile this 
little volume. 
The work cannot be considered an ambitious one, and if my 
readers will grant indulgence to my shortcomings, remembering 
that these notes are to a great extent but a record of my own 
experience, I trust they will find something’ at least interesting, 
and perhaps even of profit to themselves, in the following pages. 
I would state at the outset that I have no pretentions to be 
regarded as a botanist, and I have avoided the use of botanical 
