If we examine our meadows, paftures, and downs, we mail find them pretty much in a ftate of nature, 

 excepting thofe paftures which of later years have been fown with Rye Grafs and Clover, full of an indifcri- 

 minate mixture of plants, fome of which afford good, others bad food ; fome good crops, others fcarce any 

 crops at all. That I may not be thought to fpeak at random on this rnatter, I mail here mention a few 

 fads to corroborate what I have aflerted. 



My very worthy and much efteemed friend Thomas White, Efq ; with a view to the afcertaining the 

 produce of feveral downs and hilly paftures fed on by fheep, procured from each of the undermentioned different downs 

 and commons, in Hampfhire and Suflex, a turf which, though not larger than about fix inches in diameter, 

 and chofen as pure as any part of the pafturage, produced, on being planted in a garden, the following plants. 



Turf from Selborn Common. 



Plantago lanceolata. 

 Agrojlis capillaris. 

 Avena jiavefcens. 

 Dadtylls glomeratus* 

 Feftuca duriufcula. 

 Poa annua. 

 Cynofurus crlflatus. 



8 Trlfolium ripens. 



9 Crepis tedtorum. 



10 Achillea Millefolium. 



1 1 Galium verum. 



12 Hypochccris radicata. 



13 Hier actum Pilofella. 



14 'Thymus Serpyllum. 



Narrow-leaved Plantain. 

 Fine panicled Agroftis, 

 Yellow Oat Grafs. 

 Rough Cocksfoot Grafs, 

 Hard Fefcue Grafs. 

 Common dwarf Poa. 

 Crefted Dogs-tail. 

 Creeping or Dutch Clover. 

 Smooth Succory Hawkweed. 

 Yarrow. 



Yellow Ladies Bedftraw. 

 Long-rooted Hawkweed, 

 Moufe-ear Chickweed. 

 Wild Thyme. 



Turf from Oakh anger. 



Trlfollum repens. 

 Holcus lanatus. 

 Poa annua. 

 Agrojlis capillaris. 

 -—■ paluflrls. 



Creeping or Dutch Clover? 

 Meadow Soft Grafs. 

 Common dwarf Poa. 

 Fine panicled Agroftis. 

 Marfh Agroftis. 



Turf from Deortun, 



Ranunculus repens. 

 Lollum perenne. 

 PIolcus lanatus. 

 Prunella vulgaris. 

 Feftuca duriufcula. 

 Agroflls paluflrls. 

 Tr folium repens. 



8 Crepis tedlorum. 



9 Achillea Millefolium. 



Creeping Crowfoot. 



Ray Grafs or perennial Darnel. 



Meadow fofc Qrafs. 



Self-heal. 



Hard Fefcue Grafs. 



Marfh Agroftis. 



Creeping or Dutch Clover. 



Smooth Succory Hawkweed. 



Yarrow. 



Turf from Glynd Hill. 



1 Medlcago lupullna. 



2 Achilla a Millefolium. 



3 Poa pratenfis. 



Black-feeded Medick, Trefoil 



or Nonfuch. 

 Yarrow. 

 Smooth-ftalk'd Meadow Grafs. 



Turf from Glynd Hill. 



4 Avena Jiavefcens. 



5 Fefluca duriufcula. 

 6 ovlna. 



7 Hler actum Pilofella. 



8 Agroftis capillaris. 



9 Trlfolium repens. 



1 o Thymus Serpyllum. 



Yellow Oat Grafs. 

 Hard Fefcue Grafs. 

 Sheeps Fefcue Grafs. 

 Moufe-ear Hawkweed 

 Fine panicled Agroftis. 

 Creeping or Dutch Clover, 

 Wild Thyme, 



Turf from Short Heath, 



1 Fefluca brom&ldes. 



2 Alra precox. 



3 Jumus campeftrts. 



4 Poa annua. 



5 Agrojlis capillaris. 



Barren Fefcue Grafs, 

 Early Aira. 

 Hairy Rufh. 

 Common dwarf Poa, 

 Fine panicled Agroftis, 



Turf from Mount Cabron. 



j Rumex acetofa. 



2 Daucus carota, 



3 Medicago lupullna. 



4 Poterlum fangulforb 



5 Fefluca duriufcula. 



6 Avena flavefcens. 



Common Sorrel Dock. 



Wild Carrot. 



Black-feeded Medick, Trefoil 



or Nonfuch. 

 Burnet. 



Hard Fefcue Grafs. 

 Yellow Oat Grafs. 



Turf from Rlngmer Down. 



1 Linum cathartlcum, 



2 Scabiofa columbaria. 



3 Ornlthopus perpufihus. 



4 Avena flavefcens. 



5 Feftuca duriufcula. 



6 Trifollum repens. 



7 Hypochfsrls radicata- 



8 Crepis teStorum, 



9 Lotus cornlculata. 



10 Juncus campeftrls. 



1 1 Hleracium pilofella. 



1 2 Feftuca ovlna. 



1 3 c fhy mus Serpyllum. 



14 Poa pratenfis. 



Purging Flax, 

 Sheeps Scabious. 

 Bird's-foot. 

 Yellow Oat Grafs. 

 Hard Fefcue Grafs. 

 Creeping or Dutch Clover. 

 Long-rooted Hawkweed. 

 Smooth Succory Hawkweed. 

 Bird's-foot Trefoil. 

 Hairy Rufh. 

 Moufe-ear Hawkweed. 

 Sheeps Fefcue Grafs. 

 Wild Thyme. 

 Smooth-ftalk'd Meadow Grafs- 



Thefe experiments prove that our downs and commons, which we in general confider as more free from 

 weeds than moft of our paftures, are altogether an aflemblage of different plants ; and our meadows are much the 

 fame. It muft be allowed that there is a confiderable difference in them ; one meadow, or tract of land, fhall 

 naturally contain a greater number of good grafles than another ; another fhall produce little more than a mixture 

 of unprofitable weeds, fuch as Crowfoot, particularly the creeping fort, Docks, Sorrel, Thlftles, Mallows, Tarrow, 

 Knapweed, Nettles, Ragwort, &c. moft of which having ftrong perennial or creeping roots, continue in the ground, 

 impoverifh it, and overun the few good graffes there are ; fo that the ground is very little worth. If the ground 

 be manured, the unprofitable and noxious plants are thereby benefited as well asthegrafs ; for it is the extremity of 

 folly to fuppofe that manure fliall produce good plants if the roots or feeds of them were not in the ground before. 

 It muft be allowed, however, that if there be in the meadow any ftrong growing grafles, they may from manure 

 overtop and deftroy many annual plants, but not thofe above-mentioned, which with many others, will grow with 

 their growth and ftrengthen with their flrengtji. 



But it is not this kind of weed alone, which, perhaps, are the moft mifchievous ; thefe being vifible and 

 known to the Farmer may be deftroyed ; but at the fame time the ground may be overun with bad grafles, 

 which not being fo eafily diftinguifhed by the Farmer, cannot be fo readily deftroyed, Now grafles may be confidered 

 as bad on feveral accounts : they may, though good in themfelves, produce fo fmall a crop as to be worth little or 

 nothing, as the early and fiver Hair Grafs and Wall Poa : they may, either from their ranknefs, roughnefs, or fome 

 other qualities not perceptible to us, be fuch as cattle are not fond of, as Cats-tall Grafs, Rough Cocks-foot and fome 

 others : they may die on the ground, and give the meadows a dead and difagreeable appearance in the winter, as 

 fome of the fpecies of Agroftis : or they may blow late in the fummer, and be not fit for cutting 'till moft of the 

 good grafles are decayed and gone off: and thus a meadow may be fil}ed with noxious plants as effecliually as if they 

 were more evidently fo. 



Surely then it muft be worth the perfons while, who would wifh to lay down his land for meadow or pafture, 

 or improve what is already bad, to be at fome pains and expence about it, and fow it with as much caution asjie 

 would to produce a crop of fine Wheat ; the more fo, indeed, as when his land is once filled with good grafles, 

 it remains a good meadow, or good pafture for ever, which will always look pleafing, and if properly manured, and 

 the feafon prove not remarkably unfavourable, will each year produce a plentiful crop, 



I have already obferved, in fpeaking of the Poa pratenfis, that a good meadow muft confift of a variety of grafles, 

 which ought all to come into bloom nearly at the fame time; and if the grafles be of the right kinds, they will 

 begin to blow, and the whole meadow be fit for mowing the laft week in May. The advantages of this early hay- 

 making are very confiderable : this part of the year is very often extremely favourable in point of weather to the 

 making of hay : it is not poftponed fo as to interfere with the harveft : cattle may be turned the fooner into the fields 

 \q graze ; or another crop of hay be produced in good time for the fecond making. 



