35 



Determined now both to establish the truth of this 

 position, by irresistible evidence, and also to show its 

 easy application to use ; — in February, 1815, I requested 

 my noble friends the Earls of Caledon and Gosford, 

 to inspect a poor coarse piece of ground never broken up, 

 promising their Lordships, that if they would be so good 

 as to call again late in October, they should see the same 

 ground, (48 English perches) covered with a crop of 

 hay of superior quality, and double the quantity of any other 

 crop grown in Ireland that season ; without breaking the 

 surface, sowing or planting florin, or performing any other 

 operation than surface draining, weeding , and top dressing. 



My two noble friends, and many other persons of respec- 

 tability, attended in February 1815; and, fully satisfied of the 

 wretchedness of the 48 perches I laid off before them, 

 were much amused at my promise of producing a double 

 crop on that same portion within the year. 



The two Earls attended again in November, each ac- 

 companied by friends ; and I observed them impressing on 

 these strangers, the poor state in which they had viewed 

 this ground in the preceding February, but now covered 

 by a crop (different parts of which were mowed before 

 them,) that their Lordships authorized me to say, seemed 

 treble the amount of those they were used to see cut. The 

 crop of 1816 yielded above thirty tons green sward to the 

 English acre, and now (June 1817,) the third crop seems to 

 promise better than either of the preceding. 



Having thus established the power of changing a spon- 

 taneous grassy surface, into most luxuriant florin meadow, 

 at little expense, first by experiment on a small scale, 

 and afterwards with much pubhcity on a far more ex- 

 tended one ; and then having carried this new measure 

 into actual practice with complete success, I shall recur 

 again to the principles upon which it depends ; point out 



