153 



t 



acre; it was mowed October 2; had it, as usual, stood 

 another month, it would have weighed a ton more. 



I shall quote but one instance more, among many that 

 have occurred, of florin occupying the surface in great 

 luxuriance spontaneously. 



My friend and florin pupil, A. Young, Esq. was cul- 

 tivating this grass with much spirit and success, on the 

 Pentland Hills, when I wrote to him to try what 

 spontaneous Nature would do, without breaking the surface 

 as he had hitherto done. 



Mr. Young replied, that so soon as he had received 

 my letter, he took to the scene of his cultivation, Mr. 

 Baird, of Shotts, the most successful grower of florin 

 in Scotland; that they observed, contiguous to the cul- 

 tivated part, a small portion which had not been broken 

 up, and that upon this, he had a better crop than where he 

 had laid down the florin carefully. My friend now lamented 

 that he had broken up any of his grassy surface. 



Having estabhshed the fact of the facility of throwing 

 grassy surfaces into great florin crops, I as usual proceed 

 to the principles upon which this new style of proceeding 

 depends. 



I have for a long time paid great attention to the com- 

 ponent parts of the grassy sole clothing our soils of various 

 descriptions, and at all elevations; and have observed that 

 Nature invariably mixes a very great variety of grasses, 

 and nearly the same in all soils, however different from 

 each other ; that of these, those which are best adapted to 

 the particular soil, come forward in vigour, assume the pre- 

 dominance, and seem to be in actual possession of the 

 surface, while the grasses to which the soil is ungenial, 

 continue in a sort of dormant state, preserving, but not 

 shewing their existence. 



