3 88 



Formation of Permanent Pastures. 



[OCT., 



of the system adopted by Coke of Holkham, the greatest farmer 

 of the century, in the management of his pastures. In order tD 

 secure pasturage for sheep on the light soils of North Norfolk, 

 Coke found it necessary to lay down land for two, three, or four 

 years. In these temporary pastures he used sainfoin, red clover, 

 white clover, trefoil, rib-grass, and burnet, but no grasses ; and rye- 

 grass is only mentioned to show that it was an inferior pasture 

 plant to those sown at Holkham. Later on, we may remark, 

 Coke himself became an enthusiastic advocate of the natural 

 grasses, and especially of cocksfoot. It is not to Coke, however, 

 but to Benjamin Stillingfleet, an 18th century naturalist, that 

 the introduction of the natural grasses to the British farmer is 

 due. He gave to English readers a translation of a Swedish 

 work on pasture plants, and, stimulated apparently by the experi- 

 ments recorded by the Swedish writer, he published an account 

 of his own observations on British grasses about 1760.* Stilling- 

 fleet saw that the grasses were neglected, because their properties 

 were unknown. They were difficult of identification, and few of 

 them were recognised by agriculturists. He therefore gave 

 names to British grasses, following the system of Linnaeus, and 

 these names were adopted with some alterations by Hudson in 

 his " Flora Britannica." 



In order to procure grass seeds, for trial, Stillingfleet employed 

 children to make collections, and he thus introduced pure stocks 

 of grass seeds. It was apparently his advocacy which secured 

 for grasses the attention of the Society of Arts. In 1768 this 

 Society offered a premium of ,£10 for the greatest quantity of 

 land (not less - than an acre) sown with vernal-grass seeds ; in 

 1769, a gold medal for the best account of the properties and 

 value of any two or more of the natural grasses ; and in 1776 

 it gave money prizes for collections made by hand of the seed of 

 foxtail and dogstail grasses.t The Society of Arts also intro- 

 duced cocksfoot seed from Virginia under the name of orchard 

 grass, and about the same time (1763) timothy was also intro- 

 duced from the States, where it was cultivated as " herd " grass. 

 These introductions were, of course, unnecessary, as both grasses 

 were natives of Britain, and very common. 



* "The Swedish Pan " and " Observations on Grasses " are appended to his 

 Miscellaneous Tracts. 



t Lawson's "Vegetable Products of Scotland," Division II., Section I , 1852. 



