Farming of Cumherland. 



271 



Pastures and Grasses. 



The better class of old pastures are as well covered with valu- 

 able grasses as those of other counties on similar soils, with the 

 exception of the limestone soils of Yorkshire, and parts of \Vest- 

 moreland. There the haj grown on the best limestone soils will 

 feed cattle fat with very little assistance. The very best hay 

 Cumberland grows will not do this, or approach near to it. Their 

 mowing-grounds on the limestone are full of rib-grass and other 

 leafy herbs, which here appear too weak and tender to contend 

 Avith the hardier grasses, and grasses chiefly form the basis of our 

 old pastures on nearly all soils ; yet their summer-feeding quali- 

 ties are superior to those of the hay grown on the same lands. 

 This may be in part attributed to the late period of the season 

 when our hay is usually cut. The grasses are then at or beyond 

 maturity, and their most valuable constituents have been applied 

 tow:ards perfecting their seeds. Our grasses being seldom suffi- 

 ciently advanced for cutting in June, we have no alternative but 

 waiting till the more rainy month of July. 



A high authority* says 1 bushel of mixed grass-seeds per 

 acre " will afford but 2 seeds to every square inch, while the 

 most productive ancient natural pasture examined had 7 plants to 

 every square inch ;" therefore 3 bushels of seed per acre will not 

 be too much for properly covering the land with herbage, accord- 

 ing to his researches. The examination of a sod taken from some 

 good neighbouring pasture, when the grasses are in flower, will 

 best explain the kinds adapted for similar soils, and if carefully 

 numbered will give a near approach to the proportions of seed 

 required. The kinds and quantities will of course vary according 

 to soil and other circumstances. 



An excellent mixture of seeds for permanent pasture on good 

 soils is formed of — 



No. 1. — Perennial Ryegrass, loUiim perenne . . . \ bushel. 



2. — Rough Cocksfoot, dactylis glomerata . . i 



3. — Meadow Foxtail, alopecunis pratensis . • ^ 



4. — Meadow Fescue, festuca pratensis . . • i «» 



5. — Rough-stalked meadow grass, poa trivialis . 2 Ib.s. 



6. -~ Smooth ditto, poa pratensis . . . . 2 



7. — Fertile meadow grass, />0M_/erif?7/s . . . 2 

 S. —Timothy grass, phleiim pratense . . . 3 



9. — Crested dogstail, cynosurus cristatus . . 2 ,, 



10. — W^bgrass, plant ago lanceolata . . . . 3 ,, 



11. — Cow-grass, tr{fbli?m medii/m . . . . 7 ,, 



12. — White clover, trifoUum repens . . . . 4 



13. — Sweet-scented vernal, anthoxanthum odoratwn . 2 



These may be varied of course, to suit circumstances. As, for 



* Sinclair. 



