318 The Improvement of Grass Lands. 
For tlie purposes of this paper, grass land may be conveniently 
treated of in three classes : — 
1st. Inferior: coinpiising hill and mountain land, and much 
upland pasture, chiefly grazed with sheep. 
2nd. Medium : not good enough for fattening stock, but chiefly 
devoted to dairy purposes, to the grazing of sheep and the rearing 
of young stock. 
3rd. Good : used more especially for fattening cattle and 
sheep, and occasionally for dairy purposes. 
Inferior Grass Land. 
Under this head, as already mentioned, may be classed a large 
proportion of the hill land and upland pasture, whose improve- 
ment is difficult to treat of on account of its low fee-simple 
value ; much of it not being worth more than lOZ. or 121. per 
acre. Great caution is required in recommending an outlay, 
perhaps equal to the fee -simple value, on land such as this, 
and therefore, of necessity, doubling the rent. I have always 
felt more hesitation in recommending improvements upon land 
of this description than upon that which is valuable. However, 
the outlay may be lessened by resorting to mole draining, and the 
use of straw, thorns, and other expedients, which upon better land 
could neither be recommended nor tolerated. Moreover, if a 
heavy outlay has to be incurred, it may be desirable to extend 
the making of the improvements over a longer period than would 
be advisable in the case of land of a better description. Much 
of the land comprised in this section is too dry, especially on 
sandy and light brashy soils, which, from their tendency to en- 
courage the growth of couch grass ( Triticum repens), cause con- 
siderable difficulty. Many persons who have been accustomed 
to the treatment of grass land all tlieir lives would be surprised, 
if they were to take a spade and dig up the soil in a meadow of 
this class, to find how the root of couch grass abounds ; and from 
its free growth, it destroys the fine grasses, especially when sheep 
are the principal stock kept (and this is generally the case on the 
class of soils under consideration), as they bite the finer grasses 
into the earth, and reject the couch, which is thus enabled to get 
even farther ahead of the other herbage. 
In tlie improvement of this section of land, draining, if the soit 
is wet, is the first step to be taken ; unless the stagnant water in 
the soil Is got rid of, it is useless to attempt other improvements, 
for, as the evaporation continually going on keeps the surface 
cold, manure is almost thrown away, and the grass is sour, and 
is therefore rejected by stock until compelled by starvation to eat 
it; hence the animals do not fill themselves and do not thrive. 
